Evaluating the Role of Writing in the First and Second Year University Foreign Language Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubert, Michael D.

2014-01-01

Approaches to foreign language (FL) instruction have changed a great deal in the past fifty years, the most fundamental change being the shift from a focus solely on language form to a focus on communicative competence (CC). Although most FL instructors now appear to focus on CC in the teaching of speaking, they do not necessarily apply CC to…

Centchroman inhibits proliferation of head and neck cancer cells through the modulation of PI3K/mTOR Pathway

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Srivastava, Vikas Kumar; Gara, Rishi Kumar; Bhatt, M.L.B.

Research highlights: {yields} Centchroman (CC) inhibits cellular proliferation in HNSCC cells through the dual inhibition of PI3/mTOR pathway. {yields} CC treatment also inhibits STAT3 activation and alters expression of proteins involved in cell cycle regulation and DNA repair response in HNSCC cells. {yields} CC exhibits anti-proliferative activity in a variety of non-HNSCC cancer cell lines and is devoid of cytotoxicity to normal cell types of diverse origins. -- Abstract: Centchroman (CC; 67/20; INN: Ormeloxifene) is a non-steroidal antiestrogen extensively used as a female contraceptive in India. In the present study, we report the anti-proliferative effect of CC in head andmore » neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. CC inhibited cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner at 24 h of treatment. Further studies showed that CC treatment induced apoptosis, inhibited Akt/mTOR and signal transducers and activators of transcription protein 3 (STAT3) signaling, altered proteins associated with cell cycle regulation and DNA damage and inhibited colony forming efficiency of HNSCC cells. In addition, CC displayed anti-proliferative activity against a variety of non-HNSCC cell lines of diverse origin. The ability of CC to serve as a dual-inhibitor of Akt/mTOR and STAT3 signaling warrants further studies into its role as a therapeutic strategy against HNSCC.« less

Molecular and functional roles of 6C CC chemokine 19 in defense system of striped murrel Channa striatus.

PubMed

Arockiaraj, Jesu; Bhatt, Prasanth; Harikrishnan, Ramasamy; Arasu, Mariadhas Valan; Al-Dhabi, Naif Abdullah

2015-08-01

In this study, we have reported the molecular information of chemokine-19 (Chem19) from striped murrel Channa striatus (Cs). CsCC-Chem19 cDNA sequence was 555 base pair (bp) in length which is 68bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), 339bp translated region and 149bp 3' UTR. The translated region is encoded for a polypeptide of 112 amino acids. CsCC-Chem19 peptide contains a signal sequence between 1 and 26 and an interleukin (IL) 8 like domain between 24 and 89. The multiple sequence alignment showed a 'DCCL' motif, an indispensable motif present in all CC chemokines which was conserved throughout the evolution. Phylogenetic tree showed that CsCC-Chem19 formed a cluster with chemokine 19 from fishes. Secondary structure of CsCC-Chem19 revealed that the peptide contains maximum amount of coils (61.6%) compared to α-helices (25.9%%) and β-sheet (12.5%). Further, 3D analysis indicated that the cysteine residues at 33, 34, 59 and 75 making the disulfide bridges as 33 = 59 and 34 = 75. Significantly (P < 0.05) highest CsCC-Chem19 mRNA expression was observed in blood and it was up-regulated upon fungus and bacterial infection. Utilizing the coding region of CsCC-Chem19, recombinant CsCC-Chem19 protein was produced. The recombinant CsCC-Chem19 protein induced the cellular proliferation and respiratory burst activity of C. striatus peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) in a concentration dependent manner. Moreover, the chemotactic activity showed that the recombinant CsCC-Chem19 significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced the movement of PBL of C. striatus. Conclusively, CsCC-Chem19 is a 6C CC chemokine having an ability to perform both inflammatory and homeostatic functions. However, further research is necessary to understand the potential of 6C CC chemokine 19 of C. striatus, particularly their regulatory ability on different cellular components in the defense system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are adolescents with chronic conditions particularly at risk for bullying?

PubMed

Pittet, I; Berchtold, A; Akré, C; Michaud, P-A; Surís, J-C

2010-09-01

To compare the prevalence and intensity of victimisation from bullying and the characteristics of the victim of bullying, comparing adolescents with and adolescents without chronic conditions (CC). School survey. Postmandatory schools. A total of 7005 students (48% females) aged 16-20 years, distributed into adolescents with CC (728, 50% females) and controls (6277, 48% females). Chronic condition was defined as having a chronic disease and/or a physical disability. Prevalence of bullying-intensity of bullying-and sociodemographic, biopsychosocial, familial, school and violence context characteristics of the victims of bullying. The prevalence of bullying in our sample was 13.85%. Adolescents with CC were more likely to be victims of bullying (adjusted OR 1.53), and to be victims of two or three forms of bullying (adjusted OR 1.92). Victims of bullying with CC were more likely than non-victims to be depressed (RR 1.57), to have more physical symptoms (RR 1.61), to have a poorer relationship with their parents (RR 1.33), to have a poorer school climate (RR 1.60) and to have been victims of sexual abuse (RR 1.79) or other forms of violence (RR 1.80). Although these characteristics apply to victims in general, in most cases, they are less pronounced among victims without CC. CC seems to be a risk factor for victimisation from bullying. Therefore, as adolescents with CC are increasingly mainstreamed, schools should be encouraged to undertake preventive measures to avoid victimisation of such adolescents.

High Incidence of Pathogenic Streptococcus agalactiae ST485 Strain in Pregnant/Puerperal Women and Isolation of Hyper-Virulent Human CC67 Strain

PubMed Central

Li, Liping; Wang, Rui; Huang, Yan; Huang, Ting; Luo, Fuguang; Huang, Weiyi; Yang, Xiuying; Lei, Aiying; Chen, Ming; Gan, Xi

2018-01-01

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is the major pathogen causing diseases in neonates, pregnant/puerperal women, cows and fish. Recent studies have shown that GBS may be infectious across hosts and some fish GBS strain might originate from human. The purpose of this study is to investigate the genetic relationship of CC103 strains that recently emerged in cows and humans, and explore the pathogenicity of clinical GBS isolates from human to tilapia. Ninety-two pathogenic GBS isolates were identified from 19 patients with different diseases and their evolution and pathogenicity to tilapia were analyzed. The multilocus sequence typing revealed that clonal complex (CC) 103 strain was isolated from 21.74% (20/92) of patients and ST485 strain was from 14.13% (13/92) patients with multiple diseases including neonates. Genomic evolution analysis showed that both bovine and human CC103 strains alternately form independent evolutionary branches. Three CC67 isolates carried gbs2018-C gene and formed one evolutionary branch with ST61 and ST67 strains that specifically infect dairy cows. Studies of interspecies transmission to tilapia found that 21/92 (22.83%) isolates including all ST23 isolates were highly pathogenic to tilapia and demonstrated that streptococci could break through the blood-brain barrier into brain tissue. In conclusions, CC103 strains are highly prevalent among pathogenic GBS from humans and have evolved into the highly pathogenic ST485 strains specifically infecting humans. The CC67 strains isolated from cows are able to infect humans through evolutionary events of acquiring CC17-specific type C gbs2018 gene and others. Human-derived ST23 pathogenic GBS strains are highly pathogenic to tilapia. PMID:29467722

Centchroman regulates breast cancer angiogenesis via inhibition of HIF-1α/VEGFR2 signalling axis.

PubMed

Dewangan, Jayant; Kaushik, Shweta; Rath, Srikanta Kumar; Balapure, Anil K

2018-01-15

Angiogenesis is a recognized hallmark of cancer which promotes cancer cell progression and metastasis. Inhibition of angiogenesis to attenuate cancer growth is becoming desirable strategy for breast cancer management. The present study is aimed to investigate the antiangiogenic efficacy of a novel selective estrogen receptor modulator Centchroman (CC) on human breast cancer cells. Effect of CC on cell viability was evaluated using Sulforhodamine B assay. Endothelial cell proliferation, wound healing, Boyden chamber cell invasion, tube formation and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays were performed to assess the effect of CC on migration, invasion and angiogenesis. Apoptosis, reactive oxygen species generation, caspase-3/7 and intracellular calcium ion level were measured through flow cytometry. Expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF, VEGFR2, AKT and ERK were assessed by western blot analysis. CC selectively induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells without affecting non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells MCF-10A. Moreover, it inhibits migratory, invasive and mammosphere forming potential of breast cancer. Furthermore, CC also inhibited VEGF-induced migration, invasion and tube formation of HUVECs in vitro. CC effectively inhibited neovasculature formation in chicken CAM. Western blot analysis demonstrated that CC inhibited expression of HIF-1α and its downstream target VEGF. Interestingly, CC also suppressed VEGFR2 phosphorylation and consequently attenuated AKT and ERK phosphorylation. Our findings suggest that CC downregulates VEGF-induced angiogenesis by modulating HIF-1α/VEGFR2 pathway and recommend it (CC) as a potential therapeutic drug for breast cancer treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alkali metal mediated C-C bond coupling reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tachikawa, Hiroto

2015-02-01

Metal catalyzed carbon-carbon (C-C) bond formation is one of the important reactions in pharmacy and in organic chemistry. In the present study, the electron and hole capture dynamics of a lithium-benzene sandwich complex, expressed by Li(Bz)2, have been investigated by means of direct ab-initio molecular dynamics method. Following the electron capture of Li(Bz)2, the structure of [Li(Bz)2]- was drastically changed: Bz-Bz parallel form was rapidly fluctuated as a function of time, and a new C-C single bond was formed in the C1-C1' position of Bz-Bz interaction system. In the hole capture, the intermolecular vibration between Bz-Bz rings was only enhanced. The mechanism of C-C bond formation in the electron capture was discussed on the basis of theoretical results.

Iterative reactions of transient boronic acids enable sequential C-C bond formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battilocchio, Claudio; Feist, Florian; Hafner, Andreas; Simon, Meike; Tran, Duc N.; Allwood, Daniel M.; Blakemore, David C.; Ley, Steven V.

2016-04-01

The ability to form multiple carbon-carbon bonds in a controlled sequence and thus rapidly build molecular complexity in an iterative fashion is an important goal in modern chemical synthesis. In recent times, transition-metal-catalysed coupling reactions have dominated in the development of C-C bond forming processes. A desire to reduce the reliance on precious metals and a need to obtain products with very low levels of metal impurities has brought a renewed focus on metal-free coupling processes. Here, we report the in situ preparation of reactive allylic and benzylic boronic acids, obtained by reacting flow-generated diazo compounds with boronic acids, and their application in controlled iterative C-C bond forming reactions is described. Thus far we have shown the formation of up to three C-C bonds in a sequence including the final trapping of a reactive boronic acid species with an aldehyde to generate a range of new chemical structures.

Naval Reserve Annual Operating Costs

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-10-29

LUV WL mw f-U>) C V) L0 1-LUW (Y) CO Co LU C ::N co~- 00 L 0j C-L ) r-4 ) LL L C) LU -4 L- i ~~llC CJ> . C~ - f-J F. F-~fl0 LU WF- .- -( L-F- Q. C...0 Uj t&P NI I )P 0V’ 000 M N M ) 41 o - - 5.. t c I ., oe. P r oi 5.,. 005 CC CC f-N - 0I r 0c c0 N5 Oil j C co a0 OCY .Cw CC a~ r0 0 0 C5 n I CC CC tSC...34 i - L u- - l ____l______o____ REPORT DOCUMENTAl ION PAGE BEFORE MPLETI FORM I REPORT NUMBER 2. GOVY ACCESS|ON NO, 3. RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER 4

Giant Cornu Cutaneum Superimposed on Basal Cell Carcinoma.

PubMed

Agirgol, S; Mansur, A T; Bozkurt, K; Azakli, H N; Babacan, A; Dikmen, A

2015-09-01

Cornu cutaneum (CC) is a clinical term that describes the horn-like keratotic lesions extending vertically from the skin. Benign, premalignant or malignant lesions may be present at the base of CC. Seborrhoeic keratosis and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are the most commonly reported benign and malignant forms, respectively. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) at the base is rare. Here, we report on an 85-year old female patient having multiple CC lesions, one being giant on her face and two of the lesions diagnosed with BCC at the base. This case is of significance due to the presence of giant and multiple CC and detection of BCC at the base of more than one lesion. This present case indicates the need for the treatment of possible malignant lesions underlying CC in the elderly by total surgical excision.

Coupled-cluster Green's function: Analysis of properties originating in the exponential parametrization of the ground-state wave function

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peng, Bo; Kowalski, Karol

In this paper we derive basic properties of the Green’s function matrix elements stemming from the exponential coupled cluster (CC) parametrization of the ground-state wave function. We demon- strate that all intermediates used to express retarded (or equivalently, ionized) part of the Green’s function in the ω-representation can be expressed through connected diagrams only. Similar proper- ties are also shared by the first order ω-derivatives of the retarded part of the CC Green’s function. This property can be extended to any order ω-derivatives of the Green’s function. Through the Dyson equation of CC Green’s function, the derivatives of corresponding CCmore » self-energy can be evaluated analytically. In analogy to the CC Green’s function, the corresponding CC self-energy is expressed in terms of connected diagrams only. Moreover, the ionized part of the CC Green’s func- tion satisfies the non-homogeneous linear system of ordinary differential equations, whose solution may be represented in the exponential form. Our analysis can be easily generalized to the advanced part of the CC Green’s function.« less

An homolog of the Frz Phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphoTransferase System of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli is encoded on a genomic island in specific lineages of Streptococcus agalactiae.

PubMed

Patron, Kévin; Gilot, Philippe; Camiade, Emilie; Mereghetti, Laurent

2015-06-01

We identified a Streptococcus agalactiae metabolic region (fru2) coding for a Phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphoTransferase System (PTS) homologous to the Frz system of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. The Frz system is involved in environmental sensing and regulation of the expression of adaptation and virulence genes in E. coli. The S. agalactiae fru2 region codes three subunits of a PTS transporter of the fructose-mannitol family, a transcriptional activator of PTSs of the MtlR family, an allulose-6 phosphate-3-epimerase, a transaldolase and a transketolase. We demonstrated that all these genes form an operon. The fru2 operon is present in a 17494-bp genomic island. We analyzed by multilocus sequence typing a population of 492 strains representative of the S. agalactiae population and we showed that the presence of the fru2 operon is linked to the phylogeny of S. agalactiae. The fru2 operon is always present within strains of clonal complexes CC 1, CC 7, CC 10, CC 283 and singletons ST 130 and ST 288, but never found in other CCs and STs. Our results indicate that the fru2 operon was acquired during the evolution of the S. agalactiae species from a common ancestor before the divergence of CC 1, CC 7, CC 10, CC 283, ST 130 and ST 288. As S. agalactiae strains of CC 1 and CC 10 are frequently isolated from adults with invasive disease, we hypothesize that the S. agalactiae Fru2 system senses the environment to allow the bacterium to adapt to new conditions encountered during the infection of adults. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do Archaea and bacteria co-infection have a role in the pathogenesis of chronic chagasic cardiopathy?

PubMed

Higuchi, Maria de Lourdes; Kawakami, Joyce; Ikegami, Renata; Clementino, Maysa Beatriz Mandetta; Kawamoto, Flavio M; Reis, Marcia M; Bocchi, Edimar

2009-07-01

Chronic cardiopathy (CC) in Chagas disease is a fibrotic myocarditis with C5b-9 complement deposition. Mycoplasma and Chlamydia may interfere with the complement response. Proteolytic enzymes and archaeal genes that have been described in Trypanosoma cruzi may increase its virulence. Here we tested the hypothesis that different ratios of Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and archaeal organisms, which are frequent symbionts, may be associated with chagasic clinical forms. eight indeterminate form (IF) and 20 CC chagasic endomyocardial biopsies were submitted to in situ hybridization, electron and immunoelectron microscopy and PCR techniques for detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP), Chlamydia pneumoniae(CP), C5b-9 and archaeal-like bodies. MP and CP-DNA were always present at lower levels in CC than in IF (p < 0.001) and were correlated with each other only in CC. Electron microscopy revealed Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and two types of archaeal-like bodies. One had electron dense lipid content (EDL) and was mainly present in IF. The other had electron lucent content (ELC) and was mainly present in CC. In this group, ELC correlated negatively with the other microbes and EDL and positively with C5b-9. The CC group was positive for Archaea and T. cruzi DNA. In conclusion, different amounts of Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and archaeal organisms may be implicated in complement activation and may have a role in Chagas disease outcome.

Study of pyrolysed acid and based treated coconut coir as green photocatalyst substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asim, Nilofar; Emdadi, Zeynab; Abdullah, N. A.; Mohammad, Masita; Badiei, Marzieh; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

2017-12-01

This study investigates the possible contribution to sustainable development by utilizing agriculture waste materials to prepare a substrate for photo-catalysis application. The photocatalytic performance of impregnated TiO2 on acid and base- treated coconut coir (CC) and their pyrolysed form have been studied. The photocatalytic performance of impregnated TiO2 on acid treated CC improved compared to bare TiO2. However, the pyrolysed samples showed higher thermal stability and porosity compared to only treated CC, their catalytic performance was decreased. It seems that impregnated TiO2 undergo interaction with treated CC during pyrolysis. More investigations to reveal exact reason of this behavior is in progress.

High density crystalline boron prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, C.L.

1993-08-31

Boron powder is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid boron monolith with a bulk density at least 2.22 g/cc and up to or greater than 2.34 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1,800 C and 30 PSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.34 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

High density crystalline boron prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, Clarence L.

1993-01-01

Boron powder is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid boron monolith with a bulk density at least 2.22 g/cc and up to or greater than 2.34 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1800.degree. C. and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.34 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

Synthesis and physicochemical studies of amyloidogenic hexapeptides derived from human cystatin C.

PubMed

Iłowska, Emilia; Sawicka, Justyna; Szymańska, Aneta

2018-06-01

Human cystatin C (hCC) is a low molecular mass protein that belongs to the cystatin superfamily. It is an inhibitor of extracellular cysteine proteinases, present in all human body fluids. At physiological conditions, hCC is a monomer, but it has a tendency to dimerization. Naturally occurring hCC mutant, with leucine in position 68 substituted by glutamine (L68Q), is directly involved in the formation of amyloid deposits, independently of other proteins. This process is the primary cause of hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy, observed mainly in the Icelandic population. Oligomerization and fibrillization processes of hCC are not explained equally well, but it is proposed that domain swapping is involved in both of them. Research carried out on the fibrillization process led to new hypothesis about the existence of a steric zipper motif in amyloidogenic proteins. In the hCC sequence, there are 2 fragments which may play the role of a steric zipper: the loop L1 region and the C-terminal fragment. In this work, we focused on the first of these. Nine hexapeptides covering studied hCC fragment were synthesized, and their fibrillogenic potential was assessed using an array of biophysical methods. The obtained results showed that the studied hCC fragment has strong profibrillogenic propensities because it contains 2 fragments fulfilling the requirements for an effective steric zipper located next to each other, forming 1 super-steric zipper motif. This hCC fragment might therefore be responsible for the enhanced amyloidogenic properties of dimeric or partially unfolded hCC. Copyright © 2018 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Open Source Subtitle Editor Software Study for Section 508 Close Caption Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, F. Brandon

2013-01-01

This paper will focus on a specific item within the NASA Electronic Information Accessibility Policy - Multimedia Presentation shall have synchronized caption; thus making information accessible to a person with hearing impairment. This synchronized caption will assist a person with hearing or cognitive disability to access the same information as everyone else. This paper focuses on the research and implementation for CC (subtitle option) support to video multimedia. The goal of this research is identify the best available open-source (free) software to achieve synchronized captions requirement and achieve savings, while meeting the security requirement for Government information integrity and assurance. CC and subtitling are processes that display text within a video to provide additional or interpretive information for those whom may need it or those whom chose it. Closed captions typically show the transcription of the audio portion of a program (video) as it occurs (either verbatim or in its edited form), sometimes including non-speech elements (such as sound effects). The transcript can be provided by a third party source or can be extracted word for word from the video. This feature can be made available for videos in two forms: either Soft-Coded or Hard-Coded. Soft-Coded is the more optional version of CC, where you can chose to turn them on if you want, or you can turn them off. Most of the time, when using the Soft-Coded option, the transcript is also provided to the view along-side the video. This option is subject to compromise, whereas the transcript is merely a text file that can be changed by anyone who has access to it. With this option the integrity of the CC is at the mercy of the user. Hard-Coded CC is a more permanent form of CC. A Hard-Coded CC transcript is embedded within a video, without the option of removal.

A dense and strong bonding collagen film for carbon/carbon composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Sheng; Li, Hejun; Li, Kezhi; Lu, Jinhua; Zhang, Leilei

2015-08-01

A strong bonding collagen film was successfully prepared on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. The surface conditions of the modified C/C composites were detected by contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectra. The roughness, optical morphology, bonding strength and biocompatibility of collagen films at different pH values were detected by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), universal test machine and cytology tests in vitro. After a 4-h modification in 30% H2O2 solution at 100 °C, the contact angle on the surface of C/C composites was decreased from 92.3° to 65.3°. Large quantities of hydroxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl functional groups were formed on the surface of the modified C/C composites. Then a dense and continuous collagen film was prepared on the modified C/C substrate. Bonding strength between collagen film and C/C substrate was reached to 8 MPa level when the pH value of this collagen film was 2.5 after the preparing process. With 2-day dehydrathermal treatment (DHT) crosslinking at 105 °C, the bonding strength was increased to 12 MPa level. At last, the results of in vitro cytological test showed that this collagen film made a great improvement on the biocompatibility on C/C composites.

The influence of FLiNaK salt impregnation on the mechanical properties of a 2D woven C/C composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Dongsheng; Xia, Huihao; Yang, Xinmei; Feng, Shanglei; Song, Jinliang; Zhou, Xingtai

2017-03-01

Impregnating of molten LiF-NaF-KF salt (LiF-NaF-KF: 46.5-11.5-42 mol%, FLiNaK) into a 2D woven C/C composite was performed at 650 °C under different pressure. The weight gain and mechanical properties change of the 2D woven C/C composite after FLiNaK salt impregnation were measured. The FLiNaK salt distribution into the 2D woven C/C composite was observed by X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the weight gain of the 2D woven C/C composite increased with increasing impregnating pressure. In X-ray CT images, FLiNaK salt was distributed into the open pores and fissures among fiber bundles and neighboring plies. The interlaminar shear strength, compressive strength, and flexural strength of the 2D woven C/C composite increased with the increase of weight gain. The influence of FLiNaK salt impregnation on the mechanical properties was attributed to the coupling effect of re-densification of FLiNaK salt impregnation and residual stress formed in 2D woven C/C composite.

Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in European Wildlife

PubMed Central

Monecke, Stefan; Gavier-Widén, Dolores; Hotzel, Helmut; Peters, Martin; Guenther, Sebastian; Lazaris, Alexandros; Loncaric, Igor; Müller, Elke; Reissig, Annett; Ruppelt-Lorz, Antje; Shore, Anna C.; Walter, Birgit; Coleman, David C.; Ehricht, Ralf

2016-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known colonizer and cause of infection among animals and it has been described from numerous domestic and wild animal species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus in a convenience sample of European wildlife and to review what previously has been observed in the subject field. 124 S. aureus isolates were collected from wildlife in Germany, Austria and Sweden; they were characterized by DNA microarray hybridization and, for isolates with novel hybridization patterns, by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The isolates were assigned to 29 clonal complexes and singleton sequence types (CC1, CC5, CC6, CC7, CC8, CC9, CC12, CC15, CC22, CC25, CC30, CC49, CC59, CC88, CC97, CC130, CC133, CC398, ST425, CC599, CC692, CC707, ST890, CC1956, ST2425, CC2671, ST2691, CC2767 and ST2963), some of which (ST2425, ST2691, ST2963) were not described previously. Resistance rates in wildlife strains were rather low and mecA-MRSA isolates were rare (n = 6). mecC-MRSA (n = 8) were identified from a fox, a fallow deer, hares and hedgehogs. The common cattle-associated lineages CC479 and CC705 were not detected in wildlife in the present study while, in contrast, a third common cattle lineage, CC97, was found to be common among cervids. No Staphylococcus argenteus or Staphylococcus schweitzeri-like isolates were found. Systematic studies are required to monitor the possible transmission of human- and livestock-associated S. aureus/MRSA to wildlife and vice versa as well as the possible transmission, by unprotected contact to animals. The prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA in wildlife as well as its population structures in different wildlife host species warrants further investigation. PMID:27992523

Aristolochic Acid in the Etiology of Renal Cell Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Hoang, Margaret L.; Chen, Chung-Hsin; Chen, Pau-Chung; Roberts, Nicholas J.; Dickman, Kathleen G.; Yun, Byeong Hwa; Turesky, Robert J.; Pu, Yeong-Shiau; Vogelstein, Bert; Papadopoulos, Nickolas; Grollman, Arthur P.; Kinzler, Kenneth W.; Rosenquist, Thomas A.

2017-01-01

Background Aristolochia species used in the practice of traditional herbal medicine contains aristolochic acid (AA), an established human carcinogen contributing to urothelial carcinomas of the upper urinary tract. AA binds covalently to genomic DNA, forming aristolactam (AL)–DNA adducts. Here we investigated whether AA is also an etiologic factor in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods We conducted a population-based case–control study to investigate the linkage between Aristolochia prescription history, cumulative AA consumption, and ccRCC incidence in Taiwan (5,709 cases and 22,836 matched controls). The presence and level of mutagenic dA-AL-I adducts were determined in the kidney DNA of 51 Taiwanese ccRCC patients. The whole-exome sequences of ccRCC tumors from 10 Taiwanese ccRCC patients with prior exposure to AA were determined. Results Cumulative ingestion of more than 250 mg of AA increased risk of ccRCC (OR, 1.25), and we detected dA-AL-I adducts in 76% of Taiwanese ccRCC patients. Furthermore, the distinctive AA mutational signature was evident in six of 10 sequenced ccRCC exomes from Taiwanese patients. Conclusions This study strongly suggests that AA contributes to the etiology of certain RCCs. Impact The current study offers compelling evidence implicating AA in a significant fraction of the RCC arising in Taiwan and illustrates the power of integrating epidemiologic, molecular, and genetic data in the investigation of cancer etiology. PMID:27555084

Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin functionalized calcium carbonate microparticles as a potential carrier for enhancing oral delivery of water-insoluble drugs

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lihua; Zhu, Wufu; Lin, Qisi; Han, Jin; Jiang, Liqun; Zhang, Yanzhuo

2015-01-01

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate that a novel hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin functionalized calcium carbonate (HP-β-CD/CC) based amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) can be used to increase the solubility and oral bioavailability of water-insoluble drugs. Irbesartan (IRB) was selected as a model compound and loaded into the nanoporous HP-β-CD/CC matrix using an immersion method. The IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation was characterized by various analytical techniques, such as specific surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Analyses with PXRD and DSC confirmed that IRB was fully converted into the amorphous form in the nanopores of HP-β-CD/CC. From the solubility and dissolution tests, it was observed that the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC were increased significantly compared with those of pure IRB and IRB-loaded mesoporous silica. Likewise, the IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation exhibited better absorption compared with that of the commercially available IRB capsules in beagle dogs. The mean peak plasma concentration (Cmax) and the area under the mean plasma concentration–time curve (AUC[0→48]) of IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC were 1.56- and 1.52-fold higher than that of the commercial product, respectively. Furthermore, the IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation exhibited excellent stability against re-crystallization. These results clearly demonstrate that HP-β-CD/CC based porous ASD is a promising formulation approach to improve the aqueous solubility and the in vivo absorption performance of a water-insoluble compound like IRB. PMID:25995635

Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin functionalized calcium carbonate microparticles as a potential carrier for enhancing oral delivery of water-insoluble drugs.

PubMed

Zhang, Lihua; Zhu, Wufu; Lin, Qisi; Han, Jin; Jiang, Liqun; Zhang, Yanzhuo

2015-01-01

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate that a novel hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin functionalized calcium carbonate (HP-β-CD/CC) based amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) can be used to increase the solubility and oral bioavailability of water-insoluble drugs. Irbesartan (IRB) was selected as a model compound and loaded into the nanoporous HP-β-CD/CC matrix using an immersion method. The IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation was characterized by various analytical techniques, such as specific surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Analyses with PXRD and DSC confirmed that IRB was fully converted into the amorphous form in the nanopores of HP-β-CD/CC. From the solubility and dissolution tests, it was observed that the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC were increased significantly compared with those of pure IRB and IRB-loaded mesoporous silica. Likewise, the IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation exhibited better absorption compared with that of the commercially available IRB capsules in beagle dogs. The mean peak plasma concentration (C max) and the area under the mean plasma concentration-time curve (AUC[0→48]) of IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC were 1.56- and 1.52-fold higher than that of the commercial product, respectively. Furthermore, the IRB-loaded HP-β-CD/CC formulation exhibited excellent stability against re-crystallization. These results clearly demonstrate that HP-β-CD/CC based porous ASD is a promising formulation approach to improve the aqueous solubility and the in vivo absorption performance of a water-insoluble compound like IRB.

Molecular characterization and expression of three preprosomatostatin genes and their association with growth in common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

PubMed

Feng, Xiu; Yu, Xiaomu; Pang, Meixia; Liu, Haiyang; Tong, Jingou

2015-04-01

Somatostatins (SSs) are a structurally diverse family of peptides that play important roles in the regulation of growth, development and metabolism in vertebrates. In this study, three preprosomatostatin genes (PSSs) in the common carp, Cyprinus carpio (Cc) were identified and characterized. Based on cloned sequences and genome BLAST, six isoforms of the PSS gene in C. carpio (CcPSS) were identified and included CcPSS1a and CcPSS1b, CcPSS2a and CcPSS2b, and finally, CcPSS3a and CcPSS3b. The open reading frames (ORF) of CcPSS1a, CcPSS2a and CcPSS3a consist of 345, 336 and 363 nucleotides. During embryonic development, the expressions of CcPSS2 and CcPSS3 were first observed at the stage of optic vesicle, and CcPSS1 mRNA was initially detected at the stage of muscular effect. The highest mRNA levels of CcPSS1, CcPSS2 and CcPSS3 were observed at 1-day post-hatch (dph), 2-dph and the stage of heart beating, respectively. In the adult brain, the distributions of three CcPSS mRNAs were differential but overlapping in the hypothalamus, telencephalon and medulla oblongata. For peripheral tissues, all three CcPSS mRNAs were detected in the mid-intestine, and CcPSS1 and CcPSS3 mRNAs were also expressed in the liver. Owing to the importance of somatostatins on regulating growth, functional mutations of CcPSSs were identified in a C. carpio population. A total of 23 polymorphic sites were detected in CcPSS1a and CcPSS3a. Of them, two SNPs (CcPSS1a-g.922C>T, and CcPSS3a-g.1125C>A) were significantly associated with growth traits, indicating their potential applications in gene (marker)-assisted selective breeding in C. carpio. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen peroxide clusters: the role of open book motif in cage and helical structures.

PubMed

Elango, M; Parthasarathi, R; Subramanian, V; Ramachandran, C N; Sathyamurthy, N

2006-05-18

Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations using 6-31G*, 6-311++G(d,p), aug-cc-pVDZ, and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets show that hydrogen peroxide molecular clusters tend to form hydrogen-bonded cyclic and cage structures along the lines expected of a molecule which can act as a proton donor as well as an acceptor. These results are reiterated by density functional theoretic (DFT) calculations with B3LYP parametrization and also by second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) theory using 6-31G* and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. Trends in stabilization energies and geometrical parameters obtained at the HF level using 6-311++G(d,p), aug-cc-pVDZ, and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets are similar to those obtained from HF/6-31G* calculation. In addition, the HF calculations suggest the formation of stable helical structures for larger clusters, provided the neighbors form an open book structure.

Review: aromatase inhibitors for ovulation induction.

PubMed

Casper, Robert F; Mitwally, Mohamed F M

2006-03-01

For the last 40 yr, the first line of treatment for anovulation in infertile women has been clomiphene citrate (CC). CC is a safe, effective oral agent but is known to have relatively common antiestrogenic endometrial and cervical mucous side effects that could prevent pregnancy in the face of successful ovulation. In addition, there is a significant risk of multiple pregnancy with CC, compared with natural cycles. Because of these problems, we proposed the concept of aromatase inhibition as a new method of ovulation induction that could avoid many of the adverse effects of CC. The objective of this review was to describe the different physiological mechanisms of action for CC and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and compare studies of efficacy for both agents for ovulation induction. We conducted a systematic review of all the published studies, both controlled and noncontrolled, comparing CC and AI treatment, either alone or in combination with gonadotropins, for ovulation induction or augmentation, identified through the Entrez-PubMed search engine. Because of the recent acceptance of the concept of using AIs for ovulation induction, few controlled studies were identified, and the rest of the studies were pilot or preliminary comparisons. Based on these studies, it appears that AIs are as effective as CC in inducing ovulation, are devoid of any antiestrogenic side effects, result in lower serum estrogen concentrations, and are associated with good pregnancy rates with a lower incidence of multiple pregnancy than CC. When combined with gonadotropins for assisted reproductive technologies, AIs reduce the dose of FSH required for optimal follicle recruitment and improve the response to FSH in poor responders. Preliminary evidence suggests that AIs may replace CC in the future because of similar efficacy with a reduced side effect profile. Although worldwide experience with AIs for ovulation induction is increasing, at present, definitive studies in the form of randomized controlled trials comparing CC with AIs are lacking.

The coiled-coil domain of MURC/cavin-4 is involved in membrane trafficking of caveolin-3 in cardiomyocytes.

PubMed

Naito, Daisuke; Ogata, Takehiro; Hamaoka, Tetsuro; Nakanishi, Naohiko; Miyagawa, Kotaro; Maruyama, Naoki; Kasahara, Takeru; Taniguchi, Takuya; Nishi, Masahiro; Matoba, Satoaki; Ueyama, Tomomi

2015-12-15

Muscle-restricted coiled-coil protein (MURC), also referred to as cavin-4, is a member of the cavin family that works cooperatively with caveolins in caveola formation and function. Cavins are cytoplasmic proteins with coiled-coil domains and form heteromeric complexes, which are recruited to caveolae in cells expressing caveolins. Among caveolins, caveolin-3 (Cav3) is exclusively expressed in muscle cells, similar to MURC/cavin-4. In the heart, Cav3 overexpression contributes to cardiac protection, and its deficiency leads to progressive cardiomyopathy. Mutations in the MURC/cavin-4 gene have been identified in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In the present study, we show the role of MURC/cavin-4 as a caveolar component in the heart. In H9c2 cells, MURC/cavin-4 was localized at the plasma membrane, whereas a MURC/cavin-4 mutant lacking the coiled-coil domain (ΔCC) was primarily localized to the cytoplasm. ΔCC bound to Cav3 and impaired membrane localization of Cav3 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, although ΔCC did not alter Cav3 mRNA expression, ΔCC decreased the Cav3 protein level. MURC/cavin-4 and ΔCC similarly induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy; however, ΔCC showed higher hypertrophy-related fetal gene expression than MURC/cavin-4. ΔCC induced ERK activation in cardiomyocytes. Transgenic mice expressing ΔCC in the heart (ΔCC-Tg mice) showed impaired cardiac function accompanied by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and marked interstitial fibrosis. Hearts from ΔCC-Tg mice showed a reduction of the Cav3 protein level and activation of ERK. These results suggest that MURC/cavin-4 requires its coiled-coil domain to target the plasma membrane and to stabilize Cav3 at the plasma membrane of cardiomyocytes and that MURC/cavin-4 functions as a crucial caveolar component to regulate cardiac function. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Spine Radiosurgery: A Dosimetric Analysis in 124 Patients Who Received 18 Gy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schipani, Stefano; Wen, Winston; Jin, Jain-Yue

2012-12-01

Purpose: To define the safely tolerated doses to organs at risk (OARs) adjacent to the target volume (TV) of spine radiosurgery (SRS) with 18-Gy in a single fraction. Methods and Materials: A total of 124 patient cases with 165 spine metastases were reviewed. An 18-Gy single-fraction regimen was prescribed to the 90% isodose line encompassing the TV. A constraint of 10 Gy to 10% of the spinal cord outlined 6 mm above and below the TV was used. Dosimetric data to OARs were analyzed. Results: A total of 124 patients (100%) were followed-up, and median follow-up time was 7 monthsmore » (1-50 months). Symptoms and local control were achieved in 114 patients (92%). Acute Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) grade 1 oral mucositis occurred in 11 of 11 (100%) patients at risk for oropharyngeal toxicity after cervical spine treatment. There were no RTOG grade 2-4 acute or late complications. Median TV was 43.2 cc (5.3-175.4 cc) and 90% of the TV received median dose of 19 Gy (17-19.8 Gy). Median (range) of spinal cord maximum dose (Dmax), dose to spinal cord 0.35 cc (Dsc0.35), and cord volume receiving 10 Gy (Vsc10) were 13.8 Gy (5.4-21 Gy), 8.9 Gy (2.6-11.4 Gy) and 0.33 cc (0-1.6 cc), respectively. Other OARs were evaluated when in proximity to the TV. Esophagus (n=58), trachea (n=28), oropharynx (n=11), and kidneys (n=34) received median (range) V10 and V15 of 3.1 cc (0-5.8 cc) and 1.2 cc (0-2.9 cc), 2.8 cc (0-4.9 cc), and 0.8 cc (0-2.1 cc), 3.4 cc (0-6.2 cc) and 1.6 cc (0-3.2 cc), 0.3 cc (0-0.8 cc) and 0.08 cc (0-0.1 cc), respectively. Conclusions: Cord Dmax of 14 Gy and D0.35 of 10 Gy are safe dose constraints for 18-Gy single-fraction SRS. Esophagus V10 of 3 cc and V15 of 1 cc, trachea V10 of 3 cc, and V15 of 1 cc, oropharynx V10 of 3.5 cc and V15 of 1.5 cc, kidney V10 of 0.3 cc, and V15 of 0.1 cc are planning guidelines when these OARs are in proximity to the TV.« less

Homotypic cell cannibalism, a cell-death process regulated by the nuclear protein 1, opposes to metastasis in pancreatic cancer

PubMed Central

Cano, Carla E; Sandí, María José; Hamidi, Tewfik; Calvo, Ezequiel L; Turrini, Olivier; Bartholin, Laurent; Loncle, Céline; Secq, Véronique; Garcia, Stéphane; Lomberk, Gwen; Kroemer, Guido; Urrutia, Raul; Iovanna, Juan L

2012-01-01

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely deadly disease for which all treatments available have failed to improve life expectancy significantly. This may be explained by the high metastatic potential of PDAC cells, which results from their dedifferentiation towards a mesenchymal phenotype. Some PDAC present cell-in-cell structures whose origin and significance are currently unknown. We show here that cell-in-cells form after homotypic cell cannibalism (HoCC). We found PDAC patients whose tumours display HoCC develop less metastasis than those without. In vitro, HoCC was promoted by inactivation of the nuclear protein 1 (Nupr1), and was enhanced by treatment with transforming growth factor β. HoCC ends with death of PDAC cells, consistent with a metastasis suppressor role for this phenomenon. Hence, our data indicates a protective role for HoCC in PDAC and identifies Nupr1 as a molecular regulator of this process. PMID:22821859

Auditory interhemispheric transfer in relation to patterns of partial agenesis and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum in spina bifida meningomyelocele

PubMed Central

Hannay, H. Julia; Walker, Amy; Dennis, Maureen; Kramer, Larry; Blaser, Susan; Fletcher, Jack M.

2009-01-01

Spina bifida meningomyelocele with hydrocephalus (SBM) is commonly associated with anomalies of the corpus callosum (CC). We describe MRI patterns of regional CC agenesis and relate CC anomalies to functional laterality based on a dichotic listening test in 90 children with SBM and 27 typically developing controls. Many children with SBM (n = 40) showed regional CC anomalies in the form of agenesis of the rostrum and0or splenium, and a smaller number (n = 20) showed hypoplasia (thinning) of all CC regions (rostrum, genu, body, and splenium). The expected right ear advantage (REA) was exhibited by normal controls and children with SBM having a normal or hypoplastic splenium. It was not shown by children with SBM who were left handed, missing a splenium, or had a higher level spinal cord lesion. Perhaps the right hemisphere of these children is more involved in processing some aspects of linguistic stimuli. PMID:18764972

Data Link Test and Analysis System/ATCRBS Transponder Test System

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

cc pcinit() pcinit.cc plotdato( plotdat. cc plotmsgo( sumscrn *cc plotqueo( sumscrn. cc pmsg () pmsg.cc pr_head() prhead.cc Virt init() print.cc pw...The code data from the Decode Status word from hardware. 2 a data-> wind nm - The reply window that this data came from. mvarms) NAME mparms - Modify...character is entered. m5sg() NAME pmsg - Print error message. Source file - pmsg.cc. FUNCTION CALL pmsg (ecode, str) int ecode; /* Error code */ char

Epigenome Aberrations: Emerging Driving Factors of the Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Mehdi, Ali; Riazalhosseini, Yasser

2017-01-01

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common form of Kidney cancer, is characterized by frequent mutations of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene in ~85% of sporadic cases. Loss of pVHL function affects multiple cellular processes, among which the activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway is the best-known function. Constitutive activation of HIF signaling in turn activates hundreds of genes involved in numerous oncogenic pathways, which contribute to the development or progression of ccRCC. Although VHL mutations are considered as drivers of ccRCC, they are not sufficient to cause the disease. Recent genome-wide sequencing studies of ccRCC have revealed that mutations of genes coding for epigenome modifiers and chromatin remodelers, including PBRM1, SETD2 and BAP1, are the most common somatic genetic abnormalities after VHL mutations in these tumors. Moreover, recent research has shed light on the extent of abnormal epigenome alterations in ccRCC tumors, including aberrant DNA methylation patterns, abnormal histone modifications and deregulated expression of non-coding RNAs. In this review, we discuss the epigenetic modifiers that are commonly mutated in ccRCC, and our growing knowledge of the cellular processes that are impacted by them. Furthermore, we explore new avenues for developing therapeutic approaches based on our knowledge of epigenome aberrations of ccRCC. PMID:28812986

Epigenome Aberrations: Emerging Driving Factors of the Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

PubMed

Mehdi, Ali; Riazalhosseini, Yasser

2017-08-16

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common form of Kidney cancer, is characterized by frequent mutations of the von Hippel-Lindau ( VHL ) tumor suppressor gene in ~85% of sporadic cases. Loss of pVHL function affects multiple cellular processes, among which the activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway is the best-known function. Constitutive activation of HIF signaling in turn activates hundreds of genes involved in numerous oncogenic pathways, which contribute to the development or progression of ccRCC. Although VHL mutations are considered as drivers of ccRCC, they are not sufficient to cause the disease. Recent genome-wide sequencing studies of ccRCC have revealed that mutations of genes coding for epigenome modifiers and chromatin remodelers, including PBRM1 , SETD2 and BAP1 , are the most common somatic genetic abnormalities after VHL mutations in these tumors. Moreover, recent research has shed light on the extent of abnormal epigenome alterations in ccRCC tumors, including aberrant DNA methylation patterns, abnormal histone modifications and deregulated expression of non-coding RNAs. In this review, we discuss the epigenetic modifiers that are commonly mutated in ccRCC, and our growing knowledge of the cellular processes that are impacted by them. Furthermore, we explore new avenues for developing therapeutic approaches based on our knowledge of epigenome aberrations of ccRCC.

75 FR 33806 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-15

... with Regulation CC (Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFAA)). Agency form number: Reg CC. OMB control... response: Banks: Specific availability policy disclosure and initial disclosures, 1 minute; notice in... consumer deposits, 15 minutes; annual notice of new automated teller machines (ATMs), 5 hours; ATM changes...

Application of the CC(P;Q) Hierarchy of Coupled-Cluster Methods to the Beryllium Dimer.

PubMed

Magoulas, Ilias; Bauman, Nicholas P; Shen, Jun; Piecuch, Piotr

2018-02-08

The performance of coupled-cluster approaches with higher-than-doubly excited clusters, including the CCSD(T), CCSD(2) T , CR-CC(2,3), CCSD(TQ), and CR-CC(2,4) corrections to CCSD, the active-space CCSDt, CCSDtq, and CCSDTq methods, and the CC(t;3), CC(t,q;3), CC(t,q;3,4), and CC(q;4) corrections to CCSDt, CCSDtq, and CCSDTq resulting from the CC(P;Q) formalism, in reproducing the CCSDT and CCSDTQ potential energy curves and vibrational term values characterizing Be 2 in its electronic ground state is assessed. The correlation-consistent aug-cc-pVnZ and aug-cc-pCVnZ (n = T and Q) basis sets are employed. Among the CCSD-based corrections, the completely renormalized CR-CC(2,3) and CR-CC(2,4) approaches perform the best. The CC(t;3), CC(t,q;3), CC(t,q;3,4), and CC(q;4) methods, especially CC(t;3) and CC(q;4), outperform other employed approaches in reproducing the CCSDT and CCSDTQ data. Composite schemes combining the all-electron CCSDT calculations extrapolated to the complete basis set limit with the frozen-core CC(q;4) and CCSDTQ computations using the aug-cc-pVTZ basis to account for connected quadruple excitations reproduce the latest experimental vibrational spectrum of Be 2 to within 4-5 cm -1 , when the vibrational spacings are examined, with typical errors being below 1-2 cm -1 . The resulting binding energies and equilibrium bond lengths agree with their experimentally derived counterparts to within ∼10 cm -1 and 0.01 Å.

Long-term outcome of patients undergoing liver transplantation for mixed hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma: an analysis of the UNOS database.

PubMed

Vilchez, Valery; Shah, Malay B; Daily, Michael F; Pena, Luis; Tzeng, Ching-Wei D; Davenport, Daniel; Hosein, Peter J; Gedaly, Roberto; Maynard, Erin

2016-01-01

Mixed hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma (HCC-CC) have been associated with a poor prognosis after liver transplantation (LT). We aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes in patients undergoing LT for HCC-CC versus patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Retrospective analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database from 1994-2013. Overall survival (OS) in patients with HCC-CC, HCC, and CC, were compared. We identified 4049 patients transplanted for primary malignancy (94 HCC-CC; 3515 HCC; 440 CC). Mean age of patients with HCC-CC was 57 ± 10 years, and 77% were male. MELD score did not differ among the groups (p = 0.637). Hepatitis C virus was the most common secondary diagnosis within the HCC-CC (44%) and HCC (36%) cohorts, with primary sclerosing cholangitis in the CC (16%) cohort. OS rates at 1, 3 and 5 years for HCC-CC (82%, 47%, 40%) were similar to CC (79%, 58%, 47%), but significantly worse than HCC (86%, 72%, and 62% p = 0.002). Patients undergoing LT for HCC had significantly better survival compared to those transplanted for HCC-CC and CC. LT for mixed HCC-CC confers a survival rate similar to selected patients with CC. Efforts should be made to identify HCC-CC patients preoperatively. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Corpus callosum atrophy as a predictor of age-related cognitive and motor impairment: a 3-year follow-up of the LADIS study cohort.

PubMed

Ryberg, C; Rostrup, E; Paulson, O B; Barkhof, F; Scheltens, P; van Straaten, E C W; van der Flier, W M; Fazekas, F; Schmidt, R; Ferro, J M; Baezner, H; Erkinjuntti, T; Jokinen, H; Wahlund, L-O; Poggesi, A; Pantoni, L; Inzitari, D; Waldemar, G

2011-08-15

The aim of this 3-year follow-up study was to investigate whether corpus callosum (CC) atrophy may predict future motor and cognitive impairment in an elderly population. On baseline MRI from 563 subjects with age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) from the Leukoaraiosis And DISability (LADIS) study, the CC was segmented and subdivided into five anterior-posterior regions (CC1-CC5). Associations between the CC areas and decline in motor performance and cognitive functions over a 3-year period were analyzed. CC atrophy at baseline was significantly associated with impaired cognitive performance (p<0.01 for CC1, p<0.05 for CC5), motor function (p<0.05 for CC2 and CC5), and walking speed (p<0.01 for CC2 and CC5, p<0.05 for CC3 and total CC), and with development of dementia at 3 years (p<0.05 for CC1) after correction for appropriate confounders (ARWMC volume, atrophy, age, gender and handedness). In conclusion, CC atrophy, an indicator of reduced functional connectivity between cortical areas, seems to contribute, independently of ARWMC load, to future cognitive and motor decline in the elderly. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of CcSTOP1; a C2H2-type transcription factor regulates Al tolerance gene in pigeonpea.

PubMed

Daspute, Abhijit Arun; Kobayashi, Yuriko; Panda, Sanjib Kumar; Fakrudin, Bashasab; Kobayashi, Yasufumi; Tokizawa, Mutsutomo; Iuchi, Satoshi; Choudhary, Arbind Kumar; Yamamoto, Yoshiharu Y; Koyama, Hiroyuki

2018-01-01

Al-responsive citrate-transporting CcMATE1 function and its regulation by CcSTOP1 were analyzed using NtSTOP1 -KD tobacco- and pigeonpea hairy roots, respectively, CcSTOP1 binding sequence of CcMATE1 showed similarity with AtALMT1 promoter. The molecular mechanisms of Aluminum (Al) tolerance in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) were characterized to provide information for molecular breeding. Al-inducible citrate excretion was associated with the expression of MULTIDRUGS AND TOXIC COMPOUNDS EXCLUSION (CcMATE1), which encodes a citrate transporter. Ectopic expression of CcMATE1-conferred Al tolerance to hairy roots of transgenic tobacco with the STOP1 regulation system knocked down. This gain-of-function approach clearly showed CcMATE1 was involved in Al detoxification. The expression of CcMATE1 and another Al-tolerance gene, ALUMINUM SENSITIVE 3 (CcALS3), was regulated by SENSITIVE TO PROTON RHIZOTOXICITY1 (CcSTOP1) according to loss-of-function analysis of pigeonpea hairy roots in which CcSTOP1 was suppressed. An in vitro binding assay showed that the Al-responsive CcMATE1 promoter contained the GGNVS consensus bound by CcSTOP1. Mutation of GGNVS inactivated the Al-inducible expression of CcMATE1 in pigeonpea hairy roots. This indicated that CcSTOP1 binding to the promoter is critical for CcMATE1 expression. The STOP1 binding sites of both the CcMATE1 and AtALMT1 promoters contained GGNVS and a flanking 3' sequence. The GGNVS region was identical in both CcMATE1 and AtALMT1. By contrast, the 3' flanking sequence with binding affinity to STOP1 did not show similarity. Putative STOP1 binding sites with similar structures were also found in Al-inducible MATE and ALMT1 promoters in other plant species. The characterized Al-responsive CcSTOP1 and CcMATE1 genes will help in pigeonpea breeding in acid soil tolerance.

77 FR 2776 - Dorel Juvenile Group, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-19

... 22790CGT Deluxe 3 in 1 CC033BMT Alpha Omega Elite CC043ANK Alpha Omega Elite CC043ANL Alpha Omega Elite CC043AQS Alpha Omega Elite CC046AAI Deluxe 3 in 1 CC046AAU Deluxe 3 in 1 CC046CTA Deluxe 3 in 1 CC046SNW... between July 20, 2010 and May 18, 2011: 22187ANL Alpha Omega Elite 22187REM Alpha Omega Elite 22187REMA...

Influence of bending of monoatomic copper chains with 10 and 22 atoms on their absorbance spectra: TD-DFT calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markin, Alexey V.; Skaptsov, Alexander A.; Markina, Natalia E.

2018-04-01

The aim of the work is the investigation of bending on the properties of hypothetical one-atom-thick copper clusters (CC) (with 10 and 22 atoms). Time-dependent density functional theory with PBE0 functional and lanl2dz basis set were used for all calculations. The bending was performed by changing angle between copper atoms from 180° to 144° and 163.7° (2° step size) for CC with 10 and 22 atoms, correspondingly. The dependences of absorbance spectra in UVvisible-NIR range (400-2000 nm range) and various energetic characteristics (final energy, chemical potential, and binding energy) on bending angle were investigated. Non-bended (linear) clusters were assigned as references. First, absorbance spectra of all CC contain interband transitions (3d->4sp) in UV-visible range (below 600 nm). Linear configuration of CC also contain intensive absorbance band in NIR region (at 900 and 1700 nm for CC with 10 and 22 atoms) which is associated with 4s electron oscillations along clusters (longitudinal transitions). Significant dumping of low energy 4s transitions (HOMO->LUMO) and interband transitions in the range 600‒500 nm was observed during the bending of CC. Obtained results are in agreement with experimental results for 2D copper nanostructures from literature. We explain such influence of bending by formation merging 4s orbitals which form new 4s oscillations in-plane of bending (in the case of ring-like CC - diametral oscillations). An influence of bending on energy, stability, and chemical potential (Fermi level) of CC was also investigated and discussed.

Differential Stability of Dimeric and Monomeric Cytochrome c Oxidase Exposed to Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure†

PubMed Central

Staničová, Jana; Sedlák, Erik; Musatov, Andrej; Robinson, Neal C.

2007-01-01

Detergent-solubilized dimeric and monomeric cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) have significantly different quaternary stability when exposed to 2−3 kbar of hydrostatic pressure. Dimeric, dodecyl maltoside-solubilized cytochrome c oxidase is very resistant to elevated hydrostatic pressure with almost no perturbation of its quaternary structure or functional activity after release of pressure. In contrast to the stability of dimeric CcO, 3 kbar of hydrostatic pressure triggers multiple structural and functional alterations within monomeric cytochrome c oxidase. The perturbations are either irreversible or slowly reversible since they persist after the release of high pressure. Therefore, standard biochemical analytical procedures could be used to quantify the pressure-induced changes after the release of hydrostatic pressure. The electron transport activity of monomeric cytochrome c oxidase decreases by as much as 60% after exposure to 3 kbar of hydrostatic pressure. The irreversible loss of activity occurs in a time- and pressure-dependent manner. Coincident with the activity loss is a sequential dissociation of four subunits as detected by sedimentation velocity, high-performance ion-exchange chromatography, and reversed-phase and SDS–PAGE subunit analysis. Subunits VIa and VIb are the first to dissociate followed by subunits III and VIIa. Removal of subunits VIa and VIb prior to pressurization makes the resulting 11-subunit form of CcO even more sensitive to elevated hydrostatic pressure than monomeric CcO containing all 13 subunits. However, dimeric CcO, in which the association of VIa and VIb is stabilized, is not susceptible to pressure-induced inactivation. We conclude that dissociation of subunit III and/or VIIa must be responsible for pressure-induced inactivation of CcO since VIa and VIb can be removed from monomeric CcO without significant activity loss. These results are the first to clearly demonstrate an important structural role for the dimeric form of cytochrome c oxidase, i.e., stabilization of its quaternary structure. PMID:17530783

Tri-Service Literacy and Readability: Workshop Proceedings.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-01

LN zC t’ DC D -2l C CC U CC., r C CzC.C-.C, CC C ~ ., caCQ.. *’UC - -C CL UQC’CC Ci - CT 0 --. . C DJZDCU- CC C C. C C...8217 flCCD.- CC, CCC~4J o zC C-Ca C ,.-C,-.O ,-,- CC CC,.. -- r C C,- -z~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (U’~’ C- O’ ,.0 C CCC,.. D Ca D CCCO.C - 0.a l F--Ci E CC CC CDO C C...understanding in problem solving. In Catellan, N. J., Jr., Pisoni, D . B., & Potts G. R . (Eds.), Cognitive theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Inter-hemispheric Functional Connectivity Changes with Corpus Callosum Morphology in Multiple Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Zito, Giancarlo; Luders, Eileen; Tomasevic, Leo; Lupoi, Domenico; Toga, Arthur W.; Thompson, Paul M.; Rossini, Paolo M.; Filippi, Maria M.; Tecchio, Franca

2014-01-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects myelin sheaths within the central nervous system, concurring to cause brain atrophy and neurodegeneration as well as gradual functional disconnections. To explore early signs of altered connectivity in MS from a structural and functional perspective, the morphology of corpus callosum (CC) was correlated with a dynamic inter-hemispheric connectivity index. Twenty mildly disabled patients affected by a relapsing-remitting (RR) form of MS (EDSS ≤ 3.5) and 15 healthy subjects underwent structural MRI to measure CC thickness over 100 sections and electroencephalography to assess a spectral coherence index between primary regions devoted to hand control, at rest and during an isometric handgrip. In patients, an overall CC atrophy was associated with increased lesion load. A less efficacious inter-hemispheric coherence during movement was associated with CC atrophy in sections interconnecting homologous primary motor areas (anterior mid-body). In healthy controls, less efficacious inter-hemispheric coherence at rest was associated with a thinner CC splenium. Our data suggest that in mildly disabled RR-MS patients a covert impairment may be detected in the correlation between the structural (CC thickness) and functional (inter-hemispheric coherence) measures of homologous networks, whereas these two counterparts do not yet differ individually from controls. PMID:24486438

Biosorption of Cr(VI) by coconut coir: spectroscopic investigation on the reaction mechanism of Cr(VI) with lignocellulosic material.

PubMed

Shen, Ying-Shuian; Wang, Shan-Li; Huang, Shiuh-Tsuen; Tzou, Yu-Min; Huang, Jang-Hung

2010-07-15

In this study, the removal mechanism of Cr(VI) from water by coconut coir (CC) was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Cr K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and FTIR spectroscopy. The results showed that, upon reaction with CC at pH 3, Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III), which was either bound to CC or released back into solution. As revealed by the FTIR spectra of CC before and after reacting with Cr(VI), the phenolic methoxyl and hydroxyl groups of lignin in CC are the dominant drivers of Cr(VI) reduction, giving rise to carbonyl and carboxyl groups on CC. These functional groups can subsequently provide binding sites for Cr(III) resulting from Cr(VI) reduction. In conjunction with forming complexes with carbonyl and carboxyl groups, the formation of Cr(III) hydroxide precipitate could also readily occur as revealed by the linear combination fitting of the Cr K-edge XANES spectrum using a set of reference compounds. The phenolic groups in lignin are responsible for initiating Cr(VI) reduction, so lignocellulosic materials containing a higher amount of phenolic groups are expected to be more effective scavengers for removal of Cr(VI) from the environment. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular epidemiology and strain-specific characteristics of Streptococcus agalactiae at the herd and cow level.

PubMed

Mahmmod, Y S; Klaas, I C; Katholm, J; Lutton, M; Zadoks, R N

2015-10-01

Host-adaptation of Streptococcus agalactiae subpopulations has been described whereby strains that are commonly associated with asymptomatic carriage or disease in people differ phenotypically and genotypically from those causing mastitis in dairy cattle. Based on multilocus sequence typing (MLST), the most common strains in dairy herds in Denmark belong to sequence types (ST) that are also frequently found in people. The aim of this study was to describe epidemiological and diagnostic characteristics of such strains in relation to bovine mastitis. Among 1,199 cattle from 6 herds, cow-level prevalence of S. agalactiae was estimated to be 27.4% based on PCR and 7.8% based on bacteriological culture. Quarter-level prevalence was estimated at 2.8% based on bacteriological culture. Per herd, between 2 and 26 isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and MLST. Within each herd, a single PFGE type and ST predominated, consistent with a contagious mode of transmission or point source infection within herds. Evidence of within-herd evolution of S. agalactiae was detected with both typing methods, although ST belonged to a single clonal complex (CC) per herd. Detection of CC23 (3 herds) was associated with significantly lower approximate count (colony-forming units) at the quarter level and significantly lower cycle threshold value at the cow level than detection of CC1 (2 herds) or CC19 (1 herd), indicating a lower bacterial load in CC23 infections. Median values for the number of infected quarters and somatic cell count (SCC) were numerically but not significantly lower for cows infected with CC23 than for cows with CC1 or CC19. For all CC, an SCC threshold of 200,000 cells/mL was an unreliable indicator of infection status, and prescreening of animals based on SCC as part of S. agalactiae detection and eradication campaigns should be discouraged. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dienogest inhibits C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 expression in human endometriotic epithelial cells.

PubMed

Mita, Shizuka; Nakakuki, Masanori; Ichioka, Masayuki; Shimizu, Yutaka; Hashiba, Masamichi; Miyazaki, Hiroyasu; Kyo, Satoru

2017-07-01

C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 is thought to contribute to the development of endometriosis by recruiting Th17 lymphocytes into endometriotic foci. The present study investigated the effects of dienogest, a progesterone receptor agonist used to treat endometriosis, on C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 expression by endometriotic cells. Effects of dienogest on mRNA expression and protein secretion of C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 induced by interleukin 1β were assessed in three immortalized endometriotic epithelial cell lines, parental cells (EMosis-CC/TERT1), and stably expressing human progesterone receptor isoform A (EMosis-CC/TERT1/PRA+) or isoform B (EMosis-CC/TERT1/PRA-/PRB+). Dienogest markedly inhibited interleukin 1β-stimulated C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 mRNA expression and protein secretion in EMosis-CC/TERT1/PRA-/PRB+, which was abrogated by the progesterone receptor antagonist RU486. In EMosis-CC/TERT1/PRA+, dienogest slightly inhibited C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 mRNA and protein. In EMosis-CC/TERT1, dienogest slightly inhibited C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 mRNA, but had no effect on C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 protein. Dienogest inhibited interleukin 1β-induced up-regulation of C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 in endometriotic epithelial cells, mainly mediated by progesterone receptor B. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Calculation of excitation energies from the CC2 linear response theory using Cholesky decomposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baudin, Pablo, E-mail: baudin.pablo@gmail.com; qLEAP – Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C; Marín, José Sánchez

2014-03-14

A new implementation of the approximate coupled cluster singles and doubles CC2 linear response model is reported. It employs a Cholesky decomposition of the two-electron integrals that significantly reduces the computational cost and the storage requirements of the method compared to standard implementations. Our algorithm also exploits a partitioning form of the CC2 equations which reduces the dimension of the problem and avoids the storage of doubles amplitudes. We present calculation of excitation energies of benzene using a hierarchy of basis sets and compare the results with conventional CC2 calculations. The reduction of the scaling is evaluated as well asmore » the effect of the Cholesky decomposition parameter on the quality of the results. The new algorithm is used to perform an extrapolation to complete basis set investigation on the spectroscopically interesting benzylallene conformers. A set of calculations on medium-sized molecules is carried out to check the dependence of the accuracy of the results on the decomposition thresholds. Moreover, CC2 singlet excitation energies of the free base porphin are also presented.« less

Isolation and genetic mapping of a Coffea canephora phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene (CcPAL1) and its involvement in the accumulation of caffeoyl quinic acids.

PubMed

Mahesh, Venkataramaiah; Rakotomalala, Jean Jacques; Le Gal, Lénaïg; Vigne, Hélène; de Kochko, Alexandre; Hamon, Serge; Noirot, Michel; Campa, Claudine

2006-09-01

Biosynthesis of caffeoylquinic acids occurs via the phenylpropanoid pathway in which the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) acts as a key-control enzyme. A full-length cDNA (pF6), corresponding to a PAL gene (CcPAL1), was isolated by screening a Coffea canephora fruit cDNA library and its corresponding genomic sequence was characterized. Amplification of total DNA from seven Coffea species revealed differences in intronic length. This interspecific polymorphism was used to locate the gene on a genetic map established for a backcross progeny between Coffea pseudozanguebariae and C. dewevrei. The CcPAL1 gene was found on the same linkage group, but genetically independent, as a caffeoyl-coenzyme A-O-methyltransferase gene, another gene intervening in the phenylpropanoid pathway. In the same backcross, a lower caffeoylquinic acid content was observed in seeds harvested from plants harbouring the C. pseudozanguebariae CcPAL1 allele. Involvement of the CcPAL1 allelic form in the differential accumulation of caffeoylquinic acids in coffee green beans is then discussed.

Ablation properties of carbon/carbon composites with tungsten carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Jian; Zhang, Hongbo; Xiong, Xiang; Huang, Baiyun; Zuo, Jinlv

2009-02-01

The ablation properties and morphologies of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites with tungsten carbide (WC) filaments were investigated by ablation test on an arc heater and scanning electron microscopy. And the results were compared with those without tungsten carbide (WC) filaments tested under the same conditions. It shows that there is a big difference between C/C composites with and without WC filaments on both macroscopic and microscopic ablation morphologies and the ablation rates of the former are higher than the latter. It is found that the ablation process of C/C composites with WC filaments includes oxidation of carbon fibers, carbon matrices and WC, melting of WC and WO 3, and denudation of WC, WO 3 and C/C composites. Oxidation and melting of WC leads to the formation of holes in z directional carbon fiber bundles, which increases the coarseness of the ablation surfaces of the composites, speeds up ablation and leads to the higher ablation rate. Moreover, it is further found that the molten WC and WO 3 cannot form a continuous film on the ablation surface to prevent further ablation of C/C composites.

Combat Ration Network for Technology Implementation. Universal Benchtop Package Tester

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-01

of three years of shelf life, but this packaging is susceptible to tears and holes during the manufacturing process. To avoid package integrity...characteristics, cannot provide a measurement of container contents. April 2003 - Precision Automation and PTI-USA expressed interest in manufacturing systems to... Noodles (185cc) • 212cc(+14.6%) • 209cc(+13.0%) – Chicken Brst. (150cc) • 160cc(+6.3%) • 154cc(+2.6%) • Water Trays – Tray A4 (185cc) • 200cc(+8.1

Club Cell Protein 16 (CC16) Augmentation: A Potential Disease-modifying Approach for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

PubMed

Laucho-Contreras, Maria E; Polverino, Francesca; Tesfaigzi, Yohannes; Pilon, Aprile; Celli, Bartolome R; Owen, Caroline A

2016-07-01

Club cell protein 16 (CC16) is the most abundant protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. CC16 has anti-inflammatory properties in smoke-exposed lungs, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with CC16 deficiency. Herein, we explored whether CC16 is a therapeutic target for COPD. We reviewed the literature on the factors that regulate airway CC16 expression, its biologic functions and its protective activities in smoke-exposed lungs using PUBMED searches. We generated hypotheses on the mechanisms by which CC16 limits COPD development, and discuss its potential as a new therapeutic approach for COPD. CC16 plasma and lung levels are reduced in smokers without airflow obstruction and COPD patients. In COPD patients, airway CC16 expression is inversely correlated with severity of airflow obstruction. CC16 deficiency increases smoke-induced lung pathologies in mice by its effects on epithelial cells, leukocytes, and fibroblasts. Experimental augmentation of CC16 levels using recombinant CC16 in cell culture systems, plasmid and adenoviral-mediated over-expression of CC16 in epithelial cells or smoke-exposed murine airways reduces inflammation and cellular injury. Additional studies are necessary to assess the efficacy of therapies aimed at restoring airway CC16 levels as a new disease-modifying therapy for COPD patients.

Stabilization of neurotoxic Alzheimer amyloid-β oligomers by protein engineering

PubMed Central

Sandberg, Anders; Luheshi, Leila M.; Söllvander, Sofia; Pereira de Barros, Teresa; Macao, Bertil; Knowles, Tuomas P. J.; Biverstål, Henrik; Lendel, Christofer; Ekholm-Petterson, Frida; Dubnovitsky, Anatoly; Lannfelt, Lars; Dobson, Christopher M.; Härd, Torleif

2010-01-01

Soluble oligomeric aggregates of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although the conformation adopted by Aβ within these aggregates is not known, a β-hairpin conformation is known to be accessible to monomeric Aβ. Here we show that this β-hairpin is a building block of toxic Aβ oligomers by engineering a double-cysteine mutant (called Aβcc) in which the β-hairpin is stabilized by an intramolecular disulfide bond. Aβ40cc and Aβ42cc both spontaneously form stable oligomeric species with distinct molecular weights and secondary-structure content, but both are unable to convert into amyloid fibrils. Biochemical and biophysical experiments and assays with conformation-specific antibodies used to detect Aβ aggregates in vivo indicate that the wild-type oligomer structure is preserved and stabilized in Aβcc oligomers. Stable oligomers are expected to become highly toxic and, accordingly, we find that β-sheet-containing Aβ42cc oligomers or protofibrillar species formed by these oligomers are 50 times more potent inducers of neuronal apoptosis than amyloid fibrils or samples of monomeric wild-type Aβ42, in which toxic aggregates are only transiently formed. The possibility of obtaining completely stable and physiologically relevant neurotoxic Aβ oligomer preparations will facilitate studies of their structure and role in the pathogenesis of AD. For example, here we show how kinetic partitioning into different aggregation pathways can explain why Aβ42 is more toxic than the shorter Aβ40, and why certain inherited mutations are linked to protofibril formation and early-onset AD. PMID:20713699

Alternative initial proton acceptors for the D pathway of Rhodobacter sphaeroides cytochrome c oxidase

PubMed Central

Varanasi, Lakshman; Hosler, Jonathan

2011-01-01

In order to characterize protein structures that control proton uptake, forms of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) containing a carboxyl or a thiol group in line with the initial, internal waters of the D pathway for proton transfer have been assayed in the presence and absence of subunit III. Subunit III provides approximately half of the protein surrounding the entry region of the D pathway. The mutant N139D-D132N contains a carboxyl group 6Å within the D pathway and lacks the normal, surface-exposed proton acceptor, Asp-132. With subunit III, the steady-state activity of this mutant is slow but once subunit III is removed its activity is the same as wild-type CcO lacking subunit III (∼1800 H+ s-1). Thus, a carboxyl group ∼25% within the pathway enhances proton uptake even though the carboxyl has no direct contact with bulk solvent. Protons from solvent apparently move to internal Asp-139 through a short file of waters, normally blocked by subunit III. Cysteine-139 also supports rapid steady-state proton uptake, demonstrating that an anion other than a carboxyl can attract and transfer protons into the D pathway. When both Asp-132 and Asp/Cys-139 are present, the removal of subunit III increases CcO activity to rates greater than that of normal CcO due to simultaneous proton uptake by two initial acceptors. The results show how the environment of the initial proton acceptor for the D pathway in these CcO forms dictates the pH range of CcO activity, with implications for the function of Asp-132, the normal proton acceptor. PMID:21344856

First Time Detection of C13CC and Study of 13CCC in Dense Star Forming Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giesen, Thomas

Small carbon chain molecules play an important role in the formation of larger, complex molecules as well as in the destruction process of interstellar grains. Linear C3 was found in dense star forming regions and in shells of late type carbon stars. In the course of recent SOFIA cycle 4 observations we made a first time detection of the 13C-isotopologue 13CCC in space. Asymmetrically substituted 13CCC transitions were detected based on recent unpublished laboratory data. Following this detection we propose to look for the yet undetected C13CC isotopologue and to observe higher-J Q-transitions for both isotopologues. The measurements aim to determine the 13CCC/C13CC ratio which equals 2 for random 13C-incorporation during the C3 formation process. A non-random, chemically driven 13CCC/C13CC ratio will shed light on possible routes to C3-formation. Furthermore high level J-transitions are sensitive to the prevailing excitation conditions. Below 50K symmetrically substituted C13CC can only be cooled by collisions with the ambient gas, whereas asymmetrically substituted 13CCC is cooled by collisions AND radiation thanks to a small permanent dipole moment. Thus 13CCC/C13CC-intensity ratios of the Q(8) line will give insights into excitation mechanism and temperatures of C3. For the new measurements we choose SgrB2(M) as source in order to compare line strengths of C3 and its 13C-isotopologues at exactly the same conditions than we had in our previous CCC observations.

Peritumoral adipose tissue as a source of inflammatory and angiogenic factors in colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Amor, S; Iglesias-de la Cruz, M C; Ferrero, E; García-Villar, O; Barrios, V; Fernandez, N; Monge, L; García-Villalón, A L; Granado, M

2016-02-01

Obesity is a risk factor for the development of human colorectal cancer (CC). The aim of this work is to report the inflammatory and angiogenic scenario in lean (BMI < 25 kg/m2) and obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) patients with and without CC and to assess the role of peritumoral adipose tissue in CC-induced inflammation. Patients were divided in four experimental groups: obese patients with CC (OB-CC), lean patients with CC (LEAN-CC), obese patients without CC (OB), and lean patients without CC (LEAN). Plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-4, IL-8) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were increased in OB-CC patients. Peritumoral adipose tissue (TF) explants and cultured mature adipocytes secreted higher amounts of nitrites and nitrates than did control and non-tumoral (NTF) adipose tissue both alone and in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Nitrite and nitrate secretion was also increased in TF explants from OB-CC patients compared with that from LEAN-CC patients. Gene expression of adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), insulin-like growth factor type I (IGF-I), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) was increased in TF explants from CC patients. LPS increased the gene expression of IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and COX-2 in OB and in TF explants from OB-CC patients. COX-2 and PPAR-γ inhibition further increased LPS-induced release of nitrites and nitrates in TF explants and adipocytes from OB-CC patients. In conclusion, OB-CC patients have increased plasma levels of pro-inflammatory and angiogenic factors. TF from OB-CC patients shows an increased secretion of inflammatory markers compared with both TF from LEAN-CC and non-tumoral adipose tissue (AT) through a COX-2- and PPAR-γ-independent mechanism.

Club Cell Protein 16 (CC16) Augmentation: A Potential Disease-modifying Approach for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

PubMed Central

Laucho-Contreras, Maria E.; Polverino, Francesca; Tesfaigzi, Yohannes; Pilon, Aprile; Celli, Bartolome R.; Owen, Caroline A.

2016-01-01

Introduction Club cell protein 16 (CC16) is the most abundant protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. CC16 has anti-inflammatory properties in smoke-exposed lungs, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with CC16 deficiency. Herein, we explored whether CC16 is a therapeutic target for COPD. Areas Covered We reviewed the literature on the factors that regulate airway CC16 expression, its biologic functions and its protective activities in smoke-exposed lungs using PUBMED searches. We generated hypotheses on the mechanisms by which CC16 limits COPD development, and discuss its potential as a new therapeutic approach for COPD. Expert Opinion CC16 plasma and lung levels are reduced in smokers without airflow obstruction and COPD patients. In COPD patients, airway CC16 expression is inversely correlated with severity of airflow obstruction. CC16 deficiency increases smoke-induced lung pathologies in mice by its effects on epithelial cells, leukocytes, and fibroblasts. Experimental augmentation of CC16 levels using recombinant CC16 in cell culture systems, plasmid and adenoviral-mediated over-expression of CC16 in epithelial cells or smoke-exposed murine airways reduces inflammation and cellular injury. Additional studies are necessary to assess the efficacy of therapies aimed at restoring airway CC16 levels as a new disease-modifying therapy for COPD patients. PMID:26781659

Inherited Congenital Cataract: A Guide to Suspect the Genetic Etiology in the Cataract Genesis

PubMed Central

Messina-Baas, Olga; Cuevas-Covarrubias, Sergio A.

2017-01-01

Cataracts are the principal cause of treatable blindness worldwide. Inherited congenital cataract (CC) shows all types of inheritance patterns in a syndromic and nonsyndromic form. There are more than 100 genes associated with cataract with a predominance of autosomal dominant inheritance. A cataract is defined as an opacity of the lens producing a variation of the refractive index of the lens. This variation derives from modifications in the lens structure resulting in light scattering, frequently a consequence of a significant concentration of high-molecular-weight protein aggregates. The aim of this review is to introduce a guide to identify the gene involved in inherited CC. Due to the manifold clinical and genetic heterogeneity, we discarded the cataract phenotype as a cardinal sign; a 4-group classification with the genes implicated in inherited CC is proposed. We consider that this classification will assist in identifying the probable gene involved in inherited CC. PMID:28611546

Modification of carbon composites by nanoceramic compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoch, A.; Jastrzebski, W.; Długoń, E.; Stoch, G. J.; Błażewicz, S.; Adamczyk, A.; Tatarzyńska, K.

2005-06-01

Carbon-carbon composites (C/C) exhibit excellent high-temperature mechanical properties but their air oxidation limits their use at temperatures above 500 °C to inert atmosphere. Variety of coatings has been used to protect C/C composites from oxidation. In this work C/C composite substrates were covered with ceramic multilayer coats by electrophoretic deposition from ceramic sols such as silica sol, alumina sol and silica-lumina sol. Sol particles were of nano-sized dimensions. Deposited coats were annealed at 900-1500 °C. Oxidation tests at 600 °C reveal that the best protection of C/C composite against oxidation gives the multilayer coat formed by three or four electrophoretic depositions. The phase composition in the final annealed layers was analyzed by Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Morphology and chemical composition was observed using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDS).

Aliphatic C-C Bond Cleavage in α-Hydroxy Ketones by a Dioxygen-Derived Nucleophilic Iron-Oxygen Oxidant.

PubMed

Bhattacharya, Shrabanti; Rahaman, Rubina; Chatterjee, Sayanti; Paine, Tapan K

2017-03-17

A nucleophilic iron-oxygen oxidant, formed in situ in the reaction between an iron(II)-benzilate complex and O 2 , oxidatively cleaves the aliphatic C-C bonds of α-hydroxy ketones. In the cleavage reaction, α-hydroxy ketones without any α-C-H bond afford a 1:1 mixture of carboxylic acid and ketone. Isotope labeling studies established that one of the oxygen atoms from dioxygen is incorporated into the carboxylic acid product. Furthermore, the iron(II) complex cleaves an aliphatic C-C bond of 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone affording androstenedione and acetic acid. The O 2 -dependent aliphatic C-C bond cleavage of α-hydroxy ketones containing no α-C-H bond bears similarity to the lyase activity of the heme enzyme, cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1). © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Boron-Based Catalysts for C-C Bond-Formation Reactions.

PubMed

Rao, Bin; Kinjo, Rei

2018-05-02

Because the construction of the C-C bond is one of the most significant reactions in organic chemistry, the development of an efficient strategy has attracted much attention throughout the synthetic community. Among various protocols to form C-C bonds, organoboron compounds are not just limited to stoichiometric reagents, but have also made great achievements as catalysts because of the easy modification of the electronic and steric impacts on the boron center. This review presents recent developments of boron-based catalysts applied in the field of C-C bond-formation reactions, which are classified into four kinds on the basis of the type of boron catalyst: 1) highly Lewis acidic borane, B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 ; 2) organoboron acids, RB(OH) 2 , and their ester derivatives; 3) borenium ions, (R 2 BL)X; and 4) other miscellaneous kinds. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

First North American 50 cc Total Artificial Heart Experience: Conversion from a 70 cc Total Artificial Heart.

PubMed

Khalpey, Zain; Kazui, Toshinobu; Ferng, Alice S; Connell, Alana; Tran, Phat L; Meyer, Mark; Rawashdeh, Badi; Smith, Richard G; Sweitzer, Nancy K; Friedman, Mark; Lick, Scott; Slepian, Marvin J; Copeland, Jack G

2016-01-01

The 70 cc total artificial heart (TAH) has been utilized as bridge to transplant (BTT) for biventricular failure. However, the utilization of 70 cc TAH has been limited to large patients for the low output from the pulmonary as well as systemic vein compression after chest closure. Therefore, the 50 cc TAH was developed by SynCardia (Tucson, AZ) to accommodate smaller chest cavity. We report the first TAH exchange from a 70 to 50 cc due to a fit difficulty. The patient failed to be closed with a 70 cc TAH, although the patient met the conventional 70 cc TAH fit criteria. We successfully closed the chest with a 50 cc TAH.

Petrography, fluid inclusion and isotope studies in Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Shunnan area, Tarim basin, NW China: Implications for the nature and timing of silicification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Ziye; Chen, Honghan; Qing, Hairuo; Chi, Guoxiang; Chen, Qianglu; You, Donghua; Yin, Hang; Zhang, Siyang

2017-08-01

The Shunnan (SN) area, located in the center of the Tarim basin, NW China, is a gas field discovered in 2013, where the gas is hosted from deeply buried Ordovician carbonate reservoirs with burial depth > 6000 m and temperature > 190 °C. The most important reservoir rocks in the SN area are silicified limestones, which are characterized by multiple generations/types of authigenic quartz (Qz1-Qz2) and coarse calcite cement (CC1-CC3), in addition to other diagenetic phases. Qz1 is a replacement quartz postdating burial stylolites in both limestone and strongly silicified limestone, and Qz2 are equant and bladed quartz cements developed in fractures or vugs in strongly silicified limestone, also postdating burial stylolite. CC1 is a coarse calcite cement found in the vugs, which postdates medium crystalline dolomite and predates saddle dolomite. CC2 (including CC2a, CC2b and CC2c) is the calcite postdating Qz1 and burial stylolites. CC2a is found in fractures in limestone or slightly silicified limestone. CC2b, CC2c and CC3 are only identified in strongly silicified limestone. CC2b fills intercrystalline pores of Qz1, and CC2c fills fractures, predating Qz2. CC3 is precipitated in remaining space left by Qz2c in fractures or vugs. Sr isotopes were analyzed in CC2a and CC2c. CC2a has 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.70890-0.70917. CC2c is characterized with 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.70949-0.70972. Fluid inclusions were studied in all the quartz and coarse calcite cements. Fluid inclusions in CC2a are characterized by Th values of 118-131 °C and salinities of 22.9-25.2 wt% NaCl + CaCl2. Fluid inclusions from Qz2a, Qz2b, CC2b and CC2c have Th values of 143-166 °C and salinities of 14.7-23.7 wt% NaCl + CaCl2. Fluid inclusions in Qz2c are characterized by Th values of 125-132 °C and salinities of 24.8-26.8 wt% NaCl + CaCl2, and those in CC3 by Th values of 86-101 °C and salinities of 22.9-25.2 wt% NaCl + CaCl2. The Th drop, from Qz2a, Qz2b and CC2c to Qz2c and CC3, cannot be explained by normal burial diagenesis, suggesting a hydrothermal event associated with the main phase of silicification. The relatively low temperature recorded by CC3 implies that the hydrothermal event possibly took place in the Devonian rather than Permian as previously thought.

Cloning, expression analysis, and antibacterial propertiesof three serum amyloid A in common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

PubMed

Yu, Juhua; Tang, Yongkai; Li, Jianlin; Li, Hongxia; Yu, Fan; Yu, Wenjuan; He, Feng; Fu, Chunjie; Mao, Shuntao

2017-06-01

Three serum amyloid A (SAA) genes were identified from the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) by PCR and RT-PCR. Considering both direction and sequence similarity with mammal's orthologs, they were named CcSAA3a, CcSAA3b and CcSAA1. CcSAA3b and CcSAA1 are adjacent on contig LHQP01017858, suggesting that the prototype of or the simplest SAA multigene family have occurred in common carp. A phylogenetic analysis of the SAAs indicated that the fish SAAs were closer to those of invertebrates and Ornithorhynchus anatinus, a primitive mammal, than to mammalian SAAs. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR results displayed different expression profiles of three CcSAAs. The CcSAA3a was detected in all tested tissues, and was most abundant in the muscle; CcSAA3b was predominately expressed in the intestine and liver, and CcSAA1 in the skin. The expression level of CcSAA3a was higher than that of CcSAA3b and CcSAA1 in most tissues. Stimulation with Aeromonas hydrophila dramatically induced the expression of the three CcSAAs in all examined tissues, especially in the liver. Like Epinephelus coioides SAA, all of three rCcSAA fusion proteins could bind to both Gram-negative bacteria (A. hydrophila and E. coli) and Gram-positive bacterium (S. aureus), playing a role in the identification of bacteria. However, only rCcSAA3a showed significantly anti-A. hydrophila and anti-E. coli in vitro antibacterial activity assays. These results suggested that the three CcSAAs were in functional differentiation and play significant roles in the innate immunity of common carp. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Novel members of the adipokinetic hormone family in beetles of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

PubMed

Gäde, Gerd; Šimek, Petr; Marco, Heather G

2016-12-01

Eight beetle species of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea were investigated with respect to peptides belonging to the adipokinetic hormone (AKH) family in their neurohemal organs, the corpora cardiaca (CC). The following beetle families are represented: Scarabaeidae, Lucanidae, and Geotrupidae. AKH peptides were identified through a heterospecific trehalose-mobilizing bioassay and by sequence analyses, using liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) and analysis of the tandem MS 2 spectra obtained by collision-induced dissociation. All the beetle species have octapeptide AKHs; some have two AKHs, while others have only one. Novel AKH members were found in Euoniticellus intermedius and Circellium bacchus (family Scarabaeidae), as well as in Dorcus parallelipipedus (family Lucanidae). Two species of the family Geotrupidae and two species of the Scarabaeidae subfamily Cetoniinae contain one known AKH peptide, Melme-CC, while E. intermedius produces a novel peptide code named Euoin-AKH: pEINFTTGWamide. Two AKH peptides were each identified in CC of C. bacchus and D. parallelipipedus: the novel Cirba-AKH: pEFNFSAGWamide and the known peptide, Scade-CC-I in the former, and the novel Dorpa-AKH: pEVNYSPVW amide and the known peptide, Melme-CC in the latter. Kheper bonelli (subfamily Scarabaeinae) also has two AKHs, the known Scade-CC-I and Scade-CC-II. All the novel peptides were synthesized and the amino acid sequence assignments were unequivocally confirmed by co-elution of the synthetic peptides with their natural equivalent, and identical MS parameters of the two forms. The novel synthetic peptides are all active in inducing hypertrehalosemia in cockroaches.

Endoscopy-coupled Raman spectroscopy for in vivo discrimination of inflammatory bowel disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pence, I. J.; Nguyen, Q. T.; Bi, X.; Herline, A. J.; Beaulieu, D. M.; Horst, S. N.; Schwartz, D. A.; Mahadevan-Jansen, A.

2014-03-01

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's colitis (CC), affects nearly 2 million Americans, and the incidence is increasing worldwide. It has been established that UC and CC are distinct forms of IBD and require different medical care, however the distinction made between UC and CC is based upon inexact clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and pathologic features. A diagnosis of indeterminate colitis occurs in up to 15% of patients when UC and CC features overlap and cannot be differentiated; in these patients, diagnosis relies on long term followup, success or failure of existing treatment, and recurrence of the disease. Thus, there is need for a tool that can improve the sensitivity and specificity for fast, accurate and automated diagnosis of IBD. Here we present colonoscopy-coupled fiber probe-based Raman spectroscopy as a novel in vivo diagnostic tool for IBD. This in vivo study of both healthy control (NC, N=10) and diagnosed IBD patients with UC (N=15) and CC (N=26) aims to characterize spectral signatures of NC, UC, and CC. Samples are correlated with tissue pathology markers and endoscopic evaluation. Optimal collection parameters for detection have been identified based upon the new, application specific instrument design. The collected spectra are processed and analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques to identify spectral markers and discriminate NC, UC, and CC. Development of spectral markers to discriminate disease type is a necessary first step in the development of real-time, accurate and automated in vivo detection of IBD during colonoscopy procedures.

Clustering in complex directed networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagiolo, Giorgio

2007-08-01

Many empirical networks display an inherent tendency to cluster, i.e., to form circles of connected nodes. This feature is typically measured by the clustering coefficient (CC). The CC, originally introduced for binary, undirected graphs, has been recently generalized to weighted, undirected networks. Here we extend the CC to the case of (binary and weighted) directed networks and we compute its expected value for random graphs. We distinguish between CCs that count all directed triangles in the graph (independently of the direction of their edges) and CCs that only consider particular types of directed triangles (e.g., cycles). The main concepts are illustrated by employing empirical data on world-trade flows.

Partial Agenesis and Hypoplasia of the Corpus Callosum in Idiopathic Autism

PubMed Central

Wegiel, Jarek; Flory, Michael; Kaczmarski, Wojciech; Brown, W. Ted; Chadman, Kathryn; Wisniewski, Thomas; Nowicki, Krzysztof; Kuchna, Izabela; Ma, Shuang Yong; Wegiel, Jerzy

2017-01-01

Abstract To test the hypothesis that developmental anomalies of the corpus callosum (CC), contribute to the pathogenesis of autism, we characterized the type, topography, and severity of CC pathology corresponding to reduced CC areas that are detected by magnetic resonance imaging in the brains of 11 individuals with autism and 11 controls. In the brains of 3 autistic subjects, partial CC agenesis resulted in complete or partial lack of interhemispheric axonal connections in CC segments III–V. In these cases, a combination of focal agenesis and uniform axonal deficit caused reduction of CC areas by 37%, of axon numbers by 62%, and of the numerical density of axons by 39%. In the CC of 8 autistic subjects without agenesis, there was an 18% deficit of the midsagittal CC area, 48.4% deficit of axon numbers, and 37% reduction of the numerical density of axons. The significantly thinner CC, reduced CC area, and uniform axonal deficit in all autistic subjects were classified as CC hypoplasia. Thus, the byproduct of partial CC agenesis and hypoplasia is reduction of axonal connections between cortical areas known to be involved in behavioral alterations observed in people with autism. PMID:28395085

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with low within-herd prevalence of intra-mammary infections in dairy cows: Genotyping of isolates.

PubMed

Luini, M; Cremonesi, P; Magro, G; Bianchini, V; Minozzi, G; Castiglioni, B; Piccinini, R

2015-08-05

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common mastitis-causing pathogens worldwide. In the last decade, livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) infections have been described in several species, included the bovines. Hence, this paper investigates the diffusion of MRSA within Italian dairy herds; the strains were further characterized using a DNA microarray, which detects 330 different sequences, including the methicillin-resistance genes mecA and mecC and SCCmec typing. The analysis of overall patterns allows the assignment to Clonal Complexes (CC). Overall 163 S. aureus isolates, collected from quarter milk samples in 61 herds, were tested. MRSA strains were further processed using spa typing. Fifteen strains (9.2%), isolated in 9 herds (14.75%), carried mecA, but none harboured mecC. MRSA detection was significantly associated (P<0.011) with a within-herd prevalence of S. aureus intra-mammary infections (IMI) ≤5%. Ten MRSA strains were assigned to CC398, the remaining ones to CC97 (n=2), CC1 (n=2) or CC8 (n=1). In 3 herds, MRSA and MSSA co-existed: CC97-MRSA with CC398-MSSA, CC1-MRSA with CC8-MSSA and CC398-MRSA with CC126-MSSA. The results of spa typing showed an overall similar profile of the strains belonging to the same CC: t127-CC1, t1730-CC97, t899 in 8 out of 10 CC398. In the remaining 2 isolates a new spa type, t14644, was identified. The single CC8 was a t3092. The SCCmec cassettes were classified as type IV, type V or type IV/V composite. All or most strains harboured the genes encoding the β-lactamase operon and the tetracycline resistance. Streptogramin resistance gene was related to CC398. Enterotoxin and leukocidin genes were carried only by CC1, CC8 and CC97-MRSA. The persistence of MRSA clones characterized by broader host range, in epidemiologically unrelated areas and in dairy herds with low prevalence of S. aureus IMI, might enhance the risk for adaptation to human species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MR imaging and MR cholangiopancreatography of cholangiocarcinoma developing in printing company workers.

PubMed

Koyama, Koichi; Kubo, Shoji; Ueki, Ai; Shimono, Taro; Takemura, Shigekazu; Tanaka, Shogo; Kinoshita, Masahiko; Hamano, Genya; Miki, Yukio

2017-05-01

To retrospectively investigate magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of occupational cholangiocarcinoma (oCC) occurring among workers in printing companies in Japan, compared to those of non-occupational cholangiocarcinoma (nCC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and age-matched normal controls (NORs). Participants comprised 27 consecutive patients (oCC, n = 5; nCC, n = 8; PSC, n = 6; NOR, n = 8) who underwent MR imaging between May 2009 and October 2012. MR imaging was evaluated with respect to tumor characteristics, abnormal MR cholangiographic findings (PSC-like findings), bile duct stricture, and signal changes of the hepatic parenchyma. Tumors were detected in all nCCs and four oCCs. Tumors displayed a mass-forming type in all nCCs and two oCCs, and an intraductal growth type in two oCCs. Abnormal cholangiographic findings were detected in all oCCs and PSCs, but not in any nCCs or NORs. All oCCs and seven nCCs showed biliary strictures longer than 1 cm; five PSCs showed biliary strictures shorter than 1 cm. Both intra- and extrahepatic biliary strictures were detected in three PSCs and two oCCs. Peripheral hepatic hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging was detected in two nCCs, two PSCs, and two oCCs. These results indicated that MR imaging of oCC showed findings of both PSC and nCC.

Identification of a cobia (Rachycentron canadum) CC chemokine gene and its involvement in the inflammatory response.

PubMed

Su, Youlu; Guo, Zhixun; Xu, Liwen; Jiang, Jingzhe; Wang, Jiangyong; Feng, Juan

2012-01-01

The chemokines regulate immune cell migration under inflammatory and physiological conditions. We investigated a CC chemokine gene (RcCC1) from cobia (Rachycentron canadum). The full-length RcCC1 cDNA is comprised 673 nucleotides and encodes a four-cysteine arrangement 99-amino-acid protein typical of known CC chemokines. The genomic DNA of RcCC1 consists of three exons and two introns. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RcCC1 was closest to the MIP group of CC chemokines. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed RcCC1 was constitutively expressed in all tissues examined, with relative strong expression in gill, blood, kidney, spleen, and head kidney. The RcCC1 transcripts in the head kidney, spleen, and liver were quickly up-regulated after stimulation with formalin-inactivated Vibrio carchariae (bacterial vaccine) or polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C). These results indicate RcCC1 not only plays a role in homeostasis, but also may be involved in inflammatory responses to bacterial and viral infection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polyphenols from Cymbopogon citratus leaves as topical anti-inflammatory agents.

PubMed

Costa, Gustavo; Ferreira, João Pinto; Vitorino, Carla; Pina, Maria Eugénia; Sousa, João José; Figueiredo, Isabel Vitória; Batista, Maria Teresa

2016-02-03

A variety of plant polyphenols have been reported to have anti-inflammatory, frequently associated with erythema, edema, hyperplasia, skin photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Cymbopogon citratus (DC). Stapf (Poaceae) is a worldwide known medicinal plant, used in traditional medicine in inflammation-related conditions. In this work, the anti-inflammatory potential of C. citratus infusion (CcI) and its polyphenols as topical agents was evaluated in vivo. The plant extract was prepared and its fractioning led two polyphenol-rich fractions: flavonoids fraction (CcF) and tannins fraction (CcT). An oil/water emulsion was developed with each active (CcI, CcF+CcT and diclofenac), pH and texture having been evaluated. Release tests were further performed using static Franz diffusion cells and all collected samples were monitored by HPLC-PDA. In vivo topical anti-inflammatory activity evaluation was performed by the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. The texture analysis revealed statistically significant differences for all tested parameters to CcF+CcT, supporting its topical application. Release experiments lead to the detection of the phenolic compounds from each sample in the receptor medium and the six major flavonoids were quantified, by HPLC-PDA: carlinoside, isoorientin, cynaroside, luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside, kurilesin A and cassiaoccidentalin B. The CcF+CcT formulation prompted to the higher release rate for all these flavonoids. CcI4%, CcI1% and CcF+CcT exhibited an edema reduction of 43.18, 29.55 and 59.09%, respectively. Our findings highlight that CcI, containing luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside, cassiaoccidentalin B, carlinoside, cynaroside and tannins have a potential anti-inflammatory topical activity, suggesting their promising application in the treatment of skin inflammatory pathologies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Small field out-put factors comparison between ion chambers and diode dedectors for different photon energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tas, B.; Durmus, I. F.

2018-02-01

To compare small fields out-put factors of linear accelerator by using different ion chambers and diode dedectors for different photon energies. We measured small fields (1×1 to 5×5 cm2) out-put factors by using IBA® cc003 nano chamber, cc01 Razor, cc01, cc04, cc13, fc65 ion chambers and SFD, Razor diode dedectors for 6MV, 10MV, 15MV, 6MV FFF and 10MV FFF energies. We determined the most compatible out-put factors between ion chamber and diode dedector by using cc003 nano ion chamber for 1×1cm2 field size. We determined less than %2 dose difference between cc003 nano chamber, cc01 Razor, cc01, cc04 and cc13 ion chambers from 2×2 to 5×5 cm2. We determined %12±2 and %13±1 underestimate doses by using cc01 and cc13 ion chambers, also we determined %57±2 underesimate dose by using fc65 ion chamber's than razor diode for 1×1 cm2 field size. These results show that we shouldn't measure out-put factors of 1×1 cm2 field size by using cc01, cc13 and fc65 ion chambers. The dose difference between SFD and Razor diodes were determined less than %1.5. If we would like to use ion chambers for ≤1×1cm2 field size out-put measurement, we should use correction factor while commisionning linear accelerator. Otherwise we could determine underestimate dose by using ion chambers.

Rhenium complexes of bidentate, bis-bidentate and tridentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands.

PubMed

Chan, Chung Ying; Barnard, Peter J

2015-11-28

A series of eight Rhenium(I)-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes of the general form [ReCl(CO)3(C^C)] (where C^C is a bis(NHC) bidentate ligand), [ReCl(CO)3(C^C)]2 (where C^C is a bis-bidentate tetra-NHC ligand) and [Re(CO)3(C^N^C)](+)[X](-) (where C^N^C is a bis(NHC)-amine ligand and the counter ion X is either the ReO4(-) or PF6(-)) have been synthesised using a Ag2O transmetallation protocol. The novel precursor imidazolium salts and Re(I) complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and the molecular structures for two imidazolium salt and six Re(I) complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. These NHC ligand systems are of interest for possible applications in the development of Tc-99m or Re-186/188 radiopharmaceuticals and as such the stability of two complexes of the form [ReCl(CO)3(C^C)] and [Re(CO)3(C^N^C)][ReO4] were evaluated in ligand challenge experiments using the metal binding amino acids L-histidine or L-cysteine. These studies showed that the former was unstable, with the chloride ligand being replaced by either cysteine or histidine, while no evidence for transchelation was observed for the latter suggesting that bis(NHC)-amine ligands of this type may be suitable for biological applications.

Age-Specific Dynamics of Corpus Callosum Development in Children and its Peculiarities in Infantile Cerebral Palsy.

PubMed

Krasnoshchekova, E I; Zykin, P A; Tkachenko, L A; Aleksandrov, T A; Sereda, V M; Yalfimov, A N

2016-10-01

The age dynamics of corpus callosum development was studied on magnetic resonance images of the brain in children aged 2-11 years without neurological abnormalities and with infantile cerebral palsy. The areas of the total corpus callosum and its segments are compared in the midsagittal images. Analysis is carried out with the use of an original formula: proportion of areas of the anterior (genu, CC2; and anterior part, CC3) and posterior (isthmus, CC6 and splenium, CC7) segments: kCC=(CC2+CC3)×CC6/CC7. The results characterize age-specific dynamics of the corpus callosum development and can be used for differentiation, with high confidence, of the brain of children without neurological abnormalities from the brain patients with infantile cerebral palsy.

Prevalence of substance use among middle school-aged e-cigarette users compared with cigarette smokers, nonusers, and dual users: Implications for primary prevention.

PubMed

Kristjansson, Alfgeir L; Mann, Michael J; Smith, Megan L

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of substance use in e-cigarette (EC)-only users with combustible cigarette (CC)-only users, dual users, and nonusers in a large sample of middle school-aged adolescents. Population-based cross-sectional school survey conducted in 15 middle schools in 3 counties in West Virginia in the United States between October and December of 2015 (N = 6547, girls = 49.6%; response rate 84.7%). Approximately 4.3% of participants had used EC only, 4.5% had used CC only, and around 5.5% were dual users. Nonusers had the lowest prevalence of all 9 forms of substance use assessed in the study (i.e., chewing tobacco, any alcohol, drunkenness, marijuana, sniffing, prescription drugs, hallucinogens, synthetic marijuana, and bath salts), followed by EC and CC users. Dual users had the highest prevalence of 8 of 9 forms of substance use. Multinomial logistic regression models showed that EC-only users had significantly greater odds over nonusers of using 8 of 9 types of substances included in the study. Conversely, EC-only users had significantly lower odds of using 7 of 9 types of substances when compared with dual users. However, EC-only users did not differ from CC-only users in odds of use in any of the 9 substances included in this analysis. Among middle school-aged adolescents, EC-only users do not differ from CC-only users in odds for other forms of substance use. Primary prevention programs should consider EC use initiation as a pathway to greater risk of other licit and illicit substances among young adolescents.

Community-Based Psychosocial Treatment Has an Impact on Social Processing and Functional Outcome in Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Varga, Eszter; Endre, Szilvia; Bugya, Titusz; Tényi, Tamás; Herold, Róbert

2018-01-01

Schizophrenic patients have serious impairments in social cognition, which often persists after significant reduction in clinical symptoms. Community-based psychosocial treatments aim to recover social functioning for mentally ill individuals. Our aim was to examine prospective changes in social cognition and functional outcomes in two groups of schizophrenic patients involved in two forms of community-based psychosocial treatments namely case management (CM) and community-based club (CC) compared to a matched, treatment as usual (TAU) group of patients. We hypothesized that CC and CM groups would exhibit better functional and social cognitive outcomes after a 6-month long psychosocial treatment period. Seventy-five patients participated either in CC, CM or TAU. Both CC and CM took part in community-based psychosocial treatment programs including trainings, such as communication and assertiveness trainings. In addition, CC provided group therapeutic treatments and a continuously available day care where patients had the possibility to participate in various social interactions. All participants were in remission, and on maintenance antipsychotic treatment. Participants were assessed on all study variables at two time points: baseline and after 6 months with a battery of questionnaires that examined affective face perception, affective prosody perception, pragmatic language comprehension and ToM. Our results showed that functional outcomes improved significantly in the CC as well as in the CM groups, in contrast to the TAU group. While analyzing summary scores of social cognition, it was found that only the CC group increased its performance in social cognition. In addition, a significant between-group difference in social cognitive function was found after 6 months between the three groups, with the CC group performing best. When investigating associations between changes in social cognition and changes in functional outcomes during a 6-month long treatment period, we found significant correlations between the two variables both in the CC and in the CM groups. Based on our results, we suggest that a rich interpersonal network and social support have highly beneficial effects on social cognition and we would like to emphasize the necessity of offering community-based psychosocial treatments beside antipsychotic medications as early as possible as a crucial part of the complex therapy of schizophrenia.

Consistent prediction of GO protein localization.

PubMed

Spetale, Flavio E; Arce, Debora; Krsticevic, Flavia; Bulacio, Pilar; Tapia, Elizabeth

2018-05-17

The GO-Cellular Component (GO-CC) ontology provides a controlled vocabulary for the consistent description of the subcellular compartments or macromolecular complexes where proteins may act. Current machine learning-based methods used for the automated GO-CC annotation of proteins suffer from the inconsistency of individual GO-CC term predictions. Here, we present FGGA-CC + , a class of hierarchical graph-based classifiers for the consistent GO-CC annotation of protein coding genes at the subcellular compartment or macromolecular complex levels. Aiming to boost the accuracy of GO-CC predictions, we make use of the protein localization knowledge in the GO-Biological Process (GO-BP) annotations to boost the accuracy of GO-CC prediction. As a result, FGGA-CC + classifiers are built from annotation data in both the GO-CC and GO-BP ontologies. Due to their graph-based design, FGGA-CC + classifiers are fully interpretable and their predictions amenable to expert analysis. Promising results on protein annotation data from five model organisms were obtained. Additionally, successful validation results in the annotation of a challenging subset of tandem duplicated genes in the tomato non-model organism were accomplished. Overall, these results suggest that FGGA-CC + classifiers can indeed be useful for satisfying the huge demand of GO-CC annotation arising from ubiquitous high throughout sequencing and proteomic projects.

Does Core Length Taken per cc of Prostate Volume in Prostate Biopsy Affect the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer?

PubMed

Deliktas, Hasan; Sahin, Hayrettin; Cetinkaya, Mehmet; Dere, Yelda; Erdogan, Omer; Baldemir, Ercan

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was to determine the minimal core length to be taken per cc of prostate volume for an effective prostate biopsy. A retrospective analysis was performed on the records of 379 patients who underwent a first prostate biopsy with 12 to 16 cores under transrectal ultrasound guidance between September 2012 and April 2015. For each patient, the core length per cc of the prostate and the percentage of sampled prostate volume were calculated, and these values were compared between the patients with and without prostate cancer. A total of 348 patients were included in the study. Cancer was determined in 26.4% of patients. The mean core length taken per cc of prostate and the percentage of sampled prostate volume were determined to be 3.40 ± 0.15 mm/cc (0.26%; range, 0.08-0.63 cc) in patients with cancer and 2.75 ± 0.08 mm/cc (0.20%; range, 0.04-0.66 cc) in patients without cancer (P = .000 and P = .000), respectively. Core length taken per cc of prostate of > 3.31 mm/cc was found to be related to an increase in the rates of prostate cancer diagnosis (odds ratio, 2.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.68-4.78). The rate of cancer determination for core length taken per cc of prostate of < 3.31 mm/cc was 19.9% and of > 3.31 mm/cc, 41.1%. Core length taken per cc of prostate and the percentage of sampled prostate volume are important morphometric parameters in the determination of prostate cancer. The results of study suggest a core length per cc of the prostate of > 3.31 mm/cc as a cutoff value for quality assurance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Selective ablation of Ppp1cc gene in testicular germ cells causes oligo-teratozoospermia and infertility in mice.

PubMed

Sinha, Nilam; Puri, Pawan; Nairn, Angus C; Vijayaraghavan, Srinivasan

2013-11-01

The four isoforms of serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatase 1 (PP1), derived from three genes, are among the most conserved proteins known. The Ppp1cc gene encodes two alternatively spliced variants, PP1 gamma1 (PPP1CC1) and PP1 gamma2 (PPP1CC2). Global deletion of the Ppp1cc gene, which causes loss of both isoforms, results in male infertility due to impaired spermatogenesis. This phenotype was assumed to be due to the loss of PPP1CC2, which is abundant in testis. While PPP1CC2 is predominant, other PP1 isoforms are also expressed in testis. Given the significant homology between the four PP1 isoforms, the lack of compensation by the other PP1 isoforms for loss of one, only in testis, is surprising. Here we document, for the first time, expression patterns of the PP1 isoforms in postnatal developing and adult mouse testis. The timing and sites of testis expression of PPP1CC1 and PPP1CC2 in testis are nonoverlapping. PPP1CC2 is the only one of the four PP1 isoforms not detected in sertoli cells and spermatogonia. Conversely, PPP1CC2 may be the only PP1 isoform expressed in postmeiotic germ cells. Deletion of the Ppp1cc gene in germ cells at the differentiated spermatogonia stage of development and beyond in Stra8 promoter-driven Cre transgenic mice results in oligo-terato-asthenozoospermia and male infertility, thus phenocopying global Ppp1cc null (-/-) mice. Taken together, these results confirm that spermatogenic defects observed in the global Ppp1cc knockout mice and in mice expressing low levels of PPP1CC2 in testis are due to compromised functions of PPP1CC2 in meiotic and postmeiotic germ cells.

Is It Possible Using Handgrip Strength Instead of Body Mass Index in MNA-SF Test to Assess the Nutritional Status of Geriatric Patients?

PubMed

Kizilarslanoglu, M C; Kilic, M K; Gokce, D; Sakalar, T; Ulger, Z

2017-01-01

In Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) test, a practical and reliable alternative parameter is still necessary for patients with difficult body mass index evaluation. We aimed to show whether or not handgrip strength may be used instead of body mass index (BMI) in MNA-SF test. MNA-SF test scores, calf circumferences (CC), handgrip strength (HGS), and BMI of 191 patients were evaluated. The first one of calculated MNA-SF tests was with BMI, the second one with CC, and the last one with HGS. Zero point was given if CC was <31 cm and 3 points were given if CC was ≥31 cm. Zero, 1, 2, and 3 points were given if the loss of HGS when compared to expected HGS were ≥%60, from ≥%30 to <%60, from ≥%10 to <%30, and <%10 or greater than expected HGS, respectively. MNA-SF scores and nutritional status according to these three measures were compared. Mean age and median MNA-SF scores of the patients were 75±7.6 years and 12 points (min-max: 0-14) respectively. There were strongly positive correlations between MNA-SF scores with BMI and CC, with BMI and HGS, and with CC and HGS (r=0.938 p<0.001, r=0.938 p<0.001, r=0.914 p<0.001, respectively). Substantial agreement in nutritional status of the patients were seen between MNA-SF groups with BMI and CC, with CC and HGS, and with BMI and HGS (kappa: 0.795 p<0.001, kappa: 0.709 p<0.001, and kappa: 0.760 p<0.001, respectively). HGS might be considered instead of BMI in MNA-SF test to assess nutritional status of geriatric patients.

78 FR 53189 - Dorel Juvenile Group, Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-28

... Omega Elite 22187REM Alpha Omega Elite 22187REMA Alpha Omega Elite 22187SAR Alpha Omega Elite 22187SARA Alpha Omega Elite 22465FSM Alpha Omega Elite 22790CGT Deluxe 3 in 1 CC033BMT Alpha Omega Elite CC043ANK Alpha Omega Elite CC043ANL Alpha Omega Elite CC043AQS Alpha Omega Elite CC046AAI Deluxe 3 in 1 CC046AAU...

Evaluation of the Initiation/Promotion Potential of CTFE Trimer Acid

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-01

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Atrophic hepatic cords 3 Cc Cc Cc Cc Cc Cc Cc 3 0e Ce Ce 0e Ge 0e Ce Steatosis 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 0 2 2 1 2 1 Kuppfercell pigment...with the formation of hepatic tumors. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate CTFE trimer acid for both tumor initiation and promoting...oxidation of palmitoyl coenzyme A (CoA) MOelRaso, unpublished findings). Many compounds cause an increase in the number of hepatic peroxisomes and are

The ROSCOE Manual. Volume I-1. Program Description

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-29

CA’ CACcc C-’ c-c--c ~cc CCC) - CD Z I n -. cc - cx ccan,- C.) CC a - ~’, Zn cc-a U - -. a cc Zc- *0 F-U- CD~ cx no Ch cc a a I CACAO U) c--C Ccx c...dataset is de - noted by E8. Every dataset is tied t6 the basic dataset along with some important lists such as the object list, the radar list, and the...used for the track initiation and track functions are shown next. Most of these parameters are well de - fined, with the exception of the range gate

Listeria monocytogenes Source Distribution Analysis Indicates Regional Heterogeneity and Ecological Niche Preference among Serotype 4b Clones.

PubMed

Lee, Sangmi; Chen, Yi; Gorski, Lisa; Ward, Todd J; Osborne, Jason; Kathariou, Sophia

2018-04-17

Biodiversity analysis of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes recently revealed four serotype 4b major hypervirulent clonal complexes (CCs), i.e., CC1, CC2, CC4, and CC6. Hypervirulence was indicated by overrepresentation of these clones, and serotype 4b as a whole, among human clinical isolates in comparison to food. However, data on potential source-dependent partitioning among serotype 4b clones in diverse regions are sparse. We analyzed a panel of 347 serotype 4b isolates, primarily from North America, to determine the distribution of clones in humans, other animals, food, and water. CC1, CC2, CC4, and CC6 predominated, but surprisingly, only three clones, i.e., CC2 and the singleton sequence types (STs) ST382 and ST639, exhibited significant source-dependent associations, with higher propensity for food (CC2) or water (ST382 and ST639) than other sources. Pairwise comparisons between human and food isolates identified CC4 as the only serotype 4b clone significantly overrepresented among human isolates. Our analysis also revealed several serotype 4b clones emerging in North America. Two such emerging clones, ST382 (implicated in several outbreaks since 2014) and ST639, were primarily encountered among human and water isolates. Findings suggest that in spite of the ubiquity of CC1, CC2, CC4, and CC6, regional heterogeneity in serotype 4b is substantially larger than previously surmised. Analysis of even large strain panels from one region may not adequately predict clones unique to, and emerging in, other areas. Serotype 4b clonal complexes may differ in ecological niche preference, suggesting the need to further elucidate reservoirs and vehicles, especially for emerging clones. IMPORTANCE In Listeria monocytogenes , serotype 4b strains are leading contributors to human disease, but intraserotype distributions among different sources and regions remain poorly elucidated. Analysis of 347 serotype 4b isolates from four different sources, mostly from North America, confirmed the overall predominance of the major clones CC1, CC2, CC4, and CC6 but found that only CC4 was significantly associated with human disease, while CC2 was significantly associated with food. Remarkably, several emerging clones were identified among human isolates from North America, with some of these also exhibiting a propensity for surface water. The latter included the singleton clones ST382, implicated in several outbreaks in the United States since 2014, and ST639. These clones were noticeably underrepresented among much larger panels from other regions. Though associated with North America for the time being, they may eventually become globally disseminated through the food trade or other venues. Copyright © 2018 Lee et al.

NMR insight into myosin-binding subunit coiled-coil structure reveals binding interface with protein kinase G-Iα leucine zipper in vascular function.

PubMed

Sharma, Alok K; Birrane, Gabriel; Anklin, Clemens; Rigby, Alan C; Alper, Seth L

2017-04-28

Nitrovasodilators relax vascular smooth-muscle cells in part by modulating the interaction of the C-terminal coiled-coil domain (CC) and/or the leucine zipper (LZ) domain of the myosin light-chain phosphatase component, myosin-binding subunit (MBS), with the N-terminal LZ domain of protein kinase G (PKG)-Iα. Despite the importance of vasodilation in cardiovascular homeostasis and therapy, our structural understanding of the MBS CC interaction with LZ PKG-1α has remained limited. Here, we report the 3D NMR solution structure of homodimeric CC MBS in which amino acids 932-967 form a coiled-coil of two monomeric α-helices in parallel orientation. We found that the structure is stabilized by non-covalent interactions, with dominant contributions from hydrophobic residues at a and d heptad positions. Using NMR chemical-shift perturbation (CSP) analysis, we identified a subset of hydrophobic and charged residues of CC MBS (localized within and adjacent to the C-terminal region) contributing to the dimer-dimer interaction interface between homodimeric CC MBS and homodimeric LZ PKG-Iα. 15 N backbone relaxation NMR revealed the dynamic features of the CC MBS interface residues identified by NMR CSP. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement- and CSP-NMR-guided HADDOCK modeling of the dimer-dimer interface of the heterotetrameric complex exhibits the involvement of non-covalent intermolecular interactions that are localized within and adjacent to the C-terminal regions of each homodimer. These results deepen our understanding of the binding restraints of this CC MBS·LZ PKG-Iα low-affinity heterotetrameric complex and allow reevaluation of the role(s) of myosin light-chain phosphatase partner polypeptides in regulation of vascular smooth-muscle cell contractility. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Identification of new loci involved in the host susceptibility to Salmonella Typhimurium in collaborative cross mice.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Malo, Danielle; Mott, Richard; Panthier, Jean-Jacques; Montagutelli, Xavier; Jaubert, Jean

2018-04-27

Salmonella is a Gram-negative bacterium causing a wide range of clinical syndromes ranging from typhoid fever to diarrheic disease. Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars infect humans and animals, causing important health burden in the world. Susceptibility to salmonellosis varies between individuals under the control of host genes, as demonstrated by the identification of over 20 genetic loci in various mouse crosses. We have investigated the host response to S. Typhimurium infection in 35 Collaborative Cross (CC) strains, a genetic population which involves wild-derived strains that had not been previously assessed. One hundred and forty-eight mice from 35 CC strains were challenged intravenously with 1000 colony-forming units (CFUs) of S. Typhimurium. Bacterial load was measured in spleen and liver at day 4 post-infection. CC strains differed significantly (P < 0.0001) in spleen and liver bacterial loads, while sex and age had no effect. Two significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosomes 8 and 10 and one suggestive QTL on chromosome 1 were found for spleen bacterial load, while two suggestive QTLs on chromosomes 6 and 17 were found for liver bacterial load. These QTLs are caused by distinct allelic patterns, principally involving alleles originating from the wild-derived founders. Using sequence variations between the eight CC founder strains combined with database mining for expression in target organs and known immune phenotypes, we were able to refine the QTLs intervals and establish a list of the most promising candidate genes. Furthermore, we identified one strain, CC042/GeniUnc (CC042), as highly susceptible to S. Typhimurium infection. By exploring a broader genetic variation, the Collaborative Cross population has revealed novel loci of resistance to Salmonella Typhimurium. It also led to the identification of CC042 as an extremely susceptible strain.

Optimal Chest Compression Rate and Compression to Ventilation Ratio in Delivery Room Resuscitation: Evidence from Newborn Piglets and Neonatal Manikins

PubMed Central

Solevåg, Anne Lee; Schmölzer, Georg M.

2017-01-01

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration until return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) influences survival and neurologic outcomes after delivery room (DR) CPR. High quality chest compressions (CC) improve cerebral and myocardial perfusion. Improved myocardial perfusion increases the likelihood of a faster ROSC. Thus, optimizing CC quality may improve outcomes both by preserving cerebral blood flow during CPR and by reducing the recovery time. CC quality is determined by rate, CC to ventilation (C:V) ratio, and applied force, which are influenced by the CC provider. Thus, provider performance should be taken into account. Neonatal resuscitation guidelines recommend a 3:1 C:V ratio. CCs should be delivered at a rate of 90/min synchronized with ventilations at a rate of 30/min to achieve a total of 120 events/min. Despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting this, the investigation of alternative CC interventions in human neonates is ethically challenging. Also, the infrequent occurrence of extensive CPR measures in the DR make randomized controlled trials difficult to perform. Thus, many biomechanical aspects of CC have been investigated in animal and manikin models. Despite mathematical and physiological rationales that higher rates and uninterrupted CC improve CPR hemodynamics, studies indicate that provider fatigue is more pronounced when CC are performed continuously compared to when a pause is inserted after every third CC as currently recommended. A higher rate (e.g., 120/min) is also more fatiguing, which affects CC quality. In post-transitional piglets with asphyxia-induced cardiac arrest, there was no benefit of performing continuous CC at a rate of 90/min. Not only rate but duty cycle, i.e., the duration of CC/total cycle time, is a known determinant of CC effectiveness. However, duty cycle cannot be controlled with manual CC. Mechanical/automated CC in neonatal CPR has not been explored, and feedback systems are under-investigated in this population. Evidence indicates that providers perform CC at rates both higher and lower than recommended. Video recording of DR CRP has been increasingly applied and observational studies of what is actually done in relation to outcomes could be useful. Different CC rates and ratios should also be investigated under controlled experimental conditions in animals during perinatal transition. PMID:28168185

Comparison of motor diagnoses by Chicago Classification versions 2.0 and 3.0 on esophageal high-resolution manometry.

PubMed

Patel, A; Cassell, B; Sainani, N; Wang, D; Shahid, B; Bennett, M; Mirza, F A; Munigala, S; Gyawali, C P

2017-07-01

The Chicago Classification (CC) uses high-resolution manometry (HRM) software tools to designate esophageal motor diagnoses. We evaluated changes in diagnostic designations between two CC versions, and determined motor patterns not identified by either version. In this observational cohort study of consecutive patients undergoing esophageal HRM over a 6-year period, proportions meeting CC 2.0 and 3.0 criteria were segregated into esophageal outflow obstruction, hypermotility, and hypomotility disorders. Contraction wave abnormalities (CWA), and 'normal' cohorts were recorded. Symptom burden was characterized using dominant symptom intensity and global symptom severity. Motor diagnoses, presenting symptoms, and symptom burden were compared between CC 2.0 and 3.0, and in cohorts not meeting CC diagnoses. Of 2569 eligible studies, 49.9% met CC 2.0 criteria, but only 40.3% met CC 3.0 criteria (P<.0001). Between CC 2.0 and 3.0, 82.8% of diagnoses were concordant. Discordance resulted from decreasing proportions of hypermotility (4.4%) and hypomotility (9.0%) disorders, and increase in 'normal' designations (13.0%); esophageal outflow obstruction showed the least variation between CC versions. Symptom burden was higher with CC 3.0 diagnoses (P≤.005) but not with CC 2.0 diagnoses (P≥.1). Within 'normal' cohorts for both CC versions, CWA were associated with higher likelihood of esophageal symptoms, especially dysphagia, regurgitation, and heartburn, compared to truly normal studies (P≤.02 for each comparison). Despite lower sensitivity, CC 3.0 identifies esophageal motor disorders with higher symptom burden compared to CC 2.0. CWA, which are associated with both transit and perceptive symptoms, are not well identified by either version. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Impact of Chronic Condition Status and Severity on Dental Utilization for Iowa Medicaid-Enrolled Children

PubMed Central

Chi, Donald L.; Momany, Elizabeth T.; Neff, John; Jones, Michael P.; Warren, John J.; Slayton, Rebecca L.; Weber-Gasparoni, Karin; Damiano, Peter C.

2011-01-01

Background Although Medicaid-enrolled children with a chronic condition (CC) may be less likely to use dental care because of factors related to their CC, dental utilization for this population is poorly understood. Objective To assess the relationship between CC status and CC severity, respectively, on dental utilization for Iowa Medicaid-enrolled children. Research Design Retrospective cohort study of Iowa Medicaid data (January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2006). Subjects Medicaid-enrolled children aged 3 to 14 (N = 71,115) years. Measures The 3M Corporation Clinical Risk Grouping methods were used to assess CC status (no/yes) and CC severity (episodic/life-long/malignancy/complex). The outcome variable was any dental utilization in 2006. Secondary outcomes included use of diagnostic, preventive, routine restorative, or complex restorative dental care. Results After adjusting for model covariates, Iowa Medicaid-enrolled children with a CC were significantly more likely to use each type of dental care except routine restorative care (P = 0.86) than those without a CC, although the differences in the odds were small (4%–6%). Compared with Medicaid-enrolled children with an episodic CC, children with a life-long CC were less likely to use routine restorative care (P < 0.0001), children with a malignancy were more likely to use complex restorative care (P < 0.03), and children with a complex CC were less likely to use each type of dental care except complex restorative care (P = 0.97). Conclusions There were differences in dental utilization for Iowa Medicaid-enrolled children by CC status and CC severity. Children with complex CCs were the least likely to use dental care. Future research efforts should seek to understand why subgroups of Medicaid-enrolled children with a CC exhibit lower dental utilization. PMID:21150799

CC-10004 but not thalidomide or lenalidomide inhibits lamina propria mononuclear cell TNF-α and MMP-3 production in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Gordon, J N; Prothero, J D; Thornton, C A; Pickard, K M; Di Sabatino, A; Goggin, P M; Pender, S L; Macdonald, T T

2009-09-01

Thalidomide, one of whose activities is to inhibit Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α production, has been reported to be an effective treatment for refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). TNF-α driven production of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 by gut lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) is a major pathway of tissue injury in IBD; however the effect of thalidomide and newer more potent immunomodulatory derivatives on this pathway has not been studied. To investigate the effect of thalidomide, CC-4047 (pomalidomide), CC-5013 (lenalidomide), and CC-10004 (apremilast) on gut LPMC TNFα and MMP-3 production in patients with IBD. Gut LPMCs and myofibroblasts were isolated from patients with IBD, and cultured with thalidomide, CC-4047, CC-5013, and CC-10004. MMP-3 and TIMP-1 levels were determined by western blotting and real-time PCR, and TNF-α levels by ELISA. CC-10004 significantly reduced both TNF-α production and MMP-3 production by cultured LPMCs. Thalidomide and CC-4047 and CC-5013 had no significant effect on the production of TNF-α or MMP-3 by LPMCs. These results provides a mechanistic rationale for both the failure of lenalidomide (CC-5013) in a recent randomised controlled trial in Crohn's disease, and for the evaluation of CC-10004 as a novel oral therapy in the treatment of CD and UC.

Cymbopogon citratus industrial waste as a potential source of bioactive compounds.

PubMed

Tavares, Filipa; Costa, Gustavo; Francisco, Vera; Liberal, Joana; Figueirinha, Artur; Lopes, Maria Celeste; Cruz, Maria Teresa; Batista, Maria Teresa

2015-10-01

Cymbopogon citratus (Cc), commonly known as lemongrass, is a very important crop worldwide, being grown in tropical countries. It is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and perfumery industries for its essential oil. Cc aqueous extracts are also used in traditional medicine. They contain high levels of polyphenols, which are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Hydrodistillation of lemongrass essential oil produces an aqueous waste (CcHD) which is discarded. Therefore a comparative study between CcHD and Cc infusion (CcI) was performed to characterize its phytochemical profile and to research its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. HPLC-PDA/ESI-MS(n) analysis showed that CcI and CcHD have similar phenolic profiles, with CcHD presenting a higher amount of polyphenols. Additionally, both CcI and CcHD showed antioxidant activity against DPPH (EC50 of 41.72 ± 0.05 and 42.29 ± 0.05 µg mL(-1) respectively) and strong anti-inflammatory properties, by reducing NO production and iNOS expression in macrophages and through their NO-scavenging activity, in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, no cytotoxicity was observed. The data of this study encourage considering the aqueous solution from Cc leaf hydrodistillation as a source of bioactive compounds, which may add great industrial value to this crop. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

An Aerobic Digestion of Lime Sludge.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-07-01

removal. 1,2 After lime addition, phosphorus is considered to be in the form of calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca5-(OH)(P04 )3 ), which will not resolubilize...U: c a e - ~ -’ tr *cr. V. (r. C . -~~~ C c C C&c cj Ir u -. C Fy. - U C C - C F.~-cc 0.c gC - - gg MFC - - C -66 TABLE 20. SUMMARY OF LEAST

Citrullus colocynthis NAC transcription factors CcNAC1 and CcNAC2 are involved in light and auxin signaling.

PubMed

Wang, Zhuoyu; Rashotte, Aaron M; Dane, Fenny

2014-10-01

Two novel NAC transcription factors from C itrullus colocynthis implicated in light and auxin signaling pathway. NAC transcription factors (NAM, ATAF1, 2, CUC2) have multiple functions in plant growth and development. Two NACs, CcNAC1 and CcNAC2, were recently identified in the highly drought-tolerant cucurbit species, Citrullus colocynthis. This study examines the functional role of these genes under different qualities of light based on the in silico analysis of the CcNAC1 and CcNAC2 promoters that revealed the presence of several light-associated motifs. The impact of both light and auxin on CcNAC1 and CcNAC2 expression was examined in C. colocynthis leaves, and using reporter (pCcNAC1, 2::GUS) lines in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the effects of constitutive overexpression (OE-CcNAC1, 2) in Arabidopsis were also examined under a range of conditions to confirm reporter line linkages. White, blue, red, and far-red light treatments resulted in similar patterns of quantitative changes in CcNAC1and CcNAC2 expression in both species, with the highest transcript increases following red light. Photomorphogenic changes in Arabidopsis hypocotyls were correlated with gene transcript levels. In the absence of light, hypocotyls of OE-CcNAC1/CcNAC2 lines were significantly longer as compared to WT. The addition of exogenous auxin (+IAA) to growth medium also resulted in changes to the hypocotyl lengths of overexpression lines and spatiotemporal reporter line changes in seedlings. Our data suggest that CcNAC1, 2 might be functionally important in the light signaling pathway, and appear connected to the hormone auxin. This is the first study to indicate that NAC genes might play a role in both light and auxin signaling pathways.

Chest compression during sustained inflation versus 3:1 chest compression:ventilation ratio during neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a randomised feasibility trial.

PubMed

Schmölzer, Georg M; O Reilly, Megan; Fray, Caroline; van Os, Sylvia; Cheung, Po-Yin

2017-10-07

Current neonatal resuscitation guidelines recommend 3:1 compression:ventilation (C:V) ratio. Recently, animal studies reported that continuous chest compressions (CC) during a sustained inflation (SI) significantly improved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The approach of CC during SI (CC+SI) has not been examined in the delivery room during neonatal resuscitation. It is a feasibility study to compare CC+SI versus 3:1 C:V ratio during neonatal resuscitation in the delivery room. We hypothesised that during neonatal resuscitation, CC+SI will reduce the time to ROSC. Our aim was to examine if CC+SI reduces ROSC compared with 3:1 C:V CPR in preterm infants <33 weeks of gestation. Randomised feasibility trial. Once CC was indicated all eligible infants were immediately and randomly allocated to either CC+SI group or 3:1 C:V group. A sequentially numbered, brown, sealed envelope contained a folded card box with the treatment allocation was opened by the clinical team at the start of CC. Infants in the CC+SI group received CC at a rate of 90/min during an SI with a duration of 20 s (CC+SI). After 20 s, the SI was interrupted for 1 s and the next SI was started for another 20 s until ROSC. Infants in the '3:1 group' received CC using 3:1 C:V ratio until ROSC. Overall the mean (SD) time to ROSC was significantly shorter in the CC+SI group with 31 (9) s compared with 138 (72) s in the 3:1 C:V group (p=0.011). CC+SI is feasible in the delivery room. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02083705, pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cartograms Facilitate Communication of Climate Change Risks and Responsibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Döll, Petra

2017-12-01

Communication of climate change (CC) risks is challenging, in particular if global-scale spatially resolved quantitative information is to be conveyed. Typically, visualization of CC risks, which arise from the combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability, is confined to showing only the hazards in the form of global thematic maps. This paper explores the potential of contiguous value-by-area cartograms, that is, distorted density-equalizing maps, for improving communication of CC risks and the countries' differentiated responsibilities for CC. Two global-scale cartogram sets visualize, as an example, groundwater-related CC risks in 0.5° grid cells, another one the correlation of (cumulative) fossil-fuel carbon dioxide emissions with the countries' population and gross domestic product. Viewers of the latter set visually recognize the lack of global equity and that the countries' wealth has been built on harmful emissions. I recommend that CC risks are communicated by bivariate gridded cartograms showing the hazard in color and population, or a combination of population and a vulnerability indicator, by distortion of grid cells. Gridded cartograms are also appropriate for visualizing the availability of natural resources to humans. For communicating complex information, sets of cartograms should be carefully designed instead of presenting single cartograms. Inclusion of a conventionally distorted map enhances the viewers' capability to take up the information represented by distortion. Empirical studies about the capability of global cartograms to convey complex information and to trigger moral emotions should be conducted, with a special focus on risk communication.

Gordonia humi sp. nov., isolated from soil.

PubMed

Kämpfer, P; Young, Chiu-Chung; Chu, Jiunn-Nan; Frischmann, A; Busse, H-J; Arun, A B; Shen, Fo-Ting; Rekha, P D

2011-01-01

A Gram-stain-positive, non-endospore-forming actinobacterium (CC-12301(T)) was isolated from soil attached to a spawn used in the laboratory to grow the edible mushroom Agaricus brasiliensis. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, strain CC-12301(T) was shown to belong to the genus Gordonia and was most closely related to the type strains of Gordonia hydrophobica (97.6 % similarity), Gordonia terrae (97.5 %), Gordonia amarae (97.5 %) and Gordonia malaquae (97.4 %). The quinone system was determined to consist predominantly of menaquinone MK-9(H(2)), minor amounts of MK-8(H(2)) and MK-7(H(2)). The polar lipid profile consisted of the major compounds diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine, moderate amounts of two phosphatidylinositol mannosides and phosphatidylinositol and minor amounts of phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified glycolipids, two phosphoglycolipids and a phospholipid. Mycolic acids were present. These chemotaxonomic traits and the major fatty acids, which were C(16 : 1) cis9, C(16 : 0), C(18 : 1) and tuberculostearic acid (10-methyl C(18 : 0)), supported the affiliation of strain CC-12301(T) to the genus Gordonia. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed clear phenotypic differentiation of strain CC-12301(T) from the most closely related Gordonia species. Strain CC-12301(T) therefore represents a novel species, for which the name Gordonia humi sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain CC-12301(T) (=DSM 45298(T) =CCM 7727(T)).

Lung Basal Stem Cells Rapidly Repair DNA Damage Using the Error-Prone Nonhomologous End-Joining Pathway

PubMed Central

Weeden, Clare E.; Chen, Yunshun; Ma, Stephen B.; Hu, Yifang; Ramm, Georg; Sutherland, Kate D.; Smyth, Gordon K.

2017-01-01

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC), the second most common subtype of lung cancer, is strongly associated with tobacco smoking and exhibits genomic instability. The cellular origins and molecular processes that contribute to SqCC formation are largely unexplored. Here we show that human basal stem cells (BSCs) isolated from heavy smokers proliferate extensively, whereas their alveolar progenitor cell counterparts have limited colony-forming capacity. We demonstrate that this difference arises in part because of the ability of BSCs to repair their DNA more efficiently than alveolar cells following ionizing radiation or chemical-induced DNA damage. Analysis of mice harbouring a mutation in the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), a key enzyme in DNA damage repair by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), indicated that BSCs preferentially repair their DNA by this error-prone process. Interestingly, polyploidy, a phenomenon associated with genetically unstable cells, was only observed in the human BSC subset. Expression signature analysis indicated that BSCs are the likely cells of origin of human SqCC and that high levels of NHEJ genes in SqCC are correlated with increasing genomic instability. Hence, our results favour a model in which heavy smoking promotes proliferation of BSCs, and their predilection for error-prone NHEJ could lead to the high mutagenic burden that culminates in SqCC. Targeting DNA repair processes may therefore have a role in the prevention and therapy of SqCC. PMID:28125611

Renal cell carcinoma with rhabdoid-like features lack intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies and show aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Masaaki; Kohashi, Kenichi; Kuroiwa, Kentaro; Abe, Tatsuro; Yamada, Yuichi; Shiota, Masaki; Imada, Kenjiro; Naito, Seiji; Oda, Yoshinao

2016-03-01

In renal cell carcinoma (RCC), tumor cells with rhabdoid features are characterized by eccentric nuclei, prominent nucleoli, and eosinophilic cytoplasm with intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies. In RCC, tumor cells have also been observed resembling rhabdomyoblasts or rhabdoid but without intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, and here, we defined these rhabdoid-like features of these cells. To this end, we studied a series of clear cell RCC (ccRCC) with rhabdoid features and compared them with a series of ccRCC with rhabdoid-like features to clarify the differences in the immunohistochemical profile and biological behavior. From 695 cases of ccRCC (80.8 % of all RCCs), 18 cases with rhabdoid features (2.1 % of all RCCs) and 25 cases with rhabdoid-like features (2.9 % of all RCCs) were investigated. The 5-year survival rate for ccRCC with rhabdoid features was 44.7 % and for ccRCC with rhabdoid-like features 30.3 %. Although ccRCC with rhabdoid features showed immunohistochemical co-expression of epithelial markers and vimentin as seen in malignant rhabdoid tumors, ccRCC with rhabdoid-like features showed no such co-expression. Multivariate analyses of cancer-specific survival revealed that perinephric tissues invasion was an independent prognostic factor in ccRCC with rhabdoid features (p = 0.0253) but not in ccRCC with rhabdoid-like features. In summary, although their prognosis is similar, the marker profile and pattern of extension of ccRCC with rhabdoid-like is different from that of ccRCC with rhabdoid features. Therefore, ccRCC with rhabdoid-like features should be distinguished from ccRCC with rhabdoid features.

Discrete Analog Processing for Tracking and Guidance Control

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

be called the multi- sample algorithm, satisfies -4 67 tD (Da - d) 0 (4.2.2.3) Thus, this descent algorithm will determine a coefficient vector a... flJ -TI:-* IS; 7" rR(VI Dr TH~I ("vFP)ALLCj TT$ C_ F 2C OH Til TPACK I! NC SYS TE ! f- 1I3 cc cc *’I cc. CC snUpcF FIL1j: C~T 01C 0 (1 cc CC OEJCT F I LF

Specification of Drosophila Corpora Cardiaca Neuroendocrine Cells from Mesoderm Is Regulated by Notch Signaling

PubMed Central

Park, Sangbin; Bustamante, Erika L.; Antonova, Julie; McLean, Graeme W.; Kim, Seung K.

2011-01-01

Drosophila neuroendocrine cells comprising the corpora cardiaca (CC) are essential for systemic glucose regulation and represent functional orthologues of vertebrate pancreatic α-cells. Although Drosophila CC cells have been regarded as developmental orthologues of pituitary gland, the genetic regulation of CC development is poorly understood. From a genetic screen, we identified multiple novel regulators of CC development, including Notch signaling factors. Our studies demonstrate that the disruption of Notch signaling can lead to the expansion of CC cells. Live imaging demonstrates localized emergence of extra precursor cells as the basis of CC expansion in Notch mutants. Contrary to a recent report, we unexpectedly found that CC cells originate from head mesoderm. We show that Tinman expression in head mesoderm is regulated by Notch signaling and that the combination of Daughterless and Tinman is sufficient for ectopic CC specification in mesoderm. Understanding the cellular, genetic, signaling, and transcriptional basis of CC cell specification and expansion should accelerate discovery of molecular mechanisms regulating ontogeny of organs that control metabolism. PMID:21901108

Trimethyl phosphite as a trap for alkoxy radicals formed from the ring opening of oxiranylcarbinyl radicals. Conversion to alkenes. Mechanistic applications to the study of C-C versus C-O ring cleavage.

PubMed

Ding, Bangwei; Bentrude, Wesley G

2003-03-19

Trimethyl phosphite, (MeO)(3)P, is introduced as an efficient and selective trap in oxiranylcarbinyl radical (2) systems, formed from haloepoxides 8-13 under thermal AIBN/n-Bu(3)SnH conditions at about 80 degrees C. Initially, the transformations of 8-13, in the absence of phosphite, to allyl alcohol 7 and/or vinyl ether 5 were measured quantitatively (Table 1). Structural variations in the intermediate oxiranylcarbinyl (2), allyloxy (3), and vinyloxycarbinyl (4) radicals involve influences of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the C-O (2 --> 3, k(1)) and C-C (2 --> 4, k(2)) radical scission processes and readily account for the changes in the amounts of product vinyl ether (5) and allyl alcohol (7) formed. Added (MeO)(3)P is inert to vinyloxycarbinyl radical 4 and selectively and rapidly traps allyloxy radical 3, diverting it to trimethyl phosphate and allyl radical 6. Allyl radicals (6) dimerize or are trapped by n-Bu(3)SnH to give alkenes, formed from haloepoxides 8, 9, and 13 in 69-95% yields. Intermediate vinyloxycarbinyl radicals (4), in the presence or absence of (MeO)(3)P, are trapped by n-Bu(3)SnH to give vinyl ethers (5). The concentrations of (MeO)(3)P and n-Bu(3)SnH were varied independently, and the amounts of phosphate, vinyl ether (5), and/or alkene from haloepoxides 10, 11, and 13 were carefully monitored. The results reflect readily understood influences of changes in the structures of radicals 2-4, particularly as they influence the C-O (k(1)) and C-C (k(2)) cleavages of intermediate oxiranylcarbinyl radical 2 and their reverse (k(-1), k(-2)). Diversion by (MeO)(3)P of allyloxy radicals (3) from haloepoxides 11 and 12 fulfills a prior prediction that under conditions closer to kinetic control, products of C-O scission, not just those of C-C scission, may result. Thus, for oxiranylcarbinyl radicals from haloepoxides 11, 12, and 13, C-O scission (k(1), 2 --> 3) competes readily with C-C cleavage (k(2), 2 --> 4), even though C-C scission is favored thermodynamically.

Monitoring of Microbial Contaminants of Beef, Pork, and Chicken in HACCP Implemented Meat Processing Plants of Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Jung Hyun; Hur, Sun Jin; Yim, Dong Gyun

2018-04-01

This research was to evaluate microbial contamination levels in meat samples at hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP)-implemented processing plants that produce beef, pork, and chicken. During a period of about a year, a total of 178 samples (76 from beef, 89 from pork, and 13 from chicken) were obtained from raw materials (21.3%) and final products (78.7%). All samples were determined for each 25 g homogenized one. Samples were analyzed to determine the total aerobic plate count (APC), coliform count (CC), and E. coli count (ECC). By month, APC levels were the highest in September and the lowest in February ( p <0.001). In comparison among season, APC levels in meat samples were the highest in the summer and the lowest in winter ( p <0.001). By month, the highest CC prevalence was found in August, followed by October and then July ( p <0.001). By season, the highest CC was obtained in summer, followed by autumn and then spring ( p <0.001). All samples were negative for ECC. There was a direct correlation between the product form and coliform presence ( p <0.001). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the APC and CC (r=0.261). The APCs in analyzed samples ranged from below <10 1 CFU/g to <10 7 CFU/g. In conclusion, the month and season had significant effects on microbial contamination levels at HACCP implemented processing plants. Interrelationships between (i) the product form and coliform, (ii) the APC and CC were revealed.

Catalytic activation of carbon-carbon bonds in cyclopentanones.

PubMed

Xia, Ying; Lu, Gang; Liu, Peng; Dong, Guangbin

2016-11-24

In the chemical industry, molecules of interest are based primarily on carbon skeletons. When synthesizing such molecules, the activation of carbon-carbon single bonds (C-C bonds) in simple substrates is strategically important: it offers a way of disconnecting such inert bonds, forming more active linkages (for example, between carbon and a transition metal) and eventually producing more versatile scaffolds. The challenge in achieving such activation is the kinetic inertness of C-C bonds and the relative weakness of newly formed carbon-metal bonds. The most common tactic starts with a three- or four-membered carbon-ring system, in which strain release provides a crucial thermodynamic driving force. However, broadly useful methods that are based on catalytic activation of unstrained C-C bonds have proven elusive, because the cleavage process is much less energetically favourable. Here we report a general approach to the catalytic activation of C-C bonds in simple cyclopentanones and some cyclohexanones. The key to our success is the combination of a rhodium pre-catalyst, an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand and an amino-pyridine co-catalyst. When an aryl group is present in the C3 position of cyclopentanone, the less strained C-C bond can be activated; this is followed by activation of a carbon-hydrogen bond in the aryl group, leading to efficient synthesis of functionalized α-tetralones-a common structural motif and versatile building block in organic synthesis. Furthermore, this method can substantially enhance the efficiency of the enantioselective synthesis of some natural products of terpenoids. Density functional theory calculations reveal a mechanism involving an intriguing rhodium-bridged bicyclic intermediate.

Cotton growth modeling and assessment using unmanned aircraft system visual-band imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Tianxing; Chen, Ruizhi; Landivar, Juan A.; Maeda, Murilo M.; Yang, Chenghai; Starek, Michael J.

2016-07-01

This paper explores the potential of using unmanned aircraft system (UAS)-based visible-band images to assess cotton growth. By applying the structure-from-motion algorithm, the cotton plant height (ph) and canopy cover (cc) information were retrieved from the point cloud-based digital surface models (DSMs) and orthomosaic images. Both UAS-based ph and cc follow a sigmoid growth pattern as confirmed by ground-based studies. By applying an empirical model that converts the cotton ph to cc, the estimated cc shows strong correlation (R2=0.990) with the observed cc. An attempt for modeling cotton yield was carried out using the ph and cc information obtained on June 26, 2015, the date when sigmoid growth curves for both ph and cc tended to decline in slope. In a cross-validation test, the correlation between the ground-measured yield and the estimated equivalent derived from the ph and/or cc was compared. Generally, combining ph and cc, the performance of the yield estimation is most comparable against the observed yield. On the other hand, the observed yield and cc-based estimation produce the second strongest correlation, regardless of the complexity of the models.

Effects of viscosity and volume on the patterns of esophageal motility in healthy adults using high-resolution manometry.

PubMed

Park, J H; Lee, H; Rhee, P-L; Park, J H

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), viscosity, and volume on esophageal motility using high-resolution manometry (HRM). Manometric studies were performed on 60 asymptomatic volunteers (27 men and 33 women, age: 19-56 years) while in a supine position. Manometric protocol included 10 water swallows (5 cc), 10 jelly swallows (5 cc), and 1 water swallow (20 cc). Evaluation of HRM parameters including length of proximal pressure trough (PPT length), distal latency (DL), contractile front velocity (CFV), distal contractile integral (DCI), and 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (IRP) was performed using MATLAB. Significant differences were noted in median IRP between water 5 cc (median 7.2 mmHg [range 5.5-9.6]), jelly 5 cc (median 6.0 mmHg [range 3.8-8.0]), and water 20 cc {(Median 4.8 mmHg [range 3.3-7.4]), P < 0.01}. DL were significantly different between water 5 cc, jelly 5 cc, and water 20 cc (P < 0.01), and in terms of PPT, proportions of small (2 cm ≤ < 5 cm) and large (5 cm≤) break for jelly 5 cc were significantly higher than those for the water 5 cc swallow (P < 0.05). Furthermore, DCI increased with age for water 5 cc, and a significant negative correlation was noticed between proportions of small break and BMI for water 5 cc. Manometric measurements vary depending on age, BMI, viscosity, and volume. These findings need to be taken into account in the interpretation of manometry results. © 2014 International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.

Chronic ethanol consumption induces erectile dysfunction: Role of oxidative stress.

PubMed

Muniz, Jaqueline J; Leite, Letícia N; De Martinis, Bruno S; Carneiro, Fernando S; Tirapelli, Carlos R

2015-11-15

Investigate the effects of chronic ethanol consumption on erectile function and on the corpus cavernosum (CC) reactivity to endothelin-1 (ET-1). Male Wistar rats were treated with ethanol (20% v/v) for six weeks. Ethanol-treated rats showed impaired erectile function represented by decreased intracavernosal pressure/mean arterial pressure (ICP/MAP) responses. Ethanol consumption increased the contractile response induced by ET-1 in the isolated CC. Tiron increased ET-1-induced contraction in CC from control and ethanol-treated rats. No differences in the maximal contraction to ET-1 were observed after incubation of CC with PEG-catalase. SC560 and SC236 increased ET-1-induced contraction in CC from ethanol-treated rats. Y27632 reduced the contraction induced by ET-1 in CC from control and ethanol-treated rats. Ethanol increased plasma TBARS, superoxide anion (O2(-)) levels and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the rat CC. Reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels in CC and increased catalase (CAT) activity in plasma and CC were detected after treatment with ethanol. Ethanol decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the rat CC. Increased expression of COX-1 was observed in CC from ethanol-treated rats. Treatment with ethanol decreased COX-2 expression but did not alter the expression of Nox1, RhoA and p-RhoA (ser(188)) in the rat CC. The major new findings of our study are that ethanol consumption induces erectile dysfunction (ED) and increases the contraction induced by ET-1 in the rat CC by a mechanism that involves decreased generation of H2O2 and vasodilator prostanoids as well as increased activation of the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in a single large Minnesota medical center in 2015 as assessed using MLST, core genome MLST and spa typing.

PubMed

Park, Kyung-Hwa; Greenwood-Quaintance, Kerryl E; Uhl, James R; Cunningham, Scott A; Chia, Nicholas; Jeraldo, Patricio R; Sampathkumar, Priya; Nelson, Heidi; Patel, Robin

2017-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bacteremia in hospitalized patients. Whether or not S. aureus bacteremia (SAB) is associated with clonality, implicating potential nosocomial transmission, has not, however, been investigated. Herein, we examined the epidemiology of SAB using whole genome sequencing (WGS). 152 SAB isolates collected over the course of 2015 at a single large Minnesota medical center were studied. Staphylococcus protein A (spa) typing was performed by PCR/Sanger sequencing; multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and core genome MLST (cgMLST) were determined by WGS. Forty-eight isolates (32%) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The isolates encompassed 66 spa types, clustered into 11 spa clonal complexes (CCs) and 10 singleton types. 88% of 48 MRSA isolates belonged to spa CC-002 or -008. Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates were more genotypically diverse, with 61% distributed across four spa CCs (CC-002, CC-012, CC-008 and CC-084). By MLST, there was 31 sequence types (STs), including 18 divided into 6 CCs and 13 singleton STs. Amongst MSSA isolates, the common MLST clones were CC5 (23%), CC30 (19%), CC8 (15%) and CC15 (11%). Common MRSA clones were CC5 (67%) and CC8 (25%); there were no MRSA isolates in CC45 or CC30. By cgMLST analysis, there were 9 allelic differences between two isolates, with the remaining 150 isolates differing from each other by over 40 alleles. The two isolates were retroactively epidemiologically linked by medical record review. Overall, cgMLST analysis resulted in higher resolution epidemiological typing than did multilocus sequence or spa typing.

Biorthogonal moment expansions in coupled-cluster theory: Review of key concepts and merging the renormalized and active-space coupled-cluster methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Jun; Piecuch, Piotr

2012-06-01

After reviewing recent progress in the area of the development of coupled-cluster (CC) methods for quasi-degenerate electronic states that are characterized by stronger non-dynamical correlation effects, including new generations of single- and multi-reference approaches that can handle bond breaking and excited states dominated by many-electron transitions, and after discussing the key elements of the left-eigenstate completely renormalized (CR) CC and equation-of-motion (EOM) CC methods, and the underlying biorthogonal method of moments of CC (MMCC) equations [P. Piecuch, M. Włoch, J. Chem. Phys. 123 (2005) 224105; P. Piecuch, M. Włoch, J.R. Gour, A. Kinal, Chem. Phys. Lett. 418 (2006) 467; M. Włoch, M.D. Lodriguito, P. Piecuch, J.R. Gour, Mol. Phys. 104 (2006) 2149], it is argued that it is beneficial to merge the CR-CC/EOMCC and active-space CC/EOMCC [P. Piecuch, Mol. Phys. 108 (2010) 2987, and references therein] theories into a single formalism. In order to accomplish this goal, the biorthogonal MMCC theory, which provides compact many-body expansions for the differences between the full configuration interaction and CC or, in the case of excited states, EOMCC energies, obtained using conventional truncation schemes in the cluster operator T and excitation operator Rμ, is generalized, so that one can correct the CC/EOMCC energies obtained with arbitrary truncations in T and Rμ for the selected many-electron correlation effects of interest. The resulting moment expansions, defining the new, Flexible MMCC (Flex-MMCC) formalism, and the ensuing CC(P; Q) hierarchy, proposed in the present work, enable one to correct energies obtained in the active-space CC and EOMCC calculations, in which one selects higher many-body components of T and Rμ via active orbitals and which recover much of the relevant non-dynamical and some dynamical electron correlation effects in applications involving potential energy surfaces (PESs) along bond breaking coordinates, for the effects of higher-order, primarily dynamical, correlations missing in the active-space CC/EOMCC considerations. The Flex-MMCC corrections to the active-space CC/EOMCC energies are mathematically similar to the non-iterative energy corrections defining the existing left-eigenstate CR-CC and CR-EOMCC methods, such as CR-CC(2, 3) and CR-EOMCC(2, 3). The potential advantages of the Flex-MMCC and CC(P; Q) formalisms are illustrated by describing the initial implementation and numerical tests of the novel CC hybrid scheme, abbreviated as CC(t; 3), in which one corrects the results of the CC calculations with singles, doubles, and active-space triples, termed CCSDt, for the remaining effects due to connected triple excitations that are missing in the CCSDt considerations, but are present in the MMCC-based CR-CC(2, 3) approach. By examining bond breaking in the HF, F2, and F2+ molecules, it is demonstrated that the CC(t; 3) method improves the CCSDt and CR-CC(2, 3) results, providing PESs that agree with those obtained with the full CC theory with singles, doubles, and triples (CCSDT) to within small fractions of a millihartree, at the fraction of the computer costs of the CCSDT calculations. Different strategies for defining active-space triples within the CC(t; 3) scheme and the underlying CCSDt method are discussed. When limited to the ground-state problem, the CC(t; 3) approach can be regarded as an improved and rigorously derived extension of the recently proposed CCSD(T)-h method [J. Shen, E. Xu, Z. Kou, S. Li, J. Chem. Phys. 132 (2010) 114115], in which triples corrections of the CCSD(T) type are replaced by their more robust CR-CC(2, 3)-style analogs.

Comparison of Accessibility, Cost, and Quality of Elective Coronary Revascularization Between Veterans Affairs and Community Care Hospitals

PubMed Central

Hong, Juliette S.; Carey, Evan; Grunwald, Gary K.; Joynt Maddox, Karen; Maddox, Thomas M.

2018-01-01

Importance The Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care (CC) Program supplements VA care with community-based medical services. However, access gains and value provided by CC have not been well described. Objectives To compare the access, cost, and quality of elective coronary revascularization procedures between VA and CC hospitals and to evaluate if procedural volume or publicly reported quality data can be used to identify high-value care. Design, Setting, and Participants Observational cohort study of veterans younger than 65 years undergoing an elective coronary revascularization, controlling for differences in risk factors using propensity adjustment. The setting was VA and CC hospitals. Participants were veterans undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and veterans undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2011. The analysis was conducted between July 2014 and July 2017. Exposures Receipt of an elective coronary revascularization at a VA vs CC facility. Main Outcomes and Measures Access to care as measured by travel distance, 30-day mortality, and costs. Results In the 3 years ending on September 30, 2011, a total of 13 237 elective PCIs (79.1% at the VA) and 5818 elective CABG procedures (83.6% at the VA) were performed in VA or CC hospitals among veterans meeting study inclusion criteria. On average, use of CC was associated with reduced net travel by 53.6 miles for PCI and by 73.3 miles for CABG surgery compared with VA-only care. Adjusted 30-day mortality after PCI was higher in CC compared with VA (1.54% for CC vs 0.65% for VA, P < .001) but was similar after CABG surgery (1.33% for CC vs 1.51% for VA, P = .74). There were no differences in adjusted 30-day readmission rates for PCI (7.04% for CC vs 7.73% for VA, P = .66) or CABG surgery (8.13% for CC vs 7.00% for VA, P = .28). The mean adjusted PCI cost was higher in CC ($22 025 for CC vs $15 683 for VA, P < .001). The mean adjusted CABG cost was lower in CC ($55 526 for CC vs $63 144 for VA, P < .01). Neither procedural volume nor publicly reported mortality data identified hospitals that provided higher-value care with the exception that CABG mortality was lower in small-volume CC hospitals. Conclusions and Relevance In this veteran cohort, PCIs performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance but with higher mortality, higher costs, and minimal travel savings compared with VA hospitals. The CABG procedures performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance, similar mortality, and lower costs. As the VA considers expansion of the CC program, ongoing assessments of value and access gains are essential to optimize veteran outcomes and VA spending. PMID:29299607

Comparison of Accessibility, Cost, and Quality of Elective Coronary Revascularization Between Veterans Affairs and Community Care Hospitals.

PubMed

Barnett, Paul G; Hong, Juliette S; Carey, Evan; Grunwald, Gary K; Joynt Maddox, Karen; Maddox, Thomas M

2018-02-01

The Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care (CC) Program supplements VA care with community-based medical services. However, access gains and value provided by CC have not been well described. To compare the access, cost, and quality of elective coronary revascularization procedures between VA and CC hospitals and to evaluate if procedural volume or publicly reported quality data can be used to identify high-value care. Observational cohort study of veterans younger than 65 years undergoing an elective coronary revascularization, controlling for differences in risk factors using propensity adjustment. The setting was VA and CC hospitals. Participants were veterans undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and veterans undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2011. The analysis was conducted between July 2014 and July 2017. Receipt of an elective coronary revascularization at a VA vs CC facility. Access to care as measured by travel distance, 30-day mortality, and costs. In the 3 years ending on September 30, 2011, a total of 13 237 elective PCIs (79.1% at the VA) and 5818 elective CABG procedures (83.6% at the VA) were performed in VA or CC hospitals among veterans meeting study inclusion criteria. On average, use of CC was associated with reduced net travel by 53.6 miles for PCI and by 73.3 miles for CABG surgery compared with VA-only care. Adjusted 30-day mortality after PCI was higher in CC compared with VA (1.54% for CC vs 0.65% for VA, P < .001) but was similar after CABG surgery (1.33% for CC vs 1.51% for VA, P = .74). There were no differences in adjusted 30-day readmission rates for PCI (7.04% for CC vs 7.73% for VA, P = .66) or CABG surgery (8.13% for CC vs 7.00% for VA, P = .28). The mean adjusted PCI cost was higher in CC ($22 025 for CC vs $15 683 for VA, P < .001). The mean adjusted CABG cost was lower in CC ($55 526 for CC vs $63 144 for VA, P < .01). Neither procedural volume nor publicly reported mortality data identified hospitals that provided higher-value care with the exception that CABG mortality was lower in small-volume CC hospitals. In this veteran cohort, PCIs performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance but with higher mortality, higher costs, and minimal travel savings compared with VA hospitals. The CABG procedures performed in CC hospitals were associated with shorter travel distance, similar mortality, and lower costs. As the VA considers expansion of the CC program, ongoing assessments of value and access gains are essential to optimize veteran outcomes and VA spending.

Repression of the expression of PPP3CC by ZEB1 confers activation of NF-κB and contributes to invasion and growth in glioma cells.

PubMed

Wang, Hongquan; Zhao, Shuli; Chen, Bo; Fu, Chuhua; Dang, Yanwei; Fang, Peihai; Wang, Jun; Wang, Ning; Liu, Lijun

2018-02-01

Gliomas are highly malignant brain tumors. Aberrant activation of NF-κB plays a crucial role in tumor progression. ELISA assay was used to detect NF-κB activity in glimoas cells with different treatments. PPP3CC expression was evaluated by qRT-PCR and western blot assay. Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated the overall survival rates according to the protein level of PPP3CC. Transwell and MTS assay were performed to determine cell invasion and growth. Chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with luciferase reporter assays illustrated the transcriptional regulation of PPP3CC. We showed that PPP3CC decrease was responsible for constitutive activation of NF-κB in gliomas. Restored PPP3CC expression inhibited activation of NF-κB. PPP3CC was frequently decreased in gliomas and that repression of the expression of PPP3CC correlated glioma progression. The ectopic expression of PPP3CC inhibited the invasive potential of glioma cells, and inhibited glioma cells proliferation in vitro and growth in vivo. Additionally, the expression of Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1(ZEB1) was increased in gliomas and was negatively correlated with clinical outcomes of glioma patients. ZEB1 inversely correlated with the expression of PPP3CC. ZEB1 was also confirmed to physically bind to the PPP3CC promoter. ZEB1 knockdown resulted in an increase in the expression of PPP3CC and elevation of PPP3CC promoter activity in glioma cells. These findings indicated that the down-regulation of PPP3CC by ZEB1 resulted in activation of NF-κB is a critical oncogenic event in gliomas. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Clomiphene citrate and testosterone gel replacement therapy for male hypogonadism: efficacy and treatment cost.

PubMed

Taylor, Frederick; Levine, Laurence

2010-01-01

The efficacy of oral clomiphene citrate (CC) in the treatment of male hypogonadism and male infertility (MI) with low serum testosterone and normal gonadotropin levels has been reported. The aim of this article is to evaluate CC and testosterone gel replacement therapy (TGRT) with regard to biochemical and clinical efficacy and cost. The main outcome measures were change in serum testosterone with CC and TGRT therapy, and change in the androgen deficiency in aging male (ADAM) questionnaire scores with CC therapy. Men receiving CC or TGRT with either Androgel 1% or Testim 1% for hypogonadism (defined as testosterone < 300 ng/mL) or MI were included. Serum values were collected 1-2 months after treatment initiation and semi-annually thereafter. Retrospective data collection was performed via chart review. Subjective follow up of patients receiving CC was performed via telephone interview using the ADAM questionnaire. A hundred and four men (65 CC and 39 TGRT) were identified who began CC (50 mg every other day) or TGRT (5 g). Average age (years) was 42(CC) vs. 57 (TGRT). Average follow up was 23 months (CC, range 8-40 months) vs. 46 months (TGRT, range 6-149 months). Average posttreatment testosterone was 573 ng/dL in the CC group and 553 ng/dL in the TGRT group (P value < 0.001). The monthly cost of Testim 1% (5 gm daily) is $270, Androgel 1% (5 gm daily) is $265, and CC (50 mg every other day) is $83. Among CC patients, the average pretreatment ADAM score was 4.9 vs. 2.1 at follow up (P < 0.05). Average pretreatment ADAM sexual function domain score was 0.76 vs. 0.23 at follow up (P < 0.05). There were no adverse events reported. CC represents a treatment option for men with hypogonadism, demonstrating biochemical and clinical efficacy with few side effects and lower cost as compared with TGRT.

'Communicative competence' in the field of augmentative and alternative communication: a review and critique.

PubMed

Teachman, Gail; Gibson, Barbara E

2014-01-01

Understandings of 'communicative competency' (CC) have an important influence on the ways that researchers and practitioners in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) work toward achieving positive outcomes with AAC users. Yet, very little literature has critically examined conceptualizations of CC in AAC. Following an overview of the emergence of the concept of CC and of the field of AAC, we review seven conceptualizations of CC identified in the literature. To consider the contributions and potential shortcomings of conceptualizations of CC in AAC. We use a critical theoretical approach to review, critique and synthesize conceptualizations of CC in AAC, with a particular focus on uncovering 'taken for granted' assumptions. By historically situating the reviewed literature, we examine the shifting boundaries and tensions among theoretical conceptualizations of CC in AAC and their potential impacts on practice. We suggest ways that revisiting past scholarly work, alongside emergent, innovative conceptualizations of CC might shift ways of thinking about CC in AAC which tend to focus on the individual who communicates differently, toward (re)location of CC as a shared, socially incorporated and performed communication construct. We propose that emerging critical perspectives drawn from AAC and other interdisciplinary literatures offer innovative ways of theorizing communication difference, which might inform evolving conceptualizations of CC in AAC. © 2013 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Demonstration of immunologic memory using serogroup C meningococcal glycoconjugate vaccine.

PubMed

Snape, Matthew D; Maclennan, Jenny M; Lockhart, Stephen; English, Mike; Yu, Ly-Mee; Moxon, Richard E; Pollard, Andrew J

2009-02-01

Studies of glycoconjugate vaccines have traditionally used an immune challenge with a plain polysaccharide vaccine to demonstrate immunologic memory. Plain polysaccharide vaccines are poorly immunogenic in children and can induce subsequent immunologic hyporesponsiveness. We therefore assessed the use of glycoconjugate vaccines as an alternative method of demonstrating immunologic memory. Children immunized with hepatitis B vaccine or serogroup C meningococcal glycoconjugate vaccine (MenCC) at age 2, 3, 4 months received a plain polysaccharide meningococcal serogroup A/C vaccine (MenACP) or MenCC at age 12 months. A post hoc analysis of serum bactericidal activity responses to MenCC assessed whether this differed in MenCC primed and MenCC naive infants. MenCC primed children displayed higher geometric mean serum bactericidal titers than MenCC naive children following MenACP (1518 compared with 30; P = 0.003). A similar difference was seen after a dose of MenCC to toddlers (MenCC primed: 8663, MenCC naive: 710; P < 0.001). The latter comparison became a borderline significance after adjusting for higher pretoddler immunization serum bactericidal geometric mean titers in the MenCC primed group (P = 0.068). Administration of glycoconjugate vaccines provides an important alternative method of demonstrating immunologic memory, avoiding the use of plain polysaccharide vaccines that are potentially deleterious in children. This has implications for the design of all future clinical trials of glycoconjugate vaccines.

Efficient generation of patient-matched malignant and normal primary cell cultures from clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients: clinically relevant models for research and personalized medicine.

PubMed

Lobo, Nazleen C; Gedye, Craig; Apostoli, Anthony J; Brown, Kevin R; Paterson, Joshua; Stickle, Natalie; Robinette, Michael; Fleshner, Neil; Hamilton, Robert J; Kulkarni, Girish; Zlotta, Alexandre; Evans, Andrew; Finelli, Antonio; Moffat, Jason; Jewett, Michael A S; Ailles, Laurie

2016-07-16

Patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have few therapeutic options, as ccRCC is unresponsive to chemotherapy and is highly resistant to radiation. Recently targeted therapies have extended progression-free survival, but responses are variable and no significant overall survival benefit has been achieved. Commercial ccRCC cell lines are often used as model systems to develop novel therapeutic approaches, but these do not accurately recapitulate primary ccRCC tumors at the genomic and transcriptional levels. Furthermore, ccRCC exhibits significant intertumor genetic heterogeneity, and the limited cell lines available fail to represent this aspect of ccRCC. Our objective was to generate accurate preclinical in vitro models of ccRCC using tumor tissues from ccRCC patients. ccRCC primary single cell suspensions were cultured in fetal bovine serum (FBS)-containing media or defined serum-free media. Established cultures were characterized by genomic verification of mutations present in the primary tumors, expression of renal epithelial markers, and transcriptional profiling. The apparent efficiency of primary cell culture establishment was high in both culture conditions, but genotyping revealed that the majority of cultures contained normal, not cancer cells. ccRCC characteristically shows biallelic loss of the von Hippel Lindau (VHL) gene, leading to accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and expression of HIF target genes. Purification of cells based on expression of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9), a cell surface HIF target, followed by culture in FBS enabled establishment of ccRCC cell cultures with an efficiency of >80 %. Culture in serum-free conditions selected for growth of normal renal proximal tubule epithelial cells. Transcriptional profiling of ccRCC and matched normal cell cultures identified up- and down-regulated networks in ccRCC and comparison to The Cancer Genome Atlas confirmed the clinical validity of our cell cultures. The ability to establish primary cultures of ccRCC cells and matched normal kidney epithelial cells from almost every patient provides a resource for future development of novel therapies and personalized medicine for ccRCC patients.

Chronic Condition and Risk Behaviours in Portuguese Adolescents

PubMed Central

Santos, Teresa; Ferreira, Mafalda; Simões, Maria Celeste; Machado, Maria Céu; de Matos, Margarida Gaspar

2014-01-01

Living with a chronic condition (CC) in adolescence has been historically considered protective for risk behaviours. However, research from the last decade suggest that when compared with healthy peers, adolescents living with a chronic condition can engage in risky behaviours in a similar if not higher rate than their counterparts living with out a CC. This study aims to characterize and evaluate the impact of 1) living with a chronic condition (CC), and 2) how the perception of living with a CC affects school participation, and its association with risk/protective behaviours (drunkenness, physical fight, sadness and self-harm). For this purpose 4 groups were identified: adolescents with mostly healthy behaviours, adolescents with mostly risk behaviours, adolescents with mostly risk-internalizing behaviours and adolescents with mostly risk-externalizing behaviours. A large sample was included in this study, composed by 3494 Portuguese adolescents with an average age of 15 years, who participated in the Portuguese Survey of Health Behaviour in School-aged Children/WHO (HBSC). Main results show that adolescents living with a CC have more risk-internalizing behaviours when compared to adolescents without CC, who present more healthy behaviors. Furthermore, adolescents that report that having a CC affects school participation show more risky behaviours than those not affected by a CC who present more healthy behaviours. Boys with a CC show more healthy behaviours, and those who feel that the CC affects school participation present more risky behaviours. On the other hand, girls with a CC have more risk-internalizing behaviours and less healthy behaviours It is important to point out that dolescents living with a CC represent a vulnerable group, and may engage in experimental/risky behaviours as likely as their non CC peers. Thus, potential benefits can arise from reinforcing interventions within protective contexts (family/peers/school setting). Health/education professionals, more than considering risk behaviours as dangerous in themselves, should offer adolescents with a CC an opportunity to reflect on their own decisions. Educational programs would benefit from looking at risk behaviors more from an experimentation perspective, focusing on constructive ways to help adolescents with CC to proceed into adulthood in a more appropriate developmental way. PMID:24576385

In vitro degradation and cell response of calcium carbonate composite ceramic in comparison with other synthetic bone substitute materials.

PubMed

He, Fupo; Zhang, Jing; Yang, Fanwen; Zhu, Jixiang; Tian, Xiumei; Chen, Xiaoming

2015-05-01

The robust calcium carbonate composite ceramics (CC/PG) can be acquired by fast sintering calcium carbonate at a low temperature (650 °C) using a biocompatible, degradable phosphate-based glass (PG) as sintering agent. In the present study, the in vitro degradation and cell response of CC/PG were assessed and compared with 4 synthetic bone substitute materials, calcium carbonate ceramic (CC), PG, hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) ceramics. The degradation rates in decreasing order were as follows: PG, CC, CC/PG, β-TCP, and HA. The proliferation of rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) cultured on the CC/PG was comparable with that on CC and PG, but inferior to HA and β-TCP. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of rMSCs on CC/PG was lower than PG, comparable with β-TCP, but higher than HA. The rMSCs on CC/PG and PG had enhanced gene expression in specific osteogenic markers, respectively. Compared to HA and β-TCP, the rMSCs on the CC/PG expressed relatively lower level of collagen I and runt-related transcription factor 2, but showed more considerable expression of osteopontin. Although CC, PG, HA, and β-TCP possessed impressive performances in some specific aspects, they faced extant intrinsic drawbacks in either degradation rate or mechanical strength. Based on considerable compressive strength, moderate degradation rate, good cell response, and being free of obvious shortcoming, the CC/PG is promising as another choice for bone substitute materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural changes of the corpus callosum in tinnitus

PubMed Central

Diesch, Eugen; Schummer, Verena; Kramer, Martin; Rupp, Andre

2012-01-01

Objectives: In tinnitus, several brain regions seem to be structurally altered, including the medial partition of Heschl's gyrus (mHG), the site of the primary auditory cortex. The mHG is smaller in tinnitus patients than in healthy controls. The corpus callosum (CC) is the main interhemispheric commissure of the brain connecting the auditory areas of the left and the right hemisphere. Here, we investigate whether tinnitus status is associated with CC volume. Methods: The midsagittal cross-sectional area of the CC was examined in tinnitus patients and healthy controls in which an examination of the mHG had been carried out earlier. The CC was extracted and segmented into subregions which were defined according to the most common CC morphometry schemes introduced by Witelson (1989) and Hofer and Frahm (2006). Results: For both CC segmentation schemes, the CC posterior midbody was smaller in male patients than in male healthy controls and the isthmus, the anterior midbody, and the genou were larger in female patients than in female controls. With CC size normalized relative to mHG volume, the normalized CC splenium was larger in male patients than male controls and the normalized CC splenium, the isthmus and the genou were larger in female patients than female controls. Normalized CC segment size expresses callosal interconnectivity relative to auditory cortex volume. Conclusion: It may be argued that the predominant function of the CC is excitatory. The stronger callosal interconnectivity in tinnitus patients, compared to healthy controls, may facilitate the emergence and maintenance of a positive feedback loop between tinnitus generators located in the two hemispheres. PMID:22470322

The CPP-ACP relieved enamel erosion from a carbonated soft beverage: an in vitro AFM and XRD study.

PubMed

Wang, C P; Huang, S B; Liu, Y; Li, J Y; Yu, H Y

2014-03-01

To investigate the CPP-ACP's effect on enamel against carbonated beverage erosion and explore the potential mechanism. A total of 30 enamel samples were prepared from sound bovine incisors, divided into 3 groups. Samples in the control group were kept in artificial saliva. Specimens' surfaces were smeared with a CPP-ACP agent (Tooth Mousse, TM) for 3 min, rinsed with distilled water for 10s, merged into cola (Coca Cola, CC) for 4 intervals of 2 min, rinsed again for the TM+CC group. In the CC group, specimens were treated solely with cola for 4 intervals (2 min each). The cycles were applied at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 h. The surface microhardness (SMH) alterations were measured using a microhardness tester, the surface profiles were analyzed using the atomic force microscope, and the surface crystalline amount (I%) and crystallinity (FWHM) were analyzed using X-ray diffractometer. The SMH were significantly decreased in CC group, showing the largest SMH alteration; the reduction of SMH in TM+CC group was lower than that in CC group, still larger than control. After cycles, the TM+CC group showed rougher surfaces than control, while the CC group had the roughest surfaces. The TM+CC had an I% higher than the CC, and lower than the control. The TM+CC group had a FWHM lower than CC, higher than control. CPP-ACP was able to relieve the erosion on enamel from carbonated beverage. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Charmed baryon weak decays with SU(3) flavor symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geng, C. Q.; Hsiao, Y. K.; Liu, Chia-Wei; Tsai, Tien-Hsueh

2017-11-01

We study the semileptonic and non-leptonic charmed baryon decays with SU(3) flavor symmetry, where the charmed baryons can be B c = (Ξ c 0 , Ξ c + , Λ c + ), B c ' = ( Σ c (++,+,0) , Ξ c ' (+,0) , Ω c 0 ), B cc = (Ξ cc + + , Ξ cc + , Ω c + ) or B cc = Ω ccc + + . With B n (') denoted as the baryon octet (decuplet), we find that the B c → B n ' ℓ + ν ℓ decays are forbidden, while the Ω c 0 → Ω- ℓ + ν ℓ , Ω cc + → Ω c 0 ℓ + ν ℓ , and Ω ccc + + → Ω cc + ℓ + ν ℓ decays are the only existing Cabibbo- allowed modes for B c ' → B n ' ℓ + ν ℓ , B cc → B c ' ℓ + ν ℓ , and B ccc → B cc (') ℓ + ν ℓ , respectively. We predict the rarely studied B c → B n (') M decays, such as B({Ξ}_c^0\\to {Λ}^0{\\overline{K}}^0,{Ξ}_c+\\to {Ξ}^0{π}+)=(8.3± 0.9, 8.0± 4.1)× {10}^{-3} and B({Λ}_c+\\to {Δ}^{++}{π}-,{Ξ}_c^0\\to {Ω}-{K}+)=(5.5± 1.3, 4.8± 0.5)× {10}^{-3} . For the observation, the doubly and triply charmed baryon decays of {Ω}_{cc}+\\to {Ξ}_c+{\\overline{K}}^0,{Ξ}_{cc}^{++}\\to ({Ξ}_c+{π}+,{Σ}_c^{++}{\\overline{K}}^0), and {Ω}_{ccc}^{++}\\to ({Ξ}_{cc}^{++}{\\overline{K}}^0,{Ω}_{cc}+{π}+,{Ξ}_c+{D}+) are the favored Cabibbo-allowed decays, which are accessible to the BESIII and LHCb experiments.

[Comporison Sduty of Microstructure by Metallographicalk on the Polarized Light and Texture by XRD of CC 5083 and CC 5182 Aluminium Alloy after Cold Rolling and Recrystallization].

PubMed

Chen, Ming-biao; Li, Yong-wei; Tan, Yuan-biao; Ma, Min; Wang, Xue-min; Liu, Wen-chang

2015-03-01

At present the study of relation between microstructure, texture and performance of CC 5083 aluminium alloy after cold tolling and recrystallization processes is still finitude. So that the use of the CC 5083 aluminium alloy be influenced. Be cased into electrical furnace, hot up with unlimited speed followed the furnace hot up to different temperature and annealed 2h respectively, and be cased into salt-beth furnace, hot up quickly to different temperature and annealed 30 min respectively for CC 5083 and CC 5182 aluminum alloy after cold roling with 91.5% reduction. The microstructure be watched use metallographic microscope, the texture be inspected by XRD. The start temperature of recrystallization and grain grow up temperature within annealing in the electric furnace of CC 5083 aluminum alloy board is 343 degrees C, and the shap of grain after grow up with long strip (the innovation point ); The start temperature of recrystallization within annealling in the salt bath furnace of CC 5083 is 343 degrees C. The start temperature and end temperature of recrystallization within annealling of CC 5083 and CC 5182 aluminum alloy is 371 degrees C. The grain grow up outstanding of cold rooled CC 5152 aluminum alloy after annealed with 454 degrees C in the electric furnace and salt bath furnace. The start temperature of grain grow up of CC 5083 alluminurn alloy annealed in the electric furnace and salt bath furnace respectively is higher than the start temperature of grain grow up of CC 5182 alluminum alloy annealed in the electric furnace and salt bath furnace respectively. The strat temperature of recrystallization grain grow up is higher than which annealled with other three manner annealing process. The recrystallization temperature of CC 5182 annealed in the salt bath furnace is higher than which annealed in the electric furnace. The recrystallization temperature of the surface layer of CC 5083 and CC 5182 aluminum alloy is higher than the inner layer (the innovation point). There is a difference each other of the structure and the texture of the four manner annealing aluminum alloy (the innovation point). There is a little difference at the recrystallization processes course reflectived by the observe results of structure transform and by the examination results of texture transmission.

Lightweight, Ultra-High-Temperature, CMC-Lined Carbon/Carbon Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Matthew J.; Ramachandran, Gautham; Williams, Brian E.

2011-01-01

Carbon/carbon (C/C) is an established engineering material used extensively in aerospace. The beneficial properties of C/C include high strength, low density, and toughness. Its shortcoming is its limited usability at temperatures higher than the oxidation temperature of carbon . approximately 400 C. Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are used instead, but carry a weight penalty. Combining a thin laminate of CMC to a bulk structure of C/C retains all of the benefits of C/C with the high temperature oxidizing environment usability of CMCs. Ultramet demonstrated the feasibility of combining the light weight of C/C composites with the oxidation resistance of zirconium carbide (ZrC) and zirconium- silicon carbide (Zr-Si-C) CMCs in a unique system composed of a C/C primary structure with an integral CMC liner with temperature capability up to 4,200 F (.2,315 C). The system effectively bridged the gap in weight and performance between coated C/C and bulk CMCs. Fabrication was demonstrated through an innovative variant of Ultramet fs rapid, pressureless melt infiltration processing technology. The fully developed material system has strength that is comparable with that of C/C, lower density than Cf/SiC, and ultra-high-temperature oxidation stability. Application of the reinforced ceramic casing to a predominantly C/C structure creates a highly innovative material with the potential to achieve the long-sought goal of long-term, cyclic high-temperature use of C/C in an oxidizing environment. The C/C substructure provided most of the mechanical integrity, and the CMC strengths achieved appeared to be sufficient to allow the CMC to perform its primary function of protecting the C/C. Nozzle extension components were fabricated and successfully hot-fire tested. Test results showed good thermochemical and thermomechanical stability of the CMC, as well as excellent interfacial bonding between the CMC liner and the underlying C/C structure. In particular, hafnium-containing CMCs on C/C were shown to perform well at temperatures exceeding 3,500 F (.1,925 C). The melt-infiltrated CMC-lined C/C composites offered a lower density than Cf/SiC. The melt-infiltrated composites offer greater use temperature than Cf/SiC because of the more refractory ceramic matrices and the C/C substructure provides greater high-temperature strength. The progress made in this work will allow multiple high-temperature components used in oxidizing environments to take advantage of the low density and high strength of C/C combined with the high-temperature oxidation resistance of melt-infiltrated CMCs.

A Gene Module-Based eQTL Analysis Prioritizing Disease Genes and Pathways in Kidney Cancer.

PubMed

Yang, Mary Qu; Li, Dan; Yang, William; Zhang, Yifan; Liu, Jun; Tong, Weida

2017-01-01

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common and most aggressive form of renal cell cancer (RCC). The incidence of RCC has increased steadily in recent years. The pathogenesis of renal cell cancer remains poorly understood. Many of the tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, and dysregulated pathways in ccRCC need to be revealed for improvement of the overall clinical outlook of the disease. Here, we developed a systems biology approach to prioritize the somatic mutated genes that lead to dysregulation of pathways in ccRCC. The method integrated multi-layer information to infer causative mutations and disease genes. First, we identified differential gene modules in ccRCC by coupling transcriptome and protein-protein interactions. Each of these modules consisted of interacting genes that were involved in similar biological processes and their combined expression alterations were significantly associated with disease type. Then, subsequent gene module-based eQTL analysis revealed somatic mutated genes that had driven the expression alterations of differential gene modules. Our study yielded a list of candidate disease genes, including several known ccRCC causative genes such as BAP1 and PBRM1 , as well as novel genes such as NOD2, RRM1, CSRNP1, SLC4A2, TTLL1 and CNTN1. The differential gene modules and their driver genes revealed by our study provided a new perspective for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease. Moreover, we validated the results in independent ccRCC patient datasets. Our study provided a new method for prioritizing disease genes and pathways.

Cross cultural comparison of constipation profiles at tertiary care centers between India and USA.

PubMed

Singh, P; Surana, R; Soni, S; Agnihotri, A; Ahuja, V; Makharia, G K; Staller, K; Kuo, B

2018-03-09

Despite potential differences in patient perception of chronic constipation (CC) in geographically and culturally distinct regions, head-to-head studies comparing the clinical profile, constipation severity, impact on quality of life (QOL) and economic impact are lacking. We conducted a cross-sectional cohort study of patients presenting with CC to tertiary care centers in the USA and India. Standardized instruments were used to assess constipation subtype, disease severity, disease-specific QOL, somatization, and psychiatric comorbidities. We used multivariable linear regression to determine the predictors of QOL and number of healthcare visits. Sixty-six and 98 patients with CC were enrolled in the USA and India, respectively. Indian patients with CC had significantly more frequent bowel movements/week compared to their USA counterparts (Median 5 vs 3, P < .0001). The proportion of patients with Bristol stool form scale type 1 and 2 was significantly higher in the USA compared to India (65.5% vs 48%, P = .04). Higher depression score (P = .001), more severe constipation symptoms (P = .001) and site of the study being USA (P = .008) independently predicted worse QOL. Indian patients (P < .001) and worse QOL (P = .02) were independent predictors of number of healthcare visits in the last 12 months. Indian patients with CC have more frequent and softer bowel movements compared to those in the USA suggesting significant differences in perception of CC in different geographic and cultural settings. QOL and economic impact related to constipation varies with geographic/cultural setting irrespective of other clinical and psychosomatic features. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Statistical Analysis of the Effect of Inspection and Maintenance ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

... c.. -cc . $ 7$ ì 4í ïïï TI 71 I 4 . 4 . ë cc. 4 , IZ4 74 ï aí t . , s . ï I i ïcï 7ï ïcc 7* 77 7 a ccc ï ëI I 7* ì $ II 2 $ ï 7ïï ócc I 7t 74 S . 3 nïcc ï?il.4 7111 ne 84.ce. ...

Climate change affecting oil palm agronomy, and oil palm cultivation increasing climate change, require amelioration.

PubMed

Paterson, R Russell M; Lima, Nelson

2018-01-01

Palm oil is used in various valued commodities and is a large global industry worth over US$ 50 billion annually. Oil palms (OP) are grown commercially in Indonesia and Malaysia and other countries within Latin America and Africa. The large-scale land-use change has high ecological, economic, and social impacts. Tropical countries in particular are affected negatively by climate change (CC) which also has a detrimental impact on OP agronomy, whereas the cultivation of OP increases CC. Amelioration of both is required. The reduced ability to grow OP will reduce CC, which may allow more cultivation tending to increase CC, in a decreasing cycle. OP could be increasingly grown in more suitable regions occurring under CC. Enhancing the soil fauna may compensate for the effect of CC on OP agriculture to some extent. The effect of OP cultivation on CC may be reduced by employing reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plans, for example, by avoiding illegal fire land clearing. Other ameliorating methods are reported herein. More research is required involving good management practices that can offset the increases in CC by OP plantations. Overall, OP-growing countries should support the Paris convention on reducing CC as the most feasible scheme for reducing CC.

The cycle characteristics of clomiphene with clomiphene and menotropins in polycystic ovary syndrome and non polycystic ovary syndrome infertile patients.

PubMed

Ghasemi, M; Ashraf, H; Koushyar, H; Mousavifar, N

2013-06-01

This study compares the cycle characteristics of clomiphene (CC) with CC+HMG (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin or Menotropins) in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and non-PCOS infertile patients. Patients were treated by CC + minimal HMg protocol. The cancellation rate, the mean number of different follicle sizes and endometrial thickness and pattern were compared. The cancelled cycles due to non-responsiveness were significantly higher in CC compared to CC+ minimal HMg protocol. PCOS patients are significantly nonresponsive in CC cycle and hyperresponsive in CC+ minimal HMg cycles. The mean number of different sizes of follicles and the endometrial thickness were significantly higher in CC+ minimal HMg. PCOS patients were significantly different from non-PCOS regarding the number of mature follicle and endometrial thickness. The pregnancy rate was 11% (10.2% in non-PCOS and 12.2% in PCOS). CC+ minimal HMg is a viable alternative to HMg /FSH only protocol in CC failure or resistant patients, and its efficacy can be mostly attributed to improvement of endometrial quality and increase in follicle number. Moreover, due to high cancellation of PCOS patients treated by this protocol, seemingly other alternatives should be found; perhaps sequential letrozole+HMg/FSH that have been shown to improve the ovarian response in this group of patients.

Convergence of Cortical, Thalamocortical, and Callosal Pathways during Human Fetal Development Revealed by Diffusion MRI Tractography.

PubMed

Wang, Rongpin; Wilkinson, Molly; Kane, Tara; Takahashi, Emi

2017-01-01

There has been evidence that during brain development, emerging thalamocortical (TC) and corticothalamic (CT) pathways converge in some brain regions and follow each other's trajectories to their final destinations. Corpus callosal (CC) pathways also emerge at a similar developmental stage, and are known to converge with TC pathways in specific cortical regions in mature brains. Given the functional relationships between TC and CC pathways, anatomical convergence of the two pathways are likely important for their functional integration. However, it is unknown (1) where TC and CT subcortically converge in the human brain, and (2) where TC and CC converge in the cortex of the human brain, due to the limitations of non-invasive methods. The goals of this study were to describe the spatio-temporal relationships in the development of the TC/CT and CC pathways in the human brain, using high-angular resolution diffusion MR imaging (HARDI) tractography. Emerging cortical, TC and CC pathways were identified in postmortem fetal brains ranging from 17 gestational weeks (GW) to 30 GW, as well as in vivo 34-40 GW newborns. Some pathways from the thalami were found to be converged with pathways from the cerebral cortex as early as 17 GW. Such convergence was observed mainly in anterior and middle regions of the brain until 21 GW. At 22 GW and onwards, posterior pathways from the thalami also converged with cortical pathways. Many CC pathways reached the full length up to the cortical surface as early as 17 GW, while pathways linked to thalami (not only TC axons but also including pathways linked to thalamic neuronal migration) reached the cortical surface at and after 20 GW. These results suggest that CC pathways developed earlier than the TC pathways. The two pathways were widespread at early stages, but by 40 GW they condensed and formed groups of pathways that projected to specific regions of the cortex and overlapped in some brain regions. These results suggest that HARDI tractography has the potential to identify developing TC/CT and CC pathways with the timing and location of their convergence in fetal stages persisting in postnatal development.

Convergence of Cortical, Thalamocortical, and Callosal Pathways during Human Fetal Development Revealed by Diffusion MRI Tractography

PubMed Central

Wang, Rongpin; Wilkinson, Molly; Kane, Tara; Takahashi, Emi

2017-01-01

There has been evidence that during brain development, emerging thalamocortical (TC) and corticothalamic (CT) pathways converge in some brain regions and follow each other's trajectories to their final destinations. Corpus callosal (CC) pathways also emerge at a similar developmental stage, and are known to converge with TC pathways in specific cortical regions in mature brains. Given the functional relationships between TC and CC pathways, anatomical convergence of the two pathways are likely important for their functional integration. However, it is unknown (1) where TC and CT subcortically converge in the human brain, and (2) where TC and CC converge in the cortex of the human brain, due to the limitations of non-invasive methods. The goals of this study were to describe the spatio-temporal relationships in the development of the TC/CT and CC pathways in the human brain, using high-angular resolution diffusion MR imaging (HARDI) tractography. Emerging cortical, TC and CC pathways were identified in postmortem fetal brains ranging from 17 gestational weeks (GW) to 30 GW, as well as in vivo 34–40 GW newborns. Some pathways from the thalami were found to be converged with pathways from the cerebral cortex as early as 17 GW. Such convergence was observed mainly in anterior and middle regions of the brain until 21 GW. At 22 GW and onwards, posterior pathways from the thalami also converged with cortical pathways. Many CC pathways reached the full length up to the cortical surface as early as 17 GW, while pathways linked to thalami (not only TC axons but also including pathways linked to thalamic neuronal migration) reached the cortical surface at and after 20 GW. These results suggest that CC pathways developed earlier than the TC pathways. The two pathways were widespread at early stages, but by 40 GW they condensed and formed groups of pathways that projected to specific regions of the cortex and overlapped in some brain regions. These results suggest that HARDI tractography has the potential to identify developing TC/CT and CC pathways with the timing and location of their convergence in fetal stages persisting in postnatal development. PMID:29163000

Heterologous Quaternary Structure of CXCL12 and its Relationship to the CC Chemokine Family

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murphy, J.; Yuan, H; Kong, Y

2010-01-01

X-ray crystallographic studies reveal that CXCL12 is able to form multiple dimer types, a traditional CXC dimer and a 'CC-like' form. Phylogenetic analysis of all known human chemokines demonstrates CXCL12 is more closely related to the CC chemokine class than other CXC chemokines. These observations indicate that CXCL12 contains genomic and structural elements characteristic of both CXC and CC chemokines.Chemokines are members of a superfamily of proteins involved in the migration of cells to the proper anatomical position during embryonic development or in response to infection or stress during an immune response. There are two major (CC and CXC) andmore » two minor (CX3C and XC) families based on the sequence around the first conserved cysteine. The topology of all structures is essentially identical with a flexible N-terminal region of 3-8 amino acids, a 10-20 residue N-terminal loop, a short 3{sub 10}-helix, three {beta}-strands, and a {alpha}-helix. The major consequence of the subtle difference between the families occurs at the oligomeric level. Monomers of the CC, CXC, and CX3C families form dimers in a family-specific manner. The XCL1 chemokine is a monomer that can interconvert between two folded states. All chemokines activate GPCRs according to family-specificity, however there are a few examples of chemokines crossing the family boundary to function as antagonists. A two-stage mechanism for chemokine activation of GPCRs has been proposed. The N-terminal region of the receptor interacts with the chemokine, followed by receptor activation by the chemokine N-terminal region. Monomeric chemokines have been demonstrated to be the active form for receptor function. There are numerous examples of both chemokines and their receptors forming dimers. While family-specific dimerization may be an attractive explanation for why specific chemokines only activate GPCRs within their own family, the role of dimers in the function of chemokines has not been resolved. Given that CXCL12 is in the CXC family, the CXC dimer is considered the physiologic dimer in all previous studies based on crystallographic evidence. NMR and mutational studies agree with the CXC dimer form in solution. The CXC form of the dimer is seen in recent structures of CXCL12 bound to a heparin disaccharide and several CXCR4 peptides. In one case, crystals of the CXC-type dimer were soaked in a heparin disaccharide solution to determine the interactions between this dimer and bound disaccharide. In another case, in order to overcome NMR chemical shift line broadening when CXCR4 peptides are added, a 'locked' dimer was constructed by introducing a cysteine mutant that linked subunits as a CXC dimer through an inter-subunit disulfide bond. The solution structures of the locked CXC dimer with CXCR4 peptides were determined. The locked CXC dimer retained Ca{sup 2+} mobilization yet lost chemotaxis activity, presumably because the monomer is the active form. In addition to existing as a monomer and CXC dimer, CXCL12 is now demonstrated to have the capacity to form CC type dimers in the presence of a CXCR4 peptide.« less

High density-high purity graphite prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, Clarence L.

1994-01-01

Porous graphite in solid form is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid graphite monolith with a bulk density greater than or equal to 2.10 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed, chemically vapor deposited, or coated by some other suitable means onto graphite. Hot isostatic pressing at 2200.degree. C. and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for two hours produces a bulk density of 2.10 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

High density-high purity graphite prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, C.L.

1994-08-09

Porous graphite in solid form is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce a solid graphite monolith with a bulk density greater than or equal to 2.10 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed, chemically vapor deposited, or coated by some other suitable means onto graphite. Hot isostatic pressing at 2,200 C and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for two hours produces a bulk density of 2.10 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made. 1 fig.

Return of spontaneous Circulation Is Not Affected by Different Chest Compression Rates Superimposed with Sustained Inflations during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Newborn Piglets

PubMed Central

Li, Elliott S.; Cheung, Po-Yin; Lee, Tze-Fun; Lu, Min; O'Reilly, Megan

2016-01-01

Objective Recently, sustained inflations (SI) during chest compression (CC) have been suggested as an alternative to the current approach during neonatal resuscitation. However, the optimal rate of CC during SI has not yet been established. Our aim was to determine whether different CC rates during SI reduce time to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and improve hemodynamic recovery in newborn piglets with asphyxia-induced bradycardia. Intervention and measurements Term newborn piglets were anesthetized, intubated, instrumented and exposed to 45-min normocapnic hypoxia followed by asphyxia. Resuscitation was initiated when heart rate decreased to 25% of baseline. Piglets were randomized into three groups: CC superimposed by SI at a rate of 90 CC per minute (SI+CC 90, n = 8), CC superimposed by SI at a rate of 120 CC per minute (SI+CC 120, n = 8), or a sham group (n = 6). Cardiac function, carotid blood flow, cerebral oxygenation and respiratory parameters were continuously recorded throughout the experiment. Main results Both treatment groups had similar time of ROSC, survival rates, hemodynamic and respiratory parameters during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The hemodynamic recovery in the subsequent 4h was similar in both groups and was only slightly lower than sham-operated piglets at the end of experiment. Conclusion Newborn piglets resuscitated by SI+CC 120 did not show a significant advantage in ROSC, survival, and hemodynamic recovery as compared to those piglets resuscitated by SI+CC 90. PMID:27304210

Assessment of the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association Chronic Constipation Criteria: An Asian Multicenter Cross-sectional Study

PubMed Central

Gwee, Kok-Ann; Bergmans, Paul; Kim, JinYong; Coudsy, Bogdana; Sim, Angelia; Chen, Minhu; Lin, Lin; Hou, Xiaohua; Wang, Huahong; Goh, Khean-Lee; Pangilinan, John A; Kim, Nayoung; des Varannes, Stanislas Bruley

2017-01-01

Background/Aims There is a need for a simple and practical tool adapted for the diagnosis of chronic constipation (CC) in the Asian population. This study compared the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association (ANMA) CC tool and Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of CC in Asian subjects. Methods This multicenter, cross-sectional study included subjects presenting at outpatient gastrointestinal clinics across Asia. Subjects with CC alert symptoms completed a combination Diagnosis Questionnaire to obtain a diagnosis based on 4 different diagnostic methods: self-defined, investigator’s judgment, ANMA CC tool, and Rome III criteria. The primary endpoint was the level of agreement/disagreement between the ANMA CC diagnostic tool and Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of CC. Results The primary analysis comprised of 449 subjects, 414 of whom had a positive diagnosis according to the ANMA CC tool. Rome III positive/ANMA positive and Rome III negative/ANMA negative diagnoses were reported in 76.8% and 7.8% of subjects, respectively, resulting in an overall percentage agreement of 84.6% between the 2 diagnostic methods. The overall percentage disagreement between these 2 diagnostic methods was 15.4%. A higher level of agreement was seen between the ANMA CC tool and self-defined (374 subjects [90.3%]) or investigator’s judgment criteria (388 subjects [93.7%]) compared with the Rome III criteria. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the ANMA CC tool can be a useful for Asian patients with CC. PMID:27764907

First Report of a Thioredoxin Homologue in Jellyfish: Molecular Cloning, Expression and Antioxidant Activity of CcTrx1 from Cyanea capillata

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yonghong; Wang, Qianqian; Chang, Yinlong; Wang, Beilei; Zheng, Jiemin; Zhang, Liming

2014-01-01

Thioredoxins (Trx proteins) are a family of small, highly-conserved and ubiquitous proteins that play significant roles in the resistance of oxidative damage. In this study, a homologue of Trx was identified from the cDNA library of tentacle of the jellyfish Cyanea capillata and named CcTrx1. The full-length cDNA of CcTrx1 was 479 bp with a 312 bp open reading frame encoding 104 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the putative CcTrx1 protein harbored the evolutionarily-conserved Trx active site 31CGPC34 and shared a high similarity with Trx1 proteins from other organisms analyzed, indicating that CcTrx1 is a new member of Trx1 sub-family. CcTrx1 mRNA was found to be constitutively expressed in tentacle, umbrella, oral arm and gonad, indicating a general role of CcTrx1 protein in various physiological processes. The recombinant CcTrx1 (rCcTrx1) protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and then purified by affinity chromatography. The rCcTrx1 protein was demonstrated to possess the expected redox activity in enzymatic analysis and protection against oxidative damage of supercoiled DNA. These results indicate that CcTrx1 may function as an important antioxidant in C. capillata. To our knowledge, this is the first Trx protein characterized from jellyfish species. PMID:24824597

Polyurethane Implants in 2-Stage Breast Reconstruction: 9-Year Clinical Experience.

PubMed

Pompei, Stefano; Arelli, Floriana; Labardi, Lara; Marcasciano, Fabio; Evangelidou, Dora; Ferrante, Gianluigi

2017-02-01

Capsular contracture (CC) is a major complication of breast surgery with smooth and textured implants. Polyurethane (PU) foam-coated breast implants were developed to decrease the incidence of CC. The authors determined the incidence of CC following 2-stage breast reconstruction using PU foam-covered implants, with and without radiation therapy. The records of 92 patients who received 115 PU implants were retrospectively reviewed. The rates of CC over time were compared for irradiated and nonirradiated groups with a Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test. CC rates also were analyzed with respect to age. The median follow-up time for patients was 103.3 months. Nine patients experienced unilateral Baker grade III or IV fibrous CC, including 6 patients from the irradiated group and 3 patients from the nonirradiated group. The overall cumulative incidence of CC at 9 years was 8.1%. In the irradiated and nonirradiated groups, the 9-year cumulative incidence was 10.7% and 5.5%, respectively. CC occurred within 3 years in the irradiated group and within 7 years in the nonirradiated group. The incidence of CC appeared to be higher among younger patients. Radiation therapy increases the risk of high-grade CC with textured or smooth implants. PU implants are associated with a much lower cumulative incidence of CC following 2-stage breast reconstruction, even when radiotherapy is performed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3. © 2016 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Variations in biofilm formation, desiccation resistance and Benzalkonium chloride susceptibility among Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated in Canada.

PubMed

Piercey, Marta J; Ells, Timothy C; Macintosh, Andrew J; Truelstrup Hansen, Lisbeth

2017-09-18

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogenic foodborne microorganism noted for its ability to survive in the environment and food processing facilities. Survival may be related to the phenotype of individual strains including the ability to form biofilms and resist desiccation and/or sanitizer exposure. The objectives of this research were to compare 14 L. monocytogenes strains isolated from blood (3), food (6) and water (5) with respect to their benzalkonium chloride (BAC) sensitivity, desiccation resistance, and ability to form biofilm. Correlations were tested between those responses, and the presence of the SSI-1 (Stress Survival Islet) and LGI1/CC8 (Listeria Genomic Island 1 in a clonal complex 8 background) genetic markers. Genetic sequences from four strains representing different phenotypes were also probed for predicted amino acid differences in biofilm, desiccation, and membrane related genes. The water isolates were among the most desiccation susceptible strains, while strains exhibiting desiccation resistance harboured SSI-1 or both the SSI-1 and LGI1/CC8 markers. BAC resistance was greatest in planktonic LGI1/CC8 cells (relative to non-LGI1/CC8 cells), and higher BAC concentrations were also needed to inhibit the formation of biofilm by LGI1/CC8 strains during incubation for 48h and 6days compared to other strains. Formation of biofilm on stainless steel was not significantly (p>0.05) different among the strains. Analysis of genetic sequence data from desiccation and BAC sensitive (CP4 5-1, CP5 2-3, both from water), intermediate (Lm568, food) and desiccation and BAC resistant (08 5578, blood, human outbreak) strains led to the finding of amino acid differences in predicted functional protein domains in several biofilm, desiccation and peptidoglycan related genes (e.g., lmo0263, lmo0433, lmo0434, lmo0771, lmo0973, lmo1080, lmo1224, lmo1370, lmo1744, and lmo2558). Notably, the LGI1/CC8 strain 08-5578 had a frameshift mutation in lmo1370, a gene previously associated with desiccation resistance. In conclusion, the more desiccation and BAC resistant LGI1/CC8 isolates may pose a challenge for sanitation efforts. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sonographic study of the development of fetal corpus callosum in a Chinese population.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-chun; Yang, Jie; Chen, Zhong-ping; Ma, Xiao-yan

2009-02-01

The observation of fetal corpus callosum (CC) is important for the prenatal sonographic assessment of fetal central nervous system development. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of normal Chinese fetal CC. CC measurements were performed using high-resolution transabdominal sonography on 622 Chinese fetuses between 16 and 39 weeks' gestation. The correlation between CC size and gestational age was investigated. The fetal CC length increased in a linear fashion during pregnancy. The length of the CC as a function of gestational age was expressed by the following regression equation: length (mm) = -9.567 + 1.495 x gestational age (weeks) (r = 0.932, p < 0.001). Knowledge of normal CC appearance may help identify developmental anomalies and enable accurate prenatal counseling. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nodulation, Nitrogen Fixation, and Hydrogen Oxidation by Pigeon Pea Bradyrhizobium spp. in Symbiotic Association with Pigeon Pea, Cowpea, and Soybean †

PubMed Central

Nautiyal, C. S.; Hegde, S. V.; van Berkum, P.

1988-01-01

The pigeon pea strains of Bradyrhizobium CC-1, CC-8, UASGR(S), and F4 were evaluated for nodulation, effectiveness for N2 fixation, and H2 oxidation with homologous and nonhomologous host plants. Strain CC-1 nodulated Macroptilium atropurpureum, Vigna unguiculata, Glycine max, and G. soja but did not nodulate Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris, Trigonella foenum-graecum, and Trifolium repens. Strain F4 nodulated G. max cv. Peking and PI 434937 (Malayan), but the symbioses formed were poor. Similarly, G. max cv. Peking, cv. Bragg, PI 434937, PR 13-28-2-8-7, and HM-1 were nodulated by strain CC-1, and symbioses were also poor. G. max cv. Williams and cv. Clark were not nodulated. H2 uptake activity was expressed with pigeon pea and cowpea, but not with soybean. G. max cv. Bragg grown in Bangalore, India, in local soil not previously exposed to Bradyrhizobium japonicum formed nodules with indigenous Bradyrhizobium spp. Six randomly chosen isolates, each originating from a different nodule, formed effective symbioses with pigeon pea host ICPL-407, nodulated PR 13-28-2-8-7 soybean forming moderately effective symbioses, and did not nodulate Williams soybean. These results indicate the six isolates to be pigeon pea strains although they originated from soybean nodules. Host-determined nodulation of soybean by pigeon pea Bradyrhizobium spp. may depend upon the ancestral backgrounds of the cultivars. The poor symbioses formed by the pigeon pea strains with soybean indicate that this crop should be inoculated with B. japonicum for its cultivation in soils containing only pigeon pea Bradyrhizobium spp. PMID:16347542

Pathways to Oxygen-Bearing Molecules in the Interstellar Medium and in Planetary Atmospheres: Cyclopropenone (c-C3H2O) and Propynal (HCCCHO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Li; Kaiser, Ralf I.; Gao, Li Gyun; Chang, Agnes H. H.; Liang, Mao-Chang; Yung, Yuk L.

2008-10-01

We investigated the formation of two C3H2O isomers, i.e., cyclopropenone (c-C3H2O) and propynal (HCCCHO), in binary ice mixtures of carbon monoxide (CO) and acetylene (C2H2) at 10 K in an ultrahigh vacuum machine on high-energy electron irradiation. The chemical evolution of the ice samples was followed online and in situ via a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The temporal profiles of the cyclopropenone and propynal isomers suggest (pseudo-) first-order kinetics. The cyclic structure (c-C3H2O) is formed via an addition of triplet carbon monoxide to ground-state acetylene (or vice versa); propynal (HCCCHO) can be synthesized from a carbon monoxide-acetylene complex via a [HCO...CCH] radical pair inside the matrix cage. These laboratory studies showed for the first time that both C3H2O isomers can be formed in low-temperature ices via nonequilibrium chemistry initiated by energetic electrons as formed in the track of Galactic cosmic ray particles penetrating interstellar icy grains in cold molecular clouds. Our results can explain the hitherto unresolved gas phase abundances of cyclopropenone in star-forming regions via sublimation of c-C3H2O as formed on icy grains in the cold molecular cloud stage. Implications for the heterogeneous oxygen chemistry of Titan and icy terrestrial planets and satellites suggest that the production of oxygen-bearing molecules such as C3H2O may dominate on aerosol particles compared to pure gas phase chemistry.

The complexity of implementing culture change practices in nursing homes.

PubMed

Sterns, Samantha; Miller, Susan C; Allen, Susan

2010-09-01

The culture change (CC) movement aims to transform the traditional nursing home (NH) that is institutional in design with hierarchical management structure into a homelike environment that empowers residents and frontline staff. This study examines differences in adoption of CC practices according to a NH's self-reported extent of CC implementation and its duration of CC adoption. Furthermore, it examines differences in adoption by whether a CC practice is considered less versus more complex, using complexity theory as the theoretical framework for this classification. Using data from a 2007 Commonwealth-funded study, we analyzed a national sample of 291 US nursing homes that identified as being "for the most part" or "completely" CC facilities for "1 to 3 years" or "3+ years." Also, using a complexity theory framework, we ranked 16 practices commonly associated with CC as low, moderately, or highly complex based on level of agreement needed to actuate the process (number of parties involved) and the certainty of intended outcomes. We then examined the prevalence of CC-associated practices in relation to their complexity and the extent and duration of a NH's CC adoption. We found practices ranked as less complex were implemented more frequently in NHs with both shorter and longer durations of CC adoption. However, more complex CC practices were more prevalent among NHs reporting "complete" adoption for 3+ years versus 1 to 3 years. This was not observed in NHs reporting having CC "for the most part." Less complex practices may be more economical and easier to implement. These early successes may result in sufficient momentum so that more complex change can follow. A nursing home that more completely embraces the culture change movement may be more likely to attempt these complex changes. Copyright 2010 American Medical Directors Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness and feasibility of assistant push on improvement of chest compression quality: a crossover study.

PubMed

Choi, Sung Soo; Yun, Seong-Woo; Lee, Byung Kook; Jeung, Kyung Woon; Song, Kyoung Hwan; Lee, Chang-Hee; Park, Jung Soo; Jeong, Ji Yeon; Shin, Sang Yeol

2015-03-01

To improve the quality of chest compression (CC), we developed the assistant-push method, whereby the second rescuer pushes the back of the chest compressor during CC. We investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of assistant push in achieving and maintaining the CC quality. This was a randomized crossover trial in which 41 subjects randomly performed both of standard CC (single-rescuer group) and CC with instructor-driven assistant push (assistant-push group) in different order. Each session of CC was performed for 2 minutes using a manikin. Subjects were also assigned to both roles of chest compressor and assistant and together performed CC with subject-driven assistant push. Depth of CC, compression to recoil ratio, duty cycle, and rate of incomplete recoil were quantified. The mean depth of CC (57.0 [56.0-59.0] vs 55.0 [49.5-57.5], P < .001) was significantly deeper, and the compression force (33.8 [29.3-36.4] vs 23.3 [20.4-25.3], P < .001) was stronger in the assistant-push group. The ratio of compression to recoil, duty cycle, and rate of incomplete chest recoil were comparable between the 2 groups. The CC depth in the single-rescuer group decreased significantly every 30 seconds, whereas in the assistant-push group, it was comparable at 60- and 90-second time points (P = .004). The subject assistant-push group performed CCs at a depth comparable with that of the instructor assistant-push group. The assistant-push method improved the depth of CC and attenuated its decline, eventually helping maintain adequate CC depth over time. Subjects were able to feasibly learn assistant push and performed effectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cost-utility of collaborative care for major depressive disorder in primary care in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Goorden, Maartje; Huijbregts, Klaas M L; van Marwijk, Harm W J; Beekman, Aartjan T F; van der Feltz-Cornelis, Christina M; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2015-10-01

Major depression is a great burden on society, as it is associated with high disability/costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-utility of Collaborative Care (CC) for major depressive disorder compared to Care As Usual (CAU) in a primary health care setting from a societal perspective. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted, including 93 patients that were identified by screening (45-CC, 48-CAU). Another 57 patients were identified by the GP (56-CC, 1-CAU). The outcome measures were TiC-P, SF-HQL and EQ-5D, respectively measuring health care utilization, production losses and general health related quality of life at baseline three, six, nine and twelve months. A cost-utility analysis was performed for patients included by screening and a sensitivity analysis was done by also including patients identified by the GP. The average annual total costs was €1131 (95% C.I., €-3158 to €750) lower for CC compared to CAU. The average quality of life years (QALYs) gained was 0.02 (95% C.I., -0.004 to 0.04) higher for CC, so CC was dominant from a societal perspective. Taking a health care perspective, CC was less cost-effective due to higher costs, €1173 (95% C.I., €-216 to €2726), of CC compared to CAU which led to an ICER of 53,717 Euro/QALY. The sensitivity analysis showed dominance of CC. The cost-utility analysis from a societal perspective showed that CC was dominant to CAU. CC may be a promising treatment for depression in the primary care setting. Further research should explore the cost-effectiveness of long-term CC. Netherlands Trial Register ISRCTN15266438. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcriptome mining of immune-related genes in the muricid snail Concholepas concholepas.

PubMed

Détrée, Camille; López-Landavery, Edgar; Gallardo-Escárate, Cristian; Lafarga-De la Cruz, Fabiola

2017-12-01

The population of the Chilean endemic marine gastropod Concholepas concholepas locally called "loco" has dramatically decreased in the past 50 years as a result of intense activity of local fisheries and high environmental variability observed along the Chilean coast, including episodes of hypoxia, changes in sea surface temperature, ocean acidification and diseases. In this study, we set out to explore the molecular basis of C. concholepas to cope with biotic stressors such as exposure to the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio anguillarum. Here, 454pyrosequencing was conducted and 61 transcripts related to the immune response in this muricid species were identified. Among these, the expression of six genes (CcNFκβ, CcIκβ, CcLITAF, CcTLR, CcCas8 and CcCath) involved in the regulation of inflammatory, apoptotic and immune processes upon stimuli, were evaluated during the first 33 h post challenge (hpc). The results showed that CcTLR, CcCas8 and CcCath have an initial response at 4 hpc, evidencing an up-regulation from 4 to 24 hpc. Notably, the response of CcNFKB occurred 2 h later with a statistically significant up-regulation at 6 hpc and 10 hpc. Furthermore, the challenge with V. anguillarum induced a statistically significant down-regulation of CcIKB between 2 and 10 hpc as well as a down-regulation of CcLITAF between 2 and 4 hpc followed in both cases by an up-regulation between 24 and 33 hpc. This work describes the first transcriptomic effort to characterize the immune response of C. concholepas and constitutes a valuable transcriptomic resource for future efforts to develop sustainable aquaculture and conservations tools for this endemic marine snail species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[EFFECTS OF VOLUNTARY INTAKE OF FLUIDS (WATER AND SPORTS DRINK) IN AMATEUR MOUNTAIN RUNNERS].

PubMed

Nebot, Vicente; Drehmer, Eraci; Elvira, Laura; Sales, Sonia; Sanchís, Carlos; Esquius, Laura; Pablos, Ana

2015-11-01

21 K and 1 000 m ascent trail-running races can be dangerous if an appropriate liquid replacement isn't maintained. know trail-runners level of dehydration and assess the differences between ad libitum water (CcA) and sport drink (CcB) hydration after a trail running race. 18 subjects, mean age 31.9 (±2.8) and %MG 10.53 (±2.8), completed CcA or CcB. CcA and CcB effects on Weight (P), Fat Mass (MG), Glucose (GL), Lactate (LT), Systolic (TAS) and Diastolic Arterial Tension (TAD), Heart Rate (PPM) and Tympanic Temperature (Tª) were assessed. All measurements were taken at the start (T1) and the finish (T2) of each race. A Friedman ANOVA test was used to calculate the effect of CcA and CcB on each variable. Differences between race time (TC), % bodyweight loss (%PP) and liquid ingestion (LI) were assessed with a Wilcoxon test. All statistical analysis were conducted with SPSS version 20.0 (IBM, Somers, NY, USA). mean %PP was 2.967 (± 0.969) and 2.883 (± 0.730) for CcA and CcB respectively. No significant differences were found between %PP and LI (p > .05) between races. Significant changes were found in P, %MG, GL, L, TAS and PPM between T1 and T2 in CcA condition. While only significant changes in P and PPM were stabilised between T1 and T2 in CcB condition. neither water or sport drink ingestion avoid trail-runners to reach a dehydrated state. However, dehydration effects seems to be more serious when only water is ingested. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Perspectives of health care professionals on cancer cachexia: results from three global surveys

PubMed Central

Muscaritoli, M.; Rossi Fanelli, F.; Molfino, A.

2016-01-01

Background Cachexia has a high prevalence in cancer patients and negatively impacts prognosis, quality of life (QOL), and tolerance/response to treatments. This study reports the results of three surveys designed to gain insights into cancer cachexia (CC) awareness, understanding, and treatment practices among health care professionals (HCPs). Methods Surveys were conducted globally among HCPs involved in CC management. Topics evaluated included definitions and synonyms of CC, diagnosis and treatment practices, and goals and desired improvements of CC treatment. Results In total, 742 HCPs from 14 different countries participated in the surveys. The majority (97%) of participants were medical oncologists or hematologists. CC was most frequently defined as weight loss (86%) and loss of appetite (46%). The terms loss of weight and decreased appetite (51% and 34%, respectively) were often provided as synonyms of CC. Almost half (46%) of the participants reported diagnosing CC and beginning treatment if a patient experienced a weight loss of 10%. However, 48% of the participants would wait until weight loss was ≥15% to diagnose CC and start treatment. HCPs also reported that 61%–77% of cancer patients do not receive any prescription medication for CC before Stage IV of disease is reached. Ability to promote weight gain was rated as the most important factor for selecting CC treatment. Key goals of treatment included ensuring that patients can cope with the cancer and treatment and have a QOL benefit. HCPs expressed desire for treatments with a more CC-specific mode of action and therapies that enhance QOL. Conclusions These surveys underscore the need for increased awareness among HCPs of CC and its management. PMID:28007753

Meta-analysis of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Gene Expression Defines a Variant Subgroup and Identifies Gender Influences on Tumor Biology

PubMed Central

Brannon, A. Rose; Haake, Scott M.; Hacker, Kathryn E.; Pruthi, Raj S.; Wallen, Eric M.; Nielsen, Matthew E.; Rathmell, W. Kimryn

2011-01-01

Background Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) displays molecular and histologic heterogeneity. Previously described subsets of this disease, ccA and ccB, were defined based on multigene expression profiles, but it is unclear whether these subgroupings reflect the full spectrum of disease or how these molecular subtypes relate to histologic descriptions or gender. Objective Determine whether additional subtypes of ccRCC exist and whether these subtypes are related to von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) inactivation, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1 and 2 expression, tumor histology, or gender. Design, setting, and participants Six large, publicly available ccRCC gene expression databases were identified that cumulatively provided data for 480 tumors for meta-analysis via meta-array compilation. Measurements Unsupervised consensus clustering was performed on the meta-arrays. Tumors were examined for the relationship of multigene-defined consensus subtypes and expression signatures of VHL mutation and HIF status, tumor histology, and gender. Results and limitations Two dominant subsets of ccRCC were observed. However, a minor third cluster was revealed that correlated strongly with a wild type (WT) VHL expression profile and indications of variant histologies. When variant histologies were removed, ccA tumors naturally divided by gender. This technique is limited by the potential for persistent batch effect, tumor sampling bias, and restrictions of annotated information. Conclusions The ccA and ccB subsets of ccRCC are robust in meta-analysis among histologically conventional ccRCC tumors. A third group of tumors was identified that may represent a new variant of ccRCC. Within definitively clear cell tumors, gender may delineate tumors in such a way that it could have implications regarding current treatments and future drug development. PMID:22030119

Altered Circulating Inflammatory Cytokines Are Associated with Anovulatory Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Women Resistant to Clomiphene Citrate Treatment.

PubMed

Wang, LianLian; Qi, HongBo; Baker, Philip N; Zhen, QianNa; Zeng, Qing; Shi, Rui; Tong, Chao; Ge, Qian

2017-03-01

BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynecological disease characterized by chronic oligoanovulation, clinical/biochemical hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, and insulin resistance. Accumulating evidence has shown that PCOS-related ovarian dysfunction is the main cause of anovulatory infertility. Clomiphene citrate (CC) is the first-line therapy for PCOS patients; however, approximately 15-40% PCOS patients are resistant to CC treatment. It has been demonstrated that PCOS is a chronic pro-inflammatory state, as some pro-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in the peripheral circulation of PCOS patients, but whether altered inflammatory cytokines expression in PCOS patients is associated with blunted response to CC remains unknown. MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited 44 CC-resistant PCOS patients, along with 55 age and body mass index (BMI)-matched CC-sensitive PCOS patients. Ovulation was induced by administrating 50-100 mg/day CC on days 5 to 9 of each menstrual cycle. The cytokine profiles were detected by cytokine antibody microarrays and further validated by ELISAs. RESULTS CC-resistant patients had higher levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) than the CC-sensitive individuals. A growth factor, angiopoietin-2, was significantly reduced [1.64 (0.93-1.95) vs. 1.08 (0.85-1.34), p<0.05], while a chemokine CXCL-16 was significantly increased (9.10±2.35 vs. 10.41±2.82, p<0.05) in CC-resistant patients compared to the CC-sensitive subjects. CXCL-16 was positively correlated with hsCRP (r=0.33, p<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that angiopoietin-2 and CXCL-16 are associated with CC resistance. CONCLUSIONS Circulating cytokines are disturbed in CC-resistant PCOS patients. Altered angiopoietin-2 and CXCL-16 levels might compromise the responsiveness of the ovary to CC through up-regulating angiogenesis and inflammation.

Altered Circulating Inflammatory Cytokines Are Associated with Anovulatory Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Women Resistant to Clomiphene Citrate Treatment

PubMed Central

Wang, LianLian; Qi, HongBo; Baker, Philip N.; Zhen, QianNa; Zeng, Qing; Shi, Rui; Tong, Chao; Ge, Qian

2017-01-01

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynecological disease characterized by chronic oligoanovulation, clinical/biochemical hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, and insulin resistance. Accumulating evidence has shown that PCOS-related ovarian dysfunction is the main cause of anovulatory infertility. Clomiphene citrate (CC) is the first-line therapy for PCOS patients; however, approximately 15–40% PCOS patients are resistant to CC treatment. It has been demonstrated that PCOS is a chronic pro-inflammatory state, as some pro-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in the peripheral circulation of PCOS patients, but whether altered inflammatory cytokines expression in PCOS patients is associated with blunted response to CC remains unknown. Material/Methods We recruited 44 CC-resistant PCOS patients, along with 55 age and body mass index (BMI)-matched CC-sensitive PCOS patients. Ovulation was induced by administrating 50–100 mg/day CC on days 5 to 9 of each menstrual cycle. The cytokine profiles were detected by cytokine antibody microarrays and further validated by ELISAs. Results CC-resistant patients had higher levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) than the CC-sensitive individuals. A growth factor, angiopoietin-2, was significantly reduced [1.64 (0.93–1.95) vs. 1.08 (0.85–1.34), p<0.05], while a chemokine CXCL-16 was significantly increased (9.10±2.35 vs. 10.41±2.82, p<0.05) in CC-resistant patients compared to the CC-sensitive subjects. CXCL-16 was positively correlated with hsCRP (r=0.33, p<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that angiopoietin-2 and CXCL-16 are associated with CC resistance. Conclusions Circulating cytokines are disturbed in CC-resistant PCOS patients. Altered angiopoietin-2 and CXCL-16 levels might compromise the responsiveness of the ovary to CC through up-regulating angiogenesis and inflammation. PMID:28246376

Prognostication of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinomas based on quantification of DNA methylation levels of CpG island methylator phenotype marker genes.

PubMed

Tian, Ying; Arai, Eri; Gotoh, Masahiro; Komiyama, Motokiyo; Fujimoto, Hiroyuki; Kanai, Yae

2014-10-20

The CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) is characterized by accumulation of DNA methylation at CpG islands and poorer patient outcome. The aim of this study was to establish criteria for prognostication of patients with ccRCCs using the ccRCC-specific CIMP marker genes. DNA methylation levels at 299 CpG sites in the 14 CIMP marker genes were evaluated quantitatively in tissue specimens of 88 CIMP-negative and 14 CIMP-positive ccRCCs in a learning cohort using the MassARRAY system. An additional 100 ccRCCs were also analyzed as a validation cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that area under the curve values for the 23 CpG units including the 32 CpG sites in the 7 CIMP-marker genes, i.e. FAM150A, ZNF540, ZNF671, ZNF154, PRAC, TRH and SLC13A5, for discrimination of CIMP-positive from CIMP-negative ccRCCs were larger than 0.95. Criteria combining the 23 CpG units discriminated CIMP-positive from CIMP-negative ccRCCs with 100% sensitivity and specificity in the learning cohort. Cancer-free and overall survival rates of patients with CIMP-positive ccRCCs diagnosed using the criteria combining the 23 CpG units in a validation cohort were significantly lower than those of patients with CIMP-negative ccRCCs (P = 1.41 × 10-5 and 2.43 × 10-13, respectively). Patients with CIMP-positive ccRCCs in the validation cohort had a higher likelihood of disease-related death (hazard ratio, 75.8; 95% confidence interval, 7.81 to 735; P = 1.89 × 10-4) than those with CIMP-negative ccRCCs. The established criteria are able to reproducibly diagnose CIMP-positive ccRCCs and may be useful for personalized medicine for patients with ccRCCs.

A non-invasive tool for detecting cervical cancer odor by trained scent dogs.

PubMed

Guerrero-Flores, Héctor; Apresa-García, Teresa; Garay-Villar, Ónix; Sánchez-Pérez, Alejandro; Flores-Villegas, David; Bandera-Calderón, Artfy; García-Palacios, Raúl; Rojas-Sánchez, Teresita; Romero-Morelos, Pablo; Sánchez-Albor, Verónica; Mata, Osvaldo; Arana-Conejo, Víctor; Badillo-Romero, Jesús; Taniguchi, Keiko; Marrero-Rodríguez, Daniel; Mendoza-Rodríguez, Mónica; Rodríguez-Esquivel, Miriam; Huerta-Padilla, Víctor; Martínez-Castillo, Andrea; Hernández-Gallardo, Irma; López-Romero, Ricardo; Bandala, Cindy; Rosales-Guevara, Juan; Salcedo, Mauricio

2017-01-26

Cervical Cancer (CC) has become a public health concern of alarming proportions in many developing countries such as Mexico, particularly in low income sectors and marginalized regions. As such, an early detection is a key medical factor in improving not only their population's quality of life but also its life expectancy. Interestingly, there has been an increase in the number of reports describing successful attempts at detecting cancer cells in human tissues or fluids using trained (sniffer) dogs. The great odor detection threshold exhibited by dogs is not unheard of. However, this represented a potential opportunity to develop an affordable, accessible, and non-invasive method for detection of CC. Using clicker training, a male beagle was trained to recognize CC odor. During training, fresh CC biopsies were used as a reference point. Other samples used included cervical smears on glass slides and medical surgical bandages used as intimate sanitary pads by CC patients. A double-blind procedure was exercised when testing the beagle's ability to discriminate CC from control samples. The beagle was proven able to detect CC-specific volatile organic compounds (VOC) contained in both fresh cervical smear samples and adsorbent material samples. Beagle's success rate at detecting and discriminating CC and non-CC odors, as indicated by specificity and sensitivity values recorded during the experiment, stood at an overall high (>90%). CC-related VOC in adsorbent materials were detectable after only eight hours of use by CC patients. Present data suggests different applications for VOC from the uterine cervix to be used in the detection and diagnosis of CC. Furthermore, data supports the use of trained dogs as a viable, affordable, non-invasive and, therefore, highly relevant alternative method for detection of CC lesions. Additional benefits of this method include its quick turnaround time and ease of use while remaining highly accurate and robust.

miR-19a correlates with poor prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients via promoting cell proliferation and suppressing PTEN/SMAD4 expression.

PubMed

Ma, Qiang; Peng, Zhiqiang; Wang, Lei; Li, Yanming; Wang, Kaizhen; Zheng, Junfang; Liang, Zhiyong; Liu, Tonghua

2016-12-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were reported to be involved in the development of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, the study on miRNAs in ccRCC is far from complete. The present study identified miRNAs which could act as potential novel prognostic markers for ccRCC, and analyzed its possible mechanism. We found that miR-19a correlated with poor prognosis of ccRCC patients via promoting cell proliferation and suppressing PTEN/SMAD4 expression. Both the microarray screening result and TCGA KIRC dataset analysis showed that miR-19a was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues, and further analysis of TCGA data revealed that the upregulated level of miR-19a was strongly associated with advanced T stage and poor prognosis of ccRCC patients. Consistent with clinical observations, miR-19a overexpression significantly promoted ccRCC cell proliferation in vitro. To further explore the mechanism by which miR-19a correlated with cell proliferation and poor prognosis of ccRCC, we performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for target genes of miR-19a in ccRCC patients. Result indicated that the key target genes of miR-19a included SMAD4 and PTEN. In ccRCC tissues, expression levels of SMAD4 and PTEN were negatively correlated with expression level of miR-19a, revealing that miR-19a suppressed the expression of SMAD4 and PTEN in ccRCC patients. miR-19a overexpression significantly suppressed the expression of SMAD4 and PTEN in vitro, further verifying that SMAD4 and PTEN were the target genes of miR-19a in ccRCC cells. Our results elucidated the tumor promoting role of miR-19a and established miR-19a as a potential novel prognostic marker for ccRCC.

Effects of water fluoride exposure at crown completion and maturation on caries of permanent first molars.

PubMed

Singh, K A; Spencer, A J; Brennan, D S

2007-01-01

Pre-eruptive fluoride exposure has been shown to be important for caries prevention. This paper aimed to determine the relative effects of water fluoride exposure during crown completion (CC) and maturation on caries experience in first permanent molars. Parental questionnaires covering residential history were linked to oral examinations of 19,885 6- to 15-year-old Australian children conducted in 1992 by the School Dental Services of South Australia and Queensland. The percentage of lifetime exposed to optimally fluoridated water at CC, maturation (MAT) and post-eruption (POST) was calculated. Combined exposure variables describing different levels of CC, maturation and post-eruption were created using a threshold exposure of 50%. Compared to the reference of CC <50%/MAT <50%/POST <50%, the categories CC > or =50%/MAT <50%/POST > or =50% [rate ratio (RR) 0.52], CC > or =50%/MAT > or =50%/POST <50% (RR 0.61) and CC > or =50%/MAT > or =50%/POST > or =50% (RR 0.67) had the strongest caries-preventive effect, followed by CC > or =50%/MAT <50%/POST <50% (RR = 0.79) and CC <50%/MAT > or =50%/POST > or =50% (RR = 0.81) in negative binomial regression models (p < 0.05). The categories CC <50%/MAT > or =50%/POST <50% (RR = 0.85) and CC <50%/MAT <50%/POST > or =50% (RR = 0.84) had weaker, non-significant caries-preventive effects. In conclusion a high exposure at CC was important for caries prevention irrespective of the effect of exposure at maturation and post-eruption. The strongest caries-preventive effect was produced by a high exposure at CC supplemented by a high exposure at maturation and/or post-eruption, but the latter two phases could not produce a significant caries-preventive effect on their own. Since most of the caries occurred on pit and fissure surfaces, the findings relate to this class of lesion.

Durability Indicators Comparison for SCC and CC in Tropical Coastal Environments.

PubMed

Calado, Carlos; Camões, Aires; Monteiro, Eliana; Helene, Paulo; Barkokébas, Béda

2015-03-27

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) demands more studies of durability at higher temperatures when subjected to more aggressive environments in comparison to the conventional vibrated concrete (CC). This work aims at presenting results of durability indicators of SCC and CC, having the same water/binder relations and constituents. The applied methodologies were electrical resistivity, diffusion of chloride ions and accelerated carbonation experiments, among others, such as microstructure study, scanning electron microscope and microtomography experiments. The tests were performed in a research laboratory and at a construction site of the Pernambuco Arena. The obtained results shows that the SCC presents an average electrical resistivity 11.4% higher than CC; the average chloride ions diffusion was 63.3% of the CC; the average accelerated carbonation penetration was 45.8% of the CC; and the average open porosity was 55.6% of the CC. As the results demonstrated, the SCC can be more durable than CC, which contributes to elucidate the aspects related to its durability and consequent prolonged life cycle.

Durability Indicators Comparison for SCC and CC in Tropical Coastal Environments

PubMed Central

Calado, Carlos; Camões, Aires; Monteiro, Eliana; Helene, Paulo; Barkokébas, Béda

2015-01-01

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) demands more studies of durability at higher temperatures when subjected to more aggressive environments in comparison to the conventional vibrated concrete (CC). This work aims at presenting results of durability indicators of SCC and CC, having the same water/binder relations and constituents. The applied methodologies were electrical resistivity, diffusion of chloride ions and accelerated carbonation experiments, among others, such as microstructure study, scanning electron microscope and microtomography experiments. The tests were performed in a research laboratory and at a construction site of the Pernambuco Arena. The obtained results shows that the SCC presents an average electrical resistivity 11.4% higher than CC; the average chloride ions diffusion was 63.3% of the CC; the average accelerated carbonation penetration was 45.8% of the CC; and the average open porosity was 55.6% of the CC. As the results demonstrated, the SCC can be more durable than CC, which contributes to elucidate the aspects related to its durability and consequent prolonged life cycle. PMID:28788012

Unimolecular thermal decomposition of phenol and d5-phenol: Direct observation of cyclopentadiene formation via cyclohexadienone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheer, Adam M.; Mukarakate, Calvin; Robichaud, David J.; Nimlos, Mark R.; Carstensen, Hans-Heinrich; Barney Ellison, G.

2012-01-01

The pyrolyses of phenol and d5-phenol (C6H5OH and C6D5OH) have been studied using a high temperature, microtubular (μtubular) SiC reactor. Product detection is via both photon ionization (10.487 eV) time-of-flight mass spectrometry and matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy. Gas exiting the heated reactor (375 K-1575 K) is subject to a free expansion after a residence time in the μtubular reactor of approximately 50-100 μs. The expansion from the reactor into vacuum rapidly cools the gas mixture and allows the detection of radicals and other highly reactive intermediates. We find that the initial decomposition steps at the onset of phenol pyrolysis are enol/keto tautomerization to form cyclohexadienone followed by decarbonylation to produce cyclopentadiene; C6H5OH → c-C6H6 = O → c-C5H6 + CO. The cyclopentadiene loses a H atom to generate the cyclopentadienyl radical which further decomposes to acetylene and propargyl radical; c-C5H6 → c-C5H5 + H → HC≡CH + HCCCH2. At higher temperatures, hydrogen loss from the PhO-H group to form phenoxy radical followed by CO ejection to generate the cyclopentadienyl radical likely contributes to the product distribution; C6H5O-H → C6H5O + H → c-C5H5 + CO. The direct decarbonylation reaction remains an important channel in the thermal decomposition mechanisms of the dihydroxybenzenes. Both catechol (o-HO-C6H4-OH) and hydroquinone (p-HO-C6H4-OH) are shown to undergo decarbonylation at the onset of pyrolysis to form hydroxycyclopentadiene. In the case of catechol, we observe that water loss is also an important decomposition channel at the onset of pyrolysis.

The Peru Cervical Cancer Screening Study (PERCAPS): The Design and Implementation of a Mother/Daughter Screen, Treat, and Vaccinate Program in the Peruvian Jungle

PubMed Central

Levinson, Kimberly L.; Salmeron, Jorge; Sologuren, Carlos Vallejos; Fernandez, Maria Jose Vallejos; Belinson, Jerome L.

2014-01-01

Peru struggles to prevent cervical cancer (CC). In the jungle, prevention programs suffer from significant barriers although technology exists to detect CC precursors. This study used community based participatory research (CBPR) methods to overcome barriers. The objective was to evaluate the utility of CBPR techniques in a mother–child screen/treat and vaccinate program for CC prevention in the Peruvian jungle. The CC prevention program used self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) for screening, cryotherapy for treatment and the HPV vaccine Gardasil for vaccination. Community health leaders (HL) from around Iquitos participated in a two half day educational course. The HLs then decided how to implement interventions in their villages or urban sectors. The success of the program was measured by: (1) ability of the HLs to determine an implementation plan, (2) proper use of research forms, (3) participation and retention rates, and (4) participants’ satisfaction. HLs successfully registered 320 women at soup kitchens, schools, and health posts. Screening, treatment, and vaccination were successfully carried out using forms for registration, consent, and results with minimum error. In the screen/treat intervention 100 % of participants gave an HPV sample and 99.7 % reported high satisfaction; 81 % of HPV + women were treated, and 57 % returned for 6-month followup. Vaccine intervention: 98 % of girls received the 1st vaccine, 88 % of those received the 2nd, and 65 % the 3rd. CBPR techniques successfully helped implement a screen/treat and vaccinate CC prevention program around Iquitos, Peru. These techniques may be appropriate for large-scale preventive health-care interventions. PMID:24276617

The Peru Cervical Cancer Screening Study (PERCAPS): the design and implementation of a mother/daughter screen, treat, and vaccinate program in the Peruvian jungle.

PubMed

Abuelo, Carolina E; Levinson, Kimberly L; Salmeron, Jorge; Sologuren, Carlos Vallejos; Fernandez, Maria Jose Vallejos; Belinson, Jerome L

2014-06-01

Peru struggles to prevent cervical cancer (CC). In the jungle, prevention programs suffer from significant barriers although technology exists to detect CC precursors. This study used community based participatory research (CBPR) methods to overcome barriers. The objective was to evaluate the utility of CBPR techniques in a mother-child screen/treat and vaccinate program for CC prevention in the Peruvian jungle. The CC prevention program used self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) for screening, cryotherapy for treatment and the HPV vaccine Gardasil for vaccination. Community health leaders (HL) from around Iquitos participated in a two half day educational course. The HLs then decided how to implement interventions in their villages or urban sectors. The success of the program was measured by: (1) ability of the HLs to determine an implementation plan, (2) proper use of research forms, (3) participation and retention rates, and (4) participants' satisfaction. HLs successfully registered 320 women at soup kitchens, schools, and health posts. Screening, treatment, and vaccination were successfully carried out using forms for registration, consent, and results with minimum error. In the screen/treat intervention 100% of participants gave an HPV sample and 99.7% reported high satisfaction; 81% of HPV + women were treated, and 57% returned for 6-month followup. Vaccine intervention: 98% of girls received the 1st vaccine, 88% of those received the 2nd, and 65% the 3rd. CBPR techniques successfully helped implement a screen/treat and vaccinate CC prevention program around Iquitos, Peru. These techniques may be appropriate for large-scale preventive health-care interventions.

Serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium responses to massive dosing of cholecalciferol (CC) and 25-OH-CC in young and aged ewes.

PubMed

Thomas, B B; Boling, J A; Muir, W M

1981-01-01

Twenty-four ewes were divided into two age groups (one-year-old and nine-year-old) and used to determine the influence of cholecalciferol (CC) and 25-OH-CC on serum concentrations of Ca, P, and Mg with time post-injection. The ewes were maintained in slatted-floor pens and fed 800 g per head daily of a diet which analyzed 0.38% calcium, 0.31% phosphorus, and 0.14% magnesium. This diet was fed throughout the 21-day trial. The ewes were injected on days 0 and 7 as follows: (control) 5 ml ethanol; (CC) 50 mg CC in 5 ml ethanol; and (25-OH-CC) 25 mg 25-OH-CC in ethanol. Blood samples were pre-injection (day 0) and on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 17 and 21 of the trial. Serum Ca averaged 10.81, 11.06 and 11.25 mg/100 ml for the one-year-old ewes and 10.51, 11.06 and 11.54 mg/100 ml for the nine-year-olds across sampling times in groups A to C, respectively. Serum P across sampling times averaged 6.58, 7.80 and 9.51 mg/100 ml in one-year-old ewes and were different (P less than .05) from each other. Serum P averaged 7.06, 8.56 and 8.59 mg/100 ml for the nine-year-old ewes. Serum Mg values were 2.51, 2.32 and 2.19 mg/100 ml for the one-year-old and 2.38, 2.14 and 2.00 mg/100 ml for the nine-year-old ewes across all sampling times for control, CC and 25-OH-CC groups, respectively. Serum Mg in one-year-old ewes was lower (P less than .05) in both CC and 25-OH-CC injected ewes than controls, and was lowest (P less than .05) for 25-OH-CC when compared with the control in nine-year-old ewes. External symptoms of hypervitaminosis (reduced feed intake and leg abnormalities) were apparent after the second injection with 25-OH-CC, and were most pronounced in the aged ewes.

Impact of dosimetric and clinical parameters on clinical side effects in cervix cancer patients treated with 3D pulse-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy.

PubMed

Levitchi, Mihai; Charra-Brunaud, Claire; Quetin, Philippe; Haie-Meder, Christine; Kerr, Christine; Castelain, Bernard; Delannes, Martine; Thomas, Laurence; Desandes, Emmanuel; Peiffert, Didier

2012-06-01

To assess the association between dosimetric/clinical parameters and gastrointestinal/urinary grade 2-4 side effects in cervix cancer patients treated with 3D pulse dose rate brachytherapy. Three hundred and fifty-two patients received brachytherapy associated with external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for 266 of them; 236 patients underwent surgery. The doses for the most exposed 2, and 0.1 cm(3) (D(2cc) and D(0.1cc)) volumes of the rectum and bladder as well as bladder ICRU point dose (D(ICRU)) were converted into isoeffective doses in 2-Gy fractions. The clinical parameters analyzed were: age, smoking habits, arteritis, diabetes, previous pelvic surgery, FIGO stage, nodal status, pathology, pelvic surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy. Side effects were prospectively assessed using the CTCAEv3.0. Cutoff dose levels were defined separately for patients treated with EBRT and brachytherapy (Group 1) and with preoperative brachytherapy (Group 2). The median follow-up was 23.4months. In Group 1 a significant predictive value of rectum D(0.1cc) and D(2cc), bladder D(0.1cc) and D(ICRU) for gastrointestinal and urinary toxicity was found using as cutoff 83, 68, 109 and 68Gy(α)(/)(β)(3). In Group 2 a significant predictive value of bladder D(0.1cc), D(2cc) and D(ICRU) for urinary toxicity was found using as cutoff 141, 91 and 67Gy(α)(/)(β)(3), but not for the rectum D(0.1cc) and D(2cc); smoking had a significant predictive value on urinary toxicity. For patients treated with brachytherapy and EBRT, rectum D(0.1cc) and D(2cc) and bladder D(0.1cc) and D(ICRU) had a predictive value for toxicity. For patients treated with preoperative brachytherapy, bladder D(0.1cc), D(2cc) and D(ICRU) and smoking had a predictive value for urinary toxicity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CD47-ligation induced cell death in T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PubMed

Leclair, Pascal; Liu, Chi-Chao; Monajemi, Mahdis; Reid, Gregor S; Sly, Laura M; Lim, Chinten James

2018-05-10

CD47 is a cell-surface marker well recognized for its anti-phagocytic functions. As such, an emerging avenue for targeted cancer therapies involves neutralizing the anti-phagocytic function using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to enhance tumour cell immunogenicity. A lesser known consequence of CD47 receptor ligation is the direct induction of tumour cell death. While several mAbs and their derivatives with this property have been studied, the best characterized is the commercially available mAb B6H12, which requires immobilization for induction of cell death. Here, we describe a commercially available mAb, CC2C6, which induces T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell death in soluble form. Soluble CC2C6 induces CD47-dependent cell death in a manner consistent with immobilized B6H12, which is characterized by mitochondrial deficiencies but is independent of caspase activation. Titration studies indicated that CC2C6 shares a common CD47-epitope with B6H12. Importantly, CC2C6 retains the anti-phagocytic neutralizing function, thus possessing dual anti-tumour properties. Although CD47-ligation induced cell death occurs in a caspase-independent manner, CC2C6 was found to stimulate increases in Mcl-1 and NOXA levels, two Bcl-2 family proteins that govern the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Further analysis revealed that the ratio of Mcl-1:NOXA were minimally altered for cells treated with CC2C6, in comparison to cells treated with agents that induced caspase-dependent apoptosis which alter this ratio in favour of NOXA. Finally, we found that CC2C6 can synergize with low dose chemotherapeutic agents that induce classical apoptosis, giving rise to the possibility of an effective combination treatment with reduced long-term sequelae associated with high-dose chemotherapies in childhood ALL.

Beach Changes at Long Beach Island, New Jersey, 1962-73.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

c *Ic-.CcI c I -- 4c -’ Astor ~ ~ tP C c N .c C J . 5 -C. -. 1. -- --- N c[ 0. a . ,;u: I -C ,z , I c c c c c c c c c T c c c I c I c c I -I Or ; t...c ’I C CENcc c00’’N cC ,CCl a.z & .. . a t. 4nN 2 a occq~t ,cacc 1 9 44 ;CC0- c or kedcg a I t reI 21152 t I CC CC CCC CC C C~ CCCf I Lc W 9C C~~ I

Influence of the dialyzer membrane material on sodium transport in hemodialysis.

PubMed

Lopot, F; Kotyk, P; Bláha, J; Válek, A

1995-11-01

Traditionally Gibbs-Donnan coefficients based on the mean charge of plasma proteins are used as the only correction factor in equations describing sodium transport across the dialyzer membrane. This ignores the possible impact of the membrane material. Correction coefficients (CC) of the whole dialyzer were measured during in vivo dialysis as a quotient of dialysate to plasma sodium in an equilibrated state for different membrane materials used in commercially available dialyzers. Their mean value and correlation with total plasma protein content (TPP) were evaluated. CC for the six materials evaluated differed both in the intercept and slope of the regression line CC versus TPP: Cuprophan 1: CC = 1.0253 - 0.00017 x TPP; Hemophan 1: CC = 1.119 - 0.00175 x TPP; Hemophan 2: CC = 1.095 - 0.00111 x TPP; PMMA: CC = 1.0353 - 0.00044 x TPP; SCE:CC = 1.114 - 0.00145 x TPP; and Cuprophan 1:CC = 1.0562 - 0.00065 x TPP. The observed differences are attributed to the different charge densities of the membrane materials and suggest that for a precise description of sodium transport, the role of the membrane material needs to be considered.

Microbacterium agarici sp. nov., Microbacterium humi sp. nov. and Microbacterium pseudoresistens sp. nov., isolated from the base of the mushroom Agaricus blazei.

PubMed

Young, C-C; Busse, H-J; Langer, S; Chu, Jiunn-Nan; Schumann, P; Arun, A B; Shen, Fo-Ting; Rekha, P D; Kämpfer, P

2010-04-01

Three Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria (strains CC-SBCK-209( T), CC-12309(T) and CC-5209(T)) were isolated from the stalk of the edible mushroom Agaricus blazei grown in the laboratory. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that all three isolates clearly belonged to the genus Microbacterium. Strains CC-SBCK-209( T) and CC-12309(T) were most related closely to the type strain of Microbacterium halotolerans (95.9 and 96.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively). These two novel strains shared 97.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Levels of similarity to the type strains of all other recognized Microbacterium species were lower than 95.5 %. The third strain (CC-5209( T)) showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the type strain of Microbacterium resistens (97.6 %); levels of similarity to the type strains of all other recognized Microbacterium species were lower than 96 %. The quinone systems of strains CC-SBCK-209(T), CC-12309(T) and CC-5209(T) consisted of MK-11/MK-12, MK-11/MK-10 and MK-13 as major compounds, respectively. All three strains contained ornithine in their peptidoglycan. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and an unknown glycolipid. The polyamine pattern consisted of spermidine and spermine as predominant components. Fatty acid profiles (anteiso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(16 : 0) and anteiso-C(17 : 0 ) as major components) supported the affiliation of all three strains to the genus Microbacterium. The results of physiological and biochemical tests and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments allowed the clear phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of strains CC-SBCK-209(T) and CC-12309( T) from M. halotolerans and other closely related Microbacterium species. Strain CC-5209(T) could be differentiated clearly from M. resistens both genotypically and phenotypically. Based on these data, the novel strains are considered to represent three novel species of the genus Microbacterium. The names proposed for these organisms are Microbacterium agarici sp. nov. [type strain CC-SBCK-209( T) (=DSM 21798(T)=CCM 7686(T))], Microbacterium humi sp. nov. [type strain CC-12309(T) (=DSM 21799(T)=CCM 7687(T))] and Microbacterium pseudoresistens sp. nov. [type strain CC-5209(T) (=DSM 22185(T)=CCM 7688(T))].

Population Genetic Structure of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated From the Pig and Pork Production Chain in France

PubMed Central

Félix, Benjamin; Feurer, Carole; Maillet, Aurelien; Guillier, Laurent; Boscher, Evelyne; Kerouanton, Annaëlle; Denis, Martine; Roussel, Sophie

2018-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is an ubiquitous pathogenic bacterium, transmissible to humans through the consumption of contaminated food. The pork production sector has been hit hard by a series of L. monocytogenes-related food poisoning outbreaks in France. An overview of the diversity of strains circulating at all levels of the pork production chain, from pig farming (PF) to finished food products (FFP), is needed to identify the contamination routes and improve food safety. Until now, no typing data has been available on strains isolated across the entire pig and pork production chain. Here, we analyzed the population genetic structure of 687 L. monocytogenes strains isolated over the last 20 years in virtually all the French départements from three compartments of this production sector: PF, the food processing environment (FPE), and FFP. The genetic structure was described based on Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) clonal complexes (CCs). The CCs were obtained by mapping the PFGE profiles of the strains. The distribution of CCs was compared firstly between the three compartments and then with CCs obtained from 1106 strains isolated from other food production sectors in France. The predominant CCs of pig and pork strains were not equally distributed among the three compartments: the CC37, CC59, and CC77 strains, rarely found in FPE and FFP, were prevalent in PF. The two most prevalent CCs in the FPE and FFP compartments, CC9 and CC121, were rarely or never detected in PF. No CC was exclusively associated with the pork sector. Three CCs (CC5, CC6, and CC2) were considered ubiquitous, because they were observed in comparable proportions in all food production sectors. The two most prevalent CCs in all sectors were CC9 and CC121, but their distribution was disparate. CC9 was associated with meat products and food products combining several food categories, whereas CC121 was not associated with any given sector. Based on these results, CC121 is likely able to colonize a larger diversity of food products than CC9. Both CCs being associated with the food production suggests, that certain processing steps, such as slaughtering or stabilization treatments, favor their settlement and the recontamination of the food produced. PMID:29681897

Abell 1142 and the Missing Central Galaxy – A Cluster in Transition?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Alexander; Su, Yuanyuan; Buote, David; Forman, William; van Weeren, Reinout; Jones, Christine; Gastaldello, Fabio; Kraft, Ralph; Randall, Scott

2018-01-01

Two types of galaxy clusters exist: cool core (CC) clusters which exhibit centrally-peaked metallicity and X-ray emission and non-cool core (NCC) clusters, possessing comparably homogeneous metallicity and X-ray emission distributions. However, the origin of this dichotomy is still unknown. The current prevailing theories state that either there is a primordial entropy limit, above which a CC is unable to form, or that clusters can change type through major mergers and radiative cooling. Abell 1142 is a galaxy cluster that can provide a unique probe of the root of this cluster-type division. It is formed of two merging sub-clusters, each with its own brightest cluster galaxies (BCG). Its enriched X-ray centroid (possible CC remnant) lies between these two BCGs. We present the thermal and chemical distributions of this system using deep (180ks) XMM-Newton observations to shed light on the role of mergers in the evolution of galaxy clusters.

The formation of RCCCO and CCC(O)R (R = Me, Ph) neutral radicals from ionic precursors in the gas phase: the rearrangement of CCC(O)Ph.

PubMed

Peppe, Salvatore; McAnoy, Andrew M; Dua, Suresh; Bowie, John H

2004-01-01

Neutrals MeCCCO, CCC(O)Me, PhCCCO and CCC(O)Ph have been made by neutralisation of [MeCCCO](+), [CCC(O)Me](-), [PhCCCO](+) and [CC(CO)Ph](-). Neutrals MeCCCO, CCC(O)Me and PhCCCO are stable for the microsecond duration of the neutralisation experiment. A joint experimental and theoretical study (energies calculated at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory) suggests that the neutral radical CCC(O)Ph rearranges via a four-centred ipso radical cyclisation/ring opening to form the isomer PhCCCO in an exothermic reaction. (13)C labelling confirms that the rearrangement does not involve O migration. Some of the PhCCCO radicals formed in this reaction are sufficiently energised to effect decomposition to give PhCC and CO. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An integrated computational approach can classify VHL missense mutations according to risk of clear cell renal carcinoma

PubMed Central

Gossage, Lucy; Pires, Douglas E. V.; Olivera-Nappa, Álvaro; Asenjo, Juan; Bycroft, Mark; Blundell, Tom L.; Eisen, Tim

2014-01-01

Mutations in the von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) gene are pathogenic in VHL disease, congenital polycythaemia and clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC). pVHL forms a ternary complex with elongin C and elongin B, critical for pVHL stability and function, which interacts with Cullin-2 and RING-box protein 1 to target hypoxia-inducible factor for polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. We describe a comprehensive database of missense VHL mutations linked to experimental and clinical data. We use predictions from in silico tools to link the functional effects of missense VHL mutations to phenotype. The risk of ccRCC in VHL disease is linked to the degree of destabilization resulting from missense mutations. An optimized binary classification system (symphony), which integrates predictions from five in silico methods, can predict the risk of ccRCC associated with VHL missense mutations with high sensitivity and specificity. We use symphony to generate predictions for risk of ccRCC for all possible VHL missense mutations and present these predictions, in association with clinical and experimental data, in a publically available, searchable web server. PMID:24969085

Label-noise resistant logistic regression for functional data classification with an application to Alzheimer's disease study.

PubMed

Lee, Seokho; Shin, Hyejin; Lee, Sang Han

2016-12-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is usually diagnosed by clinicians through cognitive and functional performance test with a potential risk of misdiagnosis. Since the progression of AD is known to cause structural changes in the corpus callosum (CC), the CC thickness can be used as a functional covariate in AD classification problem for a diagnosis. However, misclassified class labels negatively impact the classification performance. Motivated by AD-CC association studies, we propose a logistic regression for functional data classification that is robust to misdiagnosis or label noise. Specifically, our logistic regression model is constructed by adopting individual intercepts to functional logistic regression model. This approach enables to indicate which observations are possibly mislabeled and also lead to a robust and efficient classifier. An effective algorithm using MM algorithm provides simple closed-form update formulas. We test our method using synthetic datasets to demonstrate its superiority over an existing method, and apply it to differentiating patients with AD from healthy normals based on CC from MRI. © 2016, The International Biometric Society.

Influence of micro-oxidation on joints of C/C composites and GH3044 for large-size aerospace parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaohong; Jin, Xiuxiu; Yan, Ningning; Yang, Li

2017-11-01

To improve the bonding strength of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites and GH3044 nickel-based superalloy, the bonding interlayer with Ti/Ni/Cu/Ni multiple foils were prepared by a two-step technique involving micro-oxidation and partial transient liquid phase (PTLP) process. Interface characteristics and mechanical behavior of joints were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and energy X-ray dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Results show that a porous layer on C/C composites is formed by micro-oxidation for more than 2 min at 1073 K in air, which provides a diffusion path for liquid phase to infiltrate into C/C substrate and generate a wedge interlocking interface. After micro-oxidation for 4 min, the shear strength of joints reaches 32.09 ± 1.98 MPa what is 36.73% higher than that of joints without micro-oxidation (23.47 ± 1.15 MPa). The increase of shear strength remarkably depends on physical interlocking and chemical bonding at porous interface.

A Maize Cystatin Suppresses Host Immunity by Inhibiting Apoplastic Cysteine Proteases[C][W

PubMed Central

van der Linde, Karina; Hemetsberger, Christoph; Kastner, Christine; Kaschani, Farnusch; van der Hoorn, Renier A.L.; Kumlehn, Jochen; Doehlemann, Gunther

2012-01-01

Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic pathogen causing maize (Zea mays) smut disease. Transcriptome profiling of infected maize plants indicated that a gene encoding a putative cystatin (CC9) is induced upon penetration by U. maydis wild type. By contrast, cc9 is not induced after infection with the U. maydis effector mutant Δpep1, which elicits massive plant defenses. Silencing of cc9 resulted in a strongly induced maize defense gene expression and a hypersensitive response to U. maydis wild-type infection. Consequently, fungal colonization was strongly reduced in cc9-silenced plants, while recombinant CC9 prevented salicylic acid (SA)–induced defenses. Protease activity profiling revealed a strong induction of maize Cys proteases in SA-treated leaves, which could be inhibited by addition of CC9. Transgenic maize plants overexpressing cc9-mCherry showed an apoplastic localization of CC9. The transgenic plants showed a block in Cys protease activity and SA-dependent gene expression. Moreover, activated apoplastic Cys proteases induced SA-associated defense gene expression in naïve plants, which could be suppressed by CC9. We show that apoplastic Cys proteases play a pivotal role in maize defense signaling. Moreover, we identified cystatin CC9 as a novel compatibility factor that suppresses Cys protease activity to allow biotrophic interaction of maize with the fungal pathogen U. maydis. PMID:22454455

Staphylococcus aureus in Animals and Food: Methicillin Resistance, Prevalence and Population Structure. A Review in the African Continent.

PubMed

Lozano, Carmen; Gharsa, Haythem; Ben Slama, Karim; Zarazaga, Myriam; Torres, Carmen

2016-02-04

The interest about Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in livestock, and domestic and wild animals has significantly increased. The spread of different clonal complexes related to livestock animals, mainly CC398, and the recent description of the new mecC gene, make it necessary to know more about the epidemiology and population structure of this microorganism all over the world. Nowadays, there are several descriptions about the presence of S. aureus and/or MRSA in different animal species (dogs, sheep, donkeys, bats, pigs, and monkeys), and in food of animal origin in African countries. In this continent, there is a high diversity of ethnicities, cultures or religions, as well as a high number of wild animal species and close contact between humans and animals, which can have a relevant impact in the epidemiology of this microorganism. This review shows that some clonal lineages associated with humans (CC1, CC15, CC72, CC80, CC101, and CC152) and animals (CC398, CC130 and CC133) are present in this continent in animal isolates, although the mecC gene has not been detected yet. However, available studies are limited to a few countries, very often with incomplete information, and many more studies are necessary to cover a larger number of African countries.

Staphylococcus aureus in Animals and Food: Methicillin Resistance, Prevalence and Population Structure. A Review in the African Continent

PubMed Central

Lozano, Carmen; Gharsa, Haythem; Ben Slama, Karim; Zarazaga, Myriam; Torres, Carmen

2016-01-01

The interest about Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in livestock, and domestic and wild animals has significantly increased. The spread of different clonal complexes related to livestock animals, mainly CC398, and the recent description of the new mecC gene, make it necessary to know more about the epidemiology and population structure of this microorganism all over the world. Nowadays, there are several descriptions about the presence of S. aureus and/or MRSA in different animal species (dogs, sheep, donkeys, bats, pigs, and monkeys), and in food of animal origin in African countries. In this continent, there is a high diversity of ethnicities, cultures or religions, as well as a high number of wild animal species and close contact between humans and animals, which can have a relevant impact in the epidemiology of this microorganism. This review shows that some clonal lineages associated with humans (CC1, CC15, CC72, CC80, CC101, and CC152) and animals (CC398, CC130 and CC133) are present in this continent in animal isolates, although the mecC gene has not been detected yet. However, available studies are limited to a few countries, very often with incomplete information, and many more studies are necessary to cover a larger number of African countries. PMID:27681906

Fundamental contradictions in cultural competence.

PubMed

Johnson, Yvonne M; Munch, Shari

2009-07-01

Cultural competence (CC) is considered highly relevant to social work practice with clients belonging to ethnic and racial minority groups, as the burgeoning literature and creation of practice standards on CC attest. However, examination of the conceptual underpinnings of CC reveals several major anomalies. The authors argue that several aspects of CC contradict central social work concepts or are at odds with current, standard social work practice. These contradictions extend to the epistemological foundations of CC and the rights and dignity of the individual. To further stress the conceptual tensions at the heart of CC, the authors incorporate recent philosophical work addressing collective identities and group rights. The question of whether culturally competent practice is achievable is also addressed. The authors urge academicians and practitioners to thoroughly examine the theoretical and ethical bases of CC because of their highly important ramifications for social work practice.

Beral's 1974 paper: A step towards universal prevention of cervical cancer.

PubMed

Franceschi, Silvia; Vaccarella, Salvatore

2015-12-01

In 1974, Valerie Beral published a landmark paper on the sexually transmitted origin of cervical cancer (CC) using statistics routinely available in the United Kingdom (UK). Among women born between 1902 and 1947, CC mortality rates correlated remarkably well with the incidence rates of gonorrhoea when they were 20 years old and both were highest among women born after 1940. Hence, if CC prevention and treatment had remained unchanged, the youngest generations of women would have experienced a high risk of CC death as they grew older. Fortunately, progress in CC prevention has helped avoid this scenario. The adverse consequences of the "sexual revolution" were greatly mitigated in the UK and other high-resource countries by the implementation of high quality cytology-based CC screening. An age-period-cohort analysis suggests that >30,000 cases or approximately 35% of expected CC cases may have been prevented by screening programmes in the UK between 1983 and 2007 and this percentage has been steadily increasing. In addition, the discovery of the causal role of HPV is reshaping primary and secondary prevention of CC. Cheaper HPV tests are becoming available and HPV-based primary screening may at last facilitate CC screening in low-resource countries. In the long-term, however, HPV vaccination, which has already been adopted by many countries, represents the best hope for preventing CC and overcoming socio-economic differences in CC risk within and across countries. The additional elucidation of HPV cofactors to which Beral has greatly contributed may also help control HPV infection in unvaccinated women. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural basis for cargo binding and autoinhibition of Bicaudal-D1 by a parallel coiled-coil with homotypic registry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Terawaki, Shin-ichi, E-mail: terawaki@gunma-u.ac.jp; SPring-8 Center, RIKEN, 1-1-1 Koto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148; Yoshikane, Asuka

Bicaudal-D1 (BICD1) is an α-helical coiled-coil protein mediating the attachment of specific cargo to cytoplasmic dynein. It plays an essential role in minus end-directed intracellular transport along microtubules. The third C-terminal coiled-coil region of BICD1 (BICD1 CC3) has an important role in cargo sorting, including intracellular vesicles associating with the small GTPase Rab6 and the nuclear pore complex Ran binding protein 2 (RanBP2), and inhibiting the association with cytoplasmic dynein by binding to the first N-terminal coiled-coil region (CC1). The crystal structure of BICD1 CC3 revealed a parallel homodimeric coiled-coil with asymmetry and complementary knobs-into-holes interactions, differing from Drosophila BicDmore » CC3. Furthermore, our binding study indicated that BICD1 CC3 possesses a binding surface for two distinct cargos, Rab6 and RanBP2, and that the CC1-binding site overlaps with the Rab6-binding site. These findings suggest a molecular basis for cargo recognition and autoinhibition of BICD proteins during dynein-dependent intracellular retrograde transport. - Highlights: • BICD1 CC3 is a parallel homodimeric coiled-coil with axial asymmetry. • The coiled-coil packing of BICD1 CC3 is adapted to the equivalent heptad position. • BICD1 CC3 has distinct binding sites for two classes of cargo, Rab6 and RanBP2. • The CC1-binding site of BICD1 CC3 overlaps with the Rab6-binding site.« less

Propolis Augments Apoptosis Induced by Butyrate via Targeting Cell Survival Pathways

PubMed Central

Drago, Eric; Bordonaro, Michael; Lee, Seon; Atamna, Wafa; Lazarova, Darina L.

2013-01-01

Diet is one of the major lifestyle factors affecting incidence of colorectal cancer (CC), and despite accumulating evidence that numerous diet-derived compounds modulate CC incidence, definitive dietary recommendations are not available. We propose a strategy that could facilitate the design of dietary supplements with CC-preventive properties. Thus, nutrient combinations that are a source of apoptosis-inducers and inhibitors of compensatory cell proliferation pathways (e.g., AKT signaling) may produce high levels of programmed death in CC cells. Here we report the combined effect of butyrate, an apoptosis inducer that is produced through fermentation of fiber in the colon, and propolis, a honeybee product, on CC cells. We established that propolis increases the apoptosis of CC cells exposed to butyrate through suppression of cell survival pathways such as the AKT signaling. The programmed death of CC cells by combined exposure to butyrate and propolis is further augmented by inhibition of the JNK signaling pathway. Analyses on the contribution of the downstream targets of JNK signaling, c-JUN and JAK/STAT, to the apoptosis of butyrate/propolis-treated CC cells ascertained that JAK/STAT signaling has an anti-apoptotic role; whereas, the role of cJUN might be dependent upon regulatory cell factors. Thus, our studies ascertained that propolis augments apoptosis of butyrate-sensitive CC cells and re-sensitizes butyrate-resistant CC cells to apoptosis by suppressing AKT signaling and downregulating the JAK/STAT pathway. Future in vivo studies should evaluate the CC-preventive potential of a dietary supplement that produces high levels of colonic butyrate, propolis, and diet-derived JAK/STAT inhibitors. PMID:24023824

Plasticity of Interhemispheric Temporal Lobe White Matter Pathways Due to Early Disruption of Corpus Callosum Development in Spina Bifida

PubMed Central

Juranek, Jenifer; Romanowska-Pawliczek, Anna; Hannay, H. Julia; Cirino, Paul T.; Dennis, Maureen; Kramer, Larry A.; Fletcher, Jack M.

2016-01-01

Abstract Spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) is commonly associated with anomalous development of the corpus callosum (CC) because of congenital partial hypogenesis and hydrocephalus-related hypoplasia. It represents a model disorder to examine the effects of early disruption of CC neurodevelopment and the plasticity of interhemispheric white matter connections. Diffusion tensor imaging was acquired on 76 individuals with SBM and 27 typically developing individuals, aged 8–36 years. Probabilistic tractography was used to isolate the interhemispheric connections between the posterior superior temporal lobes, which typically traverse the posterior third of the CC. Early disruption of CC development resulted in restructuring of interhemispheric connections through alternate commissures, particularly the anterior commissure (AC). These rerouted fibers were present in people with SBM and both CC hypoplasia and hypogenesis. In addition, microstructural integrity was reduced in the interhemispheric temporal tract in people with SBM, indexed by lower fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, and higher radial diffusivity. Interhemispheric temporal tract volume was positively correlated with total volume of the CC, such that more severe underdevelopment of the CC was associated with fewer connections between the posterior temporal lobes. Therefore, both the macrostructure and microstructure of this interhemispheric tract were reduced, presumably as a result of more extensive CC malformation. The current findings suggest that early disruption in CC development reroutes interhemispheric temporal fibers through both the AC and more anterior sections of the CC in support of persistent hypotheses that the AC may serve a compensatory function in atypical CC development. PMID:26798959

Immune response CC chemokines CCL2 and CCL5 are associated with pulmonary sarcoidosis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Pulmonary sarcoidosis involves an intense leukocyte infiltration of the lung with the formation of non-necrotizing granulomas. CC chemokines (chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2)-CCL5) are chemoattractants of mononuclear cells and act through seven transmembrane G-coupled receptors. Previous studies have demonstrated conflicting results with regard to the associations of these chemokines with sarcoidosis. In an effort to clarify previous discrepancies, we performed the largest observational study to date of CC chemokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Results BALF chemokine levels from 72 patients affected by pulmonary sarcoidosis were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared to 8 healthy volunteers. BALF CCL3 and CCL4 levels from pulmonary sarcoidosis patients were not increased compared to controls. However, CCL2 and CCL5 levels were elevated, and subgroup analysis showed higher levels of both chemokines in all stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. CCL2, CCL5, CC chemokine receptor type 1 (CCR1), CCR2 and CCR3 were expressed from mononuclear cells forming the lung granulomas, while CCR5 was only found on mast cells. Conclusions These data suggest that CCL2 and CCL5 are important mediators in recruiting CCR1, CCR2, and CCR3 expressing mononuclear cells as well as CCR5-expressing mast cells during all stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. PMID:21463523

Immune response CC chemokines CCL2 and CCL5 are associated with pulmonary sarcoidosis.

PubMed

Palchevskiy, Vyacheslav; Hashemi, Nastran; Weigt, Stephen S; Xue, Ying Ying; Derhovanessian, Ariss; Keane, Michael P; Strieter, Robert M; Fishbein, Michael C; Deng, Jane C; Lynch, Joseph P; Elashoff, Robert; Belperio, John A

2011-04-04

Pulmonary sarcoidosis involves an intense leukocyte infiltration of the lung with the formation of non-necrotizing granulomas. CC chemokines (chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2)-CCL5) are chemoattractants of mononuclear cells and act through seven transmembrane G-coupled receptors. Previous studies have demonstrated conflicting results with regard to the associations of these chemokines with sarcoidosis. In an effort to clarify previous discrepancies, we performed the largest observational study to date of CC chemokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. BALF chemokine levels from 72 patients affected by pulmonary sarcoidosis were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared to 8 healthy volunteers. BALF CCL3 and CCL4 levels from pulmonary sarcoidosis patients were not increased compared to controls. However, CCL2 and CCL5 levels were elevated, and subgroup analysis showed higher levels of both chemokines in all stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. CCL2, CCL5, CC chemokine receptor type 1 (CCR1), CCR2 and CCR3 were expressed from mononuclear cells forming the lung granulomas, while CCR5 was only found on mast cells. These data suggest that CCL2 and CCL5 are important mediators in recruiting CCR1, CCR2, and CCR3 expressing mononuclear cells as well as CCR5-expressing mast cells during all stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Smart Construction of Integrated CNTs/Li4Ti5O12 Core/Shell Arrays with Superior High-Rate Performance for Application in Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Yao, Zhujun; Xia, Xinhui; Zhou, Cheng-Ao; Zhong, Yu; Wang, Yadong; Deng, Shengjue; Wang, Weiqi; Wang, Xiuli; Tu, Jiangping

2018-03-01

Exploring advanced high-rate anodes is of great importance for the development of next-generation high-power lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, novel carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO) core/shell arrays on carbon cloth (CC) as integrated high-quality anode are constructed via a facile combined chemical vapor deposition-atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. ALD-synthesized LTO is strongly anchored on the CNTs' skeleton forming core/shell structures with diameters of 70-80 nm the combined advantages including highly conductive network, large surface area, and strong adhesion are obtained in the CC-LTO@CNTs core/shell arrays. The electrochemical performance of the CC-CNTs/LTO electrode is completely studied as the anode of LIBs and it shows noticeable high-rate capability (a capacity of 169 mA h g -1 at 1 C and 112 mA h g -1 at 20 C), as well as a stable cycle life with a capacity retention of 86% after 5000 cycles at 10 C, which is much better than the CC-LTO counterpart. Meanwhile, excellent cycling stability is also demonstrated for the full cell with LiFePO 4 cathode and CC-CNTs/LTO anode (87% capacity retention after 1500 cycles at 10 C). These positive features suggest their promising application in high-power energy storage areas.

Dispersion of Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolates Belonging to Major Clonal Complexes in Different Portuguese Settings▿

PubMed Central

Freitas, Ana R.; Novais, Carla; Ruiz-Garbajosa, Patricia; Coque, Teresa M.; Peixe, Luísa

2009-01-01

The population structure of 56 Enterococcus faecium isolates selected from a collection of enterococci from humans, animals, and the environment in Portugal (1997 to 2007) was analyzed by multilocus sequence typing. We identified 41 sequence types clustering into CC17, CC5, CC9, CC22 and CC94, all clonal lineages comprising isolates from different hosts. Our findings highlight the role of community-associated hosts as reservoirs of enterococci able to cause human infections. PMID:19447948

Revisit the landscape of protonated water clusters H+(H2O)n with n = 10-17: An ab initio global search.

PubMed

Shi, Ruili; Li, Keyao; Su, Yan; Tang, Lingli; Huang, Xiaoming; Sai, Linwei; Zhao, Jijun

2018-05-07

Using a genetic algorithm incorporated with density functional theory, we explore the ground state structures of protonated water clusters H + (H 2 O) n with n = 10-17. Then we re-optimize the isomers at B97-D/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory. The extra proton connects with a H 2 O molecule to form a H 3 O + ion in all H + (H 2 O) 10-17 clusters. The lowest-energy structures adopt a monocage form at n = 10-16 and core-shell structure at n = 17 based on the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ//B97-D/aug-cc-pVDZ+ZPE single-point-energy calculation. Using second-order vibrational perturbation theory, we further calculate the infrared spectra with anharmonic correction for the ground state structures of H + (H 2 O) 10-17 clusters at the PBE0/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The anharmonic correction to the spectra is crucial since it reproduces the experimental results quite well. The extra proton weakens the O-H bond strength in the H 3 O + ion since the Wiberg bond order of the O-H bond in the H 3 O + ion is smaller than that in H 2 O molecules, which causes a red shift of the O-H stretching mode in the H 3 O + ion.

Revisit the landscape of protonated water clusters H+(H2O)n with n = 10-17: An ab initio global search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Ruili; Li, Keyao; Su, Yan; Tang, Lingli; Huang, Xiaoming; Sai, Linwei; Zhao, Jijun

2018-05-01

Using a genetic algorithm incorporated with density functional theory, we explore the ground state structures of protonated water clusters H+(H2O)n with n = 10-17. Then we re-optimize the isomers at B97-D/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory. The extra proton connects with a H2O molecule to form a H3O+ ion in all H+(H2O)10-17 clusters. The lowest-energy structures adopt a monocage form at n = 10-16 and core-shell structure at n = 17 based on the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ//B97-D/aug-cc-pVDZ+ZPE single-point-energy calculation. Using second-order vibrational perturbation theory, we further calculate the infrared spectra with anharmonic correction for the ground state structures of H+(H2O)10-17 clusters at the PBE0/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The anharmonic correction to the spectra is crucial since it reproduces the experimental results quite well. The extra proton weakens the O-H bond strength in the H3O+ ion since the Wiberg bond order of the O-H bond in the H3O+ ion is smaller than that in H2O molecules, which causes a red shift of the O-H stretching mode in the H3O+ ion.

The glutathione redox system is essential to prevent ferroptosis caused by impaired lipid metabolism in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Miess, Heike; Dankworth, Beatrice; Gouw, Arvin M; Rosenfeldt, Mathias; Schmitz, Werner; Jiang, Ming; Saunders, Becky; Howell, Michael; Downward, Julian; Felsher, Dean W; Peck, Barrie; Schulze, Almut

2018-06-05

Metabolic reprogramming is a prominent feature of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Here we investigated metabolic dependencies in a panel of ccRCC cell lines using nutrient depletion, functional RNAi screening and inhibitor treatment. We found that ccRCC cells are highly sensitive to the depletion of glutamine or cystine, two amino acids required for glutathione (GSH) synthesis. Moreover, silencing of enzymes of the GSH biosynthesis pathway or glutathione peroxidases, which depend on GSH for the removal of cellular hydroperoxides, selectively reduced viability of ccRCC cells but did not affect the growth of non-malignant renal epithelial cells. Inhibition of GSH synthesis triggered ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death associated with enhanced lipid peroxidation. VHL is a major tumour suppressor in ccRCC and loss of VHL leads to stabilisation of hypoxia inducible factors HIF-1α and HIF-2α. Restoration of functional VHL via exogenous expression of pVHL reverted ccRCC cells to an oxidative metabolism and rendered them insensitive to the induction of ferroptosis. VHL reconstituted cells also exhibited reduced lipid storage and higher expression of genes associated with oxidiative phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism. Importantly, inhibition of β-oxidation or mitochondrial ATP-synthesis restored ferroptosis sensitivity in VHL reconstituted cells. We also found that inhibition of GSH synthesis blocked tumour growth in a MYC-dependent mouse model of renal cancer. Together, our data suggest that reduced fatty acid metabolism due to inhibition of β-oxidation renders renal cancer cells highly dependent on the GSH/GPX pathway to prevent lipid peroxidation and ferroptotic cell death.

The Chloroplastic Protein THF1 Interacts with the Coiled-Coil Domain of the Disease Resistance Protein N′ and Regulates Light-Dependent Cell Death1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Sekine, Ken-Taro; Wallon, Thérèse; Sugiwaka, Yuji; Kobayashi, Kappei

2016-01-01

One branch of plant immunity is mediated through nucleotide-binding/Leu-rich repeat (NB-LRR) family proteins that recognize specific effectors encoded by pathogens. Members of the I2-like family constitute a well-conserved subgroup of NB-LRRs from Solanaceae possessing a coiled-coil (CC) domain at their N termini. We show here that the CC domains of several I2-like proteins are able to induce a hypersensitive response (HR), a form of programmed cell death associated with disease resistance. Using yeast two-hybrid screens, we identified the chloroplastic protein Thylakoid Formation1 (THF1) as an interacting partner for several I2-like CC domains. Co-immunoprecipitations and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays confirmed that THF1 and I2-like CC domains interact in planta and that these interactions take place in the cytosol. Several HR-inducing I2-like CC domains have a negative effect on the accumulation of THF1, suggesting that the latter is destabilized by active CC domains. To confirm this model, we investigated N′, which recognizes the coat protein of most Tobamoviruses, as a prototypical member of the I2-like family. Transient expression and gene silencing data indicated that THF1 functions as a negative regulator of cell death and that activation of full-length N′ results in the destabilization of THF1. Consistent with the known function of THF1 in maintaining chloroplast homeostasis, we show that the HR induced by N′ is light-dependent. Together, our results define, to our knowledge, novel molecular mechanisms linking light and chloroplasts to the induction of cell death by a subgroup of NB-LRR proteins. PMID:26951433

Altered mitochondrial quality control signaling in muscle of old gastric cancer patients with cachexia.

PubMed

Marzetti, Emanuele; Lorenzi, Maria; Landi, Francesco; Picca, Anna; Rosa, Fausto; Tanganelli, Fabiana; Galli, Marco; Doglietto, Giovanni Battista; Pacelli, Fabio; Cesari, Matteo; Bernabei, Roberto; Calvani, Riccardo; Bossola, Maurizio

2017-01-01

Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the loss of muscle featuring both aging and cancer cachexia (CC). Whether mitochondrial quality control (MQC) is altered in skeletal myocytes of old patients with CC is unclear. The present investigation therefore sought to preliminarily characterize MQC pathways in muscle of old gastric cancer patients with cachexia. The study followed a case-control cross-sectional design. Intraoperative biopsies of the rectus abdominis muscle were obtained from 18 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (nine with CC and nine non-cachectic) and nine controls, and assayed for the expression of a set of MQC mediators. The mitofusin 2 expression was reduced in cancer patients compared with controls, independent of CC. Fission protein 1 was instead up-regulated in CC patients relative to the other groups. The mitophagy regulators PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 and Parkin were both down-regulated in cancer patients compared with controls. The ratio between the protein content of the lipidated and non-lipidated forms of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B was lower in CC patients relative to controls and non-cachectic cancer patients. Finally, the expression of autophagy-associated protein 7, lysosome-associated membrane protein 2, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α, and mitochondrial transcription factor A was unvarying among groups. Collectively, our findings indicate that, in old patients with gastric cancer, cachexia is associated with derangements of the muscular MQC axis at several checkpoints: mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial tagging for disposal, and mitophagy signaling. Further investigations are needed to corroborate these preliminary findings and determine whether MQC pathways may become target for future interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bigdata Driven Cloud Security: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raja, K.; Hanifa, Sabibullah Mohamed

2017-08-01

Cloud Computing (CC) is a fast-growing technology to perform massive-scale and complex computing. It eliminates the need to maintain expensive computing hardware, dedicated space, and software. Recently, it has been observed that massive growth in the scale of data or big data generated through cloud computing. CC consists of a front-end, includes the users’ computers and software required to access the cloud network, and back-end consists of various computers, servers and database systems that create the cloud. In SaaS (Software as-a-Service - end users to utilize outsourced software), PaaS (Platform as-a-Service-platform is provided) and IaaS (Infrastructure as-a-Service-physical environment is outsourced), and DaaS (Database as-a-Service-data can be housed within a cloud), where leading / traditional cloud ecosystem delivers the cloud services become a powerful and popular architecture. Many challenges and issues are in security or threats, most vital barrier for cloud computing environment. The main barrier to the adoption of CC in health care relates to Data security. When placing and transmitting data using public networks, cyber attacks in any form are anticipated in CC. Hence, cloud service users need to understand the risk of data breaches and adoption of service delivery model during deployment. This survey deeply covers the CC security issues (covering Data Security in Health care) so as to researchers can develop the robust security application models using Big Data (BD) on CC (can be created / deployed easily). Since, BD evaluation is driven by fast-growing cloud-based applications developed using virtualized technologies. In this purview, MapReduce [12] is a good example of big data processing in a cloud environment, and a model for Cloud providers.

Effect of Interface Modified by Graphene on the Mechanical and Frictional Properties of Carbon/Graphene/Carbon Composites

PubMed Central

Yang, Wei; Luo, Ruiying; Hou, Zhenhua

2016-01-01

In this work, we developed an interface modified by graphene to simultaneously improve the mechanical and frictional properties of carbon/graphene/carbon (C/G/C) composite. Results indicated that the C/G/C composite exhibits remarkably improved interfacial bonding mode, static and dynamic mechanical performance, thermal conductivity, and frictional properties in comparison with those of the C/C composite. The weight contents of carbon fibers, graphene and pyrolytic carbon are 31.6, 0.3 and 68.1 wt %, respectively. The matrix of the C/G/C composite was mainly composed of rough laminar (RL) pyrocarbon. The average hardness by nanoindentation of the C/G/C and C/C composite matrices were 0.473 and 0.751 GPa, respectively. The flexural strength (three point bending), interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), interfacial debonding strength (IDS), internal friction and storage modulus of the C/C composite were 106, 10.3, 7.6, 0.038 and 12.7 GPa, respectively. Those properties of the C/G/C composite increased by 76.4%, 44.6%, 168.4% and 22.8%, respectively, and their internal friction decreased by 42.1% in comparison with those of the C/C composite. Owing to the lower hardness of the matrix, improved fiber/matrix interface bonding strength, and self-lubricating properties of graphene, a complete friction film was easily formed on the friction surface of the modified composite. Compared with the C/C composite, the C/G/C composite exhibited stable friction coefficients and lower wear losses at simulating air-plane normal landing (NL) and rejected take-off (RTO). The method appears to be a competitive approach to improve the mechanical and frictional properties of C/C composites simultaneously. PMID:28773613

Synthesis of kenaf cellulose carbamate and its smart electric stimuli-response.

PubMed

Gan, Sinyee; Piao, Shang Hao; Choi, Hyoung Jin; Zakaria, Sarani; Chia, Chin Hua

2016-02-10

Cellulose carbamate (CC) was produced from kenaf core pulp (KCP) via a microwave reactor-assisted method. The formation of CC was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen content analysis. The degree of substitution, zeta potential and size distribution of CC were also determined. The CC was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry analysis. The CC particles were then dispersed in silicone oil to prepare CC-based anhydrous electric stimuli-responsive electrorheological (ER) fluids. Rhelogical measurement was carried out using rotational rheometer with a high voltage generator in both steady and oscillatory shear modes to examine the effect of electric field strength on the ER characteristics. The results showed that the increase in electric field strength has enhanced the ER properties of CC-based ER fluid due to the chain formation induced by electric polarization among the particles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volume reduction of the corpus callosum and its relationship with deficits in interhemispheric transfer of information in recent-onset psychosis.

PubMed

Chaim, Tiffany M; Schaufelberger, Maristela S; Ferreira, Luiz K; Duran, Fábio L S; Ayres, Adriana M; Scazufca, Marcia; Menezes, Paulo R; Amaro, Edson; Leite, Claudia C; Murray, Robin M; McGuire, Philip K; Rushe, Teresa M; Busatto, Geraldo F

2010-10-30

The present study aimed to investigate the presence of corpus callosum (CC) volume deficits in a population-based recent-onset psychosis (ROP) sample, and whether CC volume relates to interhemispheric communication deficits. For this purpose, we used voxel-based morphometry comparisons of magnetic resonance imaging data between ROP (n =122) and healthy control (n = 94) subjects. Subgroups (38 ROP and 39 controls) were investigated for correlations between CC volumes and performance on the Crossed Finger Localization Test (CFLT). Significant CC volume reductions in ROP subjects versus controls emerged after excluding substance misuse and non-right-handedness. CC reductions retained significance in the schizophrenia subgroup but not in affective psychoses subjects. There were significant positive correlations between CC volumes and CFLT scores in ROP subjects, specifically in subtasks involving interhemispheric communication. From these results, we can conclude that CC volume reductions are present in association with ROP. The relationship between such deficits and CFLT performance suggests that interhemispheric communication impairments are directly linked to CC abnormalities in ROP. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical coupling and coherent perfect absorption for ranges of energies due to a complex gain and loss symmetric system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hasan, Mohammad, E-mail: mohammadhasan786@gmail.com; Ghatak, Ananya, E-mail: gananya04@gmail.com; Mandal, Bhabani Prasad, E-mail: bhabani.mandal@gmail.com

2014-05-15

We consider a non-Hermitian medium with a gain and loss symmetric, exponentially damped potential distribution to demonstrate different scattering features analytically. The condition for critical coupling (CC) for unidirectional wave and coherent perfect absorption (CPA) for bidirectional waves are obtained analytically for this system. The energy points at which total absorption occurs are shown to be the spectral singular points for the time reversed system. The possible energies at which CC occurs for left and right incidence are different. We further obtain periodic intervals with increasing periodicity of energy for CC and CPA to occur in this system. -- Highlights:more » •Energy ranges for CC and CPA are obtained explicitly for complex WS potential. •Analytical conditions for CC and CPA for PT symmetric WS potential are obtained. •Conditions for left and right CC are shown to be different. •Conditions for CC and CPA are shown to be that of SS for the time reversed system. •Our model shows the great flexibility of frequencies for CC and CPA.« less

Aloha - Rigolette Area, Louisiana, Agricultural Flood Control. Volume 2. Technical Appendixes, A, B, C, D, E.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

rp - l J4J w.1> J Q)$ V + m .5 + 4 - u.j -r 4 Ŕ 0 0 u4 w w 1 0O^c 0 H4 oH -,~40 -4 IC Oq- m-~ m~ u-i Ai M~ AJ-61 *-J G Co C - oCtC 1 I It C C C 1 1... g IC C. mCt . . C .U C . CC. UCCC~. Ccc C 0 C C C- - CC ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 11 I. C - - C f .- CC U 0 C ,a CC C C Cu CC CC- C U O CC CCCCC I C CC C I . Or...I 4’C’.’C.’ 4. I g I I I I I I I I I 0 I I - a. I I I I I I I I I U I I CI..aUa I I I I I I. I I - I I .IICaC C I I I I I I I I I I .C I I 0 I I I I I

Formulation and Optimization of Candesartan Cilexetil Nano Lipid Carrier: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation.

PubMed

Paudel, Anjan; Ameeduzzafar; Imam, Syed Sarim; Fazil, Mohd; Khan, Shahroz; Hafeez, Abdul; Ahmad, Farhan Jalees; Ali, Asgar

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to formulate and optimize Candesartan Cilexetil (CC) loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for enhanced oral bioavailability. Glycerol monostearate (GMS), Oleic acid, Tween 80 and Span 40 were selected as a solid lipid, liquid lipid, surfactant and co- surfactant, respectively. The CC-NLCs were prepared by hot emulsion probe sonication technique and optimized using experimental design approach. The formulated CC-NLCs were evaluated for various physicochemical parameters and further optimized formulation (CC-NLC-Opt) was assessed for in vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activity. The optimized formulation (CC-NLC-Opt) showed particle size (183.5±5.89nm), PDI (0.228±0.13), zeta potential (-28.2±0.99mV), and entrapment efficiency (88.9±3.69%). The comparative in vitro release study revealed that CC-NLC-Opt showed significantly better (p<0.05) release and enhanced permeation as compared to CC-suspension. The in vivo pharmacokinetic study gave many folds increase in oral bioavailability than CC suspension, which was further confirmed by antihypertensive activity in a murine model. Thus, the results of ex vivo permeation, pharmacokinetic study and pharmacodynamics study suggest the potential of CC-NLCs for improved oral delivery. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Preliminary evaluation of the potential of tree-ring cellulose content as a novel supplementary proxy in dendroclimatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziehmer, Malin M.; Nicolussi, Kurt; Schlüchter, Christian; Leuenberger, Markus

2018-02-01

Cellulose content (CC (%)) in tree rings is usually utilised as a tool to control the quality of the α-cellulose extraction from tree rings in the preparation of stable-isotope analysis in wooden tissues. Reported amounts of CC (%) are often limited to mean values per tree. For the first time, CC (%) series from two high-Alpine species, Larix decidua Mill. (European Larch, LADE) and Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine, PICE) are investigated in modern wood samples and Holocene wood remains from the Early and mid-Holocene. Modern CC (%) series reveal a species-specific low-frequency trend independent of their sampling site over the past 150 years. Climate-cellulose relationships illustrate the ability of CC (%) to record temperature in both species but for slightly different periods within the growing season. The Holocene CC (%) series illustrate diverging low-frequency trends in both species, independent of sampling site characteristics (latitude, longitude and elevation). Moreover, potential age trends are not apparent in the two coniferous species. The arithmetic mean of CC (%) series in the Early and mid-Holocene indicate low CC (%) succeeding cold events. In conclusion, CC (%) in tree rings show high potential to be established as novel supplementary proxy in dendroclimatology.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0023404 exerts an oncogenic role in cervical cancer through regulating miR-136/TFCP2/YAP pathway.

PubMed

Zhang, Jianhua; Zhao, Xinyuan; Zhang, Jin; Zheng, Xuerong; Li, Fenxia

2018-06-22

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most prevalent malignances among women. However, the mechanism underlying CC development remains elusive. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been known as important regulators in tumorigenesis. Whether circRNAs are involved in CC requires to be determined. In the present study, we found that circRNA hsa_circ_0023404 was significantly upregulated in CC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. And its overexpression was correlated with poor prognosis in CC patients. Functionally, we showed that knockdown of hsa_circ_0023404 significantly suppressed the proliferation, arrested the cell-cycle progression and inhibited cell migration and invasion in CC. In terms of mechanism, we found that hsa_circ_0023404 acted as a sponge of miR-136 and miR-136 targeted TFCP2, which is an activator of YAP signaling pathway. We showed that hsa_circ_0023404 activated YAP pathway in CC via promoting TFCP2 expression by sponging miR-136, leading to CC development and progression. Taken together, our study for the first time demonstrated the pivot role of hsa_circ_0023404 and revealed a novel regulatory loop of hsa_circ_0023404/miR-136/TFCP2/YAP axis in CC progression. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Overexpression of pigeonpea stress-induced cold and drought regulatory gene (CcCDR) confers drought, salt, and cold tolerance in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Tamirisa, Srinath; Vudem, Dashavantha Reddy; Khareedu, Venkateswara Rao

2014-01-01

A potent cold and drought regulatory protein-encoding gene (CcCDR) was isolated from the subtractive cDNA library of pigeonpea plants subjected to drought stress. CcCDR was induced by different abiotic stress conditions in pigeonpea. Overexpression of CcCDR in Arabidopsis thaliana imparted enhanced tolerance against major abiotic stresses, namely drought, salinity, and low temperature, as evidenced by increased biomass, root length, and chlorophyll content. Transgenic plants also showed increased levels of antioxidant enzymes, proline, and reducing sugars under stress conditions. Furthermore, CcCDR-transgenic plants showed enhanced relative water content, osmotic potential, and cell membrane stability, as well as hypersensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) as compared with control plants. Localization studies confirmed that CcCDR could enter the nucleus, as revealed by intense fluorescence, indicating its possible interaction with various nuclear proteins. Microarray analysis revealed that 1780 genes were up-regulated in CcCDR-transgenics compared with wild-type plants. Real-time PCR analysis on selected stress-responsive genes, involved in ABA-dependent and -independent signalling networks, revealed higher expression levels in transgenic plants, suggesting that CcCDR acts upstream of these genes. The overall results demonstrate the explicit role of CcCDR in conferring multiple abiotic stress tolerance at the whole-plant level. The multifunctional CcCDR seems promising as a prime candidate gene for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in diverse plants. PMID:24868035

Circulating anti-mullerian hormone as predictor of ovarian response to clomiphene citrate in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed

Xi, Wenyan; Yang, Yongkang; Mao, Hui; Zhao, Xiuhua; Liu, Ming; Fu, Shengyu

2016-02-11

To investigate the impact of high circulating AMH on the outcome of CC ovulation induction in women with PCOS. This prospective cohort observational study included 81 anovulatory women with PCOS who underwent 213 cycles of CC ovarian stimulation. Serum AMH concentrations were measured on cycle day 3 before the commencement of CC in the first cycle, which were compared between responders and CC-resistant anovulation (CRA). Logistic regression analysis was applied to study the value of serum AMH for the prediction of ovarian responsiveness to CC stimulation. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the prognostic value of circulating AMH. Serum AMH levels. Women who ovulated after CC therapy had a significantly lower AMH compared with the CRA (5.34 ± 1.97 vs.7.81 ± 3.49, P < 0.001). There was a significant gradient increase of serum AMH levels with the increasing dose of CC required to achieve ovulation (P < 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, AMH was an independent predictor of ovulation induction by CC in PCOS patients. ROC curve analysis showed AMH to be a useful predictor of ovulation induction by CC in PCOS patients, having 92 % specificity and 65 % sensitivity when the threshold AMH concentration was 7.77 ng/ml. Serum AMH may be clinically useful to predict which PCOS women are more likely to respond to CC treatment and thus to direct the selection of protocols of ovulation induction.

Cell culture density affects the proliferation activity of human adipose tissue stem cells.

PubMed

Kim, Dae Seong; Lee, Myoung Woo; Ko, Young Jong; Chun, Yong Hoon; Kim, Hyung Joon; Sung, Ki Woong; Koo, Hong Hoe; Yoo, Keon Hee

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated the effect of cell density on the proliferation activity of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) over time in culture. Passage #4 (P4) and #12 (P12) AT-MSCs from two donors were plated at a density of 200 (culture condition 1, CC1) or 5000 (culture condition 2, CC2) cells cm(-2) . After 7 days of incubation, P4 and P12 AT-MSCs cultured in CC1 were thin and spindle-shaped, whereas those cultured in CC2 had extensive cell-to-cell contacts and an expanded cell volume. In addition, P4 and P12 AT-MSCs in CC1 divided more than three times, while those in CC2 divided less than once on average. Flow cytometric analysis using 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate N-succinimidyl ester dye showed that the fluorescence intensity of AT-MSCs was lower in CC1 than in CC2. Furthermore, expression of proliferation-associated genes, such as CDC45L, CDC20A and KIF20A, in P4 AT-MSCs was higher in CC1 than in CC2, and this difference was also observed in P12 AT-MSCs. These data demonstrated that cell culture density affects the proliferation activity of MSCs, suggesting that it is feasible to design a strategy to prepare suitable MSCs using specific culture conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrated metabolism in sponge-microbe symbiosis revealed by genome-centered metatranscriptomics.

PubMed

Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Díez-Vives, Cristina; Batani, Giampiero; Esteves, Ana Is; Jahn, Martin T; Thomas, Torsten

2017-07-01

Despite an increased understanding of functions in sponge microbiomes, the interactions among the symbionts and between symbionts and host are not well characterized. Here we reconstructed the metabolic interactions within the sponge Cymbastela concentrica microbiome in the context of functional features of symbiotic diatoms and the host. Three genome bins (CcPhy, CcNi and CcThau) were recovered from metagenomic data of C. concentrica, belonging to the proteobacterial family Phyllobacteriaceae, the Nitrospira genus and the thaumarchaeal order Nitrosopumilales. Gene expression was estimated by mapping C. concentrica metatranscriptomic reads. Our analyses indicated that CcPhy is heterotrophic, while CcNi and CcThau are chemolithoautotrophs. CcPhy expressed many transporters for the acquisition of dissolved organic compounds, likely available through the sponge's filtration activity and symbiotic carbon fixation. Coupled nitrification by CcThau and CcNi was reconstructed, supported by the observed close proximity of the cells in fluorescence in situ hybridization. CcPhy facultative anaerobic respiration and assimilation by diatoms may consume the resulting nitrate. Transcriptional analysis of diatom and sponge functions indicated that these organisms are likely sources of organic compounds, for example, creatine/creatinine and dissolved organic carbon, for other members of the symbiosis. Our results suggest that organic nitrogen compounds, for example, creatine, creatinine, urea and cyanate, fuel the nitrogen cycle within the sponge. This study provides an unprecedented view of the metabolic interactions within sponge-microbe symbiosis, bridging the gap between cell- and community-level knowledge.

Titanium composite conversion coating formation on CRS In the presence of Mo and Ni ions: Electrochemical and microstructure characterizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eivaz Mohammadloo, H.; Sarabi, A. A.

2016-11-01

There have been an increasing interest in finding a replacement for the chromating process due to environmental and health concerns. Hence, in this study Chrome-free chemical conversion coatings were deposited on the surface of cold-rolled steel (CRS) on the basis of Titanium (TiCC), Titanium-Nickel (TiNiCC) and titanium-molybdate (TiMoCC) based conversion coating solutions. The surface characterization was performed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measuring device. Also, the corrosion behavior was assessed by the means of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. FESEM and AFM study show that the TiNiCC is denser and more uniform than that TiCC and TiMoCC since, TiMoCC conversion coating presents network feature, and there were abundant micro-cracks on the surface of the coating. XPS results confirmed the precipitation of Ti and Ni oxide/hydroxide, Mn dioxide/trioxide on the surface of different Ti-based conversion coatings. Electrochemical results revealed that all Ti-based conversion coatings have better anti-corrosion properties than bare CRS. Moreover, TiNiCC treatment inhibited the corrosion of CRS to a significant degree (polarization resistance (Rp) = 5510 Ω cm2) in comparison with TiCC (Rp = 2705 Ω cm2) and TiMoCC (Rp = 805 Ω cm2).

Corpus callosum volumes in the 5 years following the first-episode of schizophrenia: Effects of antipsychotics, chronicity and maturation.

PubMed

de Moura, Mariana T M; Zanetti, Marcus V; Duran, Fabio L S; Schaufelberger, Maristela S; Menezes, Paulo R; Scazufca, Marcia; Busatto, Geraldo F; Serpa, Mauricio H

2018-01-01

White matter (WM) structural changes, particularly affecting the corpus callosum (CC), seem to be critically implicated in psychosis. Whether such abnormalities are progressive or static is still a matter of debate in schizophrenia research. Aberrant maturation processes might also influence the longitudinal trajectory of age-related CC changes in schizophrenia patients. We investigated whether patients with first-episode schizophrenia-related psychoses (FESZ) would present longitudinal CC and whole WM volume changes over the 5 years after disease onset. Thirty-two FESZ patients and 34 controls recruited using a population-based design completed a 5-year assessment protocol, including structural MRI scanning at baseline and follow-up. The linear effects of disease duration, clinical outcome and antipsychotic (AP) use over time on WM and CC volumes were studied using both voxelwise and volume-based morphometry analyses. We also examined maturation/aging abnormalities through cross-sectional analyses of age-related trajectories of total WM and CC volume changes. No interaction between diagnosis and time was observed, and clinical outcome did not influence CC volumes in patients. On the other hand, FESZ patients continuously exposed to AP medication showed volume increase over time in posterior CC. Curve-estimation analyses revealed a different aging pattern in FESZ patients versus controls: while patients displayed a linear decline of total WM and anterior CC volumes with age, a non-linear trajectory of total WM and relative preservation of CC volumes were observed in controls. Continuous AP exposure can influence CC morphology during the first years after schizophrenia onset. Schizophrenia is associated with an abnormal pattern of total WM and anterior CC aging during non-elderly adulthood, and this adds complexity to the discussion on the static or progressive nature of structural abnormalities in psychosis.

Childhood maltreatment and corpus callosum volume in recently diagnosed patients with bipolar I disorder: data from the Systematic Treatment Optimization Program for Early Mania (STOP-EM).

PubMed

Bücker, J; Muralidharan, K; Torres, I J; Su, W; Kozicky, J; Silveira, L E; Bond, D J; Honer, W G; Kauer-Sant'anna, M; Lam, R W; Yatham, L N

2014-01-01

Childhood trauma (CT) has been associated with abnormalities in the corpus callosum (CC). Decreased CC volumes have been reported in children and adolescents with trauma as well as adults with CT compared to healthy controls. CC morphology is potentially susceptible to the effects of Bipolar Disorder (BD) itself. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between CT and CC morphology in BD. We using magnetic resonance imaging in 53 adults with BD recently recovered from their first manic episode, with (n = 23) and without (n = 30) CT, defined using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and 16 healthy controls without trauma. ANCOVA was performed with age, gender and intracranial volume as covariates in order to evaluate group differences in CC volume. The total CC volume was found to be smaller in BD patients with trauma compared to BD patients without trauma (p < .05). The differences were more pronounced in the anterior region of the CC. There was a significant negative correlation between CTQ scores and total CC volume in BD patients with trauma (p = .01). We did not find significant differences in the CC volume of patients with/without trauma compared to the healthy subjects. Our sample consists of patients recovered from a first episode of mania and are early in the course of illness and reductions in CC volume may occur late in the course of BD. It might mean there may be two sources of CC volume reduction in these patients: the reduction due to trauma, and the further reduction due to the illness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MACULAR ATROPHY FINDINGS BY OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY COMPARED WITH FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE IN TREATED EXUDATIVE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.

PubMed

Takasago, Yukari; Shiragami, Chieko; Kobayashi, Mamoru; Osaka, Rie; Ono, Aoi; Yamashita, Ayana; Tsujikawa, Akitaka; Hirooka, Kazuyuki

2017-11-28

To compare the areas of choriocapillaris (CC) nonperfusion and macular atrophy (MA) in treated exudative age-related macular degeneration. This was a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study. Forty-four eyes exhibiting MA (42 patients with age-related macular degeneration), with a dry macula, underwent fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomography angiography. The area of MA detected by fundus autofluorescence and CC nonperfusion detected by optical coherence tomography angiography was measured using image analysis software. The rates of concordance between the MA and CC nonperfusion areas were calculated. We qualitatively and quantitatively compared the areas of MA and CC nonperfusion in age-related macular degeneration eyes. The mean areas of MA and CC nonperfusion were 5.95 ± 4.50 mm and 10.66 ± 7.05 mm, respectively (paired t-test, P < 0.001). In 39 eyes (88.6%), the CC nonperfusion area was larger than the MA area, and the mean CC nonperfusion area was significantly larger than the mean MA area. Fundus autofluorescence matching optical coherence tomography angiography showed that the CC nonperfusion area was almost included in the MA area. The mean concordance rate for the MA area inside the CC nonperfusion area was 87.7 ± 13.9%. The MA and CC nonperfusion areas markedly overlapped. The area of CC nonperfusion correlated with the MA area. Choroidal ischemia might be involved in the pathogenesis of MA in treated age-related macular degeneration.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Survivorship and the chronic cancer patient: Patterns in treatment-related effects, follow-up care, and use of survivorship care plans.

PubMed

Frick, Melissa A; Vachani, Carolyn C; Bach, Christina; Hampshire, Margaret K; Arnold-Korzeniowski, Karen; Metz, James M; Hill-Kayser, Christine E

2017-11-01

The survivorship needs of patients living with chronic cancer (CC) and their use of survivorship care plans (SCPs) have been overlooked and underappreciated. A convenience sample of 39,088 SCPs completed for cancer survivors with an Internet-based SCP tool was examined; it included 5847 CC survivors (15%; CC was defined as chronic leukemia and/or recurrent/metastatic cancer of another nature). Patient-reported treatment effects and follow-up care patterns were compared between CC survivors and survivors treated with curative intent (CI). Responses from a follow-up survey regarding SCP satisfaction and use were reviewed. CC survivors had greater odds of experiencing multiple treatment-related effects than survivors treated with CI; these effects included fatigue, cognitive changes, dyspnea, peripheral neuropathy, lymphedema, and erectile dysfunction. Nearly half of CC survivors were managed by an oncologist alone, and they were less likely than CI patients to be comanaged by a primary care provider and an oncologist. Fewer SCPs were generated by health care providers (HCPs) for CC survivors versus CI survivors. A smaller proportion of CC users versus CI users rated their experience and satisfaction with the SCP tool as very good or excellent, and CC users were less likely to share the HCP summary with their health care team. A substantial number of CC survivors, often considered incurable but treatable, seek survivorship support. Tools to facilitate participation, communication, and coordination of care are valuable for these patients, and future iterations of SCPs should be designed to address the particular circumstances of living with CC. Cancer 2017;123:4268-4276. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Whole genome typing of the recently emerged Canadian serogroup W Neisseria meningitidis sequence type 11 clonal complex isolates associated with invasive meningococcal disease.

PubMed

Tsang, Raymond S W; Ahmad, Tauqeer; Tyler, Shaun; Lefebvre, Brigitte; Deeks, Shelley L; Gilca, Rodica; Hoang, Linda; Tyrrell, Gregory; Van Caeseele, Paul; Van Domselaar, Gary; Jamieson, Frances B

2018-04-01

This study was performed to analyze the Canadian invasive serogroup W Neisseria meningitidis (MenW) sequence type 11 (ST-11) clonal complex (CC) isolates by whole genome typing and to compare Canadian isolates with similar isolates from elsewhere. Whole genome typing of 30 MenW ST-11 CC, 20 meningococcal group C (MenC) ST-11 CC, and 31 MenW ST-22 CC isolates was performed on the Bacterial Isolate Genome Sequence database platform. Canadian MenW ST-11 CC isolates were compared with the 2000 MenW Hajj outbreak strain, as well as with MenW ST-11 CC from other countries. Whole genome typing showed that the Canadian MenW ST-11 CC isolates were distinct from the traditional MenW ST-22 CC; they were not capsule-switched contemporary MenC strains that incorporated MenW capsules. While some recent MenW disease cases in Canada were caused by MenW ST-11 CC isolates showing relatedness to the 2000 MenW Hajj strain, many were non-Hajj isolates similar to current MenW ST-11 isolates found globally. Geographical and temporal variations in genotypes and surface protein antigen genes were found among the MenW ST-11 CC isolates. The current MenW ST-11 isolates did not arise by capsule switching from contemporary MenC ST-11 isolates. Both the Hajj-related and non-Hajj MenW ST-11 CC strains were associated with invasive meningococcal disease in Canada. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Perceived Risk of Cervical Cancer and Barriers to Screening among Secondary School Female Teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Salem, Marwa Rashad; Amin, Tarek Tawfik; Alhulaybi, Abdulhamid Abdulrahman; Althafar, Abdulaziz Sami; Abdelhai, Rehab Ahmed

2017-01-01

Background: No previous studies had addressed the perceived risk of cervical cancer (CC) and its influence on screening practices and perceived barriers in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 506 randomly selected Saudi female secondary school teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia to assess their level of knowledge about risk factors and signs of CC in relation to perceived risk and to characterize CC screening compliance using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Of the included female Saudi teachers, 65.4% and 63.4% were considered less-knowledgeable about CC risk factors and early signs and symptoms respectively. Only 17.2% reported being previously examined for CC. The majority of participants perceived themselves to be at an average or below average risk of CC. Residing in urban areas was the strongest predictor of CC screening (Odds ratio ‘OR’= 3.39; 95% confidence intervals ‘CI= 1.76-6.46; P=0.001). Awareness of risk factors was significantly associated with higher awareness of signs of CC (OR 2.5; 95% CI=, P=0.001). Exploratory factor analysis showed that personal fears (of screening being embarrassing) was the major factor that hindered CC screening with a high loading eigenvalue of 4.392, explaining 30.8% of the barriers toward utilization, followed by health care related factors. Conclusion: Secondary school teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia showed low perceived risk, poor awareness about risk factors, signs and symptoms of CC and limited uptake of screening practices. This underlines the need for education programs on CC targeting this group. PMID:28545195

On the association between core-collapse supernovae and H ii regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowther, Paul A.

2013-01-01

Previous studies of the location of core-collapse supernovae (ccSNe) in their host galaxies have variously claimed an association with H ii regions; no association or an association only with hydrogen-deficient ccSNe. Here, we examine the immediate environments of 39 ccSNe whose positions are well known in nearby (≤15 Mpc), low-inclination (≤65°) hosts using mostly archival, continuum-subtracted Hα ground-based imaging. We find that 11 out of 29 hydrogen-rich ccSNe are spatially associated with H ii regions (38 ± 11 per cent), versus 7 out of 10 hydrogen-poor ccSNe (70 ± 26 per cent). Similar results from Anderson et al. led to an interpretation that the progenitors of Type Ib/c ccSNe are more massive than those of Type II ccSNe. Here, we quantify the luminosities of H ii region either coincident with or nearby to the ccSNe. Characteristic nebulae are long-lived (˜20 Myr) giant H ii regions rather than short-lived (˜4 Myr) isolated, compact H ii regions. Therefore, the absence of an H ii region from most Type II ccSNe merely reflects the longer lifetime of stars with ⪉12 M⊙ than giant H ii regions. Conversely, the association of an H ii region with most Type Ib/c ccSNe is due to the shorter lifetime of stars with >12 M⊙ stars than the duty cycle of giant H ii regions. Therefore, we conclude that the observed association between certain ccSNe and H ii provides only weak constraints upon their progenitor masses. Nevertheless, we do favour lower mass progenitors for two Type Ib/c ccSNe that lack associated nebular emission, a host cluster or a nearby giant H ii region. Finally, we also reconsider the association between long gamma-ray bursts and the peak continuum light from their (mostly) dwarf hosts, and conclude that this is suggestive of very high mass progenitors, in common with previous studies.

Prospective, randomized, blinded, comparative study of injectable micronized dehydrated amniotic/chorionic membrane allograft for plantar fasciitis--a feasibility study.

PubMed

Zelen, Charles M; Poka, Attila; Andrews, James

2013-10-01

Specialized treatment of plantar fasciitis that can reduce inflammation and promote healing may be a possible alternative prior to surgical intervention. We report the results of a randomized clinical trial examining the efficacy of micronized dehydrated human amniotic/chorionic membrane (mDHACM) injection as a treatment for chronic refractory plantar fasciitis. An institutional review board-approved, prospective, randomized, single-center clinical trial was performed. Forty-five patients were randomized to receive injection of 2 cc 0.5% Marcaine plain, then either 1.25 cc saline (controls), 0.5 cc mDHACM, or 1.25 cc mDHACM. Follow-up visits occurred over 8 weeks to measure function, pain, and functional health and well-being. Significant improvement in plantar fasciitis symptoms was observed in patients receiving 0.5 cc or 1.25 cc mDHACM versus controls within 1 week of treatment and throughout the study period. At 1 week, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Hindfoot scores increased by a mean of 2.2 ± 17.4 points for controls versus 38.7 ± 11.4 points for those receiving 0.5 cc mDHACM (P < .001) and 33.7 ± 14.0 points for those receiving 1.25 cc mDHACM (P < .001). By week 8 AOFAS Hindfoot scores increased by a mean of 12.9 ± 16.9 points for controls versus 51.6 ± 10.1 and 53.3 ± 9.4 for those receiving 0.5 cc and 1.25 cc mDHACM, respectively (both P < .001). No significant difference in treatment response was observed in patients receiving 0.5 cc versus 1.25 cc mDHACM. In patients with refractory plantar fasciitis, mDHACM is a viable treatment option. Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings. Level I, prospective randomized study.

A flexible pressure sensor could correctly measure the depth of chest compression on a mattress.

PubMed

Minami, Kouichiro; Kokubo, Yota; Maeda, Ichinosuke; Hibino, Shingo

2016-05-01

Feedback devices are used to improve the quality of chest compression (CC). However, reports have noted that accelerometers substantially overestimate depth when cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is performed on a soft surface. Here, we determined whether a flexible pressure sensor could correctly evaluate the depth CC performed on a mannequin placed on a mattress. Chest compression was performed 100 times/min by a compression machine on the floor or a mattress, and the depth of CC was monitored using a flexible pressure sensor (Shinnosukekun) and CPRmeter(™). The depth of machine-performed CC was consistently 5cm. We compared data from the feedback sensor with the true depth of CC using dual real-time auto feedback system that incorporated an infrared camera (CPR evolution(™)). On the floor, the true depth of CC was 5.0±0.0cm (n=100), or identical to the depth of CC performed by the machine. The Shinnosukekun(™) measured a mean (±SD) CC depth of 5.0±0.1cm (n=100), and the CPRmeter(™) measured a depth of 5.0±0.2cm (n=100). On the mattress, the true depth of CC was 4.4±0.0cm (n=100). The Shinnosukekun(™) measured a mean CC depth of 4.4±0.0cm (n=100), and the CPRmeter(™) measured a depth of 4.7±0.1cm (n=100). The data of CPRmeter(™) were overestimated (P<.0001 between the true depth and the CPRmeter(™)-measured depth). The Shinnosukekun(™) could correctly measure the depth of CC on a mattress. According to our present results, the flexible pressure sensor could be a useful feedback system for CC performed on a soft surface. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding the insight into the mechanisms and dynamics of the Cl-initiated oxidation of (CH3)3CC(O)X and the subsequent reactions in the presence of NO and O2 (X = F, Cl, and Br).

PubMed

Bai, Feng-Yang; Lv, Shuang; Ma, Yuan; Liu, Chun-Yu; He, Chun-Fang; Pan, Xiu-Mei

2017-03-01

In this work, the density functional and high-level ab initio theories are adopted to investigate the mechanisms and kinetics of reaction of (CH 3 ) 3 CC(O)X (X = F, Cl, and Br) with atomic chlorine. Rate coefficients for the reactions of chlorine atom with (CH 3 ) 3 CC(O)F (k 1 ), (CH 3 ) 3 CC(O)Cl (k 2 ), and (CH 3 ) 3 CC(O)Br (k 3 ) are calculated using canonical variational transition state theory coupled with small curvature tunneling method over a wide range of temperatures from 250 to 1000 K. The dynamic calculations are performed by the variational transition state theory with the interpolated single-point energies method at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Computed rate constant is in good line with the available experimental value. The rate constants for the title reactions are in this order: k 1

Pupal productivity in rainy and dry seasons: findings from the impact survey of a randomised controlled trial of dengue prevention in Guerrero, Mexico.

PubMed

Jiménez-Alejo, Abel; Morales-Pérez, Arcadio; Nava-Aguilera, Elizabeth; Flores-Moreno, Miguel; Apreza-Aguilar, Sinahí; Carranza-Alcaraz, Wilhelm; Cortés-Guzmán, Antonio Juan; Fernández-Salas, Ildefonso; Ledogar, Robert J; Cockcroft, Anne; Andersson, Neil

2017-05-30

The follow-up survey of a cluster-randomised controlled trial of evidence-based community mobilisation for dengue control in Nicaragua and Mexico included entomological information from the 2012 rainy and dry seasons. We used data from the Mexican arm of the trial to assess the impact of the community action on pupal production of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti in both rainy and dry seasons. Trained field workers inspected household water containers in 90 clusters and collected any pupae or larvae present for entomological examination. We calculated indices of pupae per person and pupae per household, and traditional entomological indices of container index, household index and Breteau index, and compared these between rainy and dry seasons and between intervention and control clusters, using a cluster t-test to test significance of differences. In 11,933 houses in the rainy season, we inspected 40,323 containers and found 7070 Aedes aegypti pupae. In the dry season, we inspected 43,461 containers and counted 6552 pupae. All pupae and entomological indices were lower in the intervention clusters (IC) than in control clusters (CC) in both the rainy season (RS) and the dry season (DS): pupae per container 0.12 IC and 0.24 CC in RS, and 0.10 IC and 0.20 CC in DS; pupae per household 0.46 IC and 0.82 CC in RS, and 0.41 IC and 0.83 CC in DS; pupae per person 0.11 IC and 0.19 CC in RS, and 0.10 IC and 0.20 CC in DS; household index 16% IC and 21% CC in RS, and 12.1% IC and 17.9% CC in DS; container index 7.5% IC and 11.5% CC in RS, and 4.6% IC and 7.1% CC in DS; Breteau index 27% IC and 36% CC in RS, and 19% IC and 29% CC in DS. All differences between the intervention and control clusters were statistically significant, taking into account clustering. The trial intervention led to significant decreases in pupal and conventional entomological indices in both rainy and dry seasons. ISRCTN27581154 .

Development of ghrelin resistance in a cancer cachexia rat model using human gastric cancer-derived 85As2 cells and the palliative effects of the Kampo medicine rikkunshito on the model

PubMed Central

Sawada, Yumi; Hashimoto, Hirofumi; Yoshimura, Mitsuhiro; Ohbuchi, Katsuya; Sudo, Yuka; Suzuki, Masami; Miyano, Kanako; Shiraishi, Seiji; Higami, Yoshikazu; Yanagihara, Kazuyoshi; Hattori, Tomohisa; Kase, Yoshio; Ueta, Yoichi; Uezono, Yasuhito

2017-01-01

Cancer cachexia (CC) is a multifactorial disease characterized by decreased food intake and loss of body weight due to reduced musculature with or without loss of fat mass. Patients with gastric cancer have a high incidence of cachexia. We previously established a novel CC rat model induced by human gastric cancer-derived 85As2 cells in order to examine the pathophysiology of CC and identify potential therapeutics. In patients with CC, anorexia is often observed, despite elevation of ghrelin, suggesting that ghrelin resistance may develop in these patients. In this study, we aimed to clarify the occurrence of ghrelin resistance in CC rats accompanied by anorexia and we investigated whether rikkunshito (RKT), a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine that potentiates ghrelin signaling, ameliorated CC-related anorexia through alleviation of ghrelin resistance. 85As2-tumor-bearing rats developed severe CC symptoms, including anorexia and loss of body weight/musculature, with the latter symptoms being greater in cachectic rats than in non-tumor-bearing or pair-fed rats. CC rats showed poor responses to intraperitoneal injection of ghrelin. In CC rats, plasma ghrelin levels were elevated and hypothalamic anorexigenic peptide mRNA levels were decreased, whereas hypothalamic growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) mRNA was not affected. In vitro, RKT directly enhanced ghrelin-induced GHS-R activation. RKT administrated orally for 7 days partly alleviated the poor response to ghrelin and ameliorated anorexia without affecting the elevation of plasma ghrelin levels in CC rats. The expression of hypothalamic orexigenic neuropeptide Y mRNA but not hypothalamic GHS-R mRNA was increased by RKT. Thus, the 85As2 cell-induced CC rat model developed ghrelin resistance, possibly contributing to anorexia and body weight loss. The mechanism through which RKT ameliorated anorexia in the CC rat model may involve alleviation of ghrelin resistance by enhancement of ghrelin signaling. These findings suggest that RKT may be a promising agent for the treatment of CC. PMID:28249026

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loupot, S; Han, T; Salehpour, M

Purpose: To quantify the difference in dose to PTV-EVAL and OARs (skin and rib) as calculated by (TG43) and heterogeneous calculations (CCC). Methods: 25 patient plans (5 Contura and 20 SAVI) were selected for analysis. Clinical dose distributions were computed with a commercially available treatment planning algorithm (TG43-D-(w,w)) and then recomputed with a pre-clinical collapsed cone convolution algorithm (CCCD-( m,m)). PTV-EVAL coverage (V90%, V95%), and rib and skin maximum dose were compared via percent difference. Differences in dose to normal tissue (V150cc, V200cc of PTV-EVAL) were also compared. Changes in coverage and maximum dose to organs at risk are reportedmore » in percent change, (100*(TG43 − CCC) / TG43)), and changes in maximum dose to normal tissue are absolute change in cc (TG43 − CCC). Results: Mean differences in V90, V95, V150, and V200 for the SAVI cases were −0.2%, −0.4%, −0.03cc, and −0.14cc, respectively, with maximum differences of −0.78%, −1.7%, 1.28cc, and 1.01cc, respectively. Mean differences in the 0.1cc dose to the rib and skin were −1.4% and −0.22%, respectively, with maximum differences of −4.5% and 16%, respectively. Mean differences in V90, V95, V150, and V200 for the Contura cases were −1.2%, −2.1%, −1.8cc, and −0.59cc, respectively, with maximum differences of −2.0%, −3.16%, −2.9cc, and −0.76cc, respectively. Mean differences in the 0.1cc dose to the rib and skin were −2.6% and −3.9%, respectively, with maximum differences of −3.2% and −5.7%, respectively. Conclusion: The effects of translating clinical knowledge based on D-(w,w) to plans reported in D-(m,m) are minimal (2% or less) on average, but vary based on the type and placement of the device, source, and heterogeneity information.« less

High Expression of KCa3.1 in Patients with Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma Predicts High Metastatic Risk and Poor Survival

PubMed Central

Rabjerg, Maj; Oliván-Viguera, Aida; Hansen, Lars Koch; Jensen, Line; Sevelsted-Møller, Linda; Walter, Steen; Jensen, Boye L.; Marcussen, Niels; Köhler, Ralf

2015-01-01

Background Ca2+-activated K+ channels have been implicated in cancer cell growth, metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis. Here we hypothesized that high mRNA and protein expression of the intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel, KCa3.1, is a molecular marker of clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) and metastatic potential and survival. Methodology/Principal Findings We analyzed channel expression by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and patch-clamp in ccRCC and benign oncocytoma specimens, in primary ccRCC and oncocytoma cell lines, as well as in two ccRCC cell lines (Caki-1 and Caki-2). CcRCC specimens contained 12-fold higher mRNA levels of KCa3.1 than oncocytoma specimens. The large-conductance channel, KCa1.1, was 3-fold more highly expressed in ccRCC than in oncocytoma. KCa3.1 mRNA expression in ccRCC was 2-fold higher than in the healthy cortex of the same kidney. Disease specific survival trended towards reduction in the subgroup of high-KCa3.1-expressing tumors (p<0.08 vs. low-KCa3.1-expressing tumors). Progression-free survival (time to metastasis/recurrence) was reduced significantly in the subgroup of high-KCa3.1-expressing tumors (p<0.02, vs. low-KCa3.1-expressing tumors). Immunohistochemistry revealed high protein expression of KCa3.1 in tumor vessels of ccRCC and oncocytoma and in a subset of ccRCC cells. Oncocytoma cells were devoid of KCa3.1 protein. In a primary ccRCC cell line and Caki-1/2-ccRCC cells, we found KCa3.1-protein as well as TRAM-34-sensitive KCa3.1-currents in a subset of cells. Furthermore, Caki-1/2-ccRCC cells displayed functional Paxilline-sensitive KCa1.1 currents. Neither KCa3.1 nor KCa1.1 were found in a primary oncocytoma cell line. Yet KCa-blockers, like TRAM-34 (KCa3.1) and Paxilline (KCa1.1), had no appreciable effects on Caki-1 proliferation in-vitro. Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrated expression of KCa3.1 in ccRCC but not in benign oncocytoma. Moreover, high KCa3.1-mRNA expression levels were indicative of low disease specific survival of ccRCC patients, short progression-free survival, and a high metastatic potential. Therefore, KCa3.1 is of prognostic value in ccRCC. PMID:25848765

High expression of KCa3.1 in patients with clear cell renal carcinoma predicts high metastatic risk and poor survival.

PubMed

Rabjerg, Maj; Oliván-Viguera, Aida; Hansen, Lars Koch; Jensen, Line; Sevelsted-Møller, Linda; Walter, Steen; Jensen, Boye L; Marcussen, Niels; Köhler, Ralf

2015-01-01

Ca2+-activated K+ channels have been implicated in cancer cell growth, metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis. Here we hypothesized that high mRNA and protein expression of the intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel, KCa3.1, is a molecular marker of clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) and metastatic potential and survival. We analyzed channel expression by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and patch-clamp in ccRCC and benign oncocytoma specimens, in primary ccRCC and oncocytoma cell lines, as well as in two ccRCC cell lines (Caki-1 and Caki-2). CcRCC specimens contained 12-fold higher mRNA levels of KCa3.1 than oncocytoma specimens. The large-conductance channel, KCa1.1, was 3-fold more highly expressed in ccRCC than in oncocytoma. KCa3.1 mRNA expression in ccRCC was 2-fold higher than in the healthy cortex of the same kidney. Disease specific survival trended towards reduction in the subgroup of high-KCa3.1-expressing tumors (p<0.08 vs. low-KCa3.1-expressing tumors). Progression-free survival (time to metastasis/recurrence) was reduced significantly in the subgroup of high-KCa3.1-expressing tumors (p<0.02, vs. low-KCa3.1-expressing tumors). Immunohistochemistry revealed high protein expression of KCa3.1 in tumor vessels of ccRCC and oncocytoma and in a subset of ccRCC cells. Oncocytoma cells were devoid of KCa3.1 protein. In a primary ccRCC cell line and Caki-1/2-ccRCC cells, we found KCa3.1-protein as well as TRAM-34-sensitive KCa3.1-currents in a subset of cells. Furthermore, Caki-1/2-ccRCC cells displayed functional Paxilline-sensitive KCa1.1 currents. Neither KCa3.1 nor KCa1.1 were found in a primary oncocytoma cell line. Yet KCa-blockers, like TRAM-34 (KCa3.1) and Paxilline (KCa1.1), had no appreciable effects on Caki-1 proliferation in-vitro. Our study demonstrated expression of KCa3.1 in ccRCC but not in benign oncocytoma. Moreover, high KCa3.1-mRNA expression levels were indicative of low disease specific survival of ccRCC patients, short progression-free survival, and a high metastatic potential. Therefore, KCa3.1 is of prognostic value in ccRCC.

29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Cc of... - Standard Hand Signals

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Standard Hand Signals A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction Pt. 1926, Subpt. CC, App. A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926—Standard Hand Signals ER09AU10...

29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Cc of... - Standard Hand Signals

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Standard Hand Signals A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction Pt. 1926, Subpt. CC, App. A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926—Standard Hand Signals ER09AU10...

29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Cc of... - Standard Hand Signals

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Standard Hand Signals A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction Pt. 1926, Subpt. CC, App. A Appendix A to Subpart CC of Part 1926—Standard Hand Signals ER09AU10...

Turbulence Spectral Widths View Angle Independence as Observed by Doppler Radar

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-10-01

t, 1*+ 0 1T t+ ( 10) 2.+ 1I+. 3 3 1 9 Z1 9 1 1 21 S I 10 30 .. 1 11 30 49 3 D. 10 33 !’~3 . 02 2. F6 ’ -36 6 3 6 5 so 6 6 31 If., 68r t+.+ I’. . . .I... ACCA . .. AbA Co. CA•,A~ ... . ... C . .* CC~ CC C .... AC ... C . AC... CC CC . . . .. AAA C A 52CCC.CCCC A C AC. 51. CC 37. A. CACC C Cb...coeCcients b t e. and CCC ’l C. ..... .. o. oCA . .... °AACAA CC * C ... C 12.)0 35. 39. ’.. ’.5. A.. 37. 51 . 18. A• ACCA CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Candesartan cilexetil loaded nanodelivery systems for improved oral bioavailability.

PubMed

Dudhipala, Narendar; Veerabrahma, Kishan

2017-02-01

Candesartan cilexetil (CC), an antihypertensive drug, has low oral bioavailability due to poor solubility and hepatic first-pass metabolism. These are major limitations in oral delivery of CC. Several approaches are known to reduce the problems of solubility and improve the bioavailability of CC. Among various approaches, nanotechnology-based delivery of CC has potential to overcome the challenges associated with the oral administration. This review focuses on various nano-based delivery systems available and tried for improving the aqueous solubility, dissolution and consequently bioavailability of CC upon oral administration. Of all, solid lipid nanoparticles appear to be promising delivery system, based on current reported results, for delivery of CC, as this system improved the oral bioavailability and possessed prolonged pharmacodynamic effect.

Method of low pressure and/or evaporative drying of aerogel

DOEpatents

Mayer, Steven T.; Kaschmitter, James L.; Pekala, Richard W.

1995-01-01

A process whereby Resorcinol/Formaldehyde (RF) aerogel having a density of about 0.4-1.2 g/cc can be manufactured using a simple air drying procedure. This process is inherently simpler, quicker, and less expensive than the more conventional supercritical or subcritical CO.sub.2 extraction procedures. RF aerogels can be used as produced, such as in insulation applications, or pyrolyzed to form carbon aerogels with a density of about 0.9 g/cc for use in applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, etc.

Collaborative care for depression and anxiety disorders in patients with recent cardiac events: the Management of Sadness and Anxiety in Cardiology (MOSAIC) randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Huffman, Jeff C; Mastromauro, Carol A; Beach, Scott R; Celano, Christopher M; DuBois, Christina M; Healy, Brian C; Suarez, Laura; Rollman, Bruce L; Januzzi, James L

2014-06-01

Depression and anxiety are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with recent acute cardiac events. There has been minimal study of collaborative care (CC) management models for mental health disorders in high-risk cardiac inpatients, and no prior CC intervention has simultaneously managed depression and anxiety disorders. To determine the impact of a low-intensity CC intervention for depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder among patients hospitalized for an acute cardiac illness. Single-blind randomized clinical trial, with study assessors blind to group assignment, from September 2010 through July 2013 of 183 patients admitted to inpatient cardiac units in an urban academic general hospital for acute coronary syndrome, arrhythmia, or heart failure and found to have clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or panic disorder on structured assessment. Participants were randomized to 24 weeks of a low-intensity telephone-based multicomponent CC intervention targeting depression and anxiety disorders (n = 92) or to enhanced usual care (serial notification of primary medical providers; n = 91). The CC intervention used a social work care manager to coordinate assessment and stepped care of psychiatric conditions and to provide support and therapeutic interventions as appropriate. Improvement in mental health-related quality of life (Short Form-12 Mental Component Score [SF-12 MCS]) at 24 weeks, compared between groups using a random-effects model in an intent-to-treat analysis. Patients randomized to CC had significantly greater estimated mean improvements in SF-12 MCS at 24 weeks (11.21 points [from 34.21 to 45.42] in the CC group vs 5.53 points [from 36.30 to 41.83] in the control group; estimated mean difference, 5.68 points [95% CI, 2.14-9.22]; P = .002; effect size, 0.61). Patients receiving CC also had significant improvements in depressive symptoms and general functioning, and higher rates of treatment of a mental health disorder; anxiety scores, rates of disorder response, and adherence did not differ between groups. A novel telephone-based, low-intensity model to concurrently manage cardiac patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders was effective for improving mental health-related quality of life in a 24-week trial. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01201967.

Hawking temperature of constant curvature black holes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cai Ronggen; Myung, Yun Soo; Institute of Basic Science and School of Computer Aided Science, Inje University, Gimhae 621-749

2011-05-15

The constant curvature (CC) black holes are higher dimensional generalizations of Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black holes. It is known that these black holes have the unusual topology of M{sub D-1}xS{sup 1}, where D is the spacetime dimension and M{sub D-1} stands for a conformal Minkowski spacetime in D-1 dimensions. The unusual topology and time-dependence for the exterior of these black holes cause some difficulties to derive their thermodynamic quantities. In this work, by using a globally embedding approach, we obtain the Hawking temperature of the CC black holes. We find that the Hawking temperature takes the same form when using both themore » static and global coordinates. Also, it is identical to the Gibbons-Hawking temperature of the boundary de Sitter spaces of these CC black holes.« less

Efficacy of budesonide in collagenous colitis Evaluation of: Miehlke S, Madisch A, Kupcinskas L, et al. Budesonide is more effective than mesalamine or placebo in short-term treatment of collagenous colitis. Gastroenterology 2014;146(5):1222-1230 e1222.

PubMed

Drug, Vasile L; Antoniu, Sabina A

2014-10-01

Collagenous colitis (CC) is a less common colonic disease with variable prevalence and undulating course. Among the available therapies, budesonide was demonstrated to induce a rapid and sustained remission in many cases, but little is known about the comparative efficacy of other treatments, such as mesalamine. Evaluation of a randomized study assessing the efficacy and safety of budesonide over mesalamine in patients with CC. Data from the study showed that budesonide was significantly superior to placebo and to mesalamine and further supports the recommendation of the current guidelines on the use of budesonide in CC. However, other forms of mesalamine may further be evaluated for this disease.

Identification and expression analysis of a CC chemokine from cobia (Rachycentron canadum).

PubMed

Feng, Juan; Su, Youlu; Guo, Zhixun; Xu, Liwen; Sun, Xiuxiu; Wang, Yunxin

2013-06-01

Chemokines are small, secreted cytokine peptides known principally for their ability to induce migration and activation of leukocyte populations and regulate the immune response mechanisms. The cobia (Rachycentron canadum), a marine finfish species, has a great potential for net cage aquaculture in the South China Sea. We isolated and characterized a CC chemokine cDNA from cobia-designated RcCC2. Its cDNA is 783 bp in length and encodes a putative protein of 110 amino acids. Homology and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the RcCC2 gene, which contains four conserved cysteine residues, shares a high degree of similarity with other known CC chemokine sequences and is closest to the CCL19/21 clade. The mRNA of RcCC2 is expressed constitutively in all tested tissues, including gill, liver, muscle, spleen, kidney, head kidney, skin, brain, stomach, intestine and heart, but not blood, with the highest level of expression in gill and liver. The reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the expression of the RcCC2 gene in immune-related tissues, including head kidney, spleen and liver, following intraperitoneal injection of the viral mimic polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid, formalin-killed Vibrio carchariae (bacterial vaccine) and phosphate-buffered saline as a control. RcCC2 gene expression was up-regulated differentially in head kidney, spleen and liver during 12 h after challenge. These results indicate that the RcCC2 gene is inducible and is involved in immune responses, suggesting RcCC2 has an important role in the early stage of viral and bacterial infections.

VX680/MK-0457, a potent and selective Aurora kinase inhibitor, targets both tumor and endothelial cells in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Li, Yan; Zhang, Zhong-Fa; Chen, Jindong; Huang, Dan; Ding, Yan; Tan, Min-Han; Qian, Chao-Nan; Resau, James H; Kim, Hyung; Teh, Bin Tean

2010-01-01

Aurora kinases are key regulators of cell mitosis and have been implicated in the process of tumorigenesis. In recent years, the Aurora kinases have attracted much interest as promising targets for cancer treatment. Here we report on the roles of Aurora A and Aurora B kinases in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Using genomewide expression array analysis of 174 patient samples of ccRCC, we found that expression levels of Aurora A and B were significantly elevated in ccRCC compared to normal kidney samples. High expression levels of Aurora A and Aurora B were significantly associated with advanced tumor stage and poor patient survival. Inhibition of Aurora kinase activity with the drug VX680 (also referred to as MK-0457) inhibited ccRCC cell growth in vitro and led to ccRCC cell accumulation in the G2/M phase and apoptosis. Growth of ccRCC xenograft tumors was also inhibited by VX680 treatment, accompanied by a reduction of tumor microvessel density. Analysis of endothelial cell lines demonstrated that VX680 inhibits endothelial cell growth with effects similar to that seen in ccRCC cells. Our findings suggest that VX680 inhibits the growth of ccRCC tumors by targeting the proliferation of both ccRCC tumor cells and tumor-associated endothelial cells. Aurora kinases and their downstream cell cycle proteins have an important role in ccRCC and may be potent prognostic markers and therapy targets for this disease. PMID:20589168

ccML, a new mark-up language to improve ISO/EN 13606-based electronic health record extracts practical edition.

PubMed

Sánchez-de-Madariaga, Ricardo; Muñoz, Adolfo; Cáceres, Jesús; Somolinos, Roberto; Pascual, Mario; Martínez, Ignacio; Salvador, Carlos H; Monteagudo, José Luis

2013-01-01

The objective of this paper is to introduce a new language called ccML, designed to provide convenient pragmatic information to applications using the ISO/EN13606 reference model (RM), such as electronic health record (EHR) extracts editors. EHR extracts are presently built using the syntactic and semantic information provided in the RM and constrained by archetypes. The ccML extra information enables the automation of the medico-legal context information edition, which is over 70% of the total in an extract, without modifying the RM information. ccML is defined using a W3C XML schema file. Valid ccML files complement the RM with additional pragmatics information. The ccML language grammar is defined using formal language theory as a single-type tree grammar. The new language is tested using an EHR extracts editor application as proof-of-concept system. Seven ccML PVCodes (predefined value codes) are introduced in this grammar to cope with different realistic EHR edition situations. These seven PVCodes have different interpretation strategies, from direct look up in the ccML file itself, to more complex searches in archetypes or system precomputation. The possibility to declare generic types in ccML gives rise to ambiguity during interpretation. The criterion used to overcome ambiguity is that specificity should prevail over generality. The opposite would make the individual specific element declarations useless. A new mark-up language ccML is introduced that opens up the possibility of providing applications using the ISO/EN13606 RM with the necessary pragmatics information to be practical and realistic.

A YAC contig of the human CC chemokine genes clustered on chromosome 17q11.2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naruse, Kuniko; Nomiyama, Hisayuki; Miura, Retsu

1996-06-01

CC chemokines are cytokines that attract and activate leukocytes. The human genes for the CC chemokines are clustered on chromosome 17. To elucidate the genomic organization of the CC chemokine genes, we constructed a YAC contig comprising 34 clones. The contig was shown to contain all 10 CC chemokine genes reported so far, except for one gene whose nucleotide sequence is not available. The contig also contains 4 CC chemokine-like genes, which were deposited in GenBank as ESTs and are here referred to as NCC-1, NCC-2, NCC-3, and NCC-4. Within the contig, the CC chemokine genes were localized in twomore » regions. In addition, the CC chemokine genes were localized in two regions. In addition, the CC chemokine genes were more precisely mapped on chromosome 17q11.2 using a somatic cell hybrid cell DNA panel containing various portions of human chromosome 17. Interestingly, a reciprocal translocation t(Y;17) breakpoint, contained in the hybrid cell line Y1741, lay between the two chromosome 17 chemokine gene regions covered by our YAC contig. From these results, the order and the orientation of CC chemokine genes on chromosome 17 were determined as follows: centromere-neurofibromatosis 1-(MCP-3, MCP-1, NCC-1, I-309)-Y1741 breakpoint-RANTES-(LD78{gamma}, AT744.2, LD78{beta})-(NCC-3, NCC-2, AT744.1, LD78{alpha})-NCC-4-retinoic acid receptor {alpha}-telomere. 22 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

Training a Chest Compression of 6-7 cm Depth for High Quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Hospital Setting: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Oh, Jaehoon; Lim, Tae Ho; Cho, Youngsuk; Kang, Hyunggoo; Kim, Wonhee; Chee, Youngjoon; Song, Yeongtak; Kim, In Young; Lee, Juncheol

2016-03-01

During cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), chest compression (CC) depth is influenced by the surface on which the patient is placed. We hypothesized that training healthcare providers to perform a CC depth of 6-7 cm (instead of 5-6 cm) on a manikin placed on a mattress during CPR in the hospital might improve their proper CC depth. This prospective randomised controlled study involved 66 premedical students without CPR training. The control group was trained to use a CC depth of 5-6 cm (G 5-6), while the experimental group was taught to use a CC depth of 6-7 cm (G 6-7) with a manikin on the floor. All participants performed CCs for 2 min on a manikin that was placed on a bed 1 hour and then again 4 weeks after the training without a feedback. The parameters of CC quality (depth, rate, % of accurate depth) were assessed and compared between the 2 groups. Four students were excluded due to loss to follow-up and recording errors, and data of 62 were analysed. CC depth and % of accurate depth were significantly higher among students in the G 6-7 than G 5-6 both 1 hour and 4 weeks after the training (p<0.001), whereas CC rate was not different between two groups (p>0.05). Training healthcare providers to perform a CC depth of 6-7 cm could improve quality CC depth when performing CCs on patients who are placed on a mattress during CPR in a hospital setting.

Centchroman induces redox-dependent apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest in human endometrial cancer cells.

PubMed

Shyam, Hari; Singh, Neetu; Kaushik, Shweta; Sharma, Ramesh; Balapure, Anil K

2017-04-01

Centchroman (CC) or Ormeloxifene has been shown to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in various types of cancer cells. This has, however, not been addressed for endometrial cancer cells where its (CC) mechanism of action remains unclear. This study focuses on the basis of antineoplasticity of CC by blocking the targets involved in the cell cycle, survival and apoptosis in endometrial cancer cells. Ishikawa Human Endometrial Cancer Cells were cultured under estrogen deprived medium, exposed to CC and analyzed for proliferation and apoptosis. Additionally, we also analyzed oxidative stress induced by CC. Cell viability studies confirmed the IC 50 of CC in Ishikawa cells to be 20 µM after 48 h treatment. CC arrests the cells in G0/G1 phase through cyclin D1 and cyclin E mediated pathways. Phosphatidylserine externalization, nuclear morphology changes, DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and alteration of Bcl-2 family protein expression clearly suggest ongoing apoptosis in the CC treated cells. Activation of caspase 3 & 9, up-regulation of AIF and inhibition of apoptosis by z-VAD-fmk clearly explains the participation of the intrinsic pathway of programmed cell death. Further, the increase of ROS, loss of MMP, inhibition of antioxidant (MnSOD, Cu/Zn-SOD and GST) and inhibition of apoptosis with L-NAC suggests CC induced oxidative stress leading to apoptosis via mitochondria mediated pathway. Therefore, CC could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of Endometrial Cancer adjunct to its utility as a contraceptive and an anti-breast cancer agent.

Improving color constancy by discounting the variation of camera spectral sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Shao-Bing; Zhang, Ming; Li, Chao-Yi; Li, Yong-Jie

2017-08-01

It is an ill-posed problem to recover the true scene colors from a color biased image by discounting the effects of scene illuminant and camera spectral sensitivity (CSS) at the same time. Most color constancy (CC) models have been designed to first estimate the illuminant color, which is then removed from the color biased image to obtain an image taken under white light, without the explicit consideration of CSS effect on CC. This paper first studies the CSS effect on illuminant estimation arising in the inter-dataset-based CC (inter-CC), i.e., training a CC model on one dataset and then testing on another dataset captured by a distinct CSS. We show the clear degradation of existing CC models for inter-CC application. Then a simple way is proposed to overcome such degradation by first learning quickly a transform matrix between the two distinct CSSs (CSS-1 and CSS-2). The learned matrix is then used to convert the data (including the illuminant ground truth and the color biased images) rendered under CSS-1 into CSS-2, and then train and apply the CC model on the color biased images under CSS-2, without the need of burdensome acquiring of training set under CSS-2. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real images show that our method can clearly improve the inter-CC performance for traditional CC algorithms. We suggest that by taking the CSS effect into account, it is more likely to obtain the truly color constant images invariant to the changes of both illuminant and camera sensors.

Diffusion of palliative care in nursing homes: lessons from the culture change movement.

PubMed

Tyler, Denise A; Shield, Renée R; Miller, Susan C

2015-05-01

Studies have found that nursing homes (NHs) that rely heavily on Medicaid funding are less likely to implement innovative approaches to care, such as palliative care (PC) or resident-centered approaches commonly referred to as "culture change" (CC). However, a nationally representative survey we previously conducted found that some high Medicaid facilities have implemented these innovative approaches. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that enable some high Medicaid NHs to implement innovative approaches to care. We conducted telephone interviews with 16 NH administrators in four categories of facilities: 1) low PC and low CC, 2) low PC and high CC, 3) high PC and low CC, and 4) high PC and high CC. Interviews explored strategies used to overcome barriers to implementation and the resources needed for implementation. We had expected to find differences between low and high NHs but instead found differences in NHs' experiences with CC and PC. Since the time of our national survey in 2009-2010, most previously low CC NHs had implemented at least some CC practices; however, we did not find similar changes around PC. Administrators reported numerous ways in which they had received information and assistance from outside entities for implementing CC. This was not the case for PC where administrators reported relying exclusively and heavily on hospices for both their residents' PC needs and information related to PC. PC advocates could learn much from the CC model in which advocates have used multipronged efforts to institute reform. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Association of coffee and caffeine consumption with fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and degree of hepatic fibrosis.

PubMed

Molloy, Jeffrey W; Calcagno, Christopher J; Williams, Christopher D; Jones, Frances J; Torres, Dawn M; Harrison, Stephen A

2012-02-01

Coffee caffeine consumption (CC) is associated with reduced hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis C. The association of CC with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has not been established. The aim of this study was to correlate CC with the prevalence and severity of NAFLD. Patients involved in a previously published NAFLD prevalence study, as well as additional NASH patients identified in the Brooke Army Medical Center Hepatology clinic, were queried about their caffeine intake. A validated questionnaire for CC was utilized to assess for a relationship between caffeine and four groups: ultrasound negative (controls), bland steatosis/not-NASH, NASH stage 0-1, and NASH stage 2-4. A total of 306 patients responded to the CC questionnaire. Average milligrams of total caffeine/coffee CC per day in controls, bland steatosis/not-NASH, NASH stage 0-1, and NASH stage 2-4 were 307/228, 229/160, 351/255, and 252/152, respectively. When comparing patients with bland steatosis/not-NASH to those with NASH stage 0-1, there was a significant difference in CC between the two groups (P = 0.005). Additionally, when comparing patients with NASH stage 0-1 to those with NASH stage 2-4, there was a significant difference in coffee CC (P = 0.016). Spearman's rank correlation analysis further supported a negative relationship between coffee CC and hepatic fibrosis (r = -0.215; P = 0.035). Coffee CC is associated with a significant reduction in risk of fibrosis among NASH patients. Copyright © 2011 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Safety of concomitant cholecystectomy at the time of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

PubMed

Dakour-Aridi, Hanaa N; El-Rayess, Hebah M; Abou-Abbass, Hussein; Abu-Gheida, Ibrahim; Habib, Robert H; Safadi, Bassem Y

2017-06-01

The indication and safety of concomitant cholecystectomy (CC) during bariatric surgical procedures are topics of controversy. Studies on the outcomes of CC with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are scarce. To assess the safety and 30-day surgical outcomes of CC with LSG. A retrospective analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database 2010 to 2013. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used. Between 2010 and 2013, 21,137 patients underwent LSG; of those 422 (2.0%) underwent CC (LSG+CC), and the majority (20,715 [98%]) underwent LSG alone. Patients in both groups were similar in age, sex distribution, baseline weight, and body mass index. The average surgical time was significantly higher, by 33 minutes, in the LSG+CC cohort. No differences were noted between the groups with regard to overall 30-day mortality and length of hospital stay. CC increased the odds of any adverse event (5.7% versus 4.0%), but the difference did not reach statistical significance (odds ratio 1.49, P = .07). Two complications were noted to be significantly higher with LSG+CC, namely bleeding (P = .04) and pneumonia (P = .02). CC during LSG appears to be a safe procedure with slightly increased risk of bleeding and pneumonia compared with LSG alone. When factoring the potential risk and cost of further hospitalization for deferred cholecystectomy, these data support CC for established gallbladder disease. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of an Innovative Voluntary Substance Abuse Treatment Program Designed to Replace Compulsory Drug Detention Centers in Malaysia.

PubMed

Khan, Farrah; Krishnan, Archana; Ghani, Mansur A; Wickersham, Jeffrey A; Fu, Jeannia J; Lim, Sin How; Dhaliwal, Sangeeth Kaur; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2018-01-28

As part of an ongoing initiative by the Malaysian government to implement alternative approaches to involuntary detention of people who use drugs, the National Anti-Drug Agency has created new voluntary drug treatment programs known as Cure and Care (C&C) Centers that provide free access to addiction treatment services, including methadone maintenance therapy, integrated with social and health services.   We evaluated early treatment outcomes and client satisfaction among patients accessing C&C treatment and ancillary services at Malaysia's second C&C Center located in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. In June-July 2012, a cross-sectional convenience survey of 96 C&C inpatients and outpatients who entered treatment >30 days previously was conducted to assess drug use, criminal justice experience, medical co-morbidities, motivation for seeking treatment, and attitudes towards the C&C. Drug use was compared for the 30-day-period before C&C entry and the 30-day-period before the interview. Self-reported drug use levels decreased significantly among both inpatient and outpatient clients after enrolling in C&C treatment. Higher levels of past drug use, lower levels of social support, and more severe mental health issues were reported by participants who were previously imprisoned. Self-reported satisfaction with C&C treatment services was high. Conclusions/Importance: Preliminary evidence of reduced drug use and high levels of client satisfaction among C&C clients provide support for Malaysia's ongoing transition from compulsory drug detention centers (CDDCs) to these voluntary drug treatment centers. If C&C centers are successful, Malaysia plans to gradually transition away from CDDCs entirely.

Integrative Pericyclic Cascade: An Atom Economic, Multi C-C Bond-Forming Strategy for the Construction of Molecular Complexity.

PubMed

Tejedor, David; Delgado-Hernández, Samuel; Peyrac, Jesús; González-Platas, Javier; García-Tellado, Fernando

2017-07-26

An all-pericyclic manifold is developed for the construction of topologically diverse, structurally complex and natural product-like polycyclic chemotypes. The manifold uses readily accessible tertiary propargyl vinyl ethers as substrates and imidazole as a catalyst to form up to two new rings, three new C-C bonds, six stereogenic centers and one transannular oxo-bridge. The manifold is efficient, scalable and instrumentally simple to perform and entails a propargyl Claisen rearrangement-[1,3]H shift, an oxa-6π-electrocyclization, and an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Outcomes of neonatal patent ductus arteriosus ligation in Canadian neonatal units with and without pediatric cardiac surgery programs.

PubMed

Wong, Charles; Mak, Michael; Shivananda, Sandesh; Yang, Junmin; Shah, Prakeshkumar S; Seidlitz, Wendy; Pemberton, Julia; Fitzgerald, Peter G; Cameron, Brian H

2013-05-01

Preterm infants needing patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation are transferred to a pediatric cardiac center (CC) unless the operation can be done locally by a pediatric surgeon at a non-cardiac center (NCC). We compared infant outcomes after PDA ligation at CC and NCC. We analyzed 990 preterm infants who had PDA ligation between 2005 and 2009 using the Canadian Neonatal Network database. In-hospital mortality and major morbidities were compared between CC (n=18) and NCC (n=9). SNAP-II-adjusted mortality rates were similar (CC=8.7% vs NCC=10.7%, P=.32). Significant cranial ultrasound abnormalities (CC=24.1% vs NCC=32.1%, P<.01) and culture-proven sepsis (CC=39.7% vs NCC=54.8%, P<.01) were more frequent in infants treated at NCC. Infants transferred to CC had higher rates of cranial ultrasound abnormalities (transferred 31.6% vs non-transferred 20.4%, P<.01). NSAIDs prior to PDA ligation were used more often at NCC (CC 36.6% vs NCC 75.6%, P<.001). Mortality rates after PDA ligation were similar at CC and NCC, but cranial ultrasound abnormalities and sepsis rates were higher at NCC. Higher morbidity may be associated with different PDA management strategies, including NSAID use or infant transfer. Further studies are needed to investigate the reasons for these differences in morbidity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inhibition of Btk with CC-292 provides early pharmacodynamic assessment of activity in mice and humans.

PubMed

Evans, Erica K; Tester, Richland; Aslanian, Sharon; Karp, Russell; Sheets, Michael; Labenski, Matthew T; Witowski, Steven R; Lounsbury, Heather; Chaturvedi, Prasoon; Mazdiyasni, Hormoz; Zhu, Zhendong; Nacht, Mariana; Freed, Martin I; Petter, Russell C; Dubrovskiy, Alex; Singh, Juswinder; Westlin, William F

2013-08-01

Targeted therapies that suppress B cell receptor (BCR) signaling have emerged as promising agents in autoimmune disease and B cell malignancies. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) plays a crucial role in B cell development and activation through the BCR signaling pathway and represents a new target for diseases characterized by inappropriate B cell activity. N-(3-(5-fluoro-2-(4-(2-methoxyethoxy)phenylamino)pyrimidin-4-ylamino)phenyl)acrylamide (CC-292) is a highly selective, covalent Btk inhibitor and a sensitive and quantitative assay that measures CC-292-Btk engagement has been developed. This translational pharmacodynamic assay has accompanied CC-292 through each step of drug discovery and development. These studies demonstrate the quantity of Btk bound by CC-292 correlates with the efficacy of CC-292 in vitro and in the collagen-induced arthritis model of autoimmune disease. Recently, CC-292 has entered human clinical trials with a trial design that has provided rapid insight into safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. This first-in-human healthy volunteer trial has demonstrated that a single oral dose of 2 mg/kg CC-292 consistently engaged all circulating Btk protein and provides the basis for rational dose selection in future clinical trials. This targeted covalent drug design approach has enabled the discovery and early clinical development of CC-292 and has provided support for Btk as a valuable drug target for B-cell mediated disorders.

Molecular cloning, characterization and differential expression of novel phytocystatin gene during tropospheric ozone stress in maize (Zea mays) leaves.

PubMed

Ahmad, Rafiq; Zuily-Fodil, Yasmine; Passaquet, Chantal; Ali Khan, Sabaz; Repellin, Anne

2015-03-01

In this study, a full-length cDNA encoding a novel phytocystatin gene, designated CC14, was identified in maize leaves. The CC14 gene sequence reported in this study has been deposited in the GenBank database (accession number JF290478). The CC14 gene was cloned into an expression vector pET30 EK/LIC and was then transformed into Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3) pLysS to produce a recombinant CC14 protein. The recombinant protein was purified by nickel nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography after induction with 1 mM IPTG. The purified CC14 protein was electrophoresed on SDS-PAGE and a protein 25 kDa in size was observed. Antiprotease activities of the purified recombinant CC14 protein against cysteine proteases and commercially available papain were tested. The results showed that CC14 purified protein suppressed 100% activity of papain and 57-86% plant cysteine protease activity. Moreover, an upregulation of CC14 gene expression was observed after 20 days of ozone stress in maize leaves. Together, these observations concurred to conclude that CC14 gene could potentially be used as a basis for the development of transgenic crops and natural pesticides that resist biotic and abiotic stresses. Copyright © 2014 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Survival effect of PDGF-CC rescues neurons from apoptosis in both brain and retina by regulating GSK3β phosphorylation

PubMed Central

Tang, Zhongshu; Arjunan, Pachiappan; Lee, Chunsik; Li, Yang; Kumar, Anil; Hou, Xu; Wang, Bin; Wardega, Piotr; Zhang, Fan; Dong, Lijin; Zhang, Yongqing; Zhang, Shi-Zhuang; Ding, Hao; Fariss, Robert N.; Becker, Kevin G.; Lennartsson, Johan; Nagai, Nobuo; Cao, Yihai

2010-01-01

Platelet-derived growth factor CC (PDGF-CC) is the third member of the PDGF family discovered after more than two decades of studies on the original members of the family, PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB. The biological function of PDGF-CC remains largely to be explored. We report a novel finding that PDGF-CC is a potent neuroprotective factor that acts by modulating glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) activity. In several different animal models of neuronal injury, such as axotomy-induced neuronal death, neurotoxin-induced neuronal injury, 6-hydroxydopamine–induced Parkinson’s dopaminergic neuronal death, and ischemia-induced stroke, PDGF-CC protein or gene delivery protected different types of neurons from apoptosis in both the retina and brain. On the other hand, loss-of-function assays using PDGF-C null mice, neutralizing antibody, or short hairpin RNA showed that PDGF-CC deficiency/inhibition exacerbated neuronal death in different neuronal tissues in vivo. Mechanistically, we revealed that the neuroprotective effect of PDGF-CC was achieved by regulating GSK3β phosphorylation and expression. Our data demonstrate that PDGF-CC is critically required for neuronal survival and may potentially be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Inhibition of the PDGF-CC–PDGF receptor pathway for different clinical purposes should be conducted with caution to preserve normal neuronal functions. PMID:20231377

Morbidity and mortality of vermiculite miners and millers exposed to tremolite-actinolite: Part I. Exposure estimates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amandus, H.E.; Wheeler, R.; Jankovic, J.

1987-01-01

The vermiculite ore and concentrate of a mine and mill near Libby, Montana, was found to be contaminated with fibrous tremolite-actinolite. Of 599 fibers (length greater than 5 microns and width greater than 0.45 micron) counted in eight airborne membrane filter samples, 96% had an aspect ratio greater than 10 and 16% had an aspect ratio greater than 50. Additionally, 73% of the fibers were longer than 10 microns, 36% were longer than 20 microns, and 10% were longer than 40 microns. Estimates of exposure before 1964 in the dry mill were 168 fibers/cc for working areas, 182 fibers/cc formore » sweepers, 88 fibers/cc for skipping, and 13 fibers/cc for the quality control laboratory. In 1964-1971, exposure estimates for these areas were 33, 36, 17, and 3 fibers/cc, respectively. Estimates of exposures in the mine before 1971 ranged from 9-23 fibers/cc for drillers and were less than 2 fibers/cc for nondrilling jobs. All 8-hr TWA job exposure estimates decreased from 1972-1976, and from 1977-1982 were less than 1 fiber/cc.« less

The common practice of "curbside consultation": A systematic review.

PubMed

Papermaster, Amy; Champion, Jane Dimmitt

2017-10-01

Point-of-care information needs for nurse practitioners are tremendous. A phenomenon often referred to as curbside consultation (CC) with colleagues is an information source for point-of-care clinical decision making. This literature review was conducted to describe: (a) characteristics of CC, (b) consistency of CC definition, and (c) attitudes about CC among health professionals using this information source for point-of-care clinical decision making. This literature review includes research conducted from 1980 to 2016 concerning CC among health professionals. Data bases including PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Business Source, and Cochrane Library were searched resulting in 15 articles for inclusion in this review. Fink's recommendations were used to assess study bias risk. Only studies including physician samples met inclusion criteria. These studies, primarily from consultant perspectives, were conducted in varied settings and were considered highly valuable. CC s averaging 9.4 min were defined as informal advice and information-seeking without formal consultation. A paucity of information exists concerning CC use among nurse practitioners. An assessment of CC processes among nurse practitioners is indicated to inform education and practice for research dissemination ultimately promoting patient care quality. ©2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

RB1CC1 protein suppresses type II collagen synthesis in chondrocytes and causes dwarfism.

PubMed

Nishimura, Ichiro; Chano, Tokuhiro; Kita, Hiroko; Matsusue, Yoshitaka; Okabe, Hidetoshi

2011-12-23

RB1-inducible coiled-coil 1 (RB1CC1) functions in various processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, senescence, apoptosis, and autophagy. The conditional transgenic mice with cartilage-specific RB1CC1 excess that were used in the present study were made for the first time by the Cre-loxP system. Cartilage-specific RB1CC1 excess caused dwarfism in mice without causing obvious abnormalities in endochondral ossification and subsequent skeletal development from embryo to adult. In vitro and in vivo analysis revealed that the dwarf phenotype in cartilaginous RB1CC1 excess was induced by reductions in the total amount of cartilage and the number of cartilaginous cells, following suppressions of type II collagen synthesis and Erk1/2 signals. In addition, we have demonstrated that two kinds of SNPs (T-547C and C-468T) in the human RB1CC1 promoter have significant influence on the self-transcriptional level. Accordingly, human genotypic variants of RB1CC1 that either stimulate or inhibit RB1CC1 transcription in vivo may cause body size variations.

RB1CC1 Protein Suppresses Type II Collagen Synthesis in Chondrocytes and Causes Dwarfism*

PubMed Central

Nishimura, Ichiro; Chano, Tokuhiro; Kita, Hiroko; Matsusue, Yoshitaka; Okabe, Hidetoshi

2011-01-01

RB1-inducible coiled-coil 1 (RB1CC1) functions in various processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, senescence, apoptosis, and autophagy. The conditional transgenic mice with cartilage-specific RB1CC1 excess that were used in the present study were made for the first time by the Cre-loxP system. Cartilage-specific RB1CC1 excess caused dwarfism in mice without causing obvious abnormalities in endochondral ossification and subsequent skeletal development from embryo to adult. In vitro and in vivo analysis revealed that the dwarf phenotype in cartilaginous RB1CC1 excess was induced by reductions in the total amount of cartilage and the number of cartilaginous cells, following suppressions of type II collagen synthesis and Erk1/2 signals. In addition, we have demonstrated that two kinds of SNPs (T-547C and C-468T) in the human RB1CC1 promoter have significant influence on the self-transcriptional level. Accordingly, human genotypic variants of RB1CC1 that either stimulate or inhibit RB1CC1 transcription in vivo may cause body size variations. PMID:22049074

Enhanced robustness in acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation with engineered Clostridium beijerinckii overexpressing adhE2 and ctfAB.

PubMed

Lu, Congcong; Yu, Le; Varghese, Saju; Yu, Mingrui; Yang, Shang-Tian

2017-11-01

Clostridium beijerinckii CC101 was engineered to overexpress aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase (adhE2) and CoA-transferase (ctfAB). Solvent production and acid assimilation were compared between the parental and engineered strains expressing only adhE2 (CC101-SV4) and expressing adhE2, ald and ctfAB (CC101-SV6). CC101-SV4 showed an early butanol production from glucose but stopped pre-maturely at a low butanol concentration of ∼6g/L. Compared to CC101, CC101-SV6 produced more butanol (∼12g/L) from glucose and was able to re-assimilate more acids, which prevented "acid crash" and increased butanol production, under all conditions studied. CC101-SV6 also showed better ability in using glucose and xylose present in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate, and produced 9.4g/L solvents (acetone, butanol and ethanol) compared to only 2.6g/L by CC101, confirming its robustness and better tolerance to hydrolysate inhibitors. The engineered strain of C. beijerinckii overexpressing adhE2 and ctfAB should have good potential for producing butanol from lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The morbidity and mortality of vermiculite miners and millers exposed to tremolite-actinolite: Part I. Exposure estimates.

PubMed

Amandus, H E; Wheeler, R; Jankovic, J; Tucker, J

1987-01-01

The vermiculite ore and concentrate of a mine and mill near Libby, Montana, was found to be contaminated with fibrous tremolite-actinolite. Of 599 fibers (length greater than 5 microns and width greater than 0.45 micron) counted in eight airborne membrane filter samples, 96% had an aspect ratio greater than 10 and 16% had an aspect ratio greater than 50. Additionally, 73% of the fibers were longer than 10 microns, 36% were longer than 20 microns, and 10% were longer than 40 microns. Estimates of exposure before 1964 in the dry mill were 168 fibers/cc for working areas, 182 fibers/cc for sweepers, 88 fibers/cc for skipping, and 13 fibers/cc for the quality control laboratory. In 1964-1971, exposure estimates for these areas were 33, 36, 17, and 3 fibers/cc, respectively. Estimates of exposures in the mine before 1971 ranged from 9-23 fibers/cc for drillers and were less than 2 fibers/cc for nondrilling jobs. All 8-hr TWA job exposure estimates decreased from 1972-1976, and from 1977-1982 were less than 1 fiber/cc.

Improving Forecast Skill by Assimilation of AIRS Cloud Cleared Radiances RiCC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Susskind, Joel; Rosenberg, Robert I.; Iredell, Lena

2015-01-01

ECMWF, NCEP, and GMAO routinely assimilate radiosonde and other in-situ observations along with satellite IR and MW Sounder radiance observations. NCEP and GMAO use the NCEP GSI Data Assimilation System (DAS).GSI DAS assimilates AIRS, CrIS, IASI channel radiances Ri on a channel-by-channel, case-by-case basis, only for those channels i thought to be unaffected by cloud cover. This test excludes Ri for most tropospheric sounding channels under partial cloud cover conditions. AIRS Version-6 RiCC is a derived quantity representative of what AIRS channel i would have seen if the AIRS FOR were cloud free. All values of RiCC have case-by-case error estimates RiCC associated with them. Our experiments present to the GSI QCd values of AIRS RiCC in place of AIRS Ri observations. GSI DAS assimilates only those values of RiCC it thinks are cloud free. This potentially allows for better coverage of assimilated QCd values of RiCC as compared to Ri.

[Therapeutic effect of metformin for clomiphene-resistant infertility patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic analysis].

PubMed

Wang, Ling-li; Ren, Wei; Cheng, Qing-feng; Fan, Xiao-dong

2012-09-01

To evaluate the efficacy of metformin (MTF) in treatment of clomiphene (CC)-resistant patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The published articles of randomized controlled trial (RCT) of comparison of MTF combined with CC and CC alone in treatment of CC-resistant PCOS were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, OVID, EBSCO databases and Cochrane Library, and these studies were screened under inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of included studies and extract data of comparison of ovulation rates and pregnancy rates were evaluated. And the Meta-analysis using statistic software RevMan 5.0 was completed. Total of 333 patients in total 8 trials were included. Meta analysis showed that MTF plus CC led to a significantly higher clinical ovulation rate (OR = 7.31, 95%CI: 2.57 - 20.76, P < 0.05) and pregnancy rate (OR = 7.93, 95%CI: 2.45 - 25.63, P < 0.05) than that of CC alone. MTF can increase ovulation and pregnancy rates of CC-resistant PCOS women.

Tanshinone IIA inhibits cervix carcinoma stem cells migration and invasion via inhibiting YAP transcriptional activity.

PubMed

Qin, Jinghao; Shi, Hongbing; Xu, Yanjie; Zhao, Fang; Wang, Qing

2018-06-14

This study aims to explore the effects and related mechanisms of Tanshinone IIA in cervix carcinoma (CC) stemness-like cells migration, invasion, stemness and chemotherapeutical sensitivity. Here, we found that Tanshinone IIA suppressed CC stemness-like cells migration and invasion in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. And consistent results were obtained in CC cells stemness characterized as the decrease of CC stemness markers expression and cells spheroid formation ability. Mechanistically, we found that Tanshinone IIA suppressed RNA binding protein HuR translocation from nuclear to cytoplasm, and thus reduced YAP mRNAs stability and transcriptional activity. Importantly, overexpression YAP-5SA rescued the inhibition of Tanshinone IIA on CC cells stemness. Furthermore, Tanshinone IIA enhanced adriamycin sensitivity in CC stemness-like cells, this effect was attenuated by YAP-5SA overexpression too. Therefore, Tanshinone IIA could suppress CC stemness-like cells migration and invasion by inhibiting YAP transcriptional activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Colonic casts: unexpected complications of colonic ischaemia.

PubMed

Mantas, D; Damaskos, C; Bamias, G; Dimitroulis, D

2016-09-01

Introduction Extensive colonic ischaemia can result in passage of a colonic 'cast' (CC) through the rectum. Case Study We report a 69-year-old male who initially underwent surgery to remove a sessile polyp. On postoperative day (POD)15, he was febrile, suffering from diarrhoea, and was treated conservatively. On POD18, the patient returned to our hospital with a CC that presented after defaecation. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a CC extending from the descending colon to the anal orifice with presentation of air between the affected colonic wall and the CC. The patient was treated conservatively and discharged on POD20 without complications having passed the CC (≈80cm) completely and becoming afebrile. Conclusions In most cases, the cause of CC passage is surgery for colorectal cancer or repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. A mild-to-severe presentation is dependent upon the bowel-wall layers affected by ischaemia and which therefore are included in the CC.

Methods of Controlling the Loop Heat Pipe Operating Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ku, Jentung

2008-01-01

The operating temperature of a loop heat pipe (LHP) is governed by the saturation temperature of its compensation chamber (CC); the latter is in turn determined by the balance among the heat leak from the evaporator to the CC, the amount of subcooling carried by the liquid returning to the CC, and the amount of heat exchanged between the CC and ambient. The LHP operating temperature can be controlled at a desired set point by actively controlling the CC temperature. The most common method is to cold bias the CC and use electric heater power to maintain the CC set point temperature. The required electric heater power can be large when the condenser sink is very cold. Several methods have been developed to reduce the control heater power, including coupling block, heat exchanger and separate subcooler, variable conductance heat pipe, by-pass valve with pressure regulator, secondary evaporator, and thermoelectric converter. The paper discusses the operating principles, advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Investigating implicit statistical learning mechanisms through contextual cueing.

PubMed

Goujon, Annabelle; Didierjean, André; Thorpe, Simon

2015-09-01

Since its inception, the contextual cueing (CC) paradigm has generated considerable interest in various fields of cognitive sciences because it constitutes an elegant approach to understanding how statistical learning (SL) mechanisms can detect contextual regularities during a visual search. In this article we review and discuss five aspects of CC: (i) the implicit nature of learning, (ii) the mechanisms involved in CC, (iii) the mediating factors affecting CC, (iv) the generalization of CC phenomena, and (v) the dissociation between implicit and explicit CC phenomena. The findings suggest that implicit SL is an inherent component of ongoing processing which operates through clustering, associative, and reinforcement processes at various levels of sensory-motor processing, and might result from simple spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dealing with chemical reaction pathways and electronic excitations in molecular systems via renormalized and active-space coupled-cluster methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piecuch, Piotr; Li, Wei; Lutz, Jesse J.

Coupled-cluster (CC) theory has become the de facto standard for high-accuracy molecular calculations, but the widely used CC and equation-of-motion (EOM) CC approaches, such as CCSD(T) and EOMCCSD, have difficulties with capturing stronger electron correlations that characterize multi-reference molecular problems. This presentation demonstrates that many of these difficulties can be addressed by exploiting the completely renormalized (CR) CC and EOMCC approaches, such as CR-CC(2,3), CR-EOMCCSD(T), and CR-EOMCC(2,3), and their local correlation counterparts applicable to systems with hundreds of atoms, and the active-space CC/EOMCC approaches, such as CCSDt and EOMCCSDt, and their extensions to valence systems via the electron-attached and ionizedmore » formalisms.« less

Theoretical verification and extension of the McKean relationship between bond lengths and stretching frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larsson, J. A.; Cremer, D.

1999-08-01

Vibrational spectra contain explicit information on the electronic structure and the bonding situation of a molecule, which can be obtained by transforming the vibrational normal modes of a molecule into appropriate internal coordinate modes, which are localized in a fragment of the molecule and which are associated to that internal coordinate that describes the molecular fragment in question. It is shown that the adiabatic internal modes derived recently (Int. J. Quant. Chem., 67 (1998) 1) are the theoretical counterparts of McKean's isolated CH stretching modes (Chem. Soc. Rev., 7 (1978) 399). Adiabatic CH stretching frequencies obtained from experimental vibrational spectra can be used to determine CH bond lengths with high accuracy. Contrary to the concept of isolated stretching frequencies a generalization to any bond of a molecule is possible as is demonstrated for the CC stretching frequencies. While normal mode frequencies do not provide a basis to determine CC bond lengths and CC bond strengths, this is possible with the help of the adiabatic CC stretching frequencies. Measured vibrational spectra are used to describe different types of CC bonds in a quantitative way. For CH bonds, it is also shown that adiabatic stretching frequency leads to the definition of an ideal dissociation energy, which contrary to the experimentally determined dissociation energy is a direct measure of the bond strength. The difference between measured and ideal dissociation energies gives information on stabilization or destabilization of the radicals formed in a dissociation process.

Histone demethylase JARID1C inactivation triggers genomic instability in sporadic renal cancer

PubMed Central

Rondinelli, Beatrice; Rosano, Dalia; Antonini, Elena; Frenquelli, Michela; Montanini, Laura; Huang, DaChuan; Segalla, Simona; Yoshihara, Kosuke; Amin, Samir B.; Lazarevic, Dejan; The, Bin Tean; Verhaak, Roel G.W.; Futreal, P. Andrew; Di Croce, Luciano; Chin, Lynda; Cittaro, Davide; Tonon, Giovanni

2015-01-01

Mutations in genes encoding chromatin-remodeling proteins are often identified in a variety of cancers. For example, the histone demethylase JARID1C is frequently inactivated in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC); however, it is largely unknown how JARID1C dysfunction promotes cancer. Here, we determined that JARID1C binds broadly to chromatin domains characterized by the trimethylation of lysine 9 (H3K9me3), which is a histone mark enriched in heterochromatin. Moreover, we found that JARID1C localizes on heterochromatin, is required for heterochromatin replication, and forms a complex with established players of heterochromatin assembly, including SUV39H1 and HP1α, as well as with proteins not previously associated with heterochromatin assembly, such as the cullin 4 (CUL4) complex adaptor protein DDB1. Transcription on heterochromatin is tightly suppressed to safeguard the genome, and in ccRCC cells, JARID1C inactivation led to the unrestrained expression of heterochromatic noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that in turn triggered genomic instability. Moreover, ccRCC patients harboring JARID1C mutations exhibited aberrant ncRNA expression and increased genomic rearrangements compared with ccRCC patients with tumors endowed with other genetic lesions. Together, these data suggest that inactivation of JARID1C in renal cancer leads to heterochromatin disruption, genomic rearrangement, and aggressive ccRCCs. Moreover, our results shed light on a mechanism that underlies genomic instability in sporadic cancers. PMID:26551685

Measurement of Charged and Neutral Current e-p Deep Inelastic Scattering Cross Sections at High Q2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derrick, M.; Krakauer, D.; Magill, S.; Mikunas, D.; Musgrave, B.; Repond, J.; Stanek, R.; Talaga, R. L.; Zhang, H.; Ayad, R.; Bari, G.; Basile, M.; Bellagamba, L.; Boscherini, D.; Bruni, A.; Bruni, G.; Bruni, P.; Cara Romeo, G.; Castellini, G.; Chiarini, M.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Contin, A.; Corradi, M.; Gialas, I.; Giusti, P.; Iacobucci, G.; Laurenti, G.; Levi, G.; Margotti, A.; Massam, T.; Nania, R.; Nemoz, C.; Palmonari, F.; Polini, A.; Sartorelli, G.; Timellini, R.; Zamora Garcia, Y.; Zichichi, A.; Bargende, A.; Crittenden, J.; Desch, K.; Diekmann, B.; Doeker, T.; Eckert, M.; Feld, L.; Frey, A.; Geerts, M.; Geitz, G.; Grothe, M.; Haas, T.; Hartmann, H.; Haun, D.; Heinloth, K.; Hilger, E.; Jakob, H.-P.; Katz, U. F.; Mari, S. M.; Mass, A.; Mengel, S.; Mollen, J.; Paul, E.; Rembser, Ch.; Schattevoy, R.; Schramm, D.; Stamm, J.; Wedemeyer, R.; Campbell-Robson, S.; Cassidy, A.; Dyce, N.; Foster, B.; George, S.; Gilmore, R.; Heath, G. P.; Heath, H. F.; Llewellyn, T. J.; Morgado, C. J.; Norman, D. J.; O'Mara, J. A.; Tapper, R. J.; Wilson, S. S.; Yoshida, R.; Rau, R. R.; Arneodo, M.; Iannotti, L.; Schioppa, M.; Susinno, G.; Bernstein, A.; Caldwell, A.; Cartiglia, N.; Parsons, J. A.; Ritz, S.; Sciulli, F.; Straub, P. B.; Wai, L.; Yang, S.; Zhu, Q.; Borzemski, P.; Chwastowski, J.; Eskreys, A.; Piotrzkowski, K.; Zachara, M.; Zawiejski, L.; Adamczyk, L.; Bednarek, B.; Jeleń, K.; Kisielewska, D.; Kowalski, T.; Rulikowska-Zarȩbska, E.; Suszycki, L.; ZajaÇ, J.; Kotański, A.; Przybycień, M.; Bauerdick, L. A.; Behrens, U.; Beier, H.; Bienlein, J. K.; Coldewey, C.; Deppe, O.; Desler, K.; Drews, G.; Flasiński, M.; Gilkinson, D. J.; Glasman, C.; Göttlicher, P.; Grosse-Knetter, J.; Gutjahr, B.; Hain, W.; Hasell, D.; Hessling, H.; Hultschig, H.; Iga, Y.; Joos, P.; Kasemann, M.; Klanner, R.; Koch, W.; Köpke, L.; Kötz, U.; Kowalski, H.; Labs, J.; Ladage, A.; Löhr, B.; Löwe, M.; Lüke, D.; Mańczak, O.; Ng, J. S.; Nickel, S.; Notz, D.; Ohrenberg, K.; Roco, M.; Rohde, M.; Roldán, J.; Schneekloth, U.; Schulz, W.; Selonke, F.; Stiliaris, E.; Surrow, B.; Voss, T.; Westphal, D.; Wolf, G.; Youngman, C.; Zhou, J. F.; Grabosch, H. J.; Kharchilava, A.; Leich, A.; Mattingly, M.; Meyer, A.; Schlenstedt, S.; Wulff, N.; Barbagli, G.; Pelfer, P.; Anzivino, G.; Maccarrone, G.; de Pasquale, S.; Votano, L.; Bamberger, A.; Eisenhardt, S.; Freidhof, A.; Söldner-Rembold, S.; Schroeder, J.; Trefzger, T.; Brook, N. H.; Bussey, P. J.; Doyle, A. T.; Fleck, J. I.; Saxon, D. H.; Utley, M. L.; Wilson, A. S.; Dannemann, A.; Holm, U.; Horstmann, D.; Neumann, T.; Sinkus, R.; Wick, K.; Badura, E.; Burow, B. D.; Hagge, L.; Lohrmann, E.; Mainusch, J.; Milewski, J.; Nakahata, M.; Pavel, N.; Poelz, G.; Schott, W.; Zetsche, F.; Bacon, T. C.; Butterworth, I.; Gallo, E.; Harris, V. L.; Hung, B. Y.; Long, K. R.; Miller, D. B.; Morawitz, P. P.; Prinias, A.; Sedgbeer, J. K.; Whitfield, A. F.; Mallik, U.; McCliment, E.; Wang, M. Z.; Wang, S. M.; Wu, J. T.; Zhang, Y.; Cloth, P.; Filges, D.; An, S. H.; Hong, S. M.; Nam, S. W.; Park, S. K.; Suh, M. H.; Yon, S. H.; Imlay, R.; Kartik, S.; Kim, H.-J.; McNeil, R. R.; Metcalf, W.; Nadendla, V. K.; Barreiro, F.; Cases, G.; Graciani, R.; Hernández, J. M.; Hervás, L.; Labarga, L.; del Peso, J.; Puga, J.; Terron, J.; de Trocóniz, J. F.; Smith, G. R.; Corriveau, F.; Hanna, D. S.; Hartmann, J.; Hung, L. W.; Lim, J. N.; Matthews, C. G.; Patel, P. M.; Sinclair, L. E.; Stairs, D. G.; St. Laurent, M.; Ullmann, R.; Zacek, G.; Bashkirov, V.; Dolgoshein, B. A.; Stifutkin, A.; Bashindzhagyan, G. L.; Ermolov, P. F.; Gladilin, L. K.; Golubkov, Y. A.; Kobrin, V. D.; Kuzmin, V. A.; Proskuryakov, A. S.; Savin, A. A.; Shcheglova, L. M.; Solomin, A. N.; Zotov, N. P.; Botje, M.; Chlebana, F.; Dake, A.; Engelen, J.; de Kamps, M.; Kooijman, P.; Kruse, A.; Tiecke, H.; Verkerke, W.; Vreeswijk, M.; Wiggers, L.; de Wolf, E.; van Woudenberg, R.; Acosta, D.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Honscheid, K.; Li, C.; Ling, T. Y.; McLean, K. W.; Murray, W. N.; Park, I. H.; Romanowski, T. A.; Seidlein, R.; Bailey, D. S.; Blair, G. A.; Byrne, A.; Cashmore, R. J.; Cooper-Sarkar, A. M.; Daniels, D.; Devenish, R. C.; Harnew, N.; Lancaster, M.; Luffman, P. E.; Lindemann, L.; McFall, J. D.; Nath, C.; Noyes, V. A.; Quadt, A.; Uijterwaal, H.; Walczak, R.; Wilson, F. F.; Yip, T.; Abbiendi, G.; Bertolin, A.; Brugnera, R.; Carlin, R.; dal Corso, F.; de Giorgi, M.; Dosselli, U.; Limentani, S.; Morandin, M.; Posocco, M.; Stanco, L.; Stroili, R.; Voci, C.; Bulmahn, J.; Butterworth, J. M.; Feild, R. G.; Oh, B. Y.; Whitmore, J. J.; D'Agostini, G.; Marini, G.; Nigro, A.; Tassi, E.; Hart, J. C.; McCubbin, N. A.; Prytz, K.; Shah, T. P.; Short, T. L.; Barberis, E.; Dubbs, T.; Heusch, C.; van Hook, M.; Hubbard, B.; Lockman, W.; Rahn, J. T.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Seiden, A.; Biltzinger, J.; Schwarzer, O.; Seifert, R. J.; Walenta, A. H.; Zech, G.; Abramowicz, H.; Briskin, G.; Dagan, S.; Levy, A.; Hasegawa, T.; Hazumi, M.; Ishii, T.; Kuze, M.; Mine, S.; Nagasawa, Y.; Nakao, M.; Suzuki, I.; Tokushuku, K.; Yamada, S.; Yamazaki, Y.; Chiba, M.; Hamatsu, R.; Hirose, T.; Homma, K.; Kitamura, S.; Nakamitsu, Y.; Yamauchi, K.; Cirio, R.; Costa, M.; Ferrero, M. I.; Lamberti, L.; Maselli, S.; Peroni, C.; Sacchi, R.; Solano, A.; Staiano, A.; Dardo, M.; Bailey, D. C.; Bandyopadhyay, D.; Benard, F.; Brkic, M.; Crombie, M. B.; Gingrich, D. M.; Hartner, G. F.; Joo, K. K.; Levman, G. M.; Martin, J. F.; Orr, R. S.; Sampson, C. R.; Teuscher, R. J.; Catterall, C. D.; Jones, T. W.; Kaziewicz, P. B.; Lane, J. B.; Saunders, R. L.; Shulman, J.; Blankenship, K.; Kochocki, J.; Lu, B.; Mo, L. W.; Bogusz, W.; Charchuła, K.; Ciborowski, J.; Gajewski, J.; Grzelak, G.; Kasprzak, M.; Krzyżanowski, M.; Muchorowski, K.; Nowak, R. J.; Pawlak, J. M.; Tymieniecka, T.; Wróblewski, A. K.; Zakrzewski, J. A.; Żarnecki, A. F.; Adamus, M.; Eisenberg, Y.; Karshon, U.; Revel, D.; Zer-Zion, D.; Ali, I.; Badgett, W. F.; Behrens, B.; Dasu, S.; Fordham, C.; Foudas, C.; Goussiou, A.; Loveless, R. J.; Reeder, D. D.; Silverstein, S.; Smith, W. H.; Vaiciulis, A.; Wodarczyk, M.; Tsurugai, T.; Bhadra, S.; Cardy, M. L.; Fagerstroem, C.-P.; Frisken, W. R.; Furutani, K. M.; Khakzad, M.; Schmidke, W. B.

1995-08-01

Deep inelastic e-p scattering has been studied in both the charged current (CC) and neutral current (NC) reactions at momentum transfers squared Q2 above 400 GeV2 using the ZEUS detector at the HERA ep collider. The CC and NC total cross sections, the NC to CC cross section ratio, and the differential cross sections dσ/dQ2 are presented. From the Q2 dependence of the CC cross section, the mass term in the CC propagator is determined to be MW = 76+/-16+/-13 GeV.

Phase Transitions in the system CaCO3 at high P and T determined by in-situ Vibrational Spectroscopy in Diamond-Anvil-Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch-Mueller, M.; Jahn, S.; Birkholz, N.; Schade, U.

2013-12-01

Carbonates are the most abundant carbon-bearing minerals on Earth. They can be transported into the upper and lower mantle via subduction processes. Knowledge of the stability of solid carbonates adapting different structures with increasing pressure and temperature is therefore of great importance to understand the structure and dynamics of the Earth. Even for the very simple system CaCO3, the phase relations at high pressure and temperature are only poorly understood. It has been known for many years that calcite (cc) can adopt different structures with increasing pressure (e.g. Bridgman, 1939: cc-I to III; Tyburczy and Ahrens, 1986: cc-VI). But only recently Merlini et al. (2012) were able to solve the crystal structures of some of these high pressure polymoprhs namely cc-III, cc-IIIb and cc-VI. They report that cc-VI has a higher density then aragonite under the same conditions. To study the stability of the CaCO3-polymorphs, experiments were performed in conventional diamond anvil cells (DAC) at ambient temperatures as a function of pressure up to 30 GPa as well as in internally heated diamond anvil cells (DAC-HT) in the pressure range 9 to 20 GPa and temperatures up to 800 K. As probe for the structural changes we used conventional mid-infrared-, synchrotron far-infrared- and Raman-spectroscopy. Within the cc-III stability field (3 to 15 GPa at room temperature, e.g. Catalli and Williams, 2005) we observed in all types of experiments consistently two different spectral patterns: one at lower P < 5 GPa and another at P > 5 < 15 GPa independent on the starting material and the pressure- and time-path of the experiments. Whether these P-induced structural changes may be linked to the above mentioned different structures of cc-III is not yet clear. Also, in all types of experiments we confirmed the transition of cc-III to cc-VI at about 15 GPa at room temperature. Merlini et al. (2012) speculated that temperature may stabilize the structures of cc-III to lower pressure and surprisingly we found the same for the cc-III to cc-VI transition. The reaction has a negative slope of about -0.007 GPa/K. Thus, under the P, T- conditions of the Earth's mantle cc-VI may be stabilized towards lower pressure replacing aragonite in some parts of the mantle. References Bridgman P.W. (1939) Am J Sci, 237, 7 - 18. Catalli K. and Williams Q. (2005) Am Mineral, 90, 1679 - 1682. Merlini M. (2012) EPSL, 333-334, 265 - 271. Tyburczy J. A. and Ahrens T. J. (1986) J Geophysical Research, 91, 4730 - 4744.

Rubisco activity in Mediterranean species is regulated by the chloroplastic CO2 concentration under water stress

PubMed Central

Galmés, Jeroni; Ribas-Carbó, Miquel; Medrano, Hipólito; Flexas, Jaume

2011-01-01

Water stress decreases the availability of the gaseous substrate for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) by decreasing leaf conductance to CO2. In spite of limiting photosynthetic carbon assimilation, especially in those environments where drought is the predominant factor affecting plant growth and yield, the effects of water deprivation on the mechanisms that control Rubisco activity are unclear. In the present study, 11 Mediterranean species, representing different growth forms, were subject to increasing levels of drought stress, the most severe one followed by rewatering. The results confirmed species-specific patterns in the decrease in the initial activity and activation state of Rubisco as drought stress and leaf dehydration intensified. Nevertheless, all species followed roughly the same trend when Rubisco activity was related to stomatal conductance (gs) and chloroplastic CO2 concentration (Cc), suggesting that deactivation of Rubisco sites could be induced by low Cc, as a result of water stress. The threshold level of Cc that triggered Rubisco deactivation was dependent on leaf characteristics and was related to the maximum attained for each species under non-stressing conditions. Those species adapted to low Cc were more capable of maintaining active Rubisco as drought stress intensified. PMID:21115663

Carbon-Carbon Composite Radiator Development for the EO-1 Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughn, Wallace; Shinn, Elizabeth; Rawal, Suraj; Wright, Joe

2004-01-01

The Carbon-Carbon Space Radiator Partnership (CSRP), an informal partnership of Government and industrial personnel, was formed to promote the use of Carbon-carbon composites (C-C) as engineering materials for spacecraft thermal management applications . As a part of this effort the partnership has built a structural radiator for the Earth Orbiter - 1 (EO-1) spacecraft. This radiator, using C-C face-sheets with an aluminum honeycomb core, will demonstrate both the thermal and structural properties of C-C under actual service conditions as well as provide performance data from space flight. This paper will present results from the design of the radiator, the thermal/mechanical tests of the facesheet materials, and sub-component test results on the C-C/Al honeycomb sandwich material. The 29- by 28-inch radiator was designed to support two electronics boxes with a combined heat output of 60 watts maximum and a weight of 58 lbs. The analysis of the radiator design shows that the radiator constructed with 20-mil-thick facesheets of a P30-fiber-reinforced C-C from BFGoodrich is able to meet or exceed all the required thermal and mechanical requirements.

Pressure equilibration in the penguin middle ear.

PubMed

Sadé, Jacob; Handrich, Yves; Bernheim, Joelle; Cohen, David

2008-01-01

King penguins have a venous structure in the form of a corpus cavernosum (CC) in their middle ear (ME) submucosa. The CC may be viewed as a special organelle that can change ME volume for pressure equilibration during deep-sea diving it is a pressure regulating organelle (PRO). A similar CC and muscles also surround the external ear (EE) and may constrict it, isolating the tympanic membrane from the outside. A CC was previously found also in the ME of marine diving mammals and can be expected to exist in other deep diving animals, such as marine turtles. Marine animals require equalization of middle ear (ME) pressure when diving hundreds or thousands of meters to catch prey. We investigated what mechanism enables king penguins to protect their ME when they dive to great depths. Biopsies and serial sections of the ME and the EE of the deep diving king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) were examined microscopically. It was demonstrated that the penguin ME has an extensive network of small and large submucosal venous sinuses. This venous formation, a corpus cavernosum, can expand and potentially 'flood' the ME almost completely on diving, thus elevating ME pressure and reducing the ME space. The EE has a similar protective mechanism.

An Investigation on Ground Electrodes of Capacitive Coupling Human Body Communication.

PubMed

Mao, Jingna; Yang, Huazhong; Zhao, Bo

2017-08-01

Utilizing the body surface as the signal transmission medium, capacitive coupling human body communication (CC-HBC) can achieve a much higher energy efficiency than conventional wireless communications in future wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. Under the CC-HBC scheme, the body surface serves as the forward signal path, whereas the backward path is formed by the capacitive coupling between the ground electrodes (GEs) of transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). So the type of communication benefits from a low forward loss, while the backward loss depending on the GE coupling strength dominates the total transmission loss. However, none of the previous works have shown a complete research on the effects of GEs. In this paper, all kinds of GE effects on CC-HBC are investigated by both finite element method (FEM) analysis and human body measurement. We set the TX GE and RX GE at different heights, separation distances, and dimensions to study the corresponding influence on the overall signal transmission path loss. In addition, we also investigate the effects of GEs with different shapes and different TX-to-RX relative angles. Based on all the investigations, an analytical model is derived to evaluate the GE related variations of channel loss in CC-HBC.

Infrared spectra and quantum chemical calculations of the uranium-carbon molecules UC, CUC, UCH, and U(CC)2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xuefeng; Andrews, Lester; Ma, Dongxia; Gagliardi, Laura; Gonçalves, António P.; Pereira, Cláudia C. L.; Marçalo, Joaquim; Godart, Claude; Villeroy, Benjamin

2011-06-01

Laser evaporation of carbon rich uranium/carbon alloy targets into condensing argon or neon matrix samples gives weak infrared absorptions that increase on annealing, which can be assigned to new uranium carbon bearing species. New bands at 827.6 cm-1 in solid argon or 871.7 cm-1 in neon become doublets with mixed carbon 12 and 13 isotopes and exhibit the 1.0381 carbon isotopic frequency ratio for the UC diatomic molecule. Another new band at 891.4 cm-1 in argon gives a three-band mixed isotopic spectrum with the 1.0366 carbon isotopic frequency ratio, which is characteristic of the anti-symmetric stretching vibration of a linear CUC molecule. No evidence was found for the lower energy cyclic U(CC) isomer. Other bands at 798.6 and 544.0 cm-1 are identified as UCH, which has a uranium-carbon triple bond similar to that in UC. Evidence is found for bicyclic U(CC)2 and tricyclic U(CC)3. This work shows that U and C atoms react spontaneously to form the uranium carbide U≡C and C≡U≡C molecules with uranium-carbon triple bonds.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 genes in common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

PubMed

Kongchum, Pawapol; Hallerman, Eric M; Hulata, Gideon; David, Lior; Palti, Yniv

2011-01-01

Induction of innate immune pathways is critical for early host defense, but there is limited understanding of how teleost fishes recognize pathogen molecules and activate these pathways. In mammals, cells of the innate immune system detect pathogenic molecular structures using pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). TLR9 functions as a PRR that recognizes CpG motifs in bacterial and viral DNA and requires adaptor molecules MyD88 and TRAF6 for signal transduction. Here we report full-length cDNA isolation, structural characterization and tissue mRNA expression analysis of the common carp (cc) TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 gene orthologs. The ccTLR9 open-reading frame (ORF) is predicted to encode a 1064-amino acid (aa) protein. We found that MyD88 and TRAF6 genes are duplicated in common carp. This is the first report of TRAF6 duplication in a vertebrate genome and stronger evidence in support of MyD88 duplication is provided. The ccMyD88a and b ORFs are predicted to encode 288-aa and 284-aa peptides, respectively. They share 91% aa sequence identity between paralogs. The ccTRAF6a and b ORFs are both predicted to encode 543-aa peptides sharing 95% aa sequence identity between paralogs. The ccTLR9 gene is contained in a single large exon. The ccMyD88a and ccMyD88b coding sequences span five exons. The TRAF6b gene spans six exons. PCR amplification to obtain the entire coding sequence of ccTRAF6a gene was not successful. The 2104-bp fragment amplified covers the 3' end of the gene and it contains a partial sequence of one exon and three complete exons. The predicated protein domains of the ccTLR9, ccMyD88 and ccTRAF6 are conserved and resemble orthologs from other vertebrates. Real-time quantitative PCR assays of the ccTLR9, MyD88a and b, and TRAF6a and b gene transcripts in healthy common carp indicated that mRNA expression varied between tissues. Differential expression of duplicate copies were found for ccMyD88 and ccTRAF6 in white and red muscle tissues, suggesting that paralogs may have evolved and attained a new function. The genomic information we describe in this paper provides evidence of sequence and structural conservation of immune response genes in common carp. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Shifts in the Antibiotic Susceptibility, Serogroups, and Clonal Complexes of Neisseria meningitidis in Shanghai, China: A Time Trend Analysis of the Pre-Quinolone and Quinolone Eras.

PubMed

Chen, Mingliang; Guo, Qinglan; Wang, Ye; Zou, Ying; Wang, Gangyi; Zhang, Xi; Xu, Xiaogang; Zhao, Miao; Hu, Fupin; Qu, Di; Chen, Min; Wang, Minggui

2015-06-01

Fluoroquinolones have been used broadly since the end of the 1980s and have been recommended for Neisseria meningitidis prophylaxis since 2005 in China. The aim of this study was to determine whether and how N. meningitidis antimicrobial susceptibility, serogroup prevalence, and clonal complex (CC) prevalence shifted in association with the introduction and expanding use of quinolones in Shanghai, a region with a traditionally high incidence of invasive disease due to N. meningitidis. A total of 374 N. meningitidis isolates collected by the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention between 1965 and 2013 were studied. Shifts in the serogroups and CCs were observed, from predominantly serogroup A CC5 (84%) in 1965-1973 to serogroup A CC1 (58%) in 1974-1985, then to serogroup C or B CC4821 (62%) in 2005-2013. The rates of ciprofloxacin nonsusceptibility in N. meningitidis disease isolates increased from 0% in 1965-1985 to 84% (31/37) in 2005-2013 (p < 0.001). Among the ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible isolates, 87% (27/31) were assigned to either CC4821 (n = 20) or CC5 (n = 7). The two predominant ciprofloxacin-resistant clones were designated ChinaCC4821-R1-C/B and ChinaCC5-R14-A. The ChinaCC4821-R1-C/B clone acquired ciprofloxacin resistance by a point mutation, and was present in 52% (16/31) of the ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible disease isolates. The ChinaCC5-R14-A clone acquired ciprofloxacin resistance by horizontal gene transfer, and was found in 23% (7/31) of the ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible disease isolates. The ciprofloxacin nonsusceptibility rate was 47% (7/15) among isolates from asymptomatic carriers, and nonsusceptibility was associated with diverse multi-locus sequence typing profiles and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. As detected after 2005, ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible strains were shared between some of the patients and their close contacts. A limitation of this study is that isolates from 1986-2004 were not available and that only a small sample of convenience isolates from 1965-1985 were available. The increasing prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance since 2005 in Shanghai was associated with the spread of hypervirulent lineages CC4821 and CC5. Two resistant meningococcal clones ChinaCC4821-R1-C/B and ChinaCC5-R14-A have emerged in Shanghai during the quinolone era. Ciprofloxacin should be utilized with caution for the chemoprophylaxis of N. meningitidis in China.

Hyaline cartilage calcification of the first metatarsophalangeal joint is associated with osteoarthritis but independent of age and BMI.

PubMed

Hubert, Jan; Hawellek, Thelonius; Hischke, Sandra; Bertrand, Jessica; Krause, Matthias; Püschel, Klaus; Rüther, Wolfgang; Niemeier, Andreas

2016-11-15

Hyaline cartilage calcification (CC) is associated with osteoarthritis (OA) in hip and knee joints. The first metatarsophalangeal joint (1 st MTPJ) is frequently affected by OA, but it is unclear if CC occurs in the 1 st MTPJ. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of CC of the 1 st MTPJ in the general population by high-resolution digital contact radiography (DCR) and to determine its association with histological OA severity, age and body mass index (BMI). 168 metatarsal heads of 84 donors (n = 47 male, n = 37 female; mean age 62.73 years, SD ±18.8, range 20-93) were analyzed by DCR for the presence of CC. Histological OA grade (hOA) by OARSI was analyzed in the central load-bearing zone of the first metatarsal head (1 st MH). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze the interrelationship between CC, hOA, age and BMI. The prevalence of CC of 1 st MH was 48.8 % (41/84) (95 %-CI [37.7 %, 60.0 %]), independent of the affected side (p = 0.42), gender (p = 0.41) and BMI (p = 0.51). The mean amount of CC of one MH correlated significantly with that of the contralateral side (r s  = 0.4, 95 %-CI [0.26, 0.52], p < 0.001). The mean amount of CC (in % of total cartilage area) of the MH correlated significantly with the severity of hOA (r s  = 0.51, 95 %-CI [0.32, 0.65], p < 0.001). SEM revealed significant associations between CC and hOA (r = 0.74, p < 0.001) and between hOA and age (β = 0.62, p = 0.001), but not between CC and age (p = 0.15). There was no significant influence of BMI on either CC (p = 0.37) or hOA (p = 0.16). The observation that CC of the 1 st MH is significantly associated with the severity of OA but independent of age and BMI, suggests an intimate relationship between CC and the pathogenesis of OA, the exact nature of which will have to be explored by future studies.

Knowledge of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women across Different Socio-Economic Regions of China.

PubMed

Di, Jiangli; Rutherford, Shannon; Wu, Jiuling; Song, Bo; Ma, Lan; Chen, Jingyi; Chu, Cordia

2015-01-01

China has a high burden of cervical cancer (CC) and wide disparities in CC burden exist among different socio-economic regions. In order to reduce these disparities, China's government launched the National Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Rural Areas (NCCSPRA) in 2009. Understanding the factors associated with underutilization of CC screening among target populations is important to improve the screening participation rate, and a high participation rate is key to achieving the goals of a screening program. However, data on the knowledge of CC among target populations in program areas is lacking in China. This study will investigate the knowledge of CC prevention and control among women in specific project counties to develop a better understanding of factors that might influence CC screening participation in order to improve the implementation of the NCCSPRA. A cross-sectional survey was conducted and face-to-face interview questionnaires were completed by 308 women who received CC screening services in 6 project counties of NCCSPRA across different socio-economic regions of China. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to compare the knowledge rates and scores across the different subgroups. Logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with knowledge level. The overall CC knowledge rate of the target population was only 19.5%. Regional socio-economic level, advice from doctors, age, and educational status were strong predictors of knowledge level of CC screening. Significantly lower knowledge rates and scores were identified in older women (55-64 years old), less educated women (with primary school or illiterate), women in less developed regions and women who did not receive any advice about screening results from doctors. The knowledge of CC screening among women in the project counties of NCCSPRA was found to be very poor. Given the importance of knowledge in encouraging women to participate in screening is key to reducing CC burden in rural women in China, it is urgent that a targeted health promotion intervention is developed and implemented in project counties, especially targeting older women, women with less education and women in less developed regions, and focus on improving their CC knowledge and encouraging them to communicate with health care providers. The health promotion intervention targeting health care providers is also important to improve their knowledge of CC and provide best advice to women.

Coffee cysteine proteinases and related inhibitors with high expression during grain maturation and germination

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Cysteine proteinases perform multiple functions in seeds, including participation in remodelling polypeptides and recycling amino acids during maturation and germination. Currently, few details exist concerning these genes and proteins in coffee. Furthermore, there is limited information on the cysteine proteinase inhibitors which influence the activities of these proteinases. Results Two cysteine proteinase (CP) and four cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI) gene sequences have been identified in coffee with significant expression during the maturation and germination of coffee grain. Detailed expression analysis of the cysteine proteinase genes CcCP1 and CcCP4 in Robusta using quantitative RT-PCR showed that these transcripts accumulate primarily during grain maturation and germination/post germination. The corresponding proteins were expressed in E. coli and purified, but only one, CcCP4, which has a KDDL/KDEL C-terminal sequence, was found to be active after a short acid treatment. QRT-PCR expression analysis of the four cysteine proteinase inhibitor genes in Robusta showed that CcCPI-1 is primarily expressed in developing and germinating grain and CcCPI-4 is very highly expressed during the late post germination period, as well as in mature, but not immature leaves. Transcripts corresponding to CcCPI-2 and CcCPI-3 were detected in most tissues examined at relatively similar, but generally low levels. Conclusions Several cysteine proteinase and cysteine proteinase inhibitor genes with strong, relatively specific expression during coffee grain maturation and germination are presented. The temporal expression of the CcCP1 gene suggests it is involved in modifying proteins during late grain maturation and germination. The expression pattern of CcCP4, and its close identity with KDEL containing CP proteins, implies this proteinase may play a role in protein and/or cell remodelling during late grain germination, and that it is likely to play a strong role in the programmed cell death associated with post-germination of the coffee grain. Expression analysis of the cysteine proteinase inhibitor genes suggests that CcCPI-1 could primarily be involved in modulating the activity of grain CP activity; while CcCPI-4 may play roles modulating grain CP activity and in the protection of the young coffee seedlings from insects and pathogens. CcCPI-2 and CcCPI-3, having lower and more widespread expression, could be more general "house-keeping" CPI genes. PMID:22380654

Thick corpus callosum in the second trimester can be transient and is of uncertain significance.

PubMed

Shinar, S; Har-Toov, J; Lerman-Sagie, T; Malinger, G

2016-10-01

Depiction of a thick corpus callosum (CC) in utero is rare, and is generally associated with severe brain anomalies. Our aim was to describe a group of fetuses diagnosed during second-trimester ultrasound examination as having an apparently isolated thick CC, which normalized subsequently in the cases followed to term. Among 59 fetuses referred to the Ob-Gyn Ultrasound Division of Lis Maternity Hospital with suspected callosal anomalies between January 2013 and June 2014, we identified nine cases with an apparently isolated thick CC for inclusion in this retrospective cohort study. Length and body thickness of the CC were compared with previously published nomograms. Fetuses with a suspected isolated thick CC were identified and followed until delivery or termination of pregnancy (TOP). Evaluation consisted of chromosomal analysis, at least one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination and repeat ultrasound examinations. Postnatal evaluation included brain ultrasound examination, MRI when indicated and neurodevelopmental assessment through validated pediatric questionnaires. The nine fetuses were diagnosed with an apparently isolated thick CC at a mean gestational age of 23 + 5 (range, 21-29) weeks. Eight exhibited a CC body thickness ≥ 2SD above the mean for gestational age and one exhibited only a thickened genu. Six also exhibited a relatively short CC. Two patients opted for TOP but declined autopsy. In five of the seven remaining fetuses, the CC thickness normalized during follow-up. In the remaining two, the increased CC thickness was a variant of the cingulate sulcus. The CC length remained ≤ 2SD in five of the six fetuses with a short CC. Fetal MRI was performed and confirmed the diagnosis in six fetuses. The karyotype was normal in all fetuses. Short-term neurodevelopmental outcome was reported as normal in all six children with complete follow-up. Although the number of fetuses in our study is relatively small, it seems that an apparently isolated thick CC is not necessarily associated with poor prognosis. In such cases, a definitive diagnosis should not be reached based on a single measurement and repeat follow-up examinations during the third trimester are recommended. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparative preclinical evaluation of 68Ga-NODAGA and 68Ga-HBED-CC conjugated procainamide in melanoma imaging.

PubMed

Trencsényi, György; Dénes, Noémi; Nagy, Gábor; Kis, Adrienn; Vida, András; Farkas, Flóra; Szabó, Judit P; Kovács, Tünde; Berényi, Ervin; Garai, Ildikó; Bai, Péter; Hunyadi, János; Kertész, István

2017-05-30

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. The early detection of primary melanoma tumors and metastases using non-invasive PET imaging determines the outcome of this disease. Previous studies have shown that benzamide derivatives (e.g. procainamide) conjugated with PET radionuclides specifically bind to melanin pigment of melanoma tumors. 68 Ga chelating agents can have high influence on physiological properties of 68 Ga labeled bioactive molecules, as was experienced during the application of HBED-CC on PSMA ligand. The aim of this study was to assess this concept in the case of the melanin specific procaindamide (PCA) and to compare the melanin specificity of 68 Ga-labeled PCA using HBED-CC and NODAGA chelators under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Procainamide (PCA) was conjugated with HBED-CC and NODAGA chelators and was labeled with Ga-68. The melanin specificity of 68 Ga-HBED-CC-PCA and 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA was investigated in vitro and in vivo using amelanotic (MELUR and A375) and melanin containing (B16-F10) melanoma cell lines. Tumor-bearing mice were prepared by subcutaneous injection of B16-F10, MELUR and A375 melanoma cells into C57BL/6 and SCID mice. 21±2days after tumor cell inoculation and 90min after intravenous injection of the 68 Ga-labelledlabeled radiopharmacons whole body PET/MRI scans were performed. 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA and 68 Ga-HBED-CC-PCA were produced with excellent radiochemical purity (98%). In vitro experiments demonstrated that after 30 and 90min incubation time 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA uptake of B16-F10 cells was significantly (p≤0.01) higher than the 68 Ga-HBED-CC-conjugated PCA accumulation in the same cell line. Furthermore, significant difference (p≤0.01 and 0.05) was found between the uptake of melanin negative and positive cell lines using 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA and 68 Ga-HBED-CC-PCA. In vivo PET/MRI studies using tumor models revealed significantly (p≤0.01) higher 68 Ga-NODAGA-PCA uptake (SUVmean: 0.46±0.05, SUVmax: 1.96±0.25,T/M ratio: 40.7±4.23) in B16-F10 tumors in contrast to 68 Ga-HBED-CC-PCA where the SUVmean, SUVmax and T/M ratio were 0.13±0.01, 0.56±0.11 and 11.43±1.24, respectively. Melanin specific PCA conjugated with NODAGA chelator showed higher specific binding properties than conjugated with HBED-CC. The chemical properties of the bifunctional chelators used for 68 Ga-labeling of PCA determine the biological behaviour of the probes. Due to the high specificity and sensitivity 68 Ga-labeled PCA molecules are promising radiotracers in melanoma imaging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Air Force Flight Screening: Evolutionary Changes, 1917-2003

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

US), FFA (Switzerland), Siai Marchetti (Italy), SAAB (Sweden), Slingsby (United Kingdom), Glassair (US), Piper (US), American General (US), and...Jumper, USAF/CC, [Academy Flight Screening program], 10 Apr 03, 3) BBP , 557 FTS/CC, “USAF 66 As the...Academy Flight Screening (AFS) Program,” 4 Feb 03, 4) BBP , 557 FTS/CC, “AFS Funding,” 22 Jan 03, 5) Position Paper, 557 FTS/CC

The Chicago Classification 3.0 Results in More Normal Findings and Fewer Hypotensive Findings With No Difference in Other Diagnoses.

PubMed

Monrroy, H; Cisternas, D; Bilder, C; Ditaranto, A; Remes-Troche, J; Meixueiro, A; Zavala, M A; Serra, J; Marín, I; Ruiz de León, A; Pérez de la Serna, J; Hani, A; Leguizamo, A; Abrahao, L; Coello, R; Valdovinos, M A

2017-04-01

High-resolution manometry (HRM) is the preferred method for the evaluation of motility disorders. Recently, an update of the diagnostic criteria (Chicago 3.0) has been published. The aim of this study was to compare the performance criteria of Chicago version 2.0 (CC2.0) vs. 3.0 (CC3.0) in a cohort of healthy volunteers and symptomatic patients. HRM studies of asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals from several centers of Spain and Latin America were analyzed using both CC2.0 and CC3.0. The final diagnosis was grouped into hierarchical categories: obstruction (achalasia and gastro-esophageal junction obstruction), major disorders (distal esophageal spasm, absent peristalsis, and jackhammer), minor disorders (failed frequent peristalsis, weak peristalsis with small or large defects, ineffective esophageal motility, fragmented peristalsis, rapid contractile with normal latency and hypertensive peristalsis) and normal. The results were compared using McNemar's and Kappa tests. HRM was analyzed in 107 healthy volunteers (53.3% female; 18-69 years) and 400 symptomatic patients (58.5% female; 18-90 years). In healthy volunteers, using CC2.0 and CC3.0, obstructive disorders were diagnosed in 7.5% and 5.6%, respectively, major disorders in 1% and 2.8%, respectively, minor disorders in 25.2% and 15%, respectively, and normal in 66.4% and 76.6%, respectively. In symptomatic individuals, using CC2.0 and CC3.0, obstructive disorders were diagnosed in 11% and 11.3%, respectively, major disorders in 14% and 14%, respectively, minor disorders in 33.3% and 24.5%, respectively, and normal in 41.8% and 50.3%, respectively. In both groups of individuals, only an increase in normal and a decrease in minor findings using CC3.0 were statistically significant using McNemar's test. CC3.0 increases the number of normal studies when compared with CC2.0, essentially at the expense of fewer minor disorders, with no significant differences in major or obstructive disorders. As the relevance of minor disorders is questionable, our data suggest that CC3.0 increases the relevance of abnormal results.

Phase transitions in the system CaCO3 at high P and T determined by in situ vibrational spectroscopy in diamond anvil cells and first-principles simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch-Müller, Monika; Jahn, Sandro; Birkholz, Natalie; Ritter, Eglof; Schade, Ulrich

2016-09-01

The stability of the high-pressure CaCO3 calcite (cc)-related polymorphs was studied in experiments that were performed in conventional diamond anvil cells (DAC) at room temperature as a function of pressure up to 30 GPa as well as in internally heated diamond anvil cells (DAC-HT) at pressures and temperatures up to 20 GPa and 800 K. To probe structural changes, we used Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. For the latter, we applied conventional and synchrotron mid-infrared as well as synchrotron far-infrared radiation. Within the cc-III stability field (2.2-15 GPa at room temperature, e.g., Catalli and Williams in Phys Chem Miner 32(5-6):412-417, 2005), we observed in the Raman spectra consistently three different spectral patterns: Two patterns at pressures below and above 3.3 GPa were already described in Pippinger et al. (Phys Chem Miner 42(1):29-43, 2015) and assigned to the phase transition of cc-IIIb to cc-III at 3.3 GPa. In addition, we observed a clear change between 5 and 6 GPa that is independent of the starting material and the pressure path and time path of the experiments. This apparent change in the spectral pattern is only visible in the low-frequency range of the Raman spectra—not in the infrared spectra. Complementary electronic structure calculations confirm the existence of three distinct stability regions of cc-III-type phases at pressures up to about 15 GPa. By combining experimental and simulation data, we interpret the transition at 5-6 GPa as a re-appearance of the cc-IIIb phase. In all types of experiments, we confirmed the transition from cc-IIIb to cc-VI at about 15 GPa at room temperature. We found that temperature stabilizes cc-VI to lower pressure. The reaction cc-IIIb to cc-VI has a negative slope of -7.0 × 10-3 GPa K-1. Finally, we discuss the possibility of the dense cc-VI phase being more stable than aragonite at certain pressure and temperature conditions relevant to the Earth's mantle.

Immunohistochemical localization of Clara cell secretory proteins (CC10-CC26) and Annexin-1 protein in rat major salivary glands

PubMed Central

Cecchini, Maria Paola; Merigo, Flavia; Cristofoletti, Mirko; Osculati, Francesco; Sbarbati, Andrea

2009-01-01

The oral cavity is continuously bathed by saliva secreted by the major and minor salivary glands. Saliva is the first biological medium to confront external materials that are taken into the body as part of food or drink or inhaled volatile substances, and it contributes to the first line of oral defence. In humans, it has been shown that sputum and a variety of biological fluids contain Clara cell secretory proteins (CC10–CC26). Various studies of the respiratory apparatus have suggested their protective effect against inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Recently, CC10 deficiency has been related to the protein Annexin-1 (ANXA1), which has immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Considering the defensive role of both Clara cell secretory proteins and ANXA1 in the respiratory apparatus, and the importance of salivary gland secretion in the first line of oral defence, we decided to evaluate the expression of CC10, CC26 and ANXA1 proteins in rat major salivary glands using immunohistochemistry. CC10 expression was found only in the ductal component of the sublingual gland. Parotid and submandibular glands consistently lacked CC10 immunoreactivity. In the parotid gland, both acinar and ductal cells were always CC26-negative, whereas in the submandibular gland, immunostaining was localized in the ductal component and in the periodic acid Schiff (PAS)-positive area. In the sublingual gland, ductal cells were always positive. Acinar cells were not immunostained at all. ANXA1 was expressed in ductal cells in all three major glands. In parotid and sublingual glands, acinar cells were negative. In submandibular glands, immunostaining was present in the mucous PAS-positive portion, whereas serous acinar cells were consistently negative. The existence of some CC10-CC26–ANXA1-positive cells in rat salivary glandular tissue is an interesting preliminary finding which could support the hypothesis, suggested for airway tissue, that these proteins have a defensive and protective role. Protein expression heterogeneity in the different portions of the glands could be an important clue in further investigations of their role. PMID:19438769

Effect of dietary coarsely ground corn on broiler live performance, gastrointestinal tract development, apparent ileal digestibility of energy and nitrogen, and digesta particle size distribution and retention time

PubMed Central

Xu, Y.; Stark, C. R.; Ferket, P. R.; Williams, C. M.; Pacheco, W. J.; Brake, J.

2015-01-01

Dietary structural material has been reported to improve broiler live performance and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) function. In this 50 d cage study, the effects of coarsely ground corn (CC) inclusion on broiler live performance, GIT development, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of energy and nitrogen (N), and digesta particle size distribution and retention time were investigated. This study included 3 CC inclusions (0, 25, and 50% fine corn [FC] replaced by CC), with 6 replicate cages of 10 birds per treatment. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) at 35 and 42 d was improved (P < 0.01) as the dietary inclusion of CC increased without effect on feed intake. The 50% CC diet increased absolute and relative gizzard weight at 42 d of age as compared to diets with 0 and 25% CC (P < 0.01). Dietary CC increased absolute proventriculus weight at 28 d of age (P < 0.05). A numerically lower gizzard digesta pH (P < 0.08) was observed at 28 d but not 42 d of age, and there was no difference in proventriculus, jejunum, or ileum digesta pH at 28 or 42 d of age. The 25 and 50% CC treatments increased the digesta retention time at 30 and 45 d of age (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The 25 and 50% CC treatments improved AID of energy by 7.1 and 8.2%, respectively, when compared with the 0% CC treatment, and they improved AID of N by 12.2 and 12.4%, respectively (P < 0.01). The digesta particles in the jejunum exhibited a similar distribution, with a dgw (geometric mean diameter by mass) of 218, 204, and 181 μm when 0, 25, of 50% CC diets were consumed, respectively. In conclusion, birds fed pelleted and screened diets that contained 25 and 50% CC exhibited increased BW, improved FCR, and increased AID of energy and N, which was probably due to enhanced gizzard development and greater digesta retention time. PMID:25568134

The benefits of hearing aids and closed captioning for television viewing by older adults with hearing loss.

PubMed

Gordon-Salant, Sandra; Callahan, Julia S

2009-08-01

Although watching television is a common leisure activity of older adults, the ability to understand televised speech may be compromised by age-related hearing loss. Two potential assistive devices for improving television viewing are hearing aids (HAs) and closed captioning (CC), but their use and benefit by older adults with hearing loss are unknown. The primary purpose of this initial investigation was to determine if older hearing-impaired adults show improvements in understanding televised speech with the use of these two assistive devices (HAs and CC) compared with conditions without these devices. A secondary purpose was to examine the frequency of HA and CC use among a sample of older HA wearers. The investigation entailed a randomized, repeated-measures design of 15 older adults (59 to 82 yr) with bilateral sensorineural hearing losses who wore HAs. Participants viewed three types of televised programs (news, drama, and game show) that were each edited into lists of speech segments and provided an identification response. Each participant was tested in four conditions: baseline (no HA or CC), HA only, CC only, and HA + CC. Also, pilot testing with young normal-hearing listeners was conducted to establish list equivalence and stimulus intelligibility with a control group. All testing was conducted in a quiet room to simulate a living room, using a 20 in flat screen television. Questionnaires were also administered to participants to determine the frequency of HA and CC use while watching television. A significant effect of viewing condition was observed for all programs. Participants exhibited significantly better speech recognition scores in conditions with CC than those without CC (p < 0.01). Use of personal HAs did not significantly improve recognition of televised speech compared with the unaided condition. The condition effect was similar across the three different programs. Most of the participants (73%) regularly wore their HAs while watching television; very few of them (13%) had ever used CC. On average, use of CC while watching television dramatically improved speech understanding by a sample of older hearing-impaired adults compared with conditions without CC, including when HAs were worn.

Milk yield and composition, nutrition, body conformation traits, body condition scores, fertility and diseases in high-yielding dairy cows--Part 1.

PubMed

Aeberhard, K; Bruckmaier, R M; Kuepfer, U; Blum, J W

2001-03-01

Twenty-nine pairs of high-yielding dairy cows (HC; > or = 45 kg/day reached at least once during lactation) and corresponding control cows (CC; with milk yields representing the average yield of the herds) were examined on 29 Swiss farms from March 1995 to September 1996. The hypotheses were tested that there are differences in feed intake, body-conformation traits, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), fertility status and disease incidence between HC and CC cows. Cows were studied 2 weeks before and at 5, 9, 13, 17 and 40 weeks post-partum. HC cows produced more energy-corrected milk (ECM) than CC cows (10,670 +/- 321 kg in 293 +/- 5 days and 8385 +/- 283 kg in 294 +/- 4 days, respectively; P < or = 0.001) and yields in the first 100 days of lactation were greater in HC than in CC cows (46.2 +/- 1.1 and 36.2 +/- 1.0 kg ECM/day, respectively; P < or = 0.001). Concentrate intake was greater (P < or = 0.05) in HC than in CC cows (7.6 +/- 0.5 and 5.7 +/- 0.5 kg/day, respectively) and dry matter intakes (measured in week 5 of lactation over 3 days on six farms) were greater in HC than in CC cows (24.0 +/- 1.1 and 20.3 +/- 1.1 kg/day, respectively; P < or = 0.001). HC cows were taller than CC cows (wither heights 143.3 +/- 0.8 and 140.1 +/- 0.8 cm, respectively; P < or = 0.01). Although BW in HC cows was greater than in CC cows throughout the study, differences and decreases of BW during lactation were not significant. BCS at the end of pregnancy and decrements during lactation were similar in HC and CC cows. Fertility parameters were similar in HC and CC cows. Incidences of mastitis, claw and feet problems, hypocalcemia/downer cow syndrome, ovarian cysts and abortions were similar in HC and CC cows, but there were more indigestion problems in HC than in CC cows.

Association of serum Clara cell protein CC16 with respiratory infections and immune response to respiratory pathogens in elite athletes.

PubMed

Kurowski, Marcin; Jurczyk, Janusz; Jarzębska, Marzanna; Moskwa, Sylwia; Makowska, Joanna S; Krysztofiak, Hubert; Kowalski, Marek L

2014-04-15

Respiratory epithelium integrity impairment caused by intensive exercise may lead to exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Clara cell protein (CC16) has anti-inflammatory properties and its serum level reflects changes in epithelium integrity and airway inflammation. This study aimed to investigate serum CC16 in elite athletes and to seek associations of CC16 with asthma or allergy, respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and immune response to respiratory pathogens. The study was performed in 203 Olympic athletes. Control groups comprised 53 healthy subjects and 49 mild allergic asthmatics. Serum levels of CC16 and IgG against respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae were assessed. Allergy questionnaire for athletes was used to determine symptoms and exercise pattern. Current versions of ARIA and GINA guidelines were used when diagnosing allergic rhinitis and asthma, respectively. Asthma was diagnosed in 13.3% athletes, of whom 55.6% had concomitant allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis without asthma was diagnosed in 14.8% of athletes. Mean CC16 concentration was significantly lower in athletes versus healthy controls and mild asthmatics. Athletes reporting frequent RTIs had significantly lower serum CC16 and the risk of frequent RTIs was more than 2-fold higher in athletes with low serum CC16 (defined as equal to or less than 4.99 ng/ml). Athletes had significantly higher anti-adenovirus IgG than healthy controls while only non-atopic athletes had anti-parainfluenza virus IgG significantly lower than controls. In all athletes weak correlation of serum CC16 and anti-parainfluenza virus IgG was present (R = 0.20, p < 0.01). In atopic athletes a weak positive correlations of CC16 with IgG specific for respiratory syncytial virus (R = 0.29, p = 0.009), parainfluenza virus (R = 0.31, p = 0.01) and adenovirus (R = 0.27, p = 0.02) were seen as well. Regular high-load exercise is associated with decrease in serum CC16 levels. Athletes with decreased CC16 are more susceptible to respiratory infections. Atopy may be an additional factor modifying susceptibility to infections in subjects performing regular high-load exercise.

The Emergence and Spread of Multiple Livestock-Associated Clonal Complex 398 Methicillin-Resistant and Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Strains among Animals and Humans in the Republic of Ireland, 2010–2014

PubMed Central

Brennan, Gráinne I.; Abbott, Yvonne; Burns, Aisling; Leonard, Finola; McManus, Brenda A.; O’Connell, Brian; Coleman, David C.; Shore, Anna C.

2016-01-01

Clonal complex (CC) 398 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) are associated with carriage and infection among animals and humans but only a single case of CC398 MRSA has been reported in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). The present study investigated the molecular epidemiology of CC398 MRSA (n = 22) and MSSA (n = 10) from animals and humans in the ROI from 2010–2014. Isolates underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing, spa typing, DNA microarray profiling and PCR for CC398-associated resistance genes. All MRSA underwent SCCmec IV or V subtyping. Four distinct CC398-MRSA incidents were identified from (i) a man in a nursing home (spa type t011-SCCmec IVa, immune evasion complex (IEC) negative), (ii) a horse and veterinarian who had recently travelled to Belgium (t011-IVa, IEC positive), (iii) pigs (n = 9) and farm workers (n = 9) on two farms, one which had been restocked with German gilts and the other which was a finisher farm (t034-VT, IEC negative, 3/9 pigs; t011- VT, IEC negative, 6/9 pigs & 9/9 farm workers), and (iv) a child who had worked on a pig farm in the UK (t034-VT, IEC negative). Isolates also carried different combinations of multiple resistance genes including erm(A), erm(B), tet(K), tet(M) & tet(L), fexA, spc, dfrG, dfrK aacA-aphD and aadD further highlighting the presence of multiple CC398-MRSA strains. CC398 MSSA were recovered from pigs (n = 8) and humans (n = 2). CC398 MSSA transmission was identified among pigs but zoonotic transmission was not detected with animal and human isolates exhibiting clade-specific traits. This study highlights the importation and zoonotic spread of CC398 MRSA in the ROI and the spread of CC398 MSSA among pigs. Increased surveillance is warranted to prevent further CC398 MRSA importation and spread in a country that was considered CC398 MRSA free. PMID:26886749

SU-F-T-293: Experimental Comparisons of Ionization Chambers with Different Volumes for CyberKnife Delivery Quality Assurance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nakayama, M; Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo; Munetomo, Y

2016-06-15

Purpose: To evaluate the practicality use of ionization chambers with different volumes for delivery quality assurance of CyberKnife plans, Methods: Dosimetric measurements with a spherical solid water phantom and three ionization chambers with volumes of 0.13, 0.04, and 0.01 cm3 (IBA CC13, CC04, and CC01, respectively) were performed for various CyberKnife clinical treatment plans including both isocentric and nonisocentric delivery. For each chamber, the ion recombination correction factors Ks were calculated using the Jaffe plot method and twovoltage method at a 10-cm depth for a 60-mm collimator field in a water phantom. The polarity correction factors Kpol were determined formore » 5–60-mm collimator fields in same experimental setup. The measured doses were compared to the doses for the detectors calculated using a treatment planning system. Results: The differences in the Ks between the Jaffe plot method and two-voltage method were −0.12, −0.02, and 0.89% for CC13, CC04, and CC01, respectively. The changes in Kpol for the different field sizes were 0.2, 0.3, and 0.8% for CC13, CC04, and CC01, respectively. The measured doses for CC04 and CC01 were within 3% of the calculated doses for the clinical treatment plans with isocentric delivery with collimator fields greater than 12.5 mm. Those for CC13 had differences of over 3% for the plans with isocentric delivery with collimator fields less than 15 mm. The differences for the isocentric plans were similar to those for the single beam plans. The measured doses for each chamber were within 3% of the calculated doses for the non-isocentric plans except for that with a PTV volume less than 1.0 cm{sup 3}. Conclusion: Although there are some limitations, the ionization chamber with a smaller volume is a better detector for verification of the CyberKnife plans owing to the high spatial resolution.« less

A Novel Approach for Studying the Physiology and Pathophysiology of Myelinated and Non-Myelinated Axons in the CNS White Matter.

PubMed

Li, Lijun; Velumian, Alexander A; Samoilova, Marina; Fehlings, Michael G

2016-01-01

Advances in brain connectomics set the need for detailed knowledge of functional properties of myelinated and non-myelinated (if present) axons in specific white matter pathways. The corpus callosum (CC), a major white matter structure interconnecting brain hemispheres, is extensively used for studying CNS axonal function. Unlike another widely used CNS white matter preparation, the optic nerve where all axons are myelinated, the CC contains also a large population of non-myelinated axons, making it particularly useful for studying both types of axons. Electrophysiological studies of optic nerve use suction electrodes on nerve ends to stimulate and record compound action potentials (CAPs) that adequately represent its axonal population, whereas CC studies use microelectrodes (MEs), recording from a limited area within the CC. Here we introduce a novel robust isolated "whole" CC preparation comparable to optic nerve. Unlike ME recordings where the CC CAP peaks representing myelinated and non-myelinated axons vary broadly in size, "whole" CC CAPs show stable reproducible ratios of these two main peaks, and also reveal a third peak, suggesting a distinct group of smaller caliber non-myelinated axons. We provide detailed characterization of "whole" CC CAPs and conduction velocities of myelinated and non-myelinated axons along the rostro-caudal axis of CC body and show advantages of this preparation for comparing axonal function in wild type and dysmyelinated shiverer mice, studying the effects of temperature dependence, bath-applied drugs and ischemia modeled by oxygen-glucose deprivation. Due to the isolation from gray matter, our approach allows for studying CC axonal function without possible "contamination" by reverberating signals from gray matter. Our analysis of "whole" CC CAPs revealed higher complexity of myelinated and non-myelinated axonal populations, not noticed earlier. This preparation may have a broad range of applications as a robust model for studying myelinated and non-myelinated axons of the CNS in various experimental models.

Agenesis of Corpus Callosum and Emotional Information Processing in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Lungu, Ovidiu; Stip, Emmanuel

2012-01-01

Corpus callosum (CC) is essential in providing the integration of information related to perception and action within a subcortico-cortical network, thus supporting the generation of a unified experience about and reaction to changes in the environment. Its role in schizophrenia is yet to be fully elucidated, but there is accumulating evidence that there could be differences between patients and healthy controls regarding the morphology and function of CC, especially when individuals face emotionally laden information. Here, we report a case study of a patient with partial agenesis of corpus callosum (agCC patient with agenesis of the anterior aspect, above the genu) and we provide a direct comparison with a group of patients with no apparent callosal damage (CC group) regarding the brain activity during the processing of emotionally laden information. We found that although the visual cortex activation in response to visual stimuli regardless of their emotional content was comparable in agCC patient and CC group both in terms of localization and intensity of activation, we observed a very large, non-specific and non-lateralized cerebral activation in the agCC patient, in contrast with the CC group, which showed a more lateralized and spatially localized activation, when the emotional content of the stimuli was considered. Further analysis of brain activity in the regions obtained in the CC group revealed that the agCC patient actually had an opposite activation pattern relative to most participants with no CC agenesis, indicating a dysfunctional response to these kind of stimuli, consistent with the clinical presentation of this particular patient. Our results seem to give support to the disconnection hypothesis which posits that the core symptoms of schizophrenia are related to aberrant connectivity between distinct brain areas, especially when faced with emotional stimuli, a fact consistent with the clinical tableau of this particular patient. PMID:22347194

A Novel Approach for Studying the Physiology and Pathophysiology of Myelinated and Non-Myelinated Axons in the CNS White Matter

PubMed Central

Samoilova, Marina

2016-01-01

Advances in brain connectomics set the need for detailed knowledge of functional properties of myelinated and non-myelinated (if present) axons in specific white matter pathways. The corpus callosum (CC), a major white matter structure interconnecting brain hemispheres, is extensively used for studying CNS axonal function. Unlike another widely used CNS white matter preparation, the optic nerve where all axons are myelinated, the CC contains also a large population of non-myelinated axons, making it particularly useful for studying both types of axons. Electrophysiological studies of optic nerve use suction electrodes on nerve ends to stimulate and record compound action potentials (CAPs) that adequately represent its axonal population, whereas CC studies use microelectrodes (MEs), recording from a limited area within the CC. Here we introduce a novel robust isolated "whole" CC preparation comparable to optic nerve. Unlike ME recordings where the CC CAP peaks representing myelinated and non-myelinated axons vary broadly in size, "whole" CC CAPs show stable reproducible ratios of these two main peaks, and also reveal a third peak, suggesting a distinct group of smaller caliber non-myelinated axons. We provide detailed characterization of "whole" CC CAPs and conduction velocities of myelinated and non-myelinated axons along the rostro-caudal axis of CC body and show advantages of this preparation for comparing axonal function in wild type and dysmyelinated shiverer mice, studying the effects of temperature dependence, bath-applied drugs and ischemia modeled by oxygen-glucose deprivation. Due to the isolation from gray matter, our approach allows for studying CC axonal function without possible "contamination" by reverberating signals from gray matter. Our analysis of "whole" CC CAPs revealed higher complexity of myelinated and non-myelinated axonal populations, not noticed earlier. This preparation may have a broad range of applications as a robust model for studying myelinated and non-myelinated axons of the CNS in various experimental models. PMID:27829055

Tetrodotoxin-insensitive electrical field stimulation-induced contractions on Crotalus durissus terrificus corpus cavernosum.

PubMed

Campos, Rafael; Mónica, Fabíola Z; Rodrigues, Renata Lopes; Rojas-Moscoso, Julio Alejandro; Moreno, Ronilson Agnaldo; Cogo, José Carlos; de Oliveira, Marco Antonio; Antunes, Edson; De Nucci, Gilberto

2017-01-01

Reptiles are the first amniotes to develop an intromitent penis, however until now the mechanisms involved in the electrical field stimulation-induced contraction on corpora cavernosa isolated from Crotalus durissus terrificus were not investigated. Crotalus and rabbit corpora cavernosa were mounted in 10 mL organ baths for isometric tension recording. Electrical field stimulation (EFS)-induced contractions were performed in presence/absence of phentolamine (10 μM), guanethidine (30 μM), tetrodotoxin (1 μM and 1mM), A-803467 (10 μM), 3-iodo-L-Tyrosine (1 mM), salsolinol (3 μM) and a modified Krebs solution (equimolar substitution of NaCl by N-methyl-D-glucamine). Immuno-histochemistry for tyrosine hydroxylase was also performed. Electrical field stimulation (EFS; 8 Hz and 16 Hz) caused contractions in both Crotalus and rabbit corpora cavernosa. The contractions were abolished by previous incubation with either phentolamine or guanethidine. Tetrodotoxin (1 μM) also abolished the EFS-induced contractions of rabbit CC, but did not affect EFS-induced contractions of Crotalus CC. Addition of A-803467 (10 μM) did not change the EFS-induced contractions of Crotalus CC but abolished rabbit CC contractions. 3-iodo-L-Tyrosine and salsolinol had no effect on EFS-induced contractions of Crotalus CC and Rabbit CC. Replacement of NaCl by N- Methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) abolished EFS-induced contractions of rabbit CC, but did not affect Crotalus CC. The presence of tyrosine hydroxylase was identified in endothelial cells only of Crotalus CC. Since the EFS-induced contractions of Crotalus CC is dependent on catecholamine release, insensitive to TTX, insensitive to A803467 and to NaCl replacement, it indicates that the source of cathecolamine is unlikely to be from adrenergic terminals. The finding that tyrosine hydroxylase is present in endothelial cells suggests that these cells can modulate Crotalus CC tone.

Apolar Distal Pocket Mutants of Yeast Cytochrome c Peroxidase: Hydrogen Peroxide Reactivity and Cyanide Binding of the TriAla, TriVal, and TriLeu Variants

PubMed Central

Bidwai, Anil K.; Meyen, Cassandra; Kilheeney, Heather; Wroblewski, Damian; Vitello, Lidia B.; Erman, James E.

2012-01-01

Three yeast cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) variants with apolar distal heme pockets have been constructed. The CcP variants have Arg48, Trp51, and His52 mutated to either all alanines, CcP(triAla), all valines, CcP(triVal), or all leucines, CcP(triLeu). The triple mutants have detectable enzymatic activity at pH 6 but the activity is less than 0.02% that of wild-type CcP. The activity loss is primarily due to the decreased rate of reaction between the triple mutants and H2O2 compared to wild-type CcP. Spectroscopic properties and cyanide binding characteristics of the triple mutants have been investigated over the pH stability region of CcP, pH 4 to 8. The absorption spectra indicate that the CcP triple mutants have hemes that are predominantly five-coordinate, high-spin at pH 5 and six-coordinate, low-spin at pH 8. Cyanide binding to the triple mutants is biphasic indicating that the triple mutants have two slowly-exchanging conformational states with different cyanide affinities. The binding affinity for cyanide is reduced at least two orders of magnitude in the triple mutants compared to wild-type CcP and the rate of cyanide binding is reduced by four to five orders of magnitude. Correlation of the reaction rates of CcP and 12 distal pocket mutants with H2O2 and HCN suggests that both reactions require ionization of the reactants within the distal heme pocket allowing the anion to bind the heme iron. Distal pocket features that promote substrate ionization (basic residues involved in base-catalyzed substrate ionization or polar residues that can stabilize substrate anions) increase the overall rate of reaction with H2O2 and HCN while features that inhibit substrate ionization slow the reactions. PMID:23022490

Agenesis of corpus callosum and emotional information processing in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Lungu, Ovidiu; Stip, Emmanuel

2012-01-01

Corpus callosum (CC) is essential in providing the integration of information related to perception and action within a subcortico-cortical network, thus supporting the generation of a unified experience about and reaction to changes in the environment. Its role in schizophrenia is yet to be fully elucidated, but there is accumulating evidence that there could be differences between patients and healthy controls regarding the morphology and function of CC, especially when individuals face emotionally laden information. Here, we report a case study of a patient with partial agenesis of corpus callosum (agCC patient with agenesis of the anterior aspect, above the genu) and we provide a direct comparison with a group of patients with no apparent callosal damage (CC group) regarding the brain activity during the processing of emotionally laden information. We found that although the visual cortex activation in response to visual stimuli regardless of their emotional content was comparable in agCC patient and CC group both in terms of localization and intensity of activation, we observed a very large, non-specific and non-lateralized cerebral activation in the agCC patient, in contrast with the CC group, which showed a more lateralized and spatially localized activation, when the emotional content of the stimuli was considered. Further analysis of brain activity in the regions obtained in the CC group revealed that the agCC patient actually had an opposite activation pattern relative to most participants with no CC agenesis, indicating a dysfunctional response to these kind of stimuli, consistent with the clinical presentation of this particular patient. Our results seem to give support to the disconnection hypothesis which posits that the core symptoms of schizophrenia are related to aberrant connectivity between distinct brain areas, especially when faced with emotional stimuli, a fact consistent with the clinical tableau of this particular patient.

Temporal trends in the epidemiology of cervical cancer in South Africa (1994-2012).

PubMed

Olorunfemi, Gbenga; Ndlovu, Ntombizodwa; Masukume, Gwinyai; Chikandiwa, Admire; Pisa, Pedro T; Singh, Elvira

2018-05-22

Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer death among female South Africans (SA). Improved access to reproductive health services following multi-ethnic democracy in 1994, HIV epidemic, and the initiation of CC population-based screening in early 2000's have influenced the epidemiology of CC in SA. We therefore evaluated the trends in CC age-standardized incidence (ASIR) (1994 - 2009) and mortality rates (ASMR) (2004 - 2012) using data from the South African National Cancer Registry and the Statistics South Africa, respectively. Five-year relative survival rates and average percent change (AAPC) stratified by ethnicity and age-groups was determined. The average annual CC cases and mortalities were 4,694 (75,099 cases/16years) and 2,789 (25,101 deaths/9years) respectively. The ASIR was 22.1/100,000 in 1994 and 23.3/100,000 in 2009, with an average annual decline in incidence of 0.9% per annum (AAPC = -0.9%, P-value<0.001). The ASMR decreased slightly by 0.6% per annum from 13.9/100,000 in 2004 to 13.1/100,000 in 2012 (AAPC = -0.6%, P-value < 0.001). In 2012, ASMR was 5.8-fold higher in Blacks than in Whites. The 5-year survival rates were higher in Whites and Indians/Asians (60-80%) than in Blacks and Coloureds (40-50%). The incidence rate increased (AAPC range: 1.1% to 3.1%, P-value<0.001) among young women (25-34 years) from 2000 to 2009. Despite interventions, there were minimal changes in overall epidemiology of CC in SA but there were increased CC rates among young women and ethnic disparities in CC burden. A review of the CC national policy and directed CC prevention and treatment are required to positively impact the burden of CC in SA. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 UICC.

Downregulation of guanine nucleotide-binding protein beta 1 (GNB1) is associated with worsened prognosis of clearcell renal cell carcinoma and is related to VEGF signaling pathway.

PubMed

Chen, C; Chi, H; Min, L; Junhua, Z

2017-01-01

Clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is characterized by genetic abnormalities, while the role of Guanine Nucleotide-Binding Protein Beta 1 (GNB1) in ccRCC has not been studied. We thus aimed to evaluate the expression and prognostic value of GNB1 in ccRCC. A two-stage study (exploration and validation) was conducted using in silico and immunohistochemical (IHC) scoring of ccRCC samples from our institute, to evaluate the association between GNB1 expression and clinicopathological parameters of ccRCC patients. Pathway analyses were performed for genes coexpressed with GNB1 using the KOBAS platform to profile the function of GNB1 and IHC validation. In the exploration stage, data from TCGA ccRCC dataset were reproduced, which contained 537 patients with ccRCC and found that downregulation of GNB1 was significantly associated with worse prognosis. IHC staining from the Human Protein Atlas showed significantly downregulation of GNB1 in ccRCC tissue compared with normal kidney. Pathway analysis showed significantly altered vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathways among which expressions of 3 genes (WASF2, NRP1, and HIP1) were significantly associated with GNB1 expression, respectively. In the validation stage, included were 80 ccRCC samples and GNB1 expression was scored using IHC positivity. GNB1 expression was negatively associated with tumor stage, lymph node invasion, metastasis, older age, and increased tumor grade. Female gender and receiving neoadjuvant therapy were also associated with decreased GNB1 expression. The expressions of WASF2, NRP1 and HIP1 were also studied and found that they were significantly associated with GNB1. GNB1 was downregulated in ccRCC. Decreased GNB1 expression was associated with worsened disease characteristics and prognosis. GNB1 was related with VEGF signaling in ccRCC, implying a therapeutic potential of this factor.

Loop Heat Pipe Operation with Thermoelectric Converters and Coupling Blocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ku, Jentung; Nagano, Hosei

2007-01-01

This paper presents theoretical and experimental studies on using thermoelectric converters (TECs) and coupling blocks to control the operating temperature of a miniature loop heat pipes (MLHP). The MLHP has two parallel evaporators and two parallel condensers, and each evaporator has its own integral compensation chamber (CC). A TEC is attached to each CC, and connected to the evaporator via a copper thermal strap. The TEC can provide both heating and cooling to the CC, therefore extending the LHP operating temperature over a larger range of the evaporator heat load. A bi-polar power supply is used for the TEC operation. The bipolar power supply automatically changes the direction of the current to the TEC, depending on whether the CC requires heating or cooling, to maintain the CC temperature at the desired set point. The TEC can also enhance the startup success by maintaining a constant CC temperature during the start-up transient. Several aluminum coupling blocks are installed between the vapor line and liquid line. The coupling blocks serve as a heat exchanger which preheats the cold returning liquid so as to reduce the amount of liquid subcooling, and hence the power required to maintain the CC at the desired set point temperature. This paper focuses on the savings of the CC control heater power afforded by the TECs when compared to traditional electric heaters. Tests were conducted by varying the evaporator power, the condenser sink temperature, the CC set point temperature, the number of coupling blocks, and the thermal conductance of the thermal strap. Test results show that the TECs are able to control the CC temperature within k0.5K under all test conditions, and the required TEC heater power is only a fraction of the required electric heater power.

The uniform chest compression depth of 50 mm or greater recommended by current guidelines is not appropriate for all adults.

PubMed

Lee, Soo Hoon; Kim, Dong Hoon; Kang, Tae-Sin; Kang, Changwoo; Jeong, Jin Hee; Kim, Seong Chun; Kim, Dong Seob

2015-08-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the appropriateness of the chest compression (CC) depth recommended in the current guidelines and simulated external CCs, and to characterize the optimal CC depth for an adult by body mass index (BMI). Adult patients who underwent chest computed tomography as a screening test for latent pulmonary diseases in the health care center were enrolled in this study. We calculated the internal anteroposterior (AP) diameter (IAPD) and external AP diameter (EAPD) of the chest across BMIs (<18.50, 18.50-24.99, 25.00-29.99, and ≥30.00 kg/m(2)) for simulated CC depth. We also calculated the residual chest depths less than 20 mm for simulated CC depth. There was a statistically significant difference in the chest EAPD and IAPD measured at the lower half of the sternum for each BMI groups (EAPD: R(2) = 0.638, P < .001; IAPD: R(2) = 0.297, P < .001). For one-half external AP CC, 100% of the patients, regardless of BMI, had a calculated residual internal chest depth less than 20 mm. For one-fourth external AP CC, no patients had a calculated residual internal chest depth less than 20 mm. For one-third external AP CC, only 6.48% of the patients had a calculated residual internal chest depth less than 20 mm. It is not appropriate that the current CC depth (≥50 mm), expressed only as absolute measurement without a fraction of the depth of the chest, is applied uniformly in all adults. In addition, in terms of safety and efficacy, simulated CC targeting approximately between one-third and one-fourth EAPD CC depth might be appropriate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Five Genes Encoding Surface-Exposed LPXTG Proteins Are Enriched in Hospital-Adapted Enterococcus faecium Clonal Complex 17 Isolates▿

PubMed Central

Hendrickx, Antoni P. A.; van Wamel, Willem J. B.; Posthuma, George; Bonten, Marc J. M.; Willems, Rob J. L.

2007-01-01

Most Enterococcus faecium isolates associated with hospital outbreaks and invasive infections belong to a distinct genetic subpopulation called clonal complex 17 (CC17). It has been postulated that the genetic evolution of CC17 involves the acquisition of various genes involved in antibiotic resistance, metabolic pathways, and virulence. To gain insight into additional genes that may have favored the rapid emergence of this nosocomial pathogen, we aimed to identify surface-exposed LPXTG cell wall-anchored proteins (CWAPs) specifically enriched in CC17 E. faecium. Using PCR and Southern and dot blot hybridizations, 131 E. faecium isolates (40 CC17 and 91 non-CC17) were screened for the presence of 22 putative CWAP genes identified from the E. faecium TX0016 genome. Five genes encoding LPXTG surface proteins were specifically enriched in E. faecium CC17 isolates. These five LPXTG surface protein genes were found in 28 to 40 (70 to 100%) of CC17 and in only 7 to 24 (8 to 26%) of non-CC17 isolates (P < 0.05). Three of these CWAP genes clustered together on the E. faecium TX0016 genome, which may comprise a novel enterococcal pathogenicity island covering E. faecium contig 609. Expression at the mRNA level was demonstrated, and immunotransmission electron microscopy revealed an association of the five LPXTG surface proteins with the cell wall. Minimal spanning tree analysis based on the presence and absence of 22 CWAP genes revealed grouping of all 40 CC17 strains together with 18 hospital-derived but evolutionary unrelated non-CC17 isolates in a distinct CWAP-enriched cluster, suggesting horizontal transfer of CWAP genes and a role of these CWAPs in hospital adaptation. PMID:17873043

Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 and ovulatory responses to clomiphene citrate in women with polycystic ovarian disease.

PubMed

Tiitinen, A E; Laatikainen, T J; Seppälä, M T

1993-07-01

To study the serum levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in relation to clomiphene citrate (CC) responsiveness in women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD). Prospective. PATIENTS, SETTING: Twenty-three women with PCOD admitted consecutively to the University Infertility Clinic, a tertiary referral center. Blood samples were taken at fasting state and during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for the determination of insulin, IGF-I, and IGFBP-1. A dose of 50 to 200 mg/d CC was given for ovulation induction. With CC treatment, ovulation was achieved in 13 of 23 PCOD patients. The IGFBP-1 concentration was lower in CC nonresponders than in CC responders (20.5 +/- 4.0 ng/mL versus 41.0 +/- 8.5 ng/mL) (P < 0.05). This difference was accentuated in 13 lean PCOD patients. Lean CC nonresponders (n = 7) had almost threefold lower serum IGFBP-1 levels than lean CC responders (n = 6) (24.0 +/- 3.1 ng/mL versus 61.8 +/- 8.6 ng/mL) (P < 0.01). By contrast, among 10 obese PCOD patients, the IGFBP-1 levels were low irrespective of CC responsiveness (14.8 +/- 8.0 ng/mL versus 16.7 +/- 7.2 ng/mL). The differences remained during OGTT. The concentrations of IGF-I, insulin, sex hormone-binding globulin, LH, FSH, and androgens showed no significant differences between CC responders and nonresponders. There was an inverse correlation between serum insulin and IGFBP-1 levels in obese PCOD patients, whereas this was not seen in lean patients. In lean PCOD patients, low serum IGFBP-1 concentration is related to CC unresponsiveness by a mechanism unrelated to insulin.

New insights in the homotopic and heterotopic connectivity of the frontal portion of the human corpus callosum revealed by microdissection and diffusion tractography.

PubMed

De Benedictis, Alessandro; Petit, Laurent; Descoteaux, Maxime; Marras, Carlo Efisio; Barbareschi, Mattia; Corsini, Francesco; Dallabona, Monica; Chioffi, Franco; Sarubbo, Silvio

2016-12-01

Extensive studies revealed that the human corpus callosum (CC) plays a crucial role in providing large-scale bi-hemispheric integration of sensory, motor and cognitive processing, especially within the frontal lobe. However, the literature lacks of conclusive data regarding the structural macroscopic connectivity of the frontal CC. In this study, a novel microdissection approach was adopted, to expose the frontal fibers of CC from the dorsum to the lateral cortex in eight hemispheres and in one entire brain. Post-mortem results were then combined with data from advanced constrained spherical deconvolution in 130 healthy subjects. We demonstrated as the frontal CC provides dense inter-hemispheric connections. In particular, we found three types of fronto-callosal fibers, having a dorso-ventral organization. First, the dorso-medial CC fibers subserve homotopic connections between the homologous medial cortices of the superior frontal gyrus. Second, the ventro-lateral CC fibers subserve homotopic connections between lateral frontal cortices, including both the middle frontal gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus, as well as heterotopic connections between the medial and lateral frontal cortices. Third, the ventro-striatal CC fibers connect the medial and lateral frontal cortices with the contralateral putamen and caudate nucleus. We also highlighted an intricate crossing of CC fibers with the main association pathways terminating in the lateral regions of the frontal lobes. This combined approach of ex vivo microdissection and in vivo diffusion tractography allowed demonstrating a previously unappreciated three-dimensional architecture of the anterior frontal CC, thus clarifying the functional role of the CC in mediating the inter-hemispheric connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4718-4735, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessment of an Innovative Voluntary Substance Abuse Treatment Program Designed to Replace Compulsory Drug Detention Centers in Malaysia

PubMed Central

Khan, Farrah; Krishnan, Archana; Ghani, Mansur A.; Wickersham, Jeffrey A.; Fu, Jeannia J.; Lim, Sin How; Dhaliwal, Sangeeth Kaur; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L.

2017-01-01

Background As part of an ongoing initiative by the Malaysian government to implement alternative approaches to involuntary detention of people who use drugs, the National Anti-Drug Agency has created new voluntary drug treatment programs known as Cure and Care (C&C) Centers that provide free access to addiction treatment services, including methadone maintenance therapy, integrated with social and health services. Objectives We evaluated early treatment outcomes and client satisfaction among patients accessing C&C treatment and ancillary services at Malaysia’s second C&C Center located in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Methods In June–July 2012, a cross-sectional convenience survey of 96 C&C inpatients and outpatients who entered treatment >30 days previously was conducted to assess drug use, criminal justice experience, medical co-morbidities, motivation for seeking treatment, and attitudes towards the C&C. Drug use was compared for the 30-day-period before C&C entry and the 30-day-period before the interview. Results Self-reported drug use levels decreased significantly among both inpatient and outpatient clients after enrolling in C&C treatment. Higher levels of past drug use, lower levels of social support, and more severe mental health issues were reported by participants who were previously imprisoned. Self-reported satisfaction with C&C treatment services was high. Conclusions/Importance Preliminary evidence of reduced drug use and high levels of client satisfaction among C&C clients provide support for Malaysia’s ongoing transition from compulsory drug detention centers (CDDCs) to these voluntary drug treatment centers. If C&C centers are successful, Malaysia plans to gradually transition away from CDDCs entirely. PMID:28635521

Increase of weakly acidic gas esophagopharyngeal reflux (EPR) and swallowing-induced acidic/weakly acidic EPR in patients with chronic cough responding to proton pump inhibitors.

PubMed

Kawamura, O; Shimoyama, Y; Hosaka, H; Kuribayashi, S; Maeda, M; Nagoshi, A; Zai, H; Kusano, M

2011-05-01

Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)-related chronic cough (CC) may have multifactorial causes. To clarify the characteristics of esophagopharyngeal reflux (EPR) events in CC patients whose cough was apparently influenced by gastro-esophageal reflux (GER), we studied patients with CC clearly responding to full-dose proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy (CC patients). Ten CC patients, 10 GERD patients, and 10 healthy controls underwent 24-h ambulatory pharyngo-esophageal impedance and pH monitoring. Weakly acidic reflux was defined as a decrease of pH by >1 unit with a nadir pH >4. In six CC patients, monitoring was repeated after 8 weeks of PPI therapy. The number of each EPR event and the symptom association probability (SAP) were calculated. Symptoms were evaluated by a validated GERD symptom questionnaire. Weakly acidic gas EPR and swallowing-induced acidic/weakly acidic EPR only occurred in CC patients, and the numbers of such events was significantly higher in the CC group than in the other two groups (P < 0.05, respectively). Symptom association probability analysis revealed a positive association between GER and cough in three CC patients. Proton pump inhibitor therapy abolished swallowing-induced acidic/weakly acidic EPR, reduced weakly acidic gas EPR, and improved symptoms (all P < 0.05). Most patients with CC responding to PPI therapy had weakly acidic gas EPR and swallowing-induced acidic/weakly acidic EPR. A direct effect of acidic mist or liquid refluxing into the pharynx may contribute to chronic cough, while cough may also arise indirectly from reflux via a vago-vagal reflex in some patients. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Cc2d1a Loss of Function Disrupts Functional and Morphological Development in Forebrain Neurons Leading to Cognitive and Social Deficits.

PubMed

Oaks, Adam W; Zamarbide, Marta; Tambunan, Dimira E; Santini, Emanuela; Di Costanzo, Stefania; Pond, Heather L; Johnson, Mark W; Lin, Jeff; Gonzalez, Dilenny M; Boehler, Jessica F; Wu, Guangying K; Klann, Eric; Walsh, Christopher A; Manzini, M Chiara

2017-02-01

Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in CC2D1A cause a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and seizures, identifying a critical role for this gene in cognitive and social development. CC2D1A regulates intracellular signaling processes that are critical for neuronal function, but previous attempts to model the human LOF phenotypes have been prevented by perinatal lethality in Cc2d1a-deficient mice. To overcome this challenge, we generated a floxed Cc2d1a allele for conditional removal of Cc2d1a in the brain using Cre recombinase. While removal of Cc2d1a in neuronal progenitors using Cre expressed from the Nestin promoter still causes death at birth, conditional postnatal removal of Cc2d1a in the forebrain via calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II-alpha (CamKIIa) promoter-driven Cre generates animals that are viable and fertile with grossly normal anatomy. Analysis of neuronal morphology identified abnormal cortical dendrite organization and a reduction in dendritic spine density. These animals display deficits in neuronal plasticity and in spatial learning and memory that are accompanied by reduced sociability, hyperactivity, anxiety, and excessive grooming. Cc2d1a conditional knockout mice therefore recapitulate features of both cognitive and social impairment caused by human CC2D1A mutation, and represent a model that could provide much needed insights into the developmental mechanisms underlying nonsyndromic neurodevelopmental disorders. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

ccML, a new mark-up language to improve ISO/EN 13606-based electronic health record extracts practical edition

PubMed Central

Sánchez-de-Madariaga, Ricardo; Muñoz, Adolfo; Cáceres, Jesús; Somolinos, Roberto; Pascual, Mario; Martínez, Ignacio; Salvador, Carlos H; Monteagudo, José Luis

2013-01-01

Objective The objective of this paper is to introduce a new language called ccML, designed to provide convenient pragmatic information to applications using the ISO/EN13606 reference model (RM), such as electronic health record (EHR) extracts editors. EHR extracts are presently built using the syntactic and semantic information provided in the RM and constrained by archetypes. The ccML extra information enables the automation of the medico-legal context information edition, which is over 70% of the total in an extract, without modifying the RM information. Materials and Methods ccML is defined using a W3C XML schema file. Valid ccML files complement the RM with additional pragmatics information. The ccML language grammar is defined using formal language theory as a single-type tree grammar. The new language is tested using an EHR extracts editor application as proof-of-concept system. Results Seven ccML PVCodes (predefined value codes) are introduced in this grammar to cope with different realistic EHR edition situations. These seven PVCodes have different interpretation strategies, from direct look up in the ccML file itself, to more complex searches in archetypes or system precomputation. Discussion The possibility to declare generic types in ccML gives rise to ambiguity during interpretation. The criterion used to overcome ambiguity is that specificity should prevail over generality. The opposite would make the individual specific element declarations useless. Conclusion A new mark-up language ccML is introduced that opens up the possibility of providing applications using the ISO/EN13606 RM with the necessary pragmatics information to be practical and realistic. PMID:23019241

Compound C inhibits macrophage chemotaxis through an AMPK-independent mechanism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Youngyi; Department of Biochemistry, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896; Park, Byung-Hyun, E-mail: bhpark@jbnu.ac.kr

Macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue is a well-established cause of obesity-linked insulin resistance. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in peripheral tissues such as adipose tissue has beneficial effects on the protection against obesity-induced insulin resistance, which is mainly mediated by prevention of adipose tissue macrophage infiltration and inflammation. In examining the role of AMPK on adipose tissue inflammation, we unexpectedly found that compound C (CC), despite its inhibition of AMPK, robustly inhibited macrophage chemotaxis in RAW 264.7 cells when adipocyte conditioned medium (CM) was used as a chemoattractant. Here, we report that CC inhibition of macrophage migration occurred independently ofmore » AMPK. Mechanistically, this inhibitory effect of cell migration by CC was mediated by inhibition of the focal adhesion kinase, AKT, nuclear factor κB pathways. Moreover, the expression of chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and pro-inflammatory genes such as tumor necrosis factor α and inducible nitric oxide synthase were prevented by CC treatment in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with either adipocyte CM or lipopolysaccharide. Lastly, in accord with the findings of the anti-inflammatory effect of CC, we demonstrated that CC functioned as a repressor of macrophage CM-mediated insulin resistance in adipocytes. Taken together, our results suggest that CC serves as a useful inhibitory molecule against macrophage chemotaxis into adipose tissue and thus might have therapeutic potential for the treatment of obesity-linked adipose inflammation. - Highlights: • Compound C (CC) inhibits macrophage chemotaxis regardless of AMPK suppression. • CC enhances insulin sensitivity in adipocytes. • CC inhibits focal adhesion kinase, AKT, and NF-κB signaling in RAW 264.7 cells.« less

Endometrial Carcinomas With Clear Cells: A Study of a Heterogeneous Group of Tumors Including Interobserver Variability, Mutation Analysis, and Immunohistochemistry With HNF-1β.

PubMed

Han, Guangming; Soslow, Robert A; Wethington, Stephanie; Levine, Douglas A; Bogomolniy, Faina; Clement, Philip B; Köbel, Martin; Gilks, Blake; DeLair, Deborah

2015-07-01

Endometrial clear cell carcinoma (CC) is an uncommon tumor and often carries a poor prognosis. It has histologic features that overlap with other endometrial carcinomas and is frequently misclassified. Accurate classification is crucial, however, to improve treatment options. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess diagnostic interobserver variability among 5 gynecologic pathologists for tumors originally diagnosed as CC or with a component of CC (n=44); (2) to determine the utility of immunohistochemical markers estrogen receptor and HNF-1β; and (3) to detect mutations in select genes. Clinical data and morphologic features were also recorded. Agreement among reviewers was only moderate: only 46% of the original CC remained classified as such. After reclassification, estrogen receptor was positive in 8% of CC, 67% of endometrioid carcinomas (EC), and 47% of serous carcinomas (SC). Sensitivities of HNF-1β in CC, SC, and EC were 62%, 27%, and 17%, respectively, whereas specificity for CC versus EC or SC was 78%. Mutations in PIK3CA, PIK3R1, PTEN, KRAS, and NRAS were detected in 41% of 37 cases that had adequate material for study. At least 1 mutation was identified in 33% of CC, 67% of EC, and 33% of SC. This group of patients had poor outcomes: 72% of the patients with follow-up information had died of disease. In summary, this study suggests that the current pool of CC is a heterogeneous group of tumors from the morphologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular point of views and that only a percentage of them represent true CC.

Training a Chest Compression of 6–7 cm Depth for High Quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Hospital Setting: A Randomised Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Oh, Jaehoon; Cho, Youngsuk; Kang, Hyunggoo; Kim, Wonhee; Chee, Youngjoon; Song, Yeongtak; Kim, In Young; Lee, Juncheol

2016-01-01

Purpose During cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), chest compression (CC) depth is influenced by the surface on which the patient is placed. We hypothesized that training healthcare providers to perform a CC depth of 6–7 cm (instead of 5–6 cm) on a manikin placed on a mattress during CPR in the hospital might improve their proper CC depth. Materials and Methods This prospective randomised controlled study involved 66 premedical students without CPR training. The control group was trained to use a CC depth of 5–6 cm (G 5–6), while the experimental group was taught to use a CC depth of 6–7 cm (G 6–7) with a manikin on the floor. All participants performed CCs for 2 min on a manikin that was placed on a bed 1 hour and then again 4 weeks after the training without a feedback. The parameters of CC quality (depth, rate, % of accurate depth) were assessed and compared between the 2 groups. Results Four students were excluded due to loss to follow-up and recording errors, and data of 62 were analysed. CC depth and % of accurate depth were significantly higher among students in the G 6–7 than G 5–6 both 1 hour and 4 weeks after the training (p<0.001), whereas CC rate was not different between two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion Training healthcare providers to perform a CC depth of 6–7 cm could improve quality CC depth when performing CCs on patients who are placed on a mattress during CPR in a hospital setting. PMID:26847307

Molecular epidemiology of invasive Candida albicans at a tertiary hospital in northern Taiwan from 2003 to 2011.

PubMed

Wang, Shao-Hung; Shen, Mandy; Lin, Hsin-Chieh; Sun, Pei-Lun; Lo, Hsiu-Jung; Lu, Jang-Jih

2015-11-01

Candida albicans is a common cause of bloodstream fungal infections in hospitalized patients. To investigate its epidemiology, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on 285 C. albicans bloodstream isolates from patients in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou (CGMHL), Taiwan from 2003 to 2011. Among these isolates, the three major diploid sequence types (DSTs) were 693, 659, and 443 with 19, 16, and 13 isolates, respectively. The 179 DSTs were classified into 16 clades by unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The major ones were clades 1, 4, 3, and 17 (54, 49, 31, and 31 isolates, respectively). Further analyses with eBURST clustered the 285 isolates into 28 clonal complexes (CC). The most common complexes were CC8, CC20, and CC9. DST 693 that had the highest number of isolates was determined to be the cluster founder of CC20, which belonged to clade 3. So far, 33 isolates worldwide including 29 from Taiwan and 4 from Korea, are CC20, suggesting that CC20 is an Asian cluster. Two fluconazole-resistant isolates belonging to CC12 and CC19 were detected. All other CGMHL isolates were susceptible to 5-flucytosine, amphotericin B, anidulfungin, caspofungin, fluconazole, itraconazole, micafungin, posaconazole, and voriconazole. However, CC20 isolates exhibited significantly lower susceptibility to fluconazole. In conclusion, the 285 CGMHL C. albicans isolates displayed geographically clustering with Asian isolates, and most of them are susceptible to common antifungal drugs. Isolates of DST 693, a Taiwanese major genotype belonging to MLST clade 3, were more resistant to fluconazole than other isolates. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comparative Analysis of EO-1 ALI and Hyperion, and Landsat ETM+ Data for Mapping Forest Crown Closure and Leaf Area Index

PubMed Central

Pu, Ruiliang; Gong, Peng; Yu, Qian

2008-01-01

In this study, a comparative analysis of capabilities of three sensors for mapping forest crown closure (CC) and leaf area index (LAI) was conducted. The three sensors are Hyperspectral Imager (Hyperion) and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) onboard EO-1 satellite and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). A total of 38 mixed coniferous forest CC and 38 LAI measurements were collected at Blodgett Forest Research Station, University of California at Berkeley, USA. The analysis method consists of (1) extracting spectral vegetation indices (VIs), spectral texture information and maximum noise fractions (MNFs), (2) establishing multivariate prediction models, (3) predicting and mapping pixel-based CC and LAI values, and (4) validating the mapped CC and LAI results with field validated photo-interpreted CC and LAI values. The experimental results indicate that the Hyperion data are the most effective for mapping forest CC and LAI (CC mapped accuracy (MA) = 76.0%, LAI MA = 74.7%), followed by ALI data (CC MA = 74.5%, LAI MA = 70.7%), with ETM+ data results being least effective (CC MA = 71.1%, LAI MA = 63.4%). This analysis demonstrates that the Hyperion sensor outperforms the other two sensors: ALI and ETM+. This is because of its high spectral resolution with rich subtle spectral information, of its short-wave infrared data for constructing optimal VIs that are slightly affected by the atmosphere, and of its more available MNFs than the other two sensors to be selected for establishing prediction models. Compared to ETM+ data, ALI data are better for mapping forest CC and LAI due to ALI data with more bands and higher signal-to-noise ratios than those of ETM+ data. PMID:27879906

Comparative Analysis of EO-1 ALI and Hyperion, and Landsat ETM+ Data for Mapping Forest Crown Closure and Leaf Area Index.

PubMed

Pu, Ruiliang; Gong, Peng; Yu, Qian

2008-06-06

In this study, a comparative analysis of capabilities of three sensors for mapping forest crown closure (CC) and leaf area index (LAI) was conducted. The three sensors are Hyperspectral Imager (Hyperion) and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) onboard EO-1 satellite and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). A total of 38 mixed coniferous forest CC and 38 LAI measurements were collected at Blodgett Forest Research Station, University of California at Berkeley, USA. The analysis method consists of (1) extracting spectral vegetation indices (VIs), spectral texture information and maximum noise fractions (MNFs), (2) establishing multivariate prediction models, (3) predicting and mapping pixel-based CC and LAI values, and (4) validating the mapped CC and LAI results with field validated photo-interpreted CC and LAI values. The experimental results indicate that the Hyperion data are the most effective for mapping forest CC and LAI (CC mapped accuracy (MA) = 76.0%, LAI MA = 74.7%), followed by ALI data (CC MA = 74.5%, LAI MA = 70.7%), with ETM+ data results being least effective (CC MA = 71.1%, LAI MA = 63.4%). This analysis demonstrates that the Hyperion sensor outperforms the other two sensors: ALI and ETM+. This is because of its high spectral resolution with rich subtle spectral information, of its short-wave infrared data for constructing optimal VIs that are slightly affected by the atmosphere, and of its more available MNFs than the other two sensors to be selected for establishing prediction models. Compared to ETM+ data, ALI data are better for mapping forest CC and LAI due to ALI data with more bands and higher signal-to-noise ratios than those of ETM+ data.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang Shumin; Tian Hongwei; Pei Yanhui

A novel hedgehog-like core/shell structure, consisting of a high density of vertically aligned graphene sheets and a thin graphene shell/a copper core (VGs-GS/CC), has been synthesized via a simple one-step synthesis route using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy investigations show that the morphology of this core/shell material could be controlled by deposition time. For a short deposition time, only multilayer graphene shell tightly surrounds the copper particle, while as the deposition time is relative long, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC. The GS can protect CC particles from oxidation. The growth mechanismmore » for the obtained GS/CC and VGs-GS/CC has been revealed. Compared to VGs, VGs-GS/CC material exhibits a better electron field emission property. This investigation opens a possibility for designing a core/shell structure of different carbon-metal hybrid materials for a wide variety of practical applications. - Graphical abstract: With increasing deposition time, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC, causing the multilayer graphene encapsulated copper to be converted into vertically aligned graphene sheets-graphene shell/copper core structure. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A novel hedgehog-like core/shell structure has been synthesized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The structure consists of vertical graphene sheets-graphene shell and copper core. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The morphology of VGs-GS/CC can be controlled by choosing a proper deposition time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer With increasing deposition time, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer VGs-GS/CC exhibits a better electron field emission property as compared with VGs.« less

Morphology controllable time-dependent CoS nanoparticle thin films as efficient counter electrode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, Araveeti Eswar; Rao, S. Srinivasa; Gopi, Chandu V. V. M.; Anitha, Tarugu; Thulasi-Varma, Chebrolu Venkata; Punnoose, Dinah; Kim, Hee-Je

2017-11-01

Cobalt sulfide (CoS) agglomerated nanoparticle thin films obtained by a facile chemical bath method at different deposition times. The CoS counter electrode (CE) deposited at 3 h deposition time (CC-3h) based quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) achieves higher power conversion efficiency (η) of 3.67% than those of CC-2h (1.83%), CC-4h (2.52%), and Pt (1.48%) CEs, under one sun illumination (100 mW cm-2, AM 1.5 G). The electrochemical analysis revealed that CC-3h CE shows a smaller charge transfer resistance (9.22 Ω) at the CE/electrolyte interface than the CC-2h (23.34 Ω), CC-4h (19.73 Ω) and Pt (139.92 Ω) CEs, respectively.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in clomiphene citrate resistant polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed

Verit, Fatma Ferda

2012-05-01

To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in clomiphene citrate (CC) resistant polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. 58 CC resistant PCOS patients, 52 CC responders, 53 fertile PCOS and 53 age and body mass index-matched normoandrogenic ovulatory fertile women were evaluated for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome prevalence was 41.4% in CC resistants, in 23.1% of CC responders, in 11.3% of PCOS fertiles and 0% of controls (p < 0.0001). Waist circumference (WC) > 88 cm was 44.8%, systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 130 mmHg and diastolic BP ≥85 mmHg were 27.6%, TG (triglyceride) ≥150 mg/dL was 36.2%, HDL(high density lipoprotein) < 50 mg/dL was 63.8%, fasting glucose levels ≥ 100 mg/dL was 20.7% in CC resistant PCOS women. There were positive associations between CC resistance and WC >88 cm, BP ≥ 130 ≥ 85 mmHg, TG ≥ 150 mg/dL, HDL < 50 mg/dL, fasting glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL, and presence of metabolic syndrome (p < 0.05, for all). Moreover, WC > 88 cm, and HDL < 50 mg/dL were independent variables that were associated by CC resistance by multivariate regression analysis. CC resistant PCOS patients have high prevalence of metabolic syndrome. These women have an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease.

Randomized controlled trial comparing laparoscopic ovarian diathermy with clomiphene citrate as a first-line method of ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed

Amer, S A; Li, T C; Metwally, M; Emarh, M; Ledger, W L

2009-01-01

Laparoscopic ovarian diathermy (LOD) is currently accepted as a successful second-line treatment for ovulation induction (OI) in clomiphene citrate (CC)-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that LOD may be superior to CC as a first-line treatment. The study included 72 anovulatory women with PCOS who were randomized to LOD (n = 36) or CC (n = 36). Women who remained anovulatory after LOD were offered CC. Similarly, women receiving CC who failed to ovulate or conceive were offered LOD. Pregnancy rates were compared between the two groups using chi(2) and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (OR, 95% CI). After randomization, six women conceived before starting treatment and another patient postponed treatment. The remaining 65 women received the treatment (33 underwent LOD and 32 received CC). After the primary treatment, more pregnancies (44%) occurred in women receiving CC than in those undergoing LOD (27%), although the difference did not reach statistical significance [P = 0.13, OR 2.1 (0.7 - 5.8)]. After adding the second treatment, the pregnancy rate was still higher, but to a less extent, in the CC group [63% versus 52%, P = 0.2, OR 1.6 (0.6 - 4.2)]. LOD is not superior to CC as a first-line method of OI in women with PCOS. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov with an identifier number NCT00220545.

Combined metformin and clomiphene citrate versus laparoscopic ovarian diathermy for ovulation induction in clomiphene-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Abu Hashim, Hatem; El Lakany, Naser; Sherief, Lotfy

2011-03-01

To compare the effect of combined metformin and clomiphene citrate (CC) with laparoscopic ovarian diathermy (LOD) meant for ovulation induction in CC-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Two-hundred and eighty-two anovulatory women with CC-resistant PCOS were selected in this randomized controlled trial. Patients (n = 138) received combined metformin-CC for up to six cycles or underwent LOD (n = 144) with six months follow up. The outcome measures were: ovulation rate, midcycle endometrial thickness, pregnancy and miscarriage rates. Ovulation occurred in 386/576 cycles (67%) in the combined metformin-CC group and 381/558 cycles (68.2%) in LOD group without a significant difference between the groups. Resumption of regular menstruation was similar in both groups. A significant increase in midcycle endometrial thickness was observed in the combined metformin-CC group (9.2 ± 1.2 mm vs 7.6 ± 1.1 mm) (P < 0.05). The pregnancy rate was similar in both groups (15.4% vs 17%), and there were no statistically significant differences regarding the miscarriage rate between both groups. Four twin pregnancies occurred in the metformin-CC group. No ovarian hyperstimulation occurred in either group. Combined metformin-CC and LOD are equally effective for inducing ovulation and achieving pregnancy in CC-resistant PCOS patients. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2010 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Training-induced neuroplasticity in young children.

PubMed

Schlaug, Gottfried; Forgeard, Marie; Zhu, Lin; Norton, Andrea; Norton, Andrew; Winner, Ellen

2009-07-01

As the main interhemispheric fiber tract, the corpus callosum (CC) is of particular importance for musicians who simultaneously engage parts of both hemispheres to process and play music. Professional musicians who began music training before the age of 7 years have larger anterior CC areas than do nonmusicians, which suggests that plasticity due to music training may occur in the CC during early childhood. However, no study has yet demonstrated that the increased CC area found in musicians is due to music training rather than to preexisting differences. We tested the hypothesis that approximately 29 months of instrumental music training would cause a significant increase in the size of particular subareas of the CC known to have fibers that connect motor-related areas of both hemispheres. On the basis of total weekly practice time, a sample of 31 children aged 5-7 was divided into three groups: high-practicing, low-practicing, and controls. No CC size differences were seen at base line, but differences emerged after an average of 29 months of observation in the high-practicing group in the anterior midbody of the CC (which connects premotor and supplementary motor areas of the two hemispheres). Total weekly music exposure predicted degree of change in this subregion of the CC as well as improvement on a motor-sequencing task. Our results show that it is intense musical experience/practice, not preexisting differences, that is responsible for the larger anterior CC area found in professional adult musicians.

First Report of a Peroxiredoxin Homologue in Jellyfish: Molecular Cloning, Expression and Functional Characterization of CcPrx4 from Cyanea capillata

PubMed Central

Ruan, Zengliang; Liu, Guoyan; Wang, Beilei; Zhou, Yonghong; Lu, Jia; Wang, Qianqian; Zhao, Jie; Zhang, Liming

2014-01-01

We first identified and characterized a novel peroxiredoxin (Prx), designated as CcPrx4, from the cDNA library of the tentacle of the jellyfish Cyanea capillata. The full-length cDNA sequence of CcPrx4 consisted of 884 nucleotides with an open reading frame encoding a mature protein of 247 amino acids. It showed a significant homology to peroxiredoxin 4 (Prx4) with the highly conserved F-motif (93FTFVCPTEI101), hydrophobic region (217VCPAGW222), 140GGLG143 and 239YF240, indicating that it should be a new member of the Prx4 family. The deduced CcPrx4 protein had a calculated molecular mass of 27.2 kDa and an estimated isoelectric point of 6.3. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that CcPrx4 mRNA could be detected in all the jellyfish tissues analyzed. CcPrx4 protein was cloned into the expression vector, pET-24a, and expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3) pLysS. Recombinant CcPrx4 protein was purified by HisTrap High Performance chelating column chromatography and analyzed for its biological function. The results showed that the purified recombinant CcPrx4 protein manifested the ability to reduce hydrogen peroxide and protect supercoiled DNA from oxidative damage, suggesting that CcPrx4 protein may play an important role in protecting jellyfish from oxidative damage. PMID:24413803

Upregulation of MicroRNA-4262 Targets Kaiso (ZBTB33) to Inhibit the Proliferation and EMT of Cervical Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Feng, Jing

2017-08-11

More and more studies have reported that dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) lead to the proliferation and EMT of multiple cancers. Recently, several reports have demonstrated that dysregulation of miR-4262 is in numerous cancers. However, its role and precise mechanism in human cervical cancer (CC) have not been well clarified. Hence, my study was aim to explore the biological roles and precise mechanisms of miR-4262 in CC cell lines. In my study, I found that the level of miR-4262 is significantly decreased in CC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, decreased expression of miR-4262 was closely related to increased expression of Kaiso (ZBTB33) that belongs to the BTB/POZ family in CC tissues and cell lines. The proliferation and EMT of CC cells were inhibited by miR-4262 mimic. However, down-regulation of miR-4262 enhanced the proliferation and EMT of CC cells. Next, bioinformatics analysis predicted that miR-4262 might directly target the Kaiso gene. Besides, luciferase reporter assay had confirmed this result. Moreover, introduction of Kaiso in CC cells partially blocked the effects of miR-4262 mimic. In conclusion, miR-4262 suppressed the proliferation and EMT of CC cells by directly down-regulation of Kaiso.

SVCT-2 determines the sensitivity to ascorbate-induced cell death in cholangiocarcinoma cell lines and patient derived xenografts.

PubMed

Wang, Changzheng; Lv, Hongwei; Yang, Wen; Li, Ting; Fang, Tian; Lv, Guishuai; Han, Qin; Dong, Liwei; Jiang, Tianyi; Jiang, Beige; Yang, Guangshun; Wang, Hongyang

2017-07-10

Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is a devastating malignancy with late diagnosis and poor response to conventional chemotherapy. Recent studies have revealed anti-cancer effect of vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid, ascorbate) in several types of cancer. However, the effect of l-ascorbic acid (AA) in CC remains elusive. Herein, we demonstrated that AA induced cytotoxicity in CC cells by generating intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and subsequently DNA damage, ATP depletion, mTOR pathway inhibition. Moreover, AA worked synergistically with chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin to impair CC cells growth both in vitro and in vivo. Intriguingly, sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter 2 (SVCT-2) expression was inversely correlated with IC50 values of AA. Knockdown of SVCT-2 dramatically alleviated DNA damage, ATP depletion, and inhibition of mTOR pathway induced by AA. Furthermore, SVCT-2 knockdown endowed CC cells with the resistance to AA treatment. Finally, the inhibitory effects of AA were further confirmed in patient-derived CC xenograft models. Thus, our results unravel therapeutic potential of AA alone or in combination with cisplatin for CC. SVCT2 expression level may serve as a positive outcome predictor for AA treatment in CC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of clomiphene citrate and letrozole for ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a prospective randomized trial.

PubMed

Liu, Chang; Feng, Guimei; Huang, Wei; Wang, Qiuyi; Yang, Shiyuan; Tan, Jing; Fu, Jing; Liu, Dong

2017-11-01

To compare the therapeutic efficacy of clomiphene citrate (CC) and letrozole (LE) on ovulation, pregnancy, and live birth in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); and to ensure if LE can replace CC as the first-line therapy for ovulation induction in these women. This is a prospectively, randomized, controlled trial in the tertiary hospital. Two-hundred and sixty-eight anovulatory PCOS patients were treated by CC or CC plus metformin and LE or LE plus metformin for three continuous cycles or conception; their ovulation rates, pregnancy rates, and live birth rates were calculated and compared. No significant difference was noted among the four groups regarding to the baseline data of clinical manifestations, serum sex hormone levels, and serum insulin levels. A total of 240 patients completed the therapies. The ovulation rate was significantly higher in the group LE than the group CC; however, no significant difference was noted between the groups LE and CC, CC, and CC + MET, or LE and LE + MET in the pregnancy rate, abortion rate, and live birth rate. No birth defect was found in the total of 63 newborns. CC regimen was still recommended to be the first-line therapy of ovulation induction for PCOS.

Noninvasive optical cytochrome c oxidase redox state measurements using diffuse optical spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Lee, Jangwoen; Kim, Jae G.; Mahon, Sari B.; Mukai, David; Yoon, David; Boss, Gerry R.; Patterson, Steven E.; Rockwood, Gary; Isom, Gary; Brenner, Matthew

2014-01-01

Abstract. A major need exists for methods to assess organ oxidative metabolic states in vivo. By contrasting the responses to cyanide (CN) poisoning versus hemorrhage in animal models, we demonstrate that diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) can detect cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) redox states. Intermittent decreases in inspired O2 from 100% to 21% were applied before, during, and after CN poisoning, hemorrhage, and resuscitation in rabbits. Continuous DOS measurements of total hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxidized and reduced CcO from muscle were obtained. Rabbit hemorrhage was accomplished with stepwise removal of blood, followed by blood resuscitation. CN treated rabbits received 0.166  mg/min NaCN infusion. During hemorrhage, CcO redox state became reduced concurrently with decreases in oxyhemoglobin, resulting from reduced tissue oxygen delivery and hypoxia. In contrast, during CN infusion, CcO redox state decreased while oxyhemoglobin concentration increased due to CN binding and reduction of CcO with resultant inhibition of the electron transport chain. Spectral absorption similarities between hemoglobin and CcO make noninvasive spectroscopic distinction of CcO redox states difficult. By contrasting physiological perturbations of CN poisoning versus hemorrhage, we demonstrate that DOS measured CcO redox state changes are decoupled from hemoglobin concentration measurement changes. PMID:24788369

Noninvasive optical cytochrome c oxidase redox state measurements using diffuse optical spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jangwoen; Kim, Jae G.; Mahon, Sari B.; Mukai, David; Yoon, David; Boss, Gerry R.; Patterson, Steven E.; Rockwood, Gary; Isom, Gary; Brenner, Matthew

2014-05-01

A major need exists for methods to assess organ oxidative metabolic states in vivo. By contrasting the responses to cyanide (CN) poisoning versus hemorrhage in animal models, we demonstrate that diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) can detect cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) redox states. Intermittent decreases in inspired O2 from 100% to 21% were applied before, during, and after CN poisoning, hemorrhage, and resuscitation in rabbits. Continuous DOS measurements of total hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxidized and reduced CcO from muscle were obtained. Rabbit hemorrhage was accomplished with stepwise removal of blood, followed by blood resuscitation. CN treated rabbits received 0.166 mg/min NaCN infusion. During hemorrhage, CcO redox state became reduced concurrently with decreases in oxyhemoglobin, resulting from reduced tissue oxygen delivery and hypoxia. In contrast, during CN infusion, CcO redox state decreased while oxyhemoglobin concentration increased due to CN binding and reduction of CcO with resultant inhibition of the electron transport chain. Spectral absorption similarities between hemoglobin and CcO make noninvasive spectroscopic distinction of CcO redox states difficult. By contrasting physiological perturbations of CN poisoning versus hemorrhage, we demonstrate that DOS measured CcO redox state changes are decoupled from hemoglobin concentration measurement changes.

Evaluation of immunoreactivity of normal tissues from dogs, using monoclonal antibody B72.3.

PubMed

Clemo, F A; DeNicola, D B; Zimmermann, J L

1994-08-01

Monoclonal antibody (MAB) B72.3, which recognizes human tumor-associated glycoprotein-72, has immunoreactivity for malignant epithelial neoplasms in human beings and dogs. To further characterize the range of immunoreactivity of MAB B72.3 in canine tissues, MAB B72.3 and 2 other tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 antibodies (MAB CC49 and CC83) were tested against a wide spectrum of normal tissues from dogs. Immunoreactivity was detected, using an avidin-biotin-complex immunoperoxidase method. Monoclonal antibody B72.3 did not stain most types of normal canine tissues, but various types of epithelial cells within the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract mucosae, salivary gland, esophagus, epididymis, uterus, thymus, hair follicle, and apocrine glands of the anal sac had variable staining with MAB B72.3. A similar range of immunoreactivity in comparable types of normal tissues was seen for MAB CC49 and CC83; however, MAB CC49, but not MAB B72.3 and CC83, stained the endothelium of capillaries and small vessels in most normal tissues. Staining of frozen and paraffin-embedded tissues was similar. In conclusion, we found that MAB B72.3, CC49, and CC83 had selected immunoreactivity for specific types of normal canine epithelial cells, especially those involved with mucin production.

$X(3873$ and $Y(4140)$ using diquark-antidiquark operators with lattice QCD

DOE PAGES

Padmanath, M.; Lang, C.  B.; Prelovsek Komelj, Sasa

2015-08-01

We perform a lattice study of charmonium-like mesons withmore » $$J^{PC}=1^{++}$$ and three quark contents $$\\bar cc \\bar du$$, $$\\bar cc(\\bar uu+\\bar dd)$$ and $$\\bar cc \\bar ss$$, where the later two can mix with $$\\bar cc$$. This simulation with $$N_f=2$$ and $$m_\\pi=266$$ MeV aims at the possible signatures of four-quark exotic states. We utilize a large basis of $$\\bar cc$$, two-meson and diquark-antidiquark interpolating fields, with diquarks in both anti-triplet and sextet color representations. A lattice candidate for X(3872) with I=0 is observed very close to the experimental state only if both $$\\bar cc$$ and $$D\\bar D^*$$ interpolators are included; the candidate is not found if diquark-antidiquark and $$D\\bar D^*$$ are used in the absence of $$\\bar cc$$. No candidate for neutral or charged X(3872), or any other exotic candidates are found in the I=1 channel. We also do not find signatures of exotic $$\\bar cc\\bar ss$$ candidates below 4.3 GeV, such as Y(4140). Possible physics and methodology related reasons for that are discussed. Along the way, we present the diquark-antidiquark operators as linear combinations of the two-meson operators via the Fierz transformations.« less

Theoretical investigation of the reaction of Mn+ with ethylene oxide.

PubMed

Li, Yuanyuan; Guo, Wenyue; Zhao, Lianming; Liu, Zhaochun; Lu, Xiaoqing; Shan, Honghong

2012-01-12

The potential energy surfaces of Mn(+) reaction with ethylene oxide in both the septet and quintet states are investigated at the B3LYP/DZVP level of theory. The reaction paths leading to the products of MnO(+), MnO, MnCH(2)(+), MnCH(3), and MnH(+) are described in detail. Two types of encounter complexes of Mn(+) with ethylene oxide are formed because of attachments of the metal at different sites of ethylene oxide, i.e., the O atom and the CC bond. Mn(+) would insert into a C-O bond or the C-C bond of ethylene oxide to form two different intermediates prior to forming various products. MnO(+)/MnO and MnH(+) are formed in the C-O activation mechanism, while both C-O and C-C activations account for the MnCH(2)(+)/MnCH(3) formation. Products MnO(+), MnCH(2)(+), and MnH(+) could be formed adiabatically on the quintet surface, while formation of MnO and MnCH(3) is endothermic on the PESs with both spins. In agreement with the experimental observations, the excited state a(5)D is calculated to be more reactive than the ground state a(7)S. This theoretical work sheds new light on the experimental observations and provides fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanism of ethylene oxide with transition metal cations.

Novel strategy to implement active-space coupled-cluster methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolik, Zoltán; Kállay, Mihály

2018-03-01

A new approach is presented for the efficient implementation of coupled-cluster (CC) methods including higher excitations based on a molecular orbital space partitioned into active and inactive orbitals. In the new framework, the string representation of amplitudes and intermediates is used as long as it is beneficial, but the contractions are evaluated as matrix products. Using a new diagrammatic technique, the CC equations are represented in a compact form due to the string notations we introduced. As an application of these ideas, a new automated implementation of the single-reference-based multi-reference CC equations is presented for arbitrary excitation levels. The new program can be considered as an improvement over the previous implementations in many respects; e.g., diagram contributions are evaluated by efficient vectorized subroutines. Timings for test calculations for various complete active-space problems are presented. As an application of the new code, the weak interactions in the Be dimer were studied.

E2 enzyme inhibition by stabilization of a low affinity interface with ubiquitin

PubMed Central

St-Cyr, Daniel J.; Ziemba, Amy; Garg, Pankaj; Plamondon, Serge; Auer, Manfred; Sidhu, Sachdev; Marinier, Anne; Kleiger, Gary; Tyers, Mike; Sicheri, Frank

2014-01-01

Weak protein interactions between ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) enzymes that mediate its covalent attachment to substrates serve to position ubiquitin for optimal catalytic transfer. We show that a small molecule inhibitor of the E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme Cdc34A, called CC0651, acts by trapping a weak interaction between ubiquitin and the E2 donor ubiquitin binding site. A structure of the ternary CC0651-Cdc34A-ubiquitin complex reveals that the inhibitor engages a composite binding pocket formed from Cdc34A and ubiquitin. CC0651 also suppresses the spontaneous hydrolysis rate of the Cdc34A-ubiquitin thioester, without overtly affecting the interaction between Cdc34A and the RING domain subunit of the E3 enzyme. Stabilization of the numerous other weak interactions between ubiquitin and UPS enzymes by small molecules may be a feasible strategy to selectively inhibit different UPS activities. PMID:24316736

Theoretical study of the XP3 (X = Al, B, Ga) clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueno, Leonardo T.; Lopes, Cinara; Malaspina, Thaciana; Roberto-Neto, Orlando; Canuto, Sylvio; Machado, Francisco B. C.

2012-05-01

The lowest singlet and triplet states of AlP3, GaP3 and BP3 molecules with Cs, C2v and C3v symmetries were characterized using the B3LYP functional and the aug-cc-pVTZ and aug-cc-pVQZ correlated consistent basis sets. Geometrical parameters and vibrational frequencies were calculated and compared to existent experimental and theoretical data. Relative energies were obtained with single point CCSD(T) calculations using the aug-cc-pVTZ, aug-cc-pVQZ and aug-cc-pV5Z basis sets, and then extrapolating to the complete basis set (CBS) limit.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) constitutes a small family of proteins in Citrus clementina and Citrus sinensis L. Osb.

PubMed

Araújo Castro, Jacqueline; Gomes Ferreira, Monique Drielle; Santana Silva, Raner José; Andrade, Bruno Silva; Micheli, Fabienne

2017-01-01

The alternative oxidase (AOX) protein is present in plants, fungi, protozoa and some invertebrates. It is involved in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, providing an alternative route for the transport of electrons, leading to the reduction of oxygen to form water. The present study aimed to characterize the family of AOX genes in mandarin (Citrus clementina) and sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) at nucleotide and protein levels, including promoter analysis, phylogenetic analysis and C. sinensis gene expression. This study also aimed to do the homology modeling of one AOX isoform (CcAOXd). Moreover, the molecular docking of the CcAOXd protein with the ubiquinone (UQ) was performed. Four AOX genes were identified in each citrus species. These genes have an open reading frame (ORF) ranging from 852 bp to 1150 bp and a number of exons ranging from 4 to 9. The 1500 bp-upstream region of each AOX gene contained regulatory cis-elements related to internal and external response factors. CsAOX genes showed a differential expression in citrus tissues. All AOX proteins were predicted to be located in mitochondria. They contained the conserved motifs LET, NERMHL, LEEEA and RADE-H as well as several putative post-translational modification sites. The CcAOXd protein was modeled by homology to the AOX of Trypanosona brucei (45% of identity). The 3-D structure of CcAOXd showed the presence of two hydrophobic helices that could be involved in the anchoring of the protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The active site of the protein is located in a hydrophobic environment deep inside the AOX structure and contains a diiron center. The molecular docking of CcAOXd with UQ showed that the binding site is a recessed pocket formed by the helices and submerged in the membrane. These data are important for future functional studies of citrus AOX genes and/or proteins, as well as for biotechnological approaches leading to AOX inhibition using UQ homologs.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) constitutes a small family of proteins in Citrus clementina and Citrus sinensis L. Osb

PubMed Central

Araújo Castro, Jacqueline; Gomes Ferreira, Monique Drielle; Santana Silva, Raner José; Andrade, Bruno Silva

2017-01-01

The alternative oxidase (AOX) protein is present in plants, fungi, protozoa and some invertebrates. It is involved in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, providing an alternative route for the transport of electrons, leading to the reduction of oxygen to form water. The present study aimed to characterize the family of AOX genes in mandarin (Citrus clementina) and sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) at nucleotide and protein levels, including promoter analysis, phylogenetic analysis and C. sinensis gene expression. This study also aimed to do the homology modeling of one AOX isoform (CcAOXd). Moreover, the molecular docking of the CcAOXd protein with the ubiquinone (UQ) was performed. Four AOX genes were identified in each citrus species. These genes have an open reading frame (ORF) ranging from 852 bp to 1150 bp and a number of exons ranging from 4 to 9. The 1500 bp-upstream region of each AOX gene contained regulatory cis-elements related to internal and external response factors. CsAOX genes showed a differential expression in citrus tissues. All AOX proteins were predicted to be located in mitochondria. They contained the conserved motifs LET, NERMHL, LEEEA and RADE-H as well as several putative post-translational modification sites. The CcAOXd protein was modeled by homology to the AOX of Trypanosona brucei (45% of identity). The 3-D structure of CcAOXd showed the presence of two hydrophobic helices that could be involved in the anchoring of the protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The active site of the protein is located in a hydrophobic environment deep inside the AOX structure and contains a diiron center. The molecular docking of CcAOXd with UQ showed that the binding site is a recessed pocket formed by the helices and submerged in the membrane. These data are important for future functional studies of citrus AOX genes and/or proteins, as well as for biotechnological approaches leading to AOX inhibition using UQ homologs. PMID:28459876

Structures and electron affinity of XO30,-, XOF40,- and XO2F20,- (X = P, As, Sb, Bi): a theoretical study of novel superhalogen formulae and exceptions of superhalogen formulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yi-Fan; Cui, Zhong-Hua; Ding, Yi-Hong

2015-03-01

Most superhalogen species are in the form of oxides or halides. To enrich the family of superhalogen species, herein, we investigated the structures and electron affinity (EA) values of higher group 15 elements (X = P, As, Sb, Bi) oxyfluoride species XO30,-, XOF40,- and XO2F20,-, at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ-pp & aug-cc-pVTZ //B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ-pp & aug-cc-pVTZ levels (aug-cc-pVTZ-pp for X = Sb and Bi). Some oxyfluoride species, i.e., PO2F20,-, AsO2F20,-, SbO2F20,-, POF40,-, AsOF40,-, SbOF40,- and BiOF40,-, were found to possess higher EA (VDE: 5.0-6.2 eV; ADE: 4.5-5.5 eV) than halogens (F: 3.4 eV; Cl: 3.6 eV). Thus, we recommended that the oxyfluorides in the form of XO2F20,- and XOF40,- should be considered as potential superhalogens, which have not been considered previously. Surprisingly, we showed that BiO3 and BiO2F2, in superhalogen formulae, possess a high vertical detachment energy (VDE) yet a low adiabatic detachment energy (ADE). This is in marked contrast to the previously reported superhalogens, which generally contain both the high VDE and high ADE values. It is the first report about exceptions of superhalogen formulae. These findings revealed that for the analogous main-group compounds with the same structural formula, the difference in the metallic property of the core element could lead to the significant difference in the ground structures of either the anionic or neutral structures, which would result in the much differed superhalogen features.

Effect of clomiphene citrate on endometrial thickness, ovulation, pregnancy and live birth in anovulatory women: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Gadalla, M A; Huang, S; Wang, R; Norman, R J; Abdullah, S A; El Saman, A M; Ismail, A M; van Wely, M; Mol, B W J

2018-01-01

To compare the impact of clomiphene citrate (CC) vs other drug regimens on mid-cycle endometrial thickness (EMT), ovulation, pregnancy and live birth rates in women with World Health Organization (WHO) group II ovulatory disorders. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, The Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials (CENTRAL) and the non-MEDLINE subset of PubMed from inception to December 2016 and cross-checked references of relevant articles. We included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CC used alone vs other drug regimens for ovulation induction in women with WHO group II anovulation. Outcomes were mid-cycle EMT, ovulation, pregnancy and live birth rates. We pooled weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for continuous variables (EMT) and risk ratios (RR) with 95% CI for binary variables (ovulation, pregnancy and live birth rates). We retrieved 1718 articles of which 33 RCTs (4349 women, 7210 ovulation induction cycles) were included. In 15 RCTs that compared CC with letrozole, EMT was lower in the CC group (1957 women, 3892 cycles; WMD, -1.39; 95% CI, -2.27 to -0.51; I 2  = 100%), ovulation rates after CC and letrozole were comparable (1710 women, 3217 cycles; RR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.90-1.04; I 2  = 47%), while CC led to a lower pregnancy rate (1957 women, 3892 cycles; RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95; I 2  = 43%) and a lower live birth rate (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.49-0.98; I 2  = 35%). In two RCTs that compared CC with CC plus metformin, EMT, ovulation and pregnancy rates were comparable (101 women, 140 cycles; WMD, -0.23; 95% CI, -0.92 to 0.45; I 2  = 78%; RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.67-1.06; I 2  = 0%; and RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.33-1.87; I 2  = 0%). In three studies that compared CC with CC plus N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), EMT was lower in the CC group (340 women, 300 cycles; WMD, -1.51; 95% CI, -1.98 to -1.04; I 2  = 45%). In two studies that compared CC with CC + nitric oxide (NO) donor, EMT was lower in the CC group (120 women, 304 cycles; WMD, -1.75; 95% CI, -2.08 to -1.41; I 2  = 0%). Compared with CC plus NO donor or NAC, CC showed statistically significant lower ovulation and pregnancy rates. Compared with tamoxifen in three studies, CC showed a tendency towards lower EMT (571 women, 844 cycles; WMD, -1.34; 95% CI, -2.70 to 0.01; I 2  = 96%) with comparable ovulation and pregnancy rates. In women with WHO group II ovulatory disorders, ovulation induction with CC might result in lower EMT than other ovulation induction regimens. Whether the lower EMT caused the lower pregnancy and live birth rates remains to be elucidated. Letrozole seems to be beneficial for these women. However, our findings should be interpreted with caution as the quality of evidence was very low. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What Causes Care Coordination Problems? A Case for Microanalysis

PubMed Central

Zachary, Wayne; Maulitz, Russell Charles; Zachary, Drew A.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Care coordination (CC) is an important fulcrum for pursuing a range of health care goals. Current research and policy analyses have focused on aggregated data rather than on understanding what happens within individual cases. At the case level, CC emerges as a complex network of communications among providers over time, crossing and recrossing many organizational boundaries. Micro-level analysis is needed to understand where and how CC fails, as well as to identify best practices and root causes of problems. Coordination Process Diagramming: Coordination Process Diagramming (CPD) is a new framework for representing and analyzing CC arcs at the micro level, separating an arc into its participants and roles, communication structure, organizational structures, and transitions of care, all on a common time line. Conclusion: Comparative CPD analysis across a sample of CC arcs identifies common CC problems and potential root causes, showing the potential value of the framework. The analyses also suggest intervention strategies that could be applied to attack the root causes of CC problems, including organizational changes, education and training, and additional health information technology development. PMID:27563685

Comparative study on in vivo response of porous calcium carbonate composite ceramic and biphasic calcium phosphate ceramic.

PubMed

He, Fupo; Ren, Weiwei; Tian, Xiumei; Liu, Wei; Wu, Shanghua; Chen, Xiaoming

2016-07-01

In a previous study, robust calcium carbonate composite ceramics (CC/PG) were prepared by using phosphate-based glass (PG) as an additive, which showed good cell response. In the present study the in vivo response of porous CC/PG was compared to that of porous biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics (BCP), using a rabbit femoral critical-size grafting model. The materials degradation and bone formation processes were evaluated by general observation, X-ray radiography, micro-computed tomography, and histological examination. The results demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, and progressive degradation of CC/PG and BCP. Although the in vitro degradation rate of CC/PG was distinctly faster than that of BCP, at 4week post-implantation, the bone generation and material degradation of CC/PG were less than those of BCP. Nevertheless, at postoperative week 8, the increment of bone formation and material degradation of CC/PG was pronouncedly larger than that of BCP. These results show that CC/PG is a potential resorbable bone graft aside from the traditional synthetic ones. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase transitions of CaCO3 at high P and T determined by in-situ Vibrational Spectroscopy in Diamond-Anvil-Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch-Müller, Monika; Jahn, Sandro; Birkholz, Natalie; Schade, Ulrich

2014-05-01

Carbonates are the most abundant carbon-bearing minerals on Earth. They can be transported into the upper and lower mantle via subduction processes. Knowledge of the stability of solid carbonates adapting different structures with increasing pressure and temperature is therefore of great importance to understand the structure and dynamics of the Earth. Even for the very simple system CaCO3 the phase relations of at high pressure and temperature are still not fully understood. It has been known for many years that calcite (cc) can adopt different structures with increasing pressure (e.g. Bridgman, 1939: cc-I to III; Tyburczy and Ahrens, 1986: cc-VI). But only recently Merlini et al. (2012) were able to solve the crystal structures of some of these high-pressure polymorphs namely cc-III, cc-IIIb and cc-VI. They report that cc-VI has a higher density then aragonite under the same conditions. To study the stability of the CaCO3-polymorphs, experiments were performed in conventional diamond anvil cells (DAC) at ambient temperatures as a function of pressure up to 30 GPa as well as in internally heated diamond anvil cells (DAC-HT) in the pressure range 9 to 20 GPa and temperatures up to 800 K. As probe for the structural changes we used conventional mid-infrared-, synchrotron far-infrared- and Raman-spectroscopy. Within the cc-III stability field (3 to 15 GPa at room temperature, e.g. Catalli and Williams, 2005) we observed in all types of experiments consistently two different spectral patterns: one at lower P < 5 GPa and another at P > 5 < 15 GPa independent on the starting material and the pressure- and time-path of the experiments. Whether these P-induced structural changes may be linked to the above mentioned different structures of cc-III is not yet clear. Also, in all types of experiments we confirmed the transition of cc-III to cc-VI at about 15 GPa at room temperature. Merlini et al. (2012) speculated that temperature may stabilize the structures of cc-III to lower pressure and surprisingly we found the same for the cc-III to cc-VI transition. The reaction has a negative slope of about -0.007 GPa/K. However, our density-functional theory calculations indicate that cc-VI is still metastable in respect to aragonite at least at zero K. We will prove if temperature and the incorporation of smaller cations than Ca have an influence on the stability relations. References: Bridgman P.W. (1939) Am J Sci, 237, 7 - 18. Catalli K. and Williams Q. (2005) Am Mineral, 90, 1679 - 1682. Merlini M. et al. (2012) EPSL, 333-334, 265 - 271. Tyburczy J. A. and Ahrens T. J. (1986) J Geophysical Research, 91, 4730 - 4744.

Metastable Autoionizing States of Molecules and Radicals in Highly Energetic Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-22

electronic states. The specific aims are to develop and calibrate complex-scaled equation-of-motion coupled cluster (cs-EOM- CC ) and CAP (complex...absorbing potential) augmented EOM- CC methods. We have implemented and benchmarked cs-EOM-CCSD and CAP- augmented EOM-CCSD methods for excitation energies...motion coupled cluster (cs-EOM- CC ) and CAP (complex absorbing potential) augmented EOM- CC methods. We have implemented and benchmarked cs-EOM-CCSD and

Carbon-On-Carbon Manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mungas, Gregory S. (Inventor); Buchanan, Larry (Inventor); Banzon, Jr., Jose T. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

The presently disclosed technology relates to carbon-on-carbon (C/C) manufacturing techniques and the resulting C/C products. One aspect of the manufacturing techniques disclosed herein utilizes two distinct curing operations that occur at different times and/or using different temperatures. The resulting C/C products are substantially non-porous, even though the curing operation(s) substantially gasify a liquid carbon-entrained filler material that saturates a carbon fabric that makes up the C/C products.

Support Resources Demand Parameters - Aircraft. Revision A

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-15

Assurance Sciences - Reliability and Maintainability, 1969. Livers , Paul J., PREDICTION AND OPTIMIZATION OF FAILURE RATES (PROF 200) PROGRAMMING MANUAL...0CDC V3. -gr om In 0 0 V -40 LU -cc00L I- W! - OPC -i40 cc-4 qr - CA IL- 0cc 41 C3 C-1 I I=IJ o M c ccL) - In. r-c 0 0C LLA- Iii "" -c Ok CD 0D co- CUs

Chromosomal aberrations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia detected by conventional cytogenetics with DSP30 as a single agent: comparison with FISH.

PubMed

Kotkowska, Aleksandra; Wawrzyniak, Ewa; Blonski, Jerzy Z; Robak, Tadeusz; Korycka-Wolowiec, Anna

2011-08-01

The aim of our study was to estimate the usefulness for conventional cytogenetics (CC) of DSP30 as a single agent (CC-DSP30) for detecting the most important chromosomal aberrations revealed in CLL by FISH and to find other abnormalities possibly existing but undetected by FISH with standard probes. Using CC-DSP30, the metaphases suitable for analysis were obtained in 90% of patients. CC-DSP30 and FISH were similarly efficacious for detecting del(11)(q22) and trisomy 12, whereas FISH was more sensitive for del(13)(q14). Sole del(13)(q14) detected by FISH, in 50% of patients was associated with other aberrations revealed by CC-DSP30. Additionally, the most recurrent anomaly detected by CC-DSP30 were structural aberrations of chromosome 2. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mass spectra and radiative transitions of doubly heavy baryons in a relativized quark model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Qi-Fang; Wang, Kai-Lei; Xiao, Li-Ye; Zhong, Xian-Hui

2017-12-01

We study the mass spectra and radiative decays of doubly heavy baryons within the diquark picture in a relativized quark model. The mass of the JP=1 /2+ Ξc c ground state is predicted to be 3606 MeV, which is consistent with the mass of Ξcc ++(3621 ) newly observed by the LHCb Collaboration. The predicted mass gap between two S -wave states, Ξcc * (JP=3 /2+) and Ξc c (JP=1 /2+), is 69 MeV. Furthermore, the radiative transitions of doubly heavy baryons are also estimated by using the realistic wave functions obtained from relativized quark model. The radiative decay widths of Ξcc *++→Ξcc ++γ and Ξcc *+→Ξcc +γ are predicted to be about 7 and 4 keV, respectively. These predictions of doubly heavy baryons can provide helpful information for future experimental searches.

Asymmetric supercapacitors with high energy density based on helical hierarchical porous Na x MnO2 and MoO2.

PubMed

Lu, Xue-Feng; Huang, Zhi-Xiang; Tong, Ye-Xiang; Li, Gao-Ren

2016-01-01

Helical hierarchical porous Na x MnO 2 /CC and MoO 2 /CC, which are assembled from nanosheets and nanoparticles, respectively, are fabricated using a simple electrodeposition method. These unique helical porous structures enable electrodes to have a high capacitance and an outstanding cycling performance. Based on the helical Na x MnO 2 /CC as the positive electrodes and helical MoO 2 /CC as the negative electrodes, high performance Na x MnO 2 /CC//MoO 2 /CC asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) are successfully assembled, and they achieve a maximum volume C sp of 2.04 F cm -3 and a maximum energy density of 0.92 mW h cm -3 for the whole device and an excellent cycling stability with 97.22% C sp retention after 6000 cycles.

Elective surgical case cancellation in the Veterans Health Administration system: identifying areas for improvement.

PubMed

Argo, Joshua L; Vick, Catherine C; Graham, Laura A; Itani, Kamal M F; Bishop, Michael J; Hawn, Mary T

2009-11-01

This study evaluated elective surgical case cancellation (CC) rates, reasons for these cancellations, and identified areas for improvement within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) system. CC data for 2006 were collected from the scheduling software for 123 VA facilities. Surveys were distributed to 40 facilities (10 highest and 10 lowest CC rates for high- and low-volume facilities). CC reasons were standardized and piloted at 5 facilities. Of 329,784 cases scheduled by 9 surgical specialties, 40,988 (12.4%) were cancelled. CC reasons (9,528) were placed into 6 broad categories: patient (35%), work-up/medical condition change (28%), facility (20%), surgeon (8%), anesthesia (1%), and miscellaneous (8%). Survey results show areas for improvement at the facility level and a standardized list of 28 CC reasons was comprehensive. Interventions that decrease cancellations caused by patient factors, inadequate work-up, and facility factors are needed to reduce overall elective surgical case cancellations.

Restricted L1 Estimators and Their Covariances,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

CD22 w =e 1-.< l’ -- I -M Ce -=, -2 C 22 CD -. 00 CD LJ L":v, wD .-C >-C CD U., -D -a 22J CD: CD. Vt. U.1 . CD* 31- a UOC CD I" -J zI == CŖ - 1- InCC.J...C 22 CC:.: 2 15Cb In0’C C 4 t’ 3 CD.2-cm I- I.- iC2 CD-3SJ U. cc CDam CC 22 0.-J~ I- iD C Me CC .JJ . A.2 Dt-2C. 2. D ~ 2 CD, Z-i- C -J 2Cn LI CD22 ...22 "I.- bII CD 0.-..CW I -- k- -o. CDCD-c =DDCCC-ce CDI- 22eCCDC.C I-L- 5 2wI-CDUct. I4.CDgCD Ci L., 2=9 E Mm t,2 cm CD22 ,,- D.-.2RCC Ce:CD .Cc n 9

Genetic Regulation of Guanylate-Binding Proteins 2b and 5 during Leishmaniasis in Mice

PubMed Central

Sohrabi, Yahya; Volkova, Valeryia; Kobets, Tatyana; Havelková, Helena; Krayem, Imtissal; Slapničková, Martina; Demant, Peter; Lipoldová, Marie

2018-01-01

Interferon-induced GTPases [guanylate-binding proteins (GBPs)] play an important role in inflammasome activation and mediate innate resistance to many intracellular pathogens, but little is known about their role in leishmaniasis. We therefore studied expression of Gbp2b/Gbp1 and Gbp5 mRNA in skin, inguinal lymph nodes, spleen, and liver after Leishmania major infection and in uninfected controls. We used two different groups of related mouse strains: BALB/c, STS, and CcS-5, CcS-16, and CcS-20 that carry different combinations of BALB/c and STS genomes, and strains O20, C57BL/10 (B10) and B10.O20, OcB-9, and OcB-43 carrying different combinations of O20 and B10 genomes. The strains were classified on the basis of size and number of infection-induced skin lesions as highly susceptible (BALB/c, CcS-16), susceptible (B10.O20), intermediate (CcS-20), and resistant (STS, O20, B10, OcB-9, OcB-43). Some uninfected strains differed in expression of Gbp2b/Gbp1 and Gbp5, especially of Gbp2b/Gbp1 in skin. Uninfected BALB/c and STS did not differ in their expression, but in CcS-5, CcS-16, and CcS-20, which all carry BALB/c-derived Gbp gene-cluster, expression of Gbp2b/Gbp1 exceeds that of both parents. These data indicate trans-regulation of Gbps. Infection resulted in approximately 10× upregulation of Gbp2b/Gbp1 and Gbp5 mRNAs in organs of both susceptible and resistant strains, which was most pronounced in skin. CcS-20 expressed higher level of Gbp2b/Gbp1 than both parental strains in skin, whereas CcS-16 expressed higher level of Gbp2b/Gbp1 than both parental strains in skin and liver. This indicates a trans-regulation present in infected mice CcS-16 and CcS-20. Immunostaining of skin of five strains revealed in resistant and intermediate strains STS, CcS-5, O20, and CcS-20 tight co-localization of Gbp2b/Gbp1 protein with most L. major parasites, whereas in the highly susceptible strain, BALB/c most parasites did not associate with Gbp2b/Gbp1. In conclusion, expression of Gbp2b/Gbp1 and Gbp5 was increased even in organs of clinically asymptomatic resistant mice. It suggests a hidden inflammation, which might contribute to control of persisting parasites. This is supported by the co-localization of Gbpb2/Gbp1 protein and L. major parasites in skin of resistant and intermediate but not highly susceptible mice. PMID:29467757

Method of low pressure and/or evaporative drying of aerogel

DOEpatents

Mayer, S.T.; Kaschmitter, J.L.; Pekala, R.W.

1995-05-30

A process is described whereby Resorcinol/Formaldehyde (RF) aerogel having a density of about 0.4--1.2 g/cc can be manufactured using a simple air drying procedure. This process is inherently simpler, quicker, and less expensive than the more conventional supercritical or subcritical CO{sub 2} extraction procedures. RF aerogels can be used as produced, such as in insulation applications, or pyrolyzed to form carbon aerogels with a density of about 0.9 g/cc for use in applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, etc.

High density hexagonal boron nitride prepared by hot isostatic pressing in refractory metal containers

DOEpatents

Hoenig, Clarence L.

1992-01-01

Boron nitride powder with less than or equal to the oxygen content of starting powder (down to 0.5% or less) is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce hexagonal boron nitride with a bulk density greater than 2.0 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a canister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1800.degree. C. and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.21 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

Carbonyl compounds emitted by a diesel engine fuelled with diesel and biodiesel-diesel blends: Sampling optimization and emissions profile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarieiro, Lílian Lefol Nani; Pereira, Pedro Afonso de Paula; Torres, Ednildo Andrade; da Rocha, Gisele Olimpio; de Andrade, Jailson B.

Biodiesel is emerging as a renewable fuel, hence becoming a promising alternative to fossil fuels. Biodiesel can form blends with diesel in any ratio, and thus could replace partially, or even totally, diesel fuel in diesel engines what would bring a number of environmental, economical and social advantages. Although a number of studies are available on regulated substances, there is a gap of studies on unregulated substances, such as carbonyl compounds, emitted during the combustion of biodiesel, biodiesel-diesel and/or ethanol-biodiesel-diesel blends. CC is a class of hazardous pollutants known to be participating in photochemical smog formation. In this work a comparison was carried out between the two most widely used CC collection methods: C18 cartridges coated with an acid solution of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH) and impinger bottles filled in 2,4-DNPH solution. Sampling optimization was performed using a 2 2 factorial design tool. Samples were collected from the exhaust emissions of a diesel engine with biodiesel and operated by a steady-state dynamometer. In the central body of factorial design, the average of the sum of CC concentrations collected using impingers was 33.2 ppmV but it was only 6.5 ppmV for C18 cartridges. In addition, the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4% for impingers and 37% for C18 cartridges. Clearly, the impinger system is able to collect CC more efficiently, with lower error than the C18 cartridge system. Furthermore, propionaldehyde was nearly not sampled by C18 system at all. For these reasons, the impinger system was chosen in our study. The optimized sampling conditions applied throughout this study were: two serially connected impingers each containing 10 mL of 2,4-DNPH solution at a flow rate of 0.2 L min -1 during 5 min. A profile study of the C1-C4 vapor-phase carbonyl compound emissions was obtained from exhaust of pure diesel (B0), pure biodiesel (B100) and biodiesel-diesel mixtures (B2, B5, B10, B20, B50, B75). The ΣCC of the emission concentrations were 20.5 ppmV for B0 and 15.7 ppmV for B100. When considering fuel blends, the measured ΣCC were 21.4 ppmV, 22.5 ppmV, 20.4 ppmV, 14.2 ppmV, 11.4 ppmV and 14.7 ppmV, respectively, for B2, B5, B10, B20, B50 and B75. Among the target CC, both formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the major contributors to the observed total CC levels. Except for acrolein and formaldehyde, all CC showed a clear trend of reduction in the emissions from B2 to B100 (40% reduction, on average). Both individual and total CC emission factors (pg g -1 of fuel burnt) were calculated for all tested biodiesel-diesel blends. The lowest total CC emission factor (2271 pg g -1) was found when B50 was used; the individual emission factors determined (pg g -1) were: 539.7 (formaldehyde), 1411 (acetaldehyde), 30.83 (acrolein), and 310.7 (propionaldehyde).

Comparison of Node-Centered and Cell-Centered Unstructured Finite-Volume Discretizations: Inviscid Fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diskin, Boris; Thomas, James L.

2010-01-01

Cell-centered and node-centered approaches have been compared for unstructured finite-volume discretization of inviscid fluxes. The grids range from regular grids to irregular grids, including mixed-element grids and grids with random perturbations of nodes. Accuracy, complexity, and convergence rates of defect-correction iterations are studied for eight nominally second-order accurate schemes: two node-centered schemes with weighted and unweighted least-squares (LSQ) methods for gradient reconstruction and six cell-centered schemes two node-averaging with and without clipping and four schemes that employ different stencils for LSQ gradient reconstruction. The cell-centered nearest-neighbor (CC-NN) scheme has the lowest complexity; a version of the scheme that involves smart augmentation of the LSQ stencil (CC-SA) has only marginal complexity increase. All other schemes have larger complexity; complexity of node-centered (NC) schemes are somewhat lower than complexity of cell-centered node-averaging (CC-NA) and full-augmentation (CC-FA) schemes. On highly anisotropic grids typical of those encountered in grid adaptation, discretization errors of five of the six cell-centered schemes converge with second order on all tested grids; the CC-NA scheme with clipping degrades solution accuracy to first order. The NC schemes converge with second order on regular and/or triangular grids and with first order on perturbed quadrilaterals and mixed-element grids. All schemes may produce large relative errors in gradient reconstruction on grids with perturbed nodes. Defect-correction iterations for schemes employing weighted least-square gradient reconstruction diverge on perturbed stretched grids. Overall, the CC-NN and CC-SA schemes offer the best options of the lowest complexity and secondorder discretization errors. On anisotropic grids over a curved body typical of turbulent flow simulations, the discretization errors converge with second order and are small for the CC-NN, CC-SA, and CC-FA schemes on all grids and for NC schemes on triangular grids; the discretization errors of the CC-NA scheme without clipping do not converge on irregular grids. Accurate gradient reconstruction can be achieved by introducing a local approximate mapping; without approximate mapping, only the NC scheme with weighted LSQ method provides accurate gradients. Defect correction iterations for the CC-NA scheme without clipping diverge; for the NC scheme with weighted LSQ method, the iterations either diverge or converge very slowly. The best option in curved geometries is the CC-SA scheme that offers low complexity, second-order discretization errors, and fast convergence.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pokhrel, D; Sood, S; Badkul, R

Purpose: To evaluate XVMC computed rib doses for peripherally located non-small-cell-lung tumors treated with SBRT following RTOG-0915 guidelines. Methods: Twenty patients with solitary peripherally located non-small-cell-lung tumors were treated using XVMC-based SBRT to 50–54Gy in 5−3 fractions, respectively, for PTV(V100%)=95%. Based on 4D-CT, ITV was delineated on MaximumIP images and organs-at-risk(OARs) including ribs were contoured on MeanIP images. Mean PTV(ITV+5mm uniform margin) was 46.1±38.7cc (range, 11.1–163.0cc). XVMC SBRT treatment plans were generated with a combination of non-coplanar 3D-conformal arcs/beams, and were delivered by Novalis-TX consisting of HD-MLCs and a 6MV-SRS(1000MU/min) beam, following RTOG-0915 criteria. XVMC rib maximum dose and dosemore » to <1cc, <5cc, <10cc were evaluated as a function of PTV, prescription dose and 3D-distance from tumor isocenter to the most proximal rib contour. Plans were re-computed using heterogeneity-corrected pencil-beam (PB-hete) algorithm utilizing identical beam geometry/MLC positions and MUs and subsequently compared to XVMC. Results: XVMC average maximum rib dose was 50.9±6.4Gy (range, 35.1–59.3Gy). XVMC mean rib dose to <1cc was 41.6±5.6Gy (range, 27.9–47.9Gy), <5cc was 31.2±7.3Gy (range, 10.6–43.1Gy), and <10cc was 21.2±8.7Gy (range, 1.1–36Gy), respectively. For the given prescription, correlation between PTV and rib doses to <5cc (p=0.005) and <10cc (p=0.018) was observed. 3D-distance from the tumor isocenter to the proximal rib contour strongly correlated with maximum rib dose (p=0.0001). PB-hete algorithm overestimated maximum rib dose and dose to <1cc, <5cc, and <10cc of ribs by 5%, 3%, 3%, and 3%, respectively. Conclusion: PB-hete overestimates ribs dose relative to XVMC. Since all the clinical XVMC plans were generated without compromising the target coverage (per RTOG-0915), almost all patient’s ribs doses were higher than the protocol guidelines. As expected, larger tumor size and proximity to ribs received higher absolute dose to ribs. Prospective observation is needed to determine if XVMC delivered rib doses correlates with patient symptoms including chest wall pain and/or rib fractures.« less

Spindle cell carcinoma of the esophagus

PubMed Central

Zhang, Baihua; Xiao, Qin; Yang, Desong; Li, Xu; Hu, Jun; Wang, Yonggang; Wang, Wenxiang

2016-01-01

Abstract This study conducted a retrospective multicenter analysis to investigate the clinicopathological features, optimal therapeutic strategy, and prognosis of spindle cell carcinoma (SpCC) of the esophagus. A total of 71 patients with esophageal SpCC from 3 large cancer centers in China were systematically analyzed. All patients received curative resection, 13 patients received adjuvant radiotherapy and 15 patients received adjuvant combination chemotherapy. Additionally, a total of 1852 patients with typical esophageal SCC (SCC) were selected as controls in this study. SpCC mostly presented as a polypoid appearance (66.2%), and the surrounding mucosa showed high-grade hyperplasia or superficial SCC in 31 cases (43.7%). Two patients even had extensive carcinoma in situ that spread to the resection margins. Patients in the SpCC group were more likely to present with stage I lesions compared with those in the typical SCC group (33.8% vs 8.0%, P < 0.001). Although the percentage of T1/2 lesions was higher in the SpCC group than in the typical SCC group (67.6% vs 29.7%, P < 0.001), both groups had similar rates of locoregional lymphatic metastases (45.1% vs 48.4%, P = 0.578). The median survival time and 5-year overall survival of the SpCC group was 43 months and 44.8%, respectively, higher than 37.5 months and 38.3%, respectively, for the typical SCC group (P = 0.044). In univariate analysis, the macroscopical type and pathological T, N, and TNM stages had a statistically significant impact on the prognosis of SpCC after curative resection. However, only the TNM stage (hazard ratio, 2.708; 95% confidence interval, 1.786–4.105, P < 0.001) was identified as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. The 5-year OS of SpCC in stages I (79.8%) and II (39.7%) were significantly longer than that of stages III/IV (16.2%) (P < 0.001 and P = 0.012). As those SpCC cases that received chemoradiotherapy were in more advanced stages, their prognosis was still worse than SpCC patients who did not receive chemoradiotherapy even after such treatment (P = 0.042, 0.010, respectively). SpCC shows a highly aggressive tendency of lymphatic spread, although it does not tend to infiltrate deeply into the esophageal wall. Compared with typical SCC that also underwent esophagectomy with extended lymphadenectomy, SpCC may achieve a better survival rate. Further investigation is warranted to examine the effect of postoperative chemoradiotherapy on the prognosis of SpCC. PMID:27631227

Knowledge of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women across Different Socio-Economic Regions of China

PubMed Central

Di, Jiangli; Rutherford, Shannon; Wu, Jiuling; Song, Bo; Ma, Lan; Chen, Jingyi; Chu, Cordia

2015-01-01

Background and Objective China has a high burden of cervical cancer (CC) and wide disparities in CC burden exist among different socio-economic regions. In order to reduce these disparities, China’s government launched the National Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Rural Areas (NCCSPRA) in 2009. Understanding the factors associated with underutilization of CC screening among target populations is important to improve the screening participation rate, and a high participation rate is key to achieving the goals of a screening program. However, data on the knowledge of CC among target populations in program areas is lacking in China. This study will investigate the knowledge of CC prevention and control among women in specific project counties to develop a better understanding of factors that might influence CC screening participation in order to improve the implementation of the NCCSPRA. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted and face-to-face interview questionnaires were completed by 308 women who received CC screening services in 6 project counties of NCCSPRA across different socio-economic regions of China. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to compare the knowledge rates and scores across the different subgroups. Logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with knowledge level. Results The overall CC knowledge rate of the target population was only 19.5%. Regional socio-economic level, advice from doctors, age, and educational status were strong predictors of knowledge level of CC screening. Significantly lower knowledge rates and scores were identified in older women (55–64 years old), less educated women (with primary school or illiterate), women in less developed regions and women who did not receive any advice about screening results from doctors. Conclusion The knowledge of CC screening among women in the project counties of NCCSPRA was found to be very poor. Given the importance of knowledge in encouraging women to participate in screening is key to reducing CC burden in rural women in China, it is urgent that a targeted health promotion intervention is developed and implemented in project counties, especially targeting older women, women with less education and women in less developed regions, and focus on improving their CC knowledge and encouraging them to communicate with health care providers. The health promotion intervention targeting health care providers is also important to improve their knowledge of CC and provide best advice to women. PMID:26657110

Comparison of systemic right ventricular function in transposition of the great arteries after atrial switch and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries.

PubMed

Morcos, Michael; Kilner, Philip J; Sahn, David J; Litt, Harold I; Valsangiacomo-Buechel, Emanuela R; Sheehan, Florence H

2017-12-01

In patients with transposition of the great arteries corrected by interatrial baffle (TGA) and those with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) the right ventricle (RV) is subjected to systemic pressure and fails prematurely. Previous studies have demonstrated RV dysfunction may be more pronounced in patients with TGA. The present study sought to compare patients with TGA and ccTGA using three-dimensional (3D) techniques to comprehensively analyze the shape, volume, global and regional function in the systemic RV. We compared RV size, shape, and regional and global function in 25 patients with TGA, 17 patients with ccTGA, and 9 normal subjects. The RVs were reconstructed from cardiac Magnetic Resonance Images for 3D analyses. Compared to normal, the RV in TGA and ccTGA was dilated, rounded, and reduced in function. Compared to each other, TGA and ccTGA patients had similar RV size and shape. Global RV function was lower in TGA than ccTGA when assessed from ejection fraction (EF) (30 ± 7 vs. 35 ± 7, p = 0.02) and from normalized tricuspid annular systolic plane excursion (TAPSE) (0.10 ± 0.04 vs. 0.18 ± 0.04, p < 0.01). Basilar RV function was poorer in the TGA patients when compared to ccTGA. The systemic RVs in both TGA and ccTGA are dilated, spherical, and poorly functioning. Compared to ccTGA, TGA RVs have reduced TAPSE and worse basilar hypokinesis.

[Characterization and transcriptional analysis of a new CC chemokine associated with innate imimune response in cobia (Rachycentron canadum)].

PubMed

Su, Y; Feng, J; Sun, X; Guo, Z; Xu, L; Jiang, J

2013-01-01

Chemokines are small, secreted cytokine peptides, known principally for their ability to induce migration and activation of leukocyte populations under both pathological and physiological conditions. On the basis of previously constructed express sequence tags (ESTs) of the head kidney and spleen cDNA library of the perciform marine fish Rachycentron canadum (common name cobia). We used bi-directional rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and obtained a full-length cDNA of a new CC chemokine gene (designated RcCC3). The RcCC3 putative peptide exhibits sequence similarity to the group of CCL19/21/25 CC chemokines. The reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used in transcript expression studies of RcCC3. We examined the constitutive expression of the transcripts in 12 tissues of non-stressed cobia; RcCC3 transcripts were detected in all tissues examined, with the highest expression in gill and liver, following by head kidney, kidney, spleen, skin, intestine, muscle, stomach, heart, blood and brain. Transcript expression of RcCC3 was examined in immune-related organs, including head kidney, spleen and liver, following intraperitoneal injection of phosphate-buffered saline control, polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) and formalin-killed Vibrio carchariae (bacterial vaccine). The transcripts in these tissues were quickly up-regulated by the injection of poly(I:C) and bacterial vaccine at early time points, although with different expression profiles. These results indicate RcCC3 represents an important component of innate immunity in cobia.

Correlation between heterogeneity index (HI) and gradient index (GI) for high dose stereotactic radiotherapy/radiosurgery (SRT/SRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tas, B.; Durmus, I. F.; Okumus, A.; Uzel, O. E.

2017-02-01

To evaluate between Heterogeneity Index (HI) and Gradient Index (GI) correlation for high dose Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) / Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) using Versa HD® lineer accelerator. Nine patients with single metastasis were used in this study. Patient's treatment planning were performed using Monaco5.1® Treatment planning system (TPS) with non-coplanar 6MV Flattening filter free (FFF) beams by partial Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) tecnique for each patient. We determined three different size of metastasis catagory which are less than 1cc, between 1cc and 5cc and larger than 5cc volume. Also, three different HI were calculated for each patients. These are 1.10, 1.20 and 1.30. Mean GI was determined 8.57±2.2 for 1.10 HI, 7.23±1.7 for 1.20 HI and 6.0±1.1 for 1.30 HI for less than 1cc metastasis. Then GI was determined 4.77±0.4 for 1.10 HI, 4.37±0.3 for 1.20 HI and 3.97±0.3 for 1.30 HI for between 1cc and 5cc metastasis. Finally, GI was determined 4.00±0.5 for 1.10 HI,3.63±0.5 for 1.20 HI and 3.27±0.4 for 1.30 HI for larger than 5cc metastasis. These results show that GI depends on significantly size and HI of metastasis especially for less than 1cc.

Neonatal outcome following cord clamping after onset of spontaneous respiration.

PubMed

Ersdal, Hege Langli; Linde, Jørgen; Mduma, Estomih; Auestad, Bjørn; Perlman, Jeffrey

2014-08-01

Evolving data indicate that cord clamping (CC) beyond 30 to 60 seconds after birth is of benefit for all infants. Recent experimental data demonstrated that ventilation before CC improved cardiovascular stability by increasing pulmonary blood flow. The objective was to describe the relationship between time to CC, onset of spontaneous respirations (SR), and 24-hour neonatal outcome. In a rural Tanzanian hospital, trained research assistants, working in shifts, have observed every delivery (November 2009-February 2013) and recorded data including time interval from birth to SR and CC, fetal heart rate, perinatal characteristics and outcome (normal, death, admission). Of 15,563 infants born, 12,780 (84.3%) initiated SR at 10.8 ± 16.7 seconds, and CC occurred at 63 ± 45 seconds after birth. Outcomes included 12,730 (99.7%) normal, 31 deaths, and 19 admitted; 11,967 were of birth weight (BW) ≥2500 g and 813 <2500 g. By logistic modeling, the risk of death/admission was consistently higher if CC occurred before SR. Infants of BW <2500 g were more likely to die or be admitted. The risk of death/admission decreased by 20% for every 10-second delay in CC after SR; this risk declined at the same rate in both BW groups. Healthy self-breathing neonates are more likely to die or be admitted if CC occurs before or immediately after onset of SR. These clinical observations support the experimental findings of a smoother cardiovascular transition when CC is performed after initiation of ventilation. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Comparison of Coconut Coir, Rockwool, and Peat Cultivations for Tomato Production: Nutrient Balance, Plant Growth and Fruit Quality.

PubMed

Xiong, Jing; Tian, Yongqiang; Wang, Jingguo; Liu, Wei; Chen, Qing

2017-01-01

Rockwool (RC) and peat are two common substrates used worldwide in horticultural crop production. In recent years environmental and ecological concerns raised the demand for reducing the use of RC and peat. Although coconut coir (CC) has been increasingly used as an alternative to RC and peat, it is still needed to comprehensively evaluate the feasibility of CC before widely used. To meet this need, CC, RC, and peat-vermiculite (PVC) cultivations were used as tomato cultivation substrates to evaluate their effects on EC, pH and mineral ions in root-zone solution and drainage, nutrient uptake by crops, nutrient balance of cultivation system, plant growth and fruit quality. In general, CC significantly increased K and S uptake by crops, photosynthesis, individual fruit weight and total fruit yield compared to RC, and increased P and K uptake by crops and total fruit yield compared to PVC. Moreover, CC significantly increased organic acid of fruit in first truss compared to both RC and PVC. The uncredited nutrient was overally lower under CC than under RC and PVC (the lower, the better). For all substrates, the blossom-end rot (BER) of fruit increased gradually from 3rd to 13th trusses. The BER of fruit was not significantly influenced by CC compared to RC or PVC, but was sginificantly decreased by PVC compared to RC. Our results infer that CC was a potential substrate that could be widely used in tomato production. However, the inhibition of BER was still a challenge when CC was used as cultivation substrate for tomato.

Comparison of Coconut Coir, Rockwool, and Peat Cultivations for Tomato Production: Nutrient Balance, Plant Growth and Fruit Quality

PubMed Central

Xiong, Jing; Tian, Yongqiang; Wang, Jingguo; Liu, Wei; Chen, Qing

2017-01-01

Rockwool (RC) and peat are two common substrates used worldwide in horticultural crop production. In recent years environmental and ecological concerns raised the demand for reducing the use of RC and peat. Although coconut coir (CC) has been increasingly used as an alternative to RC and peat, it is still needed to comprehensively evaluate the feasibility of CC before widely used. To meet this need, CC, RC, and peat-vermiculite (PVC) cultivations were used as tomato cultivation substrates to evaluate their effects on EC, pH and mineral ions in root-zone solution and drainage, nutrient uptake by crops, nutrient balance of cultivation system, plant growth and fruit quality. In general, CC significantly increased K and S uptake by crops, photosynthesis, individual fruit weight and total fruit yield compared to RC, and increased P and K uptake by crops and total fruit yield compared to PVC. Moreover, CC significantly increased organic acid of fruit in first truss compared to both RC and PVC. The uncredited nutrient was overally lower under CC than under RC and PVC (the lower, the better). For all substrates, the blossom-end rot (BER) of fruit increased gradually from 3rd to 13th trusses. The BER of fruit was not significantly influenced by CC compared to RC or PVC, but was sginificantly decreased by PVC compared to RC. Our results infer that CC was a potential substrate that could be widely used in tomato production. However, the inhibition of BER was still a challenge when CC was used as cultivation substrate for tomato. PMID:28824665

A review on black carbon emissions, worldwide and in China.

PubMed

Ni, Mingjiang; Huang, Jianxin; Lu, Shengyong; Li, Xiaodong; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

2014-07-01

Black carbon (BC) produced from open burning (OB) and controlled combustion (CC) is a range of carbonaceous products of incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuel, and is deemed as one of the major contributors to impact global environment and human health. BC has a strong relationship with POPs, in waste combustion, BC promotes the formation of POPs, and then the transport of POPs in the environment is highly influenced by BC. However less is known about BC formation, measurement and emissions estimation especially in developing countries such as China. Different forms of BC are produced both in CC and OB. BC emission characteristics and combustion parameters which determine BC emissions from CC and OB are discussed. Recent studies showed a lack of common methodology and the resulting data for describing the mechanisms related to BC formation during combustion processes. Because BC is a continuum carbonaceous combustion product, different sampling and measuring methods are used for measuring their emissions with great quantitative uncertainty. We discuss the commonly used BC sampling and measuring methods along with the causes for uncertainty and measures to minimizing the uncertainty. Then, we discuss the estimations of BC emission factors and emission inventory for CC and OB sources. The total emissions of BC from CC and OB in China are also estimated and compared with previous BC emission inventories in this review and we find the inventories tend to be overestimated. As China becomes the largest contributor to global BC emissions, studies for characterizing BC emissions from OB and CC sources are absent in China. Finally, we comment on the current state of BC emission research and identify major deficiencies that need to overcome. Moreover, the advancement in research tools, measuring technique in particular, as discussed in this review is critical for researchers in developing countries to improve their capability to study BC emissions for addressing the growing climate change and public health concerns. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multilocus sequence type system for the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa and relative contributions of recombination and point mutation to clonal diversity.

PubMed

Scally, Mark; Schuenzel, Erin L; Stouthamer, Richard; Nunney, Leonard

2005-12-01

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) identifies and groups bacterial strains based on DNA sequence data from (typically) seven housekeeping genes. MLST has also been employed to estimate the relative contributions of recombination and point mutation to clonal divergence. We applied MLST to the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa using an initial set of sequences for 10 loci (9.3 kb) of 25 strains from five different host plants, grapevine (PD strains), oleander (OLS strains), oak (OAK strains), almond (ALS strains), and peach (PP strains). An eBURST analysis identified six clonal complexes using the grouping criterion that each member must be identical to at least one other member at 7 or more of the 10 loci. These clonal complexes corresponded to previously identified phylogenetic clades; clonal complex 1 (CC1) (all PD strains plus two ALS strains) and CC2 (OLS strains) defined the X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa and X. fastidiosa subsp. sandyi clades, while CC3 (ALS strains), CC4 (OAK strains), and CC5 (PP strains) were subclades of X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex. CC6 (ALS strains) identified an X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex-like group characterized by a high frequency of intersubspecific recombination. Compared to the recombination rate in other bacterial species, the recombination rate in X. fastidiosa is relatively low. Recombination between different alleles was estimated to give rise to 76% of the nucleotide changes and 31% of the allelic changes observed. The housekeeping loci holC, nuoL, leuA, gltT, cysG, petC, and lacF were chosen to form the basis of a public database for typing X. fastidiosa (www.mlst.net). These loci identified the same six clonal complexes using the strain grouping criterion of identity at five or more loci with at least one other member.

Reductive Elimination Leading to C-C Bond Formation in Gold(III) Complexes: A Mechanistic and Computational Study.

PubMed

Rocchigiani, Luca; Fernandez-Cestau, Julio; Budzelaar, Peter H M; Bochmann, Manfred

2018-06-21

The factors affecting the rates of reductive C-C cross-coupling reactions in gold(III) aryls were studied by using complexes that allow easy access to a series of electronically modified aryl ligands, as well as to gold methyl and vinyl complexes, by using the pincer compounds [(C^N^C)AuR] (R=C 6 F 5 , CH=CMe 2 , Me and p-C 6 H 4 X, where X=OMe, F, H, tBu, Cl, CF 3 , or NO 2 ) as starting materials (C^N^C=2,6-(4'-tBuC 6 H 3 ) 2 pyridine dianion). Protodeauration followed by addition of one equivalent SMe 2 leads to the quantitative generation of the thioether complexes [(C^N-CH)AuR(SMe 2 )] + . Upon addition of a second SMe 2 pyridine is displaced, which triggers the reductive aryl-R elimination. The rates for these cross-couplings increase in the sequence k(vinyl)>k(aryl)≫k(C 6 F 5 )>k(Me). Vinyl-aryl coupling is particularly fast, 1.15×10 -3  L mol -1  s -1 at 221 K, whereas both C 6 F 5 and Me couplings encountered higher barriers for the C-C bond forming step. The use of P(p-tol) 3 in place of SMe 2 greatly accelerates the C-C couplings. Computational modelling shows that in the C^N-bonded compounds displacement of N by a donor L is required before the aryl ligands can adopt a conformation suitable for C-C bond formation, so that elimination takes place from a four-coordinate intermediate. The C-C bond formation is the rate-limiting step. In the non-chelating case, reductive C(sp 2 )-C(sp 2 ) elimination from three-coordinate ions [(Ar 1 )(Ar 2 )AuL] + is almost barrier-free, particularly if L=phosphine. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A meta-analysis of variability in continuous-culture ruminal fermentation and digestibility data.

PubMed

Hristov, A N; Lee, C; Hristova, R; Huhtanen, P; Firkins, J L

2012-09-01

A meta-analysis was conducted to compare ruminal fermentation and digestibility data and variability between continuous-culture (CC) experiments and in vivo data. One hundred eighty CC studies representing 1,074 individual treatments, published in refereed journals between 1980 and 2010 were used in this analysis. Studies were classified into 2 groups based on the type of CC used: CC systems specified as rumen simulation techniques (RUSITEC) and non-RUSITEC CC systems (non-RUSITEC). The latter was a diverse group of systems, all of which were termed CC by the investigators. The CC data were compared with a data set of in vivo trials with ruminally cannulated lactating dairy cows (data from a total of 366 individual cows). The reported neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration of the diets fed in the 3 data sets was, on average (dry matter basis), 44, 34, and 32%, respectively. The average total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration for the RUSITEC and non-RUSITEC data sets was 67 and 80% (respectively) of the total VFA concentration in vivo. The average concentration of acetate was also lower for the CC data sets compared with in vivo and that of propionate was considerably lower for RUSITEC compared with in vivo, but butyrate concentrations were similar between the CC and in vivo data sets. Variability in the VFA data was generally the highest (higher coefficients of variation and variance) for the non-RUSITEC data set, followed by RUSITEC, and was the lowest for in vivo. Digestibilities of NDF and particularly organic matter were lower in the CC data sets compared with in vivo; the average NDF digestibility was 34.2, 45.5, and 53.0% for RUSITEC, non-RUSITEC, and in vivo, respectively. Variability in nutrient digestibility data followed the pattern of variability of the VFA data: highest variability for the non-RUSITEC data set, followed by RUSITEC, and the lowest for in vivo. This analysis showed that CC systems are generally characterized by lower total VFA and acetate concentrations, extremely low counts or lack of ruminal protozoa, and lower organic matter and NDF digestibilities than in vivo. Overall, variability was much greater for CC than for in vivo experimental data. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional cheese-like carbon nanoarchitecture with tremendous surface area and pore construction derived from corn as superior electrode materials for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopiraman, Mayakrishnan; Deng, Dian; Kim, Byoung-Suhk; Chung, Ill-Min; Kim, Ick Soo

2017-07-01

Highly porous carbon nanoarchitectures (HPCNs) were derived from biomass materials, namely, corn fibers (CF), corn leafs (CL), and corn cobs (CC). We surprisingly found that by a very simple activation process the CF, CL, and CC materials can be transformed into exciting two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanoarchitectures with excellent physicochemical properties. FESEM and HRTEM results confirmed a three different carbon forms (such as foams-like carbon, carbon sheets with several holes and cheese-like carbon morphology) of HPCNs. Huge surface area (2394-3475 m2/g) with excellent pore properties of HPCNs was determined by BET analysis. Well condensed graphitic plans of HPCNs were confirmed by XRD, XPS and Raman analyses. As an electrode material, HPCNs demonstrated a maximum specific capacitance (Cs) of 575 F/g in 1.0 M H2SO4 with good stability over 20,000 cycles. The CC-700 °C showed a tremendous Cs of 375 F/g even at 20000th cycles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest Cs by the biomass derived activated carbons in aqueous electrolytes. The CC-700 °C exhibited excellent charge-discharge behavior at various current densities (0.5-10 A g-1). Notably, CC-700 °C demonstrated an excellent Cs of 207 F/g at current density of 10 A g-1. An extraordinary change-discharge behavior was noticed at low current density of 0.5 A g-1.

Quantifying force application to a newborn manikin during simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

PubMed

Solevåg, Anne Lee; Cheung, Po-Yin; Li, Elliott; Aziz, Khalid; O'Reilly, Megan; Fu, Bo; Zheng, Bin; Schmölzer, Georg

2016-01-01

To assess utility of the FingerTPS™ system in measuring chest compression (CC) rate and force. Five minutes of CC was performed in a neonatal manikin without (n = 29) and with (n = 30) a metronome. The FingerTPS™ force (lbs.) was compared to pressure (mmHg) in a 50-mL normal-saline bag inside the manikin. FingerTPS™ CC rate and the time until a 20% decline from baseline force and pressure were calculated. The normal-saline pressure declined earlier than the FingerTPS™ force. Metronome use did not influence CC rate, force or pressure. The FingerTPS™ can be used to measure CC rate and force.

Suggested search for doubly charmed baryons of JP=3 /2+ via their electromagnetic transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Er-Liang; Chen, Hua-Xing; Chen, Wei; Liu, Xiang; Zhu, Shi-Lin

2018-02-01

We use the method of light-cone sum rules to study the electromagnetic transition of the Ξcc *++ into Ξcc ++γ , whose decay width is estimated to be 13.7-7.9+17.7 keV . This value is large enough for the Ξcc *++ to be observed in the Ξcc ++γ channel, and we propose to continually search for it in future LHCb and BelleII experiments.

Mimicking gluten functionality with β-conglycinin concentrate: Evaluation in gluten free yeast-leavened breads.

PubMed

Espinosa-Ramírez, Johanan; Garzon, Raquel; Serna-Saldivar, Sergio O; Rosell, Cristina M

2018-04-01

Fractionation of soy proteins has proved to produce protein concentrates with viscoelastic properties. In the present study, a β-conglycinin concentrate (βCC) obtained by a pH fractionation of soy flour was tested as structuring agent in gluten-free yeast-leavened bread model. A lean formulation with βCC and corn starch was used to produce gluten-free breads with two hydration conditions and three levels of protein (5%, 10% and 15%). Vital gluten was used to compare the functionality of βCC protein and its performance for breadmaking. Breads were characterized in moisture, color, textural parameters and image analysis. βCC presented lower hydration properties and higher emulsifying activity compared to vital gluten. Blends βCC:starch had higher water binding capacity compared to vital gluten blends. The hydration conditions tested affected the moisture, color and cell density of breads. Breads produced with βCC presented higher 2D area and height and presented higher crumb softness and cohesiveness, and did not present significant differences in springiness and resilience compared to vital gluten breads. The image analysis of crumbs showed higher cell density but lower porosity and mean cell areas in βCC breads. Thus, βCC proved to have potential as a structuring agent in gluten-free breads. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Morbidity of breast cancer and cervico-uterine cancer in women from the occidental region of Mexico.

PubMed

Ortega-Cervantes, Laura; Rojas-García, Aurora Elizabeth; Robledo-Marenco, María de Lourdes; Barrón-Vivanco, Briscia Socorro; Girón-Pérez, Manuel Iván; Vallejo-Ruiz, Verónica; López-Flores, Juan Fernando; Carrillo-Cortez, Agustín; Cantú-De León, David; Rodríguez-Trejo, Amelia; Medina-Díaz, Irma Martha

2013-01-01

The incidences of breast cancer (BC) and cervico-uterine cancer (CC) vary widely from country to country. In Mexico, BC mortality has doubled in the last 20 years to become the second leading cause of death for women aged 30 to 54 years. CC is the most common cause of death from neoplasia in women over 25 years old. In 2006, the state of Nayarit had one of the highest mortality rates for these types of cancers in Mexico. To analyze and characterize the current demographics and morbidities associated with BC and CC in the state of Nayarit. In this retrospective study, the clinical histories of patients who were diagnosed with BC or CC at the State Cancer Center from January 2006 to December 2010 were analyzed. A total of 406 patients with BC and 328 patients with CC were registered. The most common clinical stage for both cancer types was IIB. The municipalities of San Pedro Lagunillas and El Nayar presented the highest prevalences of BC and CC, respectively. Our results suggest that women living in poorer and more marginalized regions have a higher possibility of developing BC and CC. Because BC and CC are preventable and treatable in their early stages, demographic information from population records for these cancers is helpful in determining the incidence rates and patterns and improving decision-making processes.

Pigeonpea Hybrid-Proline-Rich Protein (CcHyPRP) Confers Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Rice

PubMed Central

Mellacheruvu, Sunitha; Tamirisa, Srinath; Vudem, Dashavantha Reddy; Khareedu, Venkateswara Rao

2016-01-01

In this study, we report the overexpression of Cajanus cajan hybrid-proline-rich protein encoding gene (CcHyPRP) in rice which resulted in increased tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stresses. Compared to the control plants, the transgenic rice lines, expressing CcHyPRP, exhibited high-level tolerance against major abiotic stresses, viz., drought, salinity, and heat, as evidenced by increased biomass, chlorophyll content, survival rate, root, and shoot growth. Further, transgenic rice lines showed increased panicle size and grain number compared to the control plants under different stress conditions. The CcHyPRP transgenics, as compared to the control, revealed enhanced activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Expression pattern of CcHyPRP::GFP fusion-protein confirmed its predominant localization in cell walls. Moreover, the CcHyPRP transgenics, as compared to the control, exhibited increased resistance to the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea which causes blast disease in rice. Higher levels of bZIP and endochitinase transcripts as well as endochitinase activity were observed in transgenic rice compared to the control plants. The overall results demonstrate the intrinsic role of CcHyPRP in conferring multiple stress tolerance at the whole-plant level. The multipotent CcHyPRP seems promising as a prime candidate gene to fortify crop plants for enhanced tolerance/resistance to different stress factors. PMID:26834756

Callosal degeneration topographically correlated with cognitive function in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease dementia.

PubMed

Wang, Pei-Ning; Chou, Kun-Hsien; Chang, Ni-Jung; Lin, Ker-Neng; Chen, Wei-Ta; Lan, Gong-Yau; Lin, Ching-Po; Lirng, Jiing-Feng

2014-04-01

Degeneration of the corpus callosum (CC) is evident in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the correlation of microstructural damage in the CC on the cognitive performance of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD dementia is undetermined. We enrolled 26 normal controls, 24 patients with AD dementia, and 40 single-domain aMCI patients with at least grade 1 hippocampal atrophy and isolated memory impairment. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (DA), and radial diffusivity (DR) were measured. The entire CC was parcellated based on fiber trajectories to specific cortical Brodmann areas using a probabilistic tractography method. The relationship between the DTI measures in the subregions of the CC and cognitive performance was examined. Although the callosal degeneration in the patients with aMCI was less extended than in the patients with AD dementia, degeneration was already exhibited in several subregions of the CC at the aMCI stage. Scores of various neuropsychological tests were correlated to the severity of microstructural changes in the subregional CC connecting to functionally corresponding cortical regions. Our results confirm that CC degeneration is noticeable as early as the aMCI stage of AD and the disconnection of the CC subregional fibers to the corresponding Brodmann areas has an apparent impact on the related cognitive performance. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

High temperature in-situ synchrotron-based XRD study on the crystal structure evolution of C/C composite impregnated by FLiNaK molten salt.

PubMed

Feng, Shanglei; Yang, Yingguo; Li, Li; Zhang, Dongsheng; Yang, Xinmei; Xia, Huihao; Yan, Long; Tsang, Derek K L; Huai, Ping; Zhou, Xingtai

2017-09-06

An in-situ real-time synchrotron-based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was systematically used to investigate the crystal structural evolution of carbon fiber reinforced carbon matrix (C/C) composite impregnated with FLiNaK molten salt during the heat-treatment process. It was found that the crystallographic thermal expansion and contraction rate of interlayer spacing d 002 in C/C composite with FLiNaK salt impregnation is smaller than that in the virgin sample, indicating the suppression on interlayer spacing from FLiNaK salt impregnated. Meanwhile the crystallite size L C002 of C/C composite with FLiNaK salt impregnation is larger than the virgin one after whole heat treatment process, indicating that FLiNaK salt impregnation could facilitate the crystallization of C/C composite after heat treatment process. This improved crystallization in C/C composite with FLiNaK salt impregnation suggests the synthetic action of the salt squeeze effect on crooked carbon layer and the release of internal residual stress after heating-cooling process. Thus, the present study not only contribute to reveal the interaction mechanism between C/C composite and FLiNaK salt in high temperature environment, but also promote the design of safer and more reliable C/C composite materials for the next generation molten salt reactor.

Long non-coding RNA expression profile in cervical cancer tissues

PubMed Central

Zhu, Hua; Chen, Xiangjian; Hu, Yan; Shi, Zhengzheng; Zhou, Qing; Zheng, Jingjie; Wang, Yifeng

2017-01-01

Cervical cancer (CC), one of the most common types of cancer of the female population, presents an enormous challenge in diagnosis and treatment. Long non-coding (lnc)RNAs, non-coding (nc)RNAs with length >200 nucleotides, have been identified to be associated with multiple types of cancer, including CC. This class of nc transcripts serves an important role in tumor suppression and oncogenic signaling pathways. In the present study, the microarray method was used to obtain the expression profile of lncRNAs and protein-coding mRNAs and to compare the expression of lncRNAs between CC tissues and corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues in order to screen potential lncRNAs for associations with CC. Overall, 3356 lncRNAs with significantly different expression pattern in CC tissues compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues were identified, while 1,857 of them were upregulated. These differentially expressed lncRNAs were additionally classified into 5 subgroups. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reactions were performed to validate the expression pattern of 5 random selected lncRNAs, and 2lncRNAs were identified to have significantly different expression in CC samples compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues. This finding suggests that those lncRNAs with different expression may serve important roles in the development of CC, and the expression data may provide information for additional study on the involvement of lncRNAs in CC. PMID:28789353

Accumulation of cynaropicrin in globe artichoke and localization of enzymes involved in its biosynthesis.

PubMed

Eljounaidi, K; Comino, C; Moglia, A; Cankar, K; Genre, A; Hehn, A; Bourgaud, F; Beekwilder, J; Lanteri, S

2015-10-01

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) belongs to the Asteraceae family, in which one of the most biologically significant class of secondary metabolites are sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). In globe artichoke the principal STL is the cynaropicrin, which contributes to approximately 80% of its characteristic bitter taste. Cynaropicrin content was assessed in globe artichoke tissues and was observed to accumulate in leaves of different developmental stages. In the receptacle, a progressive decrease was observed during inflorescence development, while the STL could not be detected in the inflorescence bracts. Almost undetectable amounts were found in the roots and inflorescence stems at the commercial stage. Cynaropicrin content was found to correlate with expression of genes encoding CcGAS, CcGAO and CcCOS, which are involved in the STL biosynthesis. A more detailed study of leaf material revealed that cynaropicrin predominantly accumulates in the trichomes, and not in the apoplastic cavity fluids. Analysis of the promoter regions of CcGAO and CcCOS revealed the presence of L1-box motifs, which confers trichome-specific expression in Arabidopsis, suggesting that cynaropicrin is not only stored but also synthesized in trichomes. A transient expression of GFP fusion proteins was performed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants: the CcGAS fluorescence signal was located in the cytoplasm while the CcGAO and CcCOS localized to the endoplasmatic reticulum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autoproteolysis and intramolecular dissociation of Yersinia YscU precedes secretion of its C-terminal polypeptide YscU(CC).

PubMed

Frost, Stefan; Ho, Oanh; Login, Frédéric H; Weise, Christoph F; Wolf-Watz, Hans; Wolf-Watz, Magnus

2012-01-01

Type III secretion system mediated secretion and translocation of Yop-effector proteins across the eukaryotic target cell membrane by pathogenic Yersinia is highly organized and is dependent on a switching event from secretion of early structural substrates to late effector substrates (Yops). Substrate switching can be mimicked in vitro by modulating the calcium levels in the growth medium. YscU that is essential for regulation of this switch undergoes autoproteolysis at a conserved N↑PTH motif, resulting in a 10 kDa C-terminal polypeptide fragment denoted YscU(CC). Here we show that depletion of calcium induces intramolecular dissociation of YscU(CC) from YscU followed by secretion of the YscU(CC) polypeptide. Thus, YscU(CC) behaved in vivo as a Yop protein with respect to secretion properties. Further, destabilized yscU mutants displayed increased rates of dissociation of YscU(CC)in vitro resulting in enhanced Yop secretion in vivo at 30°C relative to the wild-type strain.These findings provide strong support to the relevance of YscU(CC) dissociation for Yop secretion. We propose that YscU(CC) orchestrates a block in the secretion channel that is eliminated by calcium depletion. Further, the striking homology between different members of the YscU/FlhB family suggests that this protein family possess regulatory functions also in other bacteria using comparable mechanisms.

Pharmacokinetics of nicotine following the controlled use of a prototype novel tobacco vapor product.

PubMed

Yuki, Dai; Sakaguchi, Chikako; Kikuchi, Akira; Futamura, Yasuyuki

2017-07-01

The objective of this clinical study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of nicotine following the use of a prototype novel tobacco vapor (PNTV) product in comparison to a conventional cigarette (CC1). The study was conducted in Japanese healthy adult male smokers, using an open-label, randomized, two-period crossover design, to assess the pharmacokinetics of nicotine after controlled use of a PNTV product or CC1. During the study period, blood samples were drawn from subjects for the measurement of plasma nicotine concentrations and nicotine intake was estimated from the mouth level exposure (MLE). The C max and AUC last following the use of PNTV product were 45.7% and 68.3%, respectively, of those obtained with CC1 and there were no significant differences in the tmax and t 1/2 between PNTV product and CC1. The estimated MLE following the use of PNTV product was approximately two-thirds of that obtained following the smoking of CC1, but the relative bioavailability of PNTV product to CC1 was approximately 104%. The differences in C max and AUC last between PNTV product and CC1 therefore are explained by differences in nicotine intake. These results suggest that the PNTV product shows a similar pharmacokinetic profile to CC1, while delivering less nicotine following controlled use. Copyright © 2017 Japan Tobacco Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of antitumor effects of bromelain and papain in human cholangiocarcinoma cell lines.

PubMed

Müller, Alena; Barat, Samarpita; Chen, Xi; Bui, Khac Cuong; Bozko, Przemyslaw; Malek, Nisar P; Plentz, Ruben R

2016-05-01

Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) worldwide is the most common biliary malignancy with poor prognostic value and new systemic treatments are desirable. Plant extracts like bromelain and papain, which are cysteine proteases from the fruit pineapple and papaya, are known to have antitumor activities. Therefore, in this study for the first time we investigated the anticancer effect of bromelain and papain in intra- and extrahepatic human CC cell lines. The effect of bromelain and papain on human CC cell growth, migration, invasion and epithelial plasticity was analyzed using cell proliferation, wound healing, invasion and apoptosis assay, as well as western blotting. Bromelain and papain lead to a decrease in the proliferation, invasion and migration of CC cells. Both plant extracts inhibited NFκB/AMPK signalling as well as their downstream signalling proteins such as p-AKT, p-ERK, p-Stat3. Additionally, MMP9 and other epithelial-mesenchymal-transition markers were partially found to be downregulated. Apoptosis was induced after bromelain and papain treatment. Interestingly, bromelain showed an overall more effective inhibition of CC as compared to papain. siRNA mediated silencing of NFκB on CC cells indicated that bromelain and papain have cytotoxic effects on human CC cell lines and bromelain and partially papain in comparison impair tumor growth by NFκB/AMPK signalling. Especially bromelain can evolve as promising, potential therapeutic option that might open new insights for the treatment of human CC.

Stage progression of congenital cholesteatoma in children.

PubMed

Kim, Young Ho; Yoo, Jae Chul; Lee, Jun Ho; Oh, Seung-Ha; Chang, Sun O; Koo, Ja-Won; Kim, Chong Sun

2012-03-01

This study aimed to investigate the most prevalent stage in each age-group of children with congenital cholesteatoma (CC) and verify the correlation between the stage and the age of the patients for the type of CC ("closed" keratotic cyst and "open" infiltrative types). Patients diagnosed with CC between 2004 and 2009 (n = 156; 116 boys and 40 girls; mean age, 5 years and 5 months; range, 12 months-16 years and 7 months) were enrolled retrospectively. Assessment of stage and type of CC was performed with preoperative high-resolution temporal bone computed tomography and intraoperative findings. The stage of CC was determined using Potsic's staging system classified into four stages according to ossicular involvement and mastoid extension. The patients consisted of groups divided on the basis of a 2-year interval. The prevalence of stage I began to decline from the age-group of 1-2 years. In contrast, the prevalence of stages III increased from the age-group of 3-4 years and that of stage IV from the age-group 5-6 years. The prevalence of "open" infiltrative type CC increased from approximately the age of 7 years, thus showing some correlation with age but not with stage. The prevalence of CC with the advanced stage increased since the age of 2 years. Therefore, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of CC should be more emphasized.

Global isoform-specific transcript alterations and deregulated networks in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Michael J.; Girke, Thomas; Martinez, Ernest

2018-01-01

Extensive genome-wide analyses of deregulated gene expression have now been performed for many types of cancer. However, most studies have focused on deregulation at the gene-level, which may overlook the alterations of specific transcripts for a given gene. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the best-characterized and most pervasive renal cancers, and ccRCCs are well-documented to have aberrant RNA processing. In the present study, we examine the extent of aberrant isoform-specific RNA expression by reporting a comprehensive transcript-level analysis, using the new kallisto-sleuth-RATs pipeline, investigating coding and non-coding differential transcript expression in ccRCC. We analyzed 50 ccRCC tumors and their matched normal samples from The Cancer Genome Altas datasets. We identified 7,339 differentially expressed transcripts and 94 genes exhibiting differential transcript isoform usage in ccRCC. Additionally, transcript-level coexpression network analyses identified vasculature development and the tricarboxylic acid cycle as the most significantly deregulated networks correlating with ccRCC progression. These analyses uncovered several uncharacterized transcripts, including lncRNAs FGD5-AS1 and AL035661.1, as potential regulators of the tricarboxylic acid cycle associated with ccRCC progression. As ccRCC still presents treatment challenges, our results provide a new resource of potential therapeutics targets and highlight the importance of exploring alternative methodologies in transcriptome-wide studies.

Comparative evaluation of two-dimensional radiography and three dimensional computed tomography based dose-volume parameters for high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy of cervical cancer: a prospective study.

PubMed

Madan, Renu; Pathy, Sushmita; Subramani, Vellaiyan; Sharma, Seema; Mohanti, Bidhu Kalyan; Chander, Subhash; Thulkar, Sanjay; Kumar, Lalit; Dadhwal, Vatsla

2014-01-01

Dosimetric comparison of two dimensional (2D) radiography and three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) based dose distributions with high-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitry radiotherapy (ICRT) for carcinoma cervix, in terms of target coverage and doses to bladder and rectum. Sixty four sessions of HDR ICRT were performed in 22 patients. External beam radiotherapy to pelvis at a dose of 50 Gray in 27 fractions followed by HDR ICRT, 21 Grays to point A in 3 sessions, one week apart was planned . All patients underwent 2D-orthogonal and 3D-CT simulation for each session. Treatment plans were generated using 2D-orthogonal images and dose prescription was made at point A. 3D plans were generated using 3D-CT images after delineating target volume and organs at risk. Comparative evaluation of 2D and 3D treatment planning was made for each session in terms of target coverage (dose received by 90%, 95% and 100% of the target volume: D90, D95 and D100 respectively) and doses to bladder and rectum: ICRU-38 bladder and rectum point dose in 2D planning and dose to 0.1cc, 1cc, 2cc, 5cc, and 10cc of bladder and rectum in 3D planning. Mean doses received by 100% and 90% of the target volume were 4.24 ± 0.63 and 4.9 ± 0.56 Gy respectively. Doses received by 0.1cc, 1cc and 2cc volume of bladder were 2.88 ± 0.72, 2.5 ± 0.65 and 2.2 ± 0.57 times more than the ICRU bladder reference point. Similarly, doses received by 0.1cc, 1cc and 2cc of rectum were 1.80 ± 0.5, 1.48 ± 0.41 and 1.35 ± 0.37 times higher than ICRU rectal reference point. Dosimetric comparative evaluation of 2D and 3D CT based treatment planning for the same brachytherapy session demonstrates underestimation of OAR doses and overestimation of target coverage in 2D treatment planning.

Video-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education for High-Risk Families Before Hospital Discharge: A Multicenter Pragmatic Trial.

PubMed

Blewer, Audrey L; Putt, Mary E; Becker, Lance B; Riegel, Barbara J; Li, Jiaqi; Leary, Marion; Shea, Judy A; Kirkpatrick, James N; Berg, Robert A; Nadkarni, Vinay M; Groeneveld, Peter W; Abella, Benjamin S

2016-11-01

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training rates in the United States are low, highlighting the need to develop CPR educational approaches that are simpler, with broader dissemination potential. The minimum training required to ensure long-term skill retention remains poorly characterized. We compared CPR skill retention among laypersons randomized to training with video-only (VO; no manikin) with those trained with a video self-instruction kit (VSI; with manikin). We hypothesized that VO training would be noninferior to the VSI approach with respect to chest compression (CC) rate. We performed a prospective, cluster randomized trial of CPR education for family members of patients with high-risk cardiac conditions on hospital cardiac units, using a multicenter pragmatic design. Eight hospitals were randomized to offer either VO or VSI training before discharge using volunteer trainers. CPR skills were assessed 6 months post training. Mean CC rate among those trained with VO compared with those trained with VSI was assessed with a noninferiority margin set at 8 CC per min; as a secondary outcome, mean differences in CC depth were assessed. From February 2012 to May 2015, 1464 subjects were enrolled and 522 subjects completed a skills assessment. The mean CC rates were 87.7 (VO) CC per min and 89.3 (VSI) CC per min; we concluded noninferiority for VO based on a mean difference of -1.6 (90% confidence interval, -5.2 to 2.1). The mean CC depth was 40.2 mm (VO) and 45.8 mm (VSI) with a mean difference of -5.6 (95% confidence interval, -7.6 to -3.7). Results were similar after multivariate regression adjustment. In this large, prospective trial of CPR skill retention, VO training yielded a noninferior difference in CC rate compared with VSI training. CC depth was greater in the VSI group. These findings suggest a potential trade-off in efforts for broad dissemination of basic CPR skills; VO training might allow for greater scalability and dissemination, but with a potential reduction in CC depth. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01514656. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Protective and therapeutic role of 2-carba-cyclic phosphatidic acid in demyelinating disease.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Shinji; Yamashina, Kota; Ishikawa, Masaki; Gotoh, Mari; Yagishita, Sosuke; Iwasa, Kensuke; Maruyama, Kei; Murakami-Murofushi, Kimiko; Yoshikawa, Keisuke

2017-07-21

Multiple sclerosis is a neuroinflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by recurrent and progressive demyelination/remyelination cycles, neuroinflammation, oligodendrocyte loss, demyelination, and axonal degeneration. Cyclic phosphatidic acid (cPA) is a natural phospholipid mediator with a unique cyclic phosphate ring structure at the sn-2 and sn-3 positions of the glycerol backbone. We reported earlier that cPA elicits a neurotrophin-like action and protects hippocampal neurons from ischemia-induced delayed neuronal death. We designed, chemically synthesized, and metabolically stabilized derivatives of cPA: 2-carba-cPA (2ccPA), a synthesized compound in which one of the phosphate oxygen molecules is replaced with a methylene group at the sn-2 position. In the present study, we investigated whether 2ccPA exerts protective effects in oligodendrocytes and suppresses pathology in the two most common mouse models of multiple sclerosis. To evaluate whether 2ccPA has potential beneficial effects on the pathology of multiple sclerosis, we investigated the effects of 2ccPA on oligodendrocyte cell death in vitro and administrated 2ccPA to mouse models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and cuprizone-induced demyelination. We demonstrated that 2ccPA suppressed the CoCl 2 -induced increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 protein expression ratio and phosphorylation levels of p38MAPK and JNK protein. 2ccPA treatment reduced cuprizone-induced demyelination, microglial activation, NLRP3 inflammasome, and motor dysfunction. Furthermore, 2ccPA treatment reduced autoreactive T cells and macrophages, spinal cord injury, and pathological scores in EAE, the autoimmune multiple sclerosis mouse model. We demonstrated that 2ccPA protected oligodendrocytes via suppression of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Also, we found beneficial effects of 2ccPA in the multiperiod of cuprizone-induced demyelination and the pathology of EAE. These data indicate that 2ccPA may be a promising compound for the development of new drugs to treat demyelinating disease and ameliorate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

The genome architecture of the Collaborative Cross mouse genetic reference population.

PubMed

2012-02-01

The Collaborative Cross Consortium reports here on the development of a unique genetic resource population. The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a multiparental recombinant inbred panel derived from eight laboratory mouse inbred strains. Breeding of the CC lines was initiated at multiple international sites using mice from The Jackson Laboratory. Currently, this innovative project is breeding independent CC lines at the University of North Carolina (UNC), at Tel Aviv University (TAU), and at Geniad in Western Australia (GND). These institutions aim to make publicly available the completed CC lines and their genotypes and sequence information. We genotyped, and report here, results from 458 extant lines from UNC, TAU, and GND using a custom genotyping array with 7500 SNPs designed to be maximally informative in the CC and used a novel algorithm to infer inherited haplotypes directly from hybridization intensity patterns. We identified lines with breeding errors and cousin lines generated by splitting incipient lines into two or more cousin lines at early generations of inbreeding. We then characterized the genome architecture of 350 genetically independent CC lines. Results showed that founder haplotypes are inherited at the expected frequency, although we also consistently observed highly significant transmission ratio distortion at specific loci across all three populations. On chromosome 2, there is significant overrepresentation of WSB/EiJ alleles, and on chromosome X, there is a large deficit of CC lines with CAST/EiJ alleles. Linkage disequilibrium decays as expected and we saw no evidence of gametic disequilibrium in the CC population as a whole or in random subsets of the population. Gametic equilibrium in the CC population is in marked contrast to the gametic disequilibrium present in a large panel of classical inbred strains. Finally, we discuss access to the CC population and to the associated raw data describing the genetic structure of individual lines. Integration of rich phenotypic and genomic data over time and across a wide variety of fields will be vital to delivering on one of the key attributes of the CC, a common genetic reference platform for identifying causative variants and genetic networks determining traits in mammals.

Image-guided brachytherapy for cervical cancer: analysis of D2 cc hot spot in three-dimensional and anatomic factors affecting D2 cc hot spot in organs at risk.

PubMed

Kim, Robert Y; Dragovic, Alek F; Whitley, Alexander C; Shen, Sui

2014-01-01

To analyze the D2 cc hot spot in three-dimensional CT and anatomic factors affecting the D2 cc hot spot in organs at risk (OARs). Thirty-one patients underwent pelvic CT scan after insertion of the applicator. High-dose-rate treatment planning was performed with standard loading patterns. The D2 cc structures in OARs were generated in three dimensional if the total equivalent dose in 2 Gy exceeded our defined dose limits (hot spot). The location of D2 cc hot spot was defined as the center of the largest D2 cc fragment. The relationship between the hot spot and the applicator position was reported in Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine coordinates. The location of sigmoid, small bowel, and bladder D2 cc hot spots was around the endocervix: The mean location of sigmoid hot spot for lateral view was 1.6 cm posteriorly and 2.3 cm superiorly (Y, 1.6 and Z, 2.3), small bowel was 1.6 cm anteriorly and 2.7 cm superiorly (Y, -1.6 and Z, 2.7). The mean location of bladder hot spot was 1.6 cm anteriorly and 1.6 cm superiorly (Y, -1.6 and Z, 1.6). These hot spots were near the plane of Point A (X, 2.0 or -2.0; Y, 0; and Z, 2.0). The mean location of rectal hot spot was 1.6 cm posteriorly and 1.9 cm inferiorly (Y, 1.6 and Z, -1.9). D2 cc hot spot was affected by uterine wall thickness, uterine tandem position, fibroids, bladder fullness, bowel gas, and vaginal packing. Because of the location of the D2 cc hot spots, larger tumors present a challenge for adequate tumor coverage with a conventional brachytherapy applicator without an interstitial implant. Additionally, anatomic factors were identified which affect the D2 cc hot spot in OARs. Copyright © 2014 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual discrimination of dihydroxybenzene isomers based on a nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot-silver nanoparticle hybrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Bingfang; Su, Yubin; Zhao, Jingjin; Liu, Rongjun; Zhao, Yan; Zhao, Shulin

2015-10-01

A room temperature reducing agent-free strategy for the synthesis of a nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot-silver nanoparticle (N-GQD/AgNP) hybrid was presented. In this strategy, N-GQDs were used as a reducing agent and stabilizer for the formation of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid, and the formation of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid may result from the extraordinary reduction properties of N-GQDs, which are attributed to the nature of the surface oxygen-containing functional groups. The N-GQD/AgNP hybrid exhibits good dispersity and outstanding catalytic ability toward the oxidation of catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) by Ag+. In the presence of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid, the reduction of Ag+ by CC and HQ was improved. CC enhanced the absorbance of the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system the most, and HQ followed, while resorcinol (RC) had only a little effect on the absorption intensity of the system. Thus, a sensitive and selective colorimetric sensing method based on the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system was developed for the discrimination of CC, HQ and RC. A good linear relationship was obtained from 0.1 to 15.0 μM for CC and from 0.3 to 20.0 μM for HQ. The detection limits of CC and HQ were 0.03 and 0.1 μM, respectively. In addition, the proposed method also shows a high selectivity for the detection of CC and HQ, and appreciable changes in color of the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system toward CC, RC and HQ were observed.A room temperature reducing agent-free strategy for the synthesis of a nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot-silver nanoparticle (N-GQD/AgNP) hybrid was presented. In this strategy, N-GQDs were used as a reducing agent and stabilizer for the formation of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid, and the formation of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid may result from the extraordinary reduction properties of N-GQDs, which are attributed to the nature of the surface oxygen-containing functional groups. The N-GQD/AgNP hybrid exhibits good dispersity and outstanding catalytic ability toward the oxidation of catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) by Ag+. In the presence of the N-GQD/AgNP hybrid, the reduction of Ag+ by CC and HQ was improved. CC enhanced the absorbance of the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system the most, and HQ followed, while resorcinol (RC) had only a little effect on the absorption intensity of the system. Thus, a sensitive and selective colorimetric sensing method based on the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system was developed for the discrimination of CC, HQ and RC. A good linear relationship was obtained from 0.1 to 15.0 μM for CC and from 0.3 to 20.0 μM for HQ. The detection limits of CC and HQ were 0.03 and 0.1 μM, respectively. In addition, the proposed method also shows a high selectivity for the detection of CC and HQ, and appreciable changes in color of the N-GQD/AgNP-Ag+ system toward CC, RC and HQ were observed. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr04659a

Kinetics, subcellular localization, and contribution to parasite virulence of a Trypanosoma cruzi hybrid type A heme peroxidase (TcAPx-CcP)

PubMed Central

Hugo, Martín; Martínez, Alejandra; Trujillo, Madia; Estrada, Damián; Mastrogiovanni, Mauricio; Linares, Edlaine; Augusto, Ohara; Issoglio, Federico; Zeida, Ari; Estrín, Darío A.; Heijnen, Harry F. G.; Piacenza, Lucía; Radi, Rafael

2017-01-01

The Trypanosoma cruzi ascorbate peroxidase is, by sequence analysis, a hybrid type A member of class I heme peroxidases [TcAPx-cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP)], suggesting both ascorbate (Asc) and cytochrome c (Cc) peroxidase activity. Here, we show that the enzyme reacts fast with H2O2 (k = 2.9 × 107 M−1⋅s−1) and catalytically decomposes H2O2 using Cc as the reducing substrate with higher efficiency than Asc (kcat/Km = 2.1 × 105 versus 3.5 × 104 M−1⋅s−1, respectively). Visible-absorption spectra of purified recombinant TcAPx-CcP after H2O2 reaction denote the formation of a compound I-like product, characteristic of the generation of a tryptophanyl radical-cation (Trp233•+). Mutation of Trp233 to phenylalanine (W233F) completely abolishes the Cc-dependent peroxidase activity. In addition to Trp233•+, a Cys222-derived radical was identified by electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping, immunospin trapping, and MS analysis after equimolar H2O2 addition, supporting an alternative electron transfer (ET) pathway from the heme. Molecular dynamics studies revealed that ET between Trp233 and Cys222 is possible and likely to participate in the catalytic cycle. Recognizing the ability of TcAPx-CcP to use alternative reducing substrates, we searched for its subcellular localization in the infective parasite stages (intracellular amastigotes and extracellular trypomastigotes). TcAPx-CcP was found closely associated with mitochondrial membranes and, most interestingly, with the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, suggesting a role at the host–parasite interface. TcAPx-CcP overexpressers were significantly more infective to macrophages and cardiomyocytes, as well as in the mouse model of Chagas disease, supporting the involvement of TcAPx-CcP in pathogen virulence as part of the parasite antioxidant armamentarium. PMID:28179568

Antagonism of EG-VEGF Receptors as Targeted Therapy for Choriocarcinoma Progression In Vitro and In Vivo.

PubMed

Traboulsi, Wael; Sergent, Frédéric; Boufettal, Houssine; Brouillet, Sophie; Slim, Rima; Hoffmann, Pascale; Benlahfid, Mohammed; Zhou, Qun Y; Balboni, Gianfranco; Onnis, Valentina; Bolze, Pierre A; Salomon, Aude; Sauthier, Philippe; Mallet, François; Aboussaouira, Touria; Feige, Jean J; Benharouga, Mohamed; Alfaidy, Nadia

2017-11-15

Purpose: Choriocarcinoma (CC) is the most malignant gestational trophoblastic disease that often develops from complete hydatidiform moles (CHM). Neither the mechanism of CC development nor its progression is yet characterized. We recently identified endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) as a novel key placental growth factor that controls trophoblast proliferation and invasion. EG-VEGF acts via two receptors, PROKR1 and PROKR2. Here, we demonstrate that EG-VEGF receptors can be targeted for CC therapy. Experimental Design: Three approaches were used: (i) a clinical investigation comparing circulating EG-VEGF in control ( n = 20) and in distinctive CHM ( n = 38) and CC ( n = 9) cohorts, (ii) an in vitro study investigating EG-VEGF effects on the CC cell line JEG3, and (iii) an in vivo study including the development of a novel CC mouse model, through a direct injection of JEG3-luciferase into the placenta of gravid SCID-mice. Results: Both placental and circulating EG-VEGF levels were increased in CHM and CC (×5) patients. EG-VEGF increased JEG3 proliferation, migration, and invasion in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) culture systems. JEG3 injection in the placenta caused CC development with large metastases compared with their injection into the uterine horn. Treatment of the animal model with EG-VEGF receptor's antagonists significantly reduced tumor development and progression and preserved pregnancy. Antibody-array and immunohistological analyses further deciphered the mechanism of the antagonist's actions. Conclusions: Our work describes a novel preclinical animal model of CC and presents evidence that EG-VEGF receptors can be targeted for CC therapy. This may provide safe and less toxic therapeutic options compared with the currently used multi-agent chemotherapies. Clin Cancer Res; 23(22); 7130-40. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Molecular Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus in the General Population in Northeast Germany: Results of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-TREND-0)

PubMed Central

Holtfreter, Silva; Grumann, Dorothee; Balau, Veronika; Barwich, Annette; Kolata, Julia; Goehler, André; Weiss, Stefan; Holtfreter, Birte; Bauerfeind, Stephanie S.; Döring, Paula; Friebe, Erika; Haasler, Nicole; Henselin, Kristin; Kühn, Katrin; Nowotny, Sophie; Radke, Dörte; Schulz, Katrin; Schulz, Sebastian R.; Trübe, Patricia; Vu, Chi Hai; Walther, Birgit; Westphal, Susanne; Cuny, Christiane; Witte, Wolfgang; Völzke, Henry; Grabe, Hans Jörgen; Kocher, Thomas; Steinmetz, Ivo

2016-01-01

Population-based studies on Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization are scarce. We examined the prevalence, resistance, and molecular diversity of S. aureus in the general population in Northeast Germany. Nasal swabs were obtained from 3,891 adults in the large-scale population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-TREND). Isolates were characterized using spa genotyping, as well as antibiotic resistance and virulence gene profiling. We observed an S. aureus prevalence of 27.2%. Nasal S. aureus carriage was associated with male sex and inversely correlated with age. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) accounted for 0.95% of the colonizing S. aureus strains. MRSA carriage was associated with frequent visits to hospitals, nursing homes, or retirement homes within the previous 24 months. All MRSA strains were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Most MRSA isolates belonged to the pandemic European hospital-acquired MRSA sequence type 22 (HA-MRSA-ST22) lineage. We also detected one livestock-associated MRSA ST398 (LA-MRSA-ST398) isolate, as well as six livestock-associated methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (LA-MSSA) isolates (clonal complex 1 [CC1], CC97, and CC398). spa typing revealed a diverse but also highly clonal S. aureus population structure. We identified a total of 357 spa types, which were grouped into 30 CCs or sequence types. The major seven CCs (CC30, CC45, CC15, CC8, CC7, CC22, and CC25) included 75% of all isolates. Virulence gene patterns were strongly linked to the clonal background. In conclusion, MSSA and MRSA prevalences and the molecular diversity of S. aureus in Northeast Germany are consistent with those of other European countries. The detection of HA-MRSA and LA-MRSA within the general population indicates possible transmission from hospitals and livestock, respectively, and should be closely monitored. PMID:27605711

Evaluation of litter type and dietary coarse ground corn inclusion on broiler live performance, gastrointestinal tract development, and litter characteristics.

PubMed

Xu, Y; Stark, C R; Ferket, P R; Williams, C M; Nusairat, B; Brake, J

2015-03-01

Two 49 d floor pen studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of litter type and dietary coarse ground corn (CC) inclusion on broiler live performance, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, and litter characteristics. Experiment 1 was a 2×2 factorial arrangement of 2 genders (male or female) and 2 CC levels (0 or 50%). From 15 to 35 d, the addition of CC decreased feed intake (P<0.01) and BW gain (P<0.05) of males but not females. The inclusion of CC decreased feed intake (P<0.01) and BW gain (P<0.01) from 0 to 49 d but improved adjusted feed conversion ratio (AdjFCR) from 35 to 49 d (P<0.05). Male broilers exhibited better live performance than females during the study as evidenced by greater feed intake (P<0.01) and BW gain (P<0.01), and improved FCR (P<0.01), but with increased mortality (P<0.05). The inclusion of CC increased relative gizzard weight (P<0.01) and decreased relative proventriculus weight (P<0.01) at 49 d. Experiment 2 was a 2×2 factorial arrangement of 2 CC levels (0 or 50%) and 2 litter types (ground old litter or new wood shavings litter). The inclusion of CC decreased feed intake throughout the experiment without affecting final BW when only males were used and improved FCR after 25 d (P<0.01). New litter improved FCR from 1 to 14 d (P<0.01). At 49 d, the birds fed the CC diet had reduced excreta nitrogen (P<0.05) and litter moisture (P<0.05). In conclusion, 50% CC inclusion initially produced negative effects on live performance that became positive as BW increased. The effects of CC became evident at an earlier age for males. New litter had only a marginal benefit on broiler live performance. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Development of surface stabilized candesartan cilexetil nanocrystals with enhanced dissolution rate, permeation rate across CaCo-2, and oral bioavailability.

PubMed

Jain, Sanyog; Reddy, Venkata Appa; Arora, Sumit; Patel, Kamlesh

2016-10-01

Candesartan cilexetil (CC), an ester prodrug of candesartan, is BCS class II drug with extremely low aqueous solubility limiting its oral bioavailability. The present research aimed to develop a nanocrystalline formulation of CC with improved saturation solubility in gastrointestinal fluids and thereby, exhibiting enhanced oral bioavailability. CC nanocrystals were prepared using a low energy antisolvent precipitation methodology. A combination of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Pluronic® F 127 (50:50 w/w) was found to be optimum for the preparation of CC nanocrystals. The particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential of optimized formulation was found to be 159 ± 8.1 nm, 0.177 ± 0.043, and -23.7 ± 1.02 mV, respectively. Optimized formulation was found to possess irregular, plate-like morphology as evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and crystalline as evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). A significant increase in saturation solubility and dissolution rate of the optimized nanosuspension was observed at all the tested pH conditions. Optimized CC nanocrystals exhibited a storage stability of more than 3 months when stored under cold and room temperature conditions. In vitro Caco-2 permeability further revealed that CC nanocrystals exhibited nearly 4-fold increase in permeation rate compared to the free CC. In vivo oral bioavailability studies of optimized CC nanocrystals in murine model revealed 3.8-fold increase in the oral bioavailability and twice the C max as compared with the free CC when administered orally. In conclusion, this study has established a crystalline nanosuspension formulation of CC with improved oral bioavailability in murine model. Graphical Abstract Antisolvent precipitation methodology for the preparation of Candesartan Cilexetil nanocrystals for enhanced solubility and oral bioavailability.

An Overview of Cultural Competency Curricula in ACGME-accredited General Surgery Residency Programs.

PubMed

Shah, Sagar S; Sapigao, Francisco B; Chun, Maria B J

Cultural competency(CC) in surgical residency curricula is not the novel idea it was fourteen years ago when the ACGME challenged program directors to teach and assess six core competencies. CC is recognized as a component of "patient care", "professionalism", and "interpersonal and communication skills." The results of five programs (2004-2012) with CC curricula were identified in a 2013 paper by Ly and Chun. The primary objective of this paper is to provide the current status of CC curricula in general surgery residency programs. Three sources were used for this study. First, a four question survey on the current status of CC education was sent to program directors of ACGME-accredited surgery residency programs. Second, the lead authors from five programs previously reported in the 2013 paper were interviewed. Third, the survey mentioned above was resent to 52 residency programs who implemented New York University's (NYU) SPICE program, which has a CC component. Participants for the survey consisted of program directors of ACGME-accredited surgery residency programs. The interviews were conducted with the corresponding authors from the previous study by Ly and Chun. Of the 256 surveyed, nine responded; seven stated that CC is not taught formally at their institution while four stated that they do not feel any part of CC curricula is missing from their program. Due to the low response rate, we identified and conducted interviews with general surgery residency programs with CC curricula. Of the five programs contacted, only three remain active and utilize Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) to teach cultural competency. One of the three, the SPICE program at NYU, has expanded to 52 other residency programs in the US. Although the importance of CC has been identified in general surgery, formal curricula and documentation of implementation remains elusive. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-E-T-491: Influence of Applicator Dimensions On Doses to Bladder, Rectum and Sigmoid in HDR Brachytherapy for Cervical Cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dumane, V; Rhome, R; Yuan, Y

2015-06-15

Purpose: To study the influence of dimensions of the tandem and ring applicator on bladder D2cc, rectum D2cc and sigmoid D2cc in HDR treatment planning for cervical cancer. Methods: 53 plans from 13 patients treated at our institution with the tandem and ring applicator were retrospectively reviewed. Prescription doses were one of the following: 8 Gy x 3, 7 Gy x 4 and 5.5 Gy x 5. Doses to the D2ccs of the bladder, rectum and the sigmoid were recorded. These doses were normalized to their relative prescriptions doses. Correlations between the normalized bladder D2cc, rectum D2cc and sigmoid D2ccmore » were investigated and linear regression models were developed to study the dependence of these doses on the ring diameter and the applicator angle. Results: Normalized doses to the D2cc of the bladder, rectum and sigmoid showed statistically significant correlation (P < 0.05) to the applicator angle. Significant correlation was also noted for the normalized D2cc of the rectum and the sigmoid with the ring diameter. The normalized bladder D2cc was found to decrease with applicator angle on an average by 22.65% ± 4.43% while the same for the rectum and sigmoid were found to increase on an average by 14.43% ± 1.65% and 14.01% ± 1.42% respectively. Both the rectum and sigmoid D2cc reduced with increasing ring diameter by 12.93% ± 1.95% and 11.27% ± 1.79%. No correlation was observed between the normalized bladder D2cc and the ring diameter. Conclusion: Preliminary regression models developed in this study can potentially aid in the choice of the appropriate applicator angle and ring diameter for tandem and ring implant so as to optimize doses to the bladder, rectum and sigmoid.« less

Cardiac calcifications are more prevalent in children receiving hemodialysis than peritoneal dialysis.

PubMed

Srivaths, Poyyapakkam; Krishnamurthy, Rajesh; Brunner, Lori; Logan, Barbara; Bennett, Michael; Ma, Qing; VanDeVoorde, Rene; Goldstein, Stuart L

2014-04-01

Children receiving maintenance dialysis exhibit high cardiovascular (CV) associated mortality. We and others have shown high prevalence of cardiac calcifications (CC) in children with endstage renal disease (ESRD). However, no pediatric study has examined modality difference in CC prevalence. The current study was conducted to assess for a difference in CC prevalence between hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) in children with ESRD. 38 patients (19 female, 19 male; mean age 15.5 ± 4.1 years) receiving dialysis (21 HD, 17 PD) were included in the study. CC were assessed by ultrafast gated CT and quantified by Agatston score. Patients received thrice weekly HD for 3 - 3.5 hours or daily continuous cycler PD (CCPD). FGF 23, IL-6, IL-8, and CRP levels were obtained at time of CT. Time-averaged (6 months prior to CT) serum Ca, P, Alb, iPTH, and cholesterol levels were obtained. Patients on aspirin, with evidence of infection, underlying collagen vascular disease were excluded. CC were present in 11/38 patients, but more prevalent in HD vs. PD (9/21 vs. 2/17, p = 0.04). Subjects with CC were older (p = 0.0003), had longer dialysis vintage (p = 0.02) and higher serum phosphorus (p = 0.02) and FGF 23 levels (p = 0.03). HD patients also had significantly higher phosphorus (p = 0.02), FGF 23 (p = 0.009), and IL-8 levels (p = 0.02) when compared to PD patients. Residual renal function was not different between modalities or patients with CC. On a multinomial regression model, modality, and age remained independent associations for CC prevalence. We have shown that pediatric patients receiving CCPD have lower CC prevalence conferring lower CV risk. The better control of mineral imbalance in patients receiving PD may play an important role in lower CC prevalence.

Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in nosocomial infections in a tertiary-care facility: emergence of new clonal complexes in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Senok, A; Ehricht, R; Monecke, S; Al-Saedan, R; Somily, A

2016-11-01

Changes in the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continue to be reported. This study was carried out to characterize MRSA isolates in Saudi Arabia. MRSA isolates causing nosocomial infections (n = 117) obtained from 2009-2015 at a tertiary-care facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were studied. Molecular characterization of isolates was carried out using the StaphyType DNA microarray (Alere Technologies, Jena, Germany). Fourteen clonal complexes (CC) were identified, with the most common being CC80 (n = 35), CC6 (n = 15), CC5 (n = 13) and CC22 (n = 12). With the exception of nine ST239 MRSA-III isolates, all others were of community-associated MRSA lineages. The following strains are identified for the first time in Saudi Arabia: ST8-MRSA-IV [PVL(+)/ACME(+)], USA300 (n = 1); ST72-MRSA-IV USA700 (n = 1); CC5-MRSA-IV, [PVL(+)/edinA(+)], WA MRSA-121 (n = 1); CC5-MRSA-V+SCCfus, WA MRSA-14/109 (n = 2), CC97-MRSA-IV, WA MRSA-54/63; CC2250/2277-MRSA-IV and WA MRSA-114. CC15-MRSA (n = 3) was identified for the first time in clinical infection in Saudi Arabia. None of the isolates harboured vancomycin resistance genes, while genes for resistance to mupirocin and quaternary ammonium compounds were found in one and nine isolates respectively. Fifty-seven isolates (48.7%) were positive for Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes. While the staphylokinase (sak) and staphylococcal complement inhibitor (scn) genes were present in over 95% of the isolates, only 37.6% had the chemotaxis-inhibiting protein (chp) gene. Increasing occurrence of community-acquired MRSA lineages plus emergence of pandemic and rare MRSA strains is occurring in our setting. Strict infection control practices are important to limit the dissemination of these MRSA strains.

Self-report of diabetes and claims-based identification of diabetes among Medicare beneficiaries.

PubMed

Day, Hannah R; Parker, Jennifer D

2013-11-01

This report compares self-reported diabetes in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) with diabetes identified using the Medicare Chronic Condition (CC) Summary file. NHIS records have been linked with Medicare data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The CC Summary file, one of several linked files derived from Medicare claims data, contains indicators for chronic conditions based on an established algorithm. This analysis was limited to 2005 NHIS participants aged 65 and over whose records were linked to 2005 Medicare data. Linked NHIS participants had at least 1 month of fee-for-service Medicare coverage in 2005. Concordance between self-reported diabetes and the CC Summary indicator for diabetes is compared and described by demographics, socioeconomic status, health status indicators, and geographic characteristics. Of the Medicare beneficiaries in the 2005 NHIS, 20.0% self-reported diabetes and 27.8% had an indicator for diabetes in the CC Summary file. Of those who self-reported diabetes in NHIS, the percentage with a CC Summary indicator for diabetes was high (93.1%). Of those with a CC Summary indicator for diabetes, the percentage self-reporting diabetes was comparatively lower (67.0%). Statistically significant differences by subgroup existed in the percentage concordance between the two sources. Of those with self-reported diabetes, the percentage with a CC Summary indicator differed by sex and age. Of those with a CC Summary indicator for diabetes, the percentage with self-reported diabetes differed by age, self-rated health, number of self-reported conditions, and geographic location. Among Medicare beneficiaries who self-reported diabetes in NHIS, a high concordance was observed with identification of diabetes in the CC Summary file. However, among Medicare beneficiaries with an indicator for diabetes in the CC Summary file, concordance with self-reported diabetes in NHIS is comparatively lower. Differences exist by subgroup.

Cervical lymph node metastasis in adenoid cystic carcinoma of oral cavity and oropharynx: A collective international review☆

PubMed Central

Suárez, Carlos; Barnes, Leon; Silver, Carl E.; Rodrigo, Juan P.; Shah, Jatin P.; Triantafyllou, Asterios; Rinaldo, Alessandra; Cardesa, Antonio; Pitman, Karen T.; Kowalski, Luiz P.; Robbins, K. Thomas; Hellquist, Henrik; Medina, Jesus E.; de Bree, Remco; Takes, Robert P.; Coca-Pelaz, Andrés; Bradley, Patrick J.; Gnepp, Douglas R.; Teymoortash, Afshin; Strojan, Primož; Mendenhall, William M.; Eloy, Jean Anderson; Bishop, Justin A.; Devaney, Kenneth O.; Thompson, Lester D.R.; Hamoir, Marc; Slootweg, Pieter J.; Poorten, Vincent Vander; Williams, Michelle D.; Wenig, Bruce M.; Skálová, Alena; Ferlito, Alfio

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish general guidelines in the management of the N0 neck of oral cavity and oropharyngeal adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) in order to improve the survival of these patients and/or reduce the risk of neck recurrences. The incidence of cervical node metastasis at diagnosis of head and neck AdCC is variable, and ranges between 3% and 16%. Metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes of intraoral and oropharyngeal AdCC varies from 2% to 43%, with the lower rates pertaining to palatal AdCC and the higher rates to base of the tongue. Neck node recurrence may happen after treatment in 0–14% of AdCC, is highly dependent on the extent of the treatment and is very rare in patients who have been treated with therapeutic or elective neck dissections, or elective neck irradiation. Lymph node involvement with or without extracapsular extension in AdCC has been shown in most reports to be independently associated with decreased overall and cause-specific survival, probably because lymph node involvement is a risk factor for subsequent distant metastasis. The overall rate of occult neck metastasis in patients with head and neck AdCC ranges from 15% to 44%, but occult neck metastasis from oral cavity and/or oropharynx seems to occur more frequently than from other locations such as the sinonasal tract and major salivary glands. Nevertheless, the benefit of elective neck dissection (END) in AdCC is not comparable to that of squamous cell carcinoma, because the main cause of failure is not related to neck or local recurrence, but rather, to distant failure. Therefore, END should be considered in patients with a cN0 neck with AdCC in some high risk oral and oropharyngeal locations when postoperative RT is not planned, or the rare AdCC-high grade transformation. PMID:27017314

Global distribution and diversity of ovine-associated Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Smith, Edward M; Needs, Polly F; Manley, Grace; Green, Laura E

2014-03-01

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen of many species, including sheep, and impacts on both human and animal health, animal welfare, and farm productivity. Here we present the widest global diversity study of ovine-associated S. aureus to date. We analysed 97 S. aureus isolates from sheep and sheep products from the UK, Turkey, France, Norway, Australia, Canada and the USA using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing. These were compared with 196 sheep isolates from Europe (n=153), Africa (n=28), South America (n=14) and Australia (n=1); 172 bovine, 68 caprine and 433 human S. aureus profiles. Overall there were 59 STs and 87 spa types in the 293 ovine isolates; in the 97 new ovine isolates there were 22 STs and 37 spa types, including three novel MLST alleles, four novel STs and eight novel spa types. Three main CCs (CC133, CC522 and CC700) were detected in sheep and these contained 61% of all isolates. Four spa types (t002, t1534, t2678 and t3576) contained 31% of all isolates and were associated with CC5, CC522, CC133 and CC522 respectively. spa types were consistent with MLST CCs, only one spa type (t1403) was present in multiple CCs. The three main ovine CCs have different but overlapping patterns of geographical dissemination that appear to match the location and timing of sheep domestication and selection for meat and wool production. CC133, CC522 and CC700 remained ovine-associated following the inclusion of additional host species. Ovine isolates clustered separately from human and bovine isolates and those from sheep cheeses, but closely with caprine isolates. As with cattle isolates, patterns of clonal diversification of sheep isolates differ from humans, indicative of their relatively recent host-jump. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of carbon dioxide on metabolite production and bacterial communities during kimchi fermentation.

PubMed

Park, Doo Hyun

2018-04-24

Bacterial communities and metabolites in kimchi fermented under conventional conditions (CC) compared to CO 2 -rich environments (CO 2 ) were analyzed. After a 20-day fermentation, lactic and acetic acid productions were 54 and 69 mM under CC, and 19 and 12 mM under CO 2 , respectively. The final pH of kimchi fermented under CC (CC-fermenting) and CO 2 (CO 2 -fermenting) were 4.1 and 4.7, respectively. For bacterial communities, OTU and Chao1 indices were both 35 in fresh kimchi, 10 and 15 in CC-fermenting kimchi, and 8 and 24 in CO 2 -fermenting kimchi, respectively. Shannon and Simpson indices were 3.47 and 0.93 in fresh kimchi, 1.87-0.06 and 0.46-0.01 in CC-fermenting kimchi, and 1.65-0.44 and 0.63-0.12 in CO 2 -fermenting kimchi, respectively. Non-lactic acid bacteria were eliminated in fermenting kimchi after 12 days under CC and 6 days under CO 2 . I conclude that carbon dioxide can alter bacterial communities, reduce metabolite production, and improve fermented kimchi quality.

Insulin resistance in clomiphene responders and non-responders with polycystic ovarian disease and therapeutic effects of metformin.

PubMed

Parsanezhad, M E; Alborzi, S; Zarei, A; Dehbashi, S; Omrani, G

2001-10-01

To evaluate the clinical features, endocrine and metabolic profiles in clomiphene (CC) responders and non-responders with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD), and to examine the effects of metformin (MTF) on the above parameters of CC resistance. A prospective clinical trial was undertaken at the infertility division of a university teaching hospital. Forty-one CC responders were selected and their hormonal and clinical features were determined. Forty-one CC-resistant PCOD women were also selected and clinical features; metabolic and hormonal profiles before and after treatment with MTF 1500 mg/day for 6-8 weeks were evaluated. Women who failed to conceive were treated by CC while continuing to take MTF. CC responders had higher insulin levels while non-responders were hyperinsulinemic. Menstrual irregularities improved in 30%. Mean+/-S.D. area under curve of insulin decreased from 297.58+/-191.33 to 206+/-0.1 mIU/ml per min (P=0.005). Only 39.39% ovulated and 24.24% conceived. PCOD is associated with insulin resistance (IR) particularly in CC-resistant women. Insulin resistance and androgen levels are significantly higher in obese patients. MTF therapy improved hyperandrogenemia, IR, and pregnancy rate.

Chile Crece Contigo: Implementation, results, and scaling-up lessons.

PubMed

Torres, A; Lopez Boo, F; Parra, V; Vazquez, C; Segura-Pérez, S; Cetin, Z; Pérez-Escamilla, R

2018-01-01

Chile Crece Contigo (ChCC) is defined as a comprehensive, intersectoral, and multicomponent policy that aims to help all children reach their full potential for development, regardless of their socio-economic status. This case study was developed on the basis of grey literature review and key informants' interviews. ChCC behaves as a complex adaptive system that combines universal and targeted benefits for the more vulnerable starting since gestation and until the children are 4 years old. Three key ministries are involved in ChCC management: health, education, and social development. Studies show adequate programme implementation and positive effects of ChCC on child development. In addition, it was found that the more families use ChCC benefits and the longer the subsystem has been operating in the commune, the greater the positive effects. Strong political support based on principles of equity and child rights combined with strong evidence and funding commitment from government has been central to emergence, scaling up, and sustainability of ChCC. Further sustainability of ChCC will rely on firmly establishing a well-trained and compensated cadre of early child development professionals and paraprofessionals as well as an improved management and evaluation decentralized system. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Activation of Carbon-Hydrogen and Hydrogen-Hydrogen Bonds by Copper-Nitrenes: A Comparison of Density Functional Theory with Single- and Multireference Correlation Consistent Composite Approaches.

PubMed

Tekarli, Sammer M; Williams, T Gavin; Cundari, Thomas R

2009-11-10

The kinetics and thermodynamics of copper-mediated nitrene insertion into C-H and H-H bonds (the former of methane) have been studied using several levels of theory: B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), B97-1/cc-pVTZ, PBE1KCIS/cc-pVTZ, and ccCA (correlation consistent Composite Approach). The results show no significant difference among the DFT methods. All three DFT methods predict the ground state of the copper-nitrene model complex, L'Cu(NH), to be a triplet, while single reference ccCA predicts the singlet to be the ground state. The contributions to the total ccCA energy indicate that the singlet state is favored at the MP2/CBS level of theory, while electron correlation beyond this level (CCSD(T)) favors a triplet state, resulting in a close energetic balance between the two states. A multireference ccCA method is applied to the nitrene active species and supports the assignment of a singlet ground state. In general, the largest difference in the model reaction cycles between DFT and ccCA methods is for processes involving radicals and bond dissociation.

Broadening Participation in Biology Education Research: Engaging Community College Students and Faculty

PubMed Central

Schinske, Jeffrey N.; Balke, Virginia L.; Bangera, M. Gita; Bonney, Kevin M.; Brownell, Sara E.; Carter, Robert S.; Curran-Everett, Douglas; Dolan, Erin L.; Elliott, Samantha L.; Fletcher, Linnea; Gonzalez, Beatriz; Gorga, Joseph J.; Hewlett, James A.; Kiser, Stacey L.; McFarland, Jenny L.; Misra, Anjali; Nenortas, Apryl; Ngeve, Smith M.; Pape-Lindstrom, Pamela A.; Seidel, Shannon B.; Tuthill, Matthew C.; Yin, Yue; Corwin, Lisa A.

2017-01-01

Nearly half of all undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges (CCs), including the majority of U.S. students who represent groups underserved in the sciences. Yet only a small minority of studies published in discipline-based education research journals address CC biology students, faculty, courses, or authors. This marked underrepresentation of CC biology education research (BER) limits the availability of evidence that could be used to increase CC student success in biology programs. To address this issue, a diverse group of stakeholders convened at the Building Capacity for Biology Education Research at Community Colleges meeting to discuss how to increase the prevalence of CC BER and foster participation of CC faculty as BER collaborators and authors. The group identified characteristics of CCs that make them excellent environments for studying biology teaching and learning, including student diversity and institutional cultures that prioritize teaching, learning, and assessment. The group also identified constraints likely to impede BER at CCs: limited time, resources, support, and incentives, as well as misalignment between doing research and CC faculty identities as teachers. The meeting culminated with proposing strategies for faculty, administrators, journal editors, scientific societies, and funding agencies to better support CC BER. PMID:28450448

Co-pyrolysis of corn cob and waste cooking oil in a fixed bed.

PubMed

Chen, Guanyi; Liu, Cong; Ma, Wenchao; Zhang, Xiaoxiong; Li, Yanbin; Yan, Beibei; Zhou, Weihong

2014-08-01

Corn cob (CC) and waste cooking oil (WCO) were co-pyrolyzed in a fixed bed. The effects of various temperatures of 500 °C, 550 °C, 600 °C and CC/WCO mass ratios of 1:0, 1:0.1, 1:0.5, 1:1 and 0:1 were investigated, respectively. Results show that co-pyrolysis of CC/WCO produce more liquid and less bio-char than pyrolysis of CC individually. Bio-oil and bio-char yields were found to be largely dependent on temperature and CC/WCO ratios. GC/MS of bio-oil show it consists of different classes and amounts of organic compounds other than that from CC pyrolysis. Temperature of 550 °C and CC/WCO ratio of 1:1 seem to be the optimum considering high bio-oil yields (68.6 wt.%) and good bio-oil properties (HHV of 32.78 MJ/kg). In this case, bio-char of 24.96 MJ/kg appears attractive as a renewable source, while gas with LHV of 16.06 MJ/Nm(3) can be directly used in boilers as fuel. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creating Catalytic Collaborations between Theater Artists, Scientists, and Research Institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wise, Debra

2012-02-01

Catalyst Collaborative@MIT (CC@MIT) is a collaboration between MIT and Underground Railway Theater (URT), a company with 30 years experience creating theater through interdisciplinary inquiry and engaging community. CC@MIT is dedicated to creating and presenting plays that deepen public understanding about science, while simultaneously providing artistic and emotional experiences not available in other forms of dialogue about science. CC@MIT engages audiences in thinking about themes in science of social and ethical concern; provides insight into the culture of science and the impact of that culture on society; and examines the human condition through the lens of science that intersects our lives and the lives of scientists. Original productions range from Einstein's Dreams to From Orchids to Octopi -- an evolutionary love story; classics re-framed include The Life of Galileo and Breaking the Code (about Alan Turing). CC@MIT commissions playwrights and scientists to create plays; engages audiences with scientists; performs at MIT and a professional venue near the campus; collaborates with the Cambridge Science Festival and MIT Museum; engages MIT students, as well as youth and children. Artistic Director Debra Wise will address how the collaboration developed, what opportunities are provided by collaborations between theaters and scientific research institutions, and lessons learned of value to the field.

Small cell carcinoma with concomitant adenocarcinoma arising in a Barrett's oesophagus: report of a case with a favourable behaviour.

PubMed

Bibeau, Frédéric; Chateau, Marie-Christine; Guiu, Michel; Assenat, Eric; Azria, David; Lavaill, Rosy; Ychou, Marc; Boissière-Michot, Florence

2008-01-01

Most Barrett's oesophagus-associated cancers are adenocarcinomas which occur in a pure form. They are rarely combined with another type of malignancy, such as endocrine tumours. Within the endocrine spectrum, small cell carcinomas (SmCC) usually have a highly aggressive behaviour with a poor prognosis. We report a case of composite SmCC and adenocarcinoma in the setting of a Barrett's oesophagus, in a 54-year-old man. This tumour was identified on a surgical specimen after neoadjuvant treatment with radiotherapy and 5-FU-Cis-platin based chemotherapy. The SmCC component was positive for chromogranin A, synaptophysin, neural cell adhesion molecule and neuron-specific enolase and negative for high molecular weight cytokeratin. The adenocarcinoma component showed a converse phenotype. In our case, the origin of the SmCC component could be explained by the numerous chromogranin A-positive cells observed in the Barrett's oesophagus or by the potential progenitor cells that may be located in the submucosal oesophageal gland ducts and the Barrett's metaplasia. Our report is thus indicative of the high and totipotential risk of Barrett's oesophagus. Moreover, it is particular because of its favourable behaviour, with a 6-year disease-free survival, after neoadjuvant chemoradiation, surgery and postoperative chemotherapy.

Best practice in the management of clinical coding services: Insights from a project in the Republic of Ireland, Part 2.

PubMed

Reid, Beth A; Ridoutt, Lee; O'Connor, Paul; Murphy, Deirdre

2017-09-01

This is the second of two articles about best practice in the management of coding services. The best practice project was part of a year-long project conducted in the Republic of Ireland to review the quality of the Hospital Inpatient Enquiry data for its use in activity-based funding. The four methods used to address the best practice aspect of the project were described in detail in Part 1. The results included in this article are those relating to the coding manager's background, preparation and style, clinical coder (CC) workforce adequacy, the CC workforce structure and career pathway, and the physical and psychological work environment for the clinical coding service. Examples of best practice were found in the study hospitals but there were also areas for improvement. Coding managers would benefit from greater support in the form of increased opportunities for management training and a better method for calculating CC workforce numbers. A career pathway is needed for CCs to progress from entry to expert CC, mentor, manager and quality controller. Most hospitals could benefit from investment in infrastructure that places CCs in a physical environment that tells them they are an important part of the hospital and their work is valued.

Subunit III-depleted cytochrome c oxidase provides insight into the process of proton uptake by proteins

PubMed Central

Varanasi, Lakshman; Hosler, Jonathan P.

2011-01-01

We review studies of subunit III-depleted cytochrome c oxidase (CcO III (−)) that elucidate the structural basis of steady-state proton uptake from solvent into an internal proton transfer pathway. The removal of subunit III from R. sphaeroides CcO makes proton uptake into the D pathway a rate-determining step, such that measurements of the pH dependence of steady-state O2 consumption can be used to compare the rate and functional pKa of proton uptake by D pathways containing different initial proton acceptors. The removal of subunit III also promotes spontaneous suicide inactivation by CcO, greatly shortening its catalytic lifespan. Because the probability of suicide inactivation is controlled by the rate at which the D pathway delivers protons to the active site, measurements of catalytic lifespan provide a second method to compare the relative efficacy of proton uptake by engineered CcO III (−) forms. These simple experimental systems have been used to explore general questions of proton uptake by proteins, such as the functional value of an initial proton acceptor, whether an initial acceptor must be surface-exposed, which side chains will function as initial proton acceptors and whether multiple acceptors can speed proton uptake. PMID:22023935

Cover-crops - improvement of soil fertility and provision of biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirchmeyr, Franz; Szerencsits, Manfred

2017-04-01

Besides climate change, erosion, inadequate crop rotation and intensive tillage may turn arable land into marginal land. On the other hand, reclamation approaches which include arable farming methods may result only in short-term success if they do not consider their effects on humus content and erosion. Additionally, effective reclamation will also have to address the growing need for food production besides biomass provision. Therefore, we investigated if cover or catch crops (CC) may accomplish both goals: Improve soil quality and humus content even if CC-biomass is used for biogas production. Humus content and soil fertility: In comparison to complete fallow in a crop rotation with silage maize and cereals the humus balance can be improved from -50 to +280 kg humus carbon (C) ha-1 year-1 through additional CC (4.5 t DM ha-1) used for biogas production and an equivalent amount of digestate returned to the field. With a CC-yield of 2.5 t DM ha-1 the humus balance results in 220 kg C ha-1 year-1. It is still slightly higher if the same CC remains on the field as green manure (170 kg C ha-1 year-1). Additionally it is important to consider that 20 - 50 % of the assimilated carbon can be found in the plant roots and that roots and root exudates as well as CC harvest residues provide fresh organic matter for soil life. Furthermore, biomass production of cover crops was considerably higher, if they were used for biogas production because of earlier cultivation and later harvest than mulching. Erosion control: The risk of erosion can be reduced by approx. 50 % in comparison to complete fallow if CC with 2.5 t DM ha-1 remain on the field as green manure. A comparable reduction can be achieved, if CC with 4.5 t DM ha-1 are harvested for biogas production. Because of better weed suppression, tilth and soil structure of CC with higher biomass, it is more likely to apply conservation tillage and avoid ploughing. Without ploughing a CC with 4.5 t DM ha-1 used for biogas the risk of erosion can even be reduced by approx. 75 % in comparison to complete fallow with ploughing. Water balance and quality: On the plots of our field experiments approx. 30 % of the precipitation contributed to groundwater recharge in crop rotations without CC. With 2.5 t CC DM ha-1 remaining on the field as green manure groundwater recharge was reduced to approx. 27 % whereas 4.5 t DM CC ha-1 caused a reduction to approx. 25 %. On the long term it can be expected that reduced erosion and increased humus content may improve the water storage capacity of soils and in this way reduce surface runoff and the risk of flooding. Additionally we found that CC remaining as green manure reduced the total nitrate leaching by 6 %. CC used for biogas reduced total leaching in comparison to complete fallow by 26 %.

Influence of Route and Pattern of Exposure on the Pharmacokinetics and Hepatotoxicity of Carbon Tetrachloride

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-30

metabolize the chemical is limited [16]. Also, in high doses, CC14 can cause liver injury and thereby inhibit its own metabolism I23] If ingested CC...to clarify whether the liver is actually at greater risk of injury upon oral exposure to CC!4 . As cumulative uptaL. (Le, the systemically absorbed...the unanesthetized animals by means of an indwelling arterial cannula and analyzed for CC14 by headspace gas chromatography. Blood and liver samples

Low Hydrogen Embrittlement (LHE) Zinc-Nickel (Zn-Ni) Qualification Test Result and Process Parameters Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-09

www.ES3inc.com ● 1669 E. 1400 S ● Clearfield, UT 84015 (801) 926-1150 ● fax (801) 926-1155 Tri- Chromium ...conversion coating (CC) (Hexavalent vs. Trivalent ) and parameters: ▪ Baking before and after conversion coating • Hexavalent CC: must be applied...after bake • Trivalent CC: can be applied before or after bake (process time savings) ▪ Paint adhesion performance per ASTM D3359 • Hex-CC

Centralized Command, Distributed Control, and Decentralized Execution - a Command and Control Solution to US Air Force A2/AD Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-28

Regional Air Component Commander (the Leader) 5 CC-DC- DE Solution to A2/AD – Distributed Theater Air Control System (the System) 9 CC-DC- DE ... Control , Decentralized Execution” to a new framework of “Centralized Command, Distributed Control , and Decentralized Execution” (CC-DC- DE ).4 5 This...USAF C2 challenges in A2/AD environments describes a three-part Centralized Command, Distributed Control , and Decentralized Execution (CC-DC- DE

Energy materials coordinating committee (EMaCC). Annual technical report, fiscal year 2005

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

2006-09-29

The DOE Energy Materials Coordinating Committee (EMaCC) serves primarily to enhance coordination among the Department's materials programs and to further effective use of materials expertise within the Department. These functions are accomplished through the exchange of budgetary and planning information among program managers and through technical meetings/workshops on selected topics involving both DOE and major contractors. In addition, EMaCC assists in obtaining materials-related inputs for both intra- and interagency compilations. Topical subcommittees of the EMaCC are responsible for conducting seminars and otherwise facilitating information flow between DOE organizational units in materials areas of particular importance to the Department. The EMaCCmore » Terms of Reference were recently modified and developed into a Charter that was approved on June 5, 2003. As a result of this reorganization, the existing subcommittees were disbanded and new subcommittees are being formed. The FY 2004 budget summary for DOE Materials Activities is presented on page 8. The distribution of these funds between DOE laboratories, private industry, academia and other organizations is presented in tabular form on page 10. Following the budget summary is a set of detailed program descriptions for the FY 2004 DOE Materials activities. These descriptions are presented according to the organizational structure of the Department. A mission statement, a budget summary listing the project titles and FY 2004 funding, and detailed project summaries are presented for each Assistant Secretary office, the Office of Science, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The project summaries also provide DOE, laboratory, academic and industrial contacts for each project, as appropriate.« less

Energy materials coordinating committee (EMaCC). Annual technical report, fiscal year 2004

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

2005-08-31

The DOE Energy Materials Coordinating Committee (EMaCC) serves primarily to enhance coordination among the Department's materials programs and to further effective use of materials expertise within the Department. These functions are accomplished through the exchange of budgetary and planning information among program managers and through technical meetings/workshops on selected topics involving both DOE and major contractors. In addition, EMaCC assists in obtaining materials-related inputs for both intra- and interagency compilations. Topical subcommittees of the EMaCC are responsible for conducting seminars and otherwise facilitating information flow between DOE organizational units in materials areas of particular importance to the Department. The EMaCCmore » Terms of Reference were recently modified and developed into a Charter that was approved on June 5, 2003. As a result of this reorganization, the existing subcommittees were disbanded and new subcommittees are being formed. The FY 2004 budget summary for DOE Materials Activities is presented on page 8. The distribution of these funds between DOE laboratories, private industry, academia and other organizations is presented in tabular form on page 10. Following the budget summary is a set of detailed program descriptions for the FY 2004 DOE Materials activities. These descriptions are presented according to the organizational structure of the Department. A mission statement, a budget summary listing the project titles and FY 2004 funding, and detailed project summaries are presented for each Assistant Secretary office, the Office of Science, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The project summaries also provide DOE, laboratory, academic and industrial contacts for each project, as appropriate.« less

A Decade of Invasive Meningococcal Disease Surveillance in Poland

PubMed Central

Skoczyńska, Anna; Waśko, Izabela; Kuch, Alicja; Kadłubowski, Marcin; Gołębiewska, Agnieszka; Foryś, Małgorzata; Markowska, Marlena; Ronkiewicz, Patrycja; Wasiak, Katarzyna; Kozińska, Aleksandra; Matynia, Bożena; Hryniewicz, Waleria

2013-01-01

Background Neisseria meningitidis is a leading etiologic agent of severe invasive disease. The objective of the study was to characterise invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) epidemiology in Poland during the last decade, based on laboratory confirmed cases. Methods The study encompassed all invasive meningococci collected between 2002 and 2011 in the National Reference Centre for Bacterial Meningitis. The isolates were re-identified and characterised by susceptibility testing, MLST analysis, porA and fetA sequencing. A PCR technique was used for meningococcal identification directly from clinical materials. Results In the period studied, 1936 cases of IMD were confirmed, including 75.6% identified by culture. Seven IMD outbreaks, affecting mostly adolescents, were reported; all were caused by serogroup C meningococci of ST-11. The highest incidence was observed among children under one year of age (15.71/100,000 in 2011). The general case fatality rate in the years 2010–2011 was 10.0%. Meningococci of serogroup B, C, Y and W-135 were responsible for 48.8%, 36.6%, 1.2% and 1.2% of cases, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to third generation cephalosporins, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and 84.2% were susceptible to penicillin. MLST analysis (2009–2011) revealed that among serogroup B isolates the most represented were clonal complexes (CC) ST-32CC, ST-18CC, ST-41/44CC, ST-213CC and ST-269CC, and among serogroup C: ST-103CC, ST-41/44CC and ST-11CC. Conclusions The detection of IMD in Poland has changed over time, but observed increase in the incidence of the disease was mostly attributed to changes in the surveillance system including an expanded case definition and inclusion of data from non-culture diagnostics. PMID:23977184

Critical care ultrasound training: a survey of US fellowship directors.

PubMed

Mosier, Jarrod M; Malo, Josh; Stolz, Lori A; Bloom, John W; Reyes, Nathaniel A; Snyder, Linda S; Adhikari, Srikar

2014-08-01

The purpose of this study is to describe the current state of bedside ultrasound use and training among critical care (CC) training programs in the United States. This was a cross-sectional survey of all program directors for Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited programs during the 2012 to 2013 academic year in CC medicine, surgical CC, pulmonary and critical care, and anesthesia CC. Availability, current use, and barriers to training in CC ultrasound were assessed. Sixty of 195 (31%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24%-38%) program directors responded. Most of the responding programs had an ultrasound system available for use (54/60, 90%; 95% CI, 79%-96%) and identified ultrasound training as useful (59/60, 98%; 95% CI, 91%-100%) but lacked a formal curriculum (25/60, 42%; 95% CI, 29%-55%) or trained faculty (mean percentage of faculty trained in ultrasound: pulmonary and critical care, 25%; surgical CC, 33%; anesthesia CC, 20%; CC medicine, 7%), and relied on informal teaching (45/60, 77%; 95% CI, 62%-85%). Faculty with expertise (53/60, 88%; 95% CI, 77%-95%), simulation training (60/60, 100%; 95% CI, 94%-100%), establishing and meeting required number of examinations (47/60, 78%; 95% CI, 66%-88%), and regular review sessions (49/60, 82%; 95% CI, 70%-90%) were identified as necessary to improve ultrasound training. Most responding programs (32/35 91%; 95% CI, 77%-98%) without a formal curriculum plan to create one in the next 5 years. This study identified deficiencies in current training, suggesting a need for a formal curriculum for bedside ultrasound training in CC fellowship programs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enrichment of prostate cancer stem cells from primary prostate cancer cultures of biopsy samples

PubMed Central

Wang, Shunqi; Huang, Shengsong; Zhao, Xin; Zhang, Qimin; Wu, Min; Sun, Feng; Han, Gang; Wu, Denglong

2014-01-01

This study was to enrich prostate cancer stem cells (PrCSC) from primary prostate cancer cultures (PPrCC). Primary prostate cancer cells were amplified in keratinocyte serum-free medium with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and bovine pituitary extract (BPE), supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), stem cell factor (SCF) and cholera toxin. After amplification, cells were transferred into ultra-low attachment dishes with serum-free DMEM/F12 medium, supplemented with EGF, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), bovine serum albumin (BSA), insulin, and N2 nutrition. Expression of cell-type-specific markers was determined by RT-qPCR and immunostaining. Tumorigenicity of enriched PrCSC was determined by soft agar assay and xenograft assay in NOD/SCID mice. Biopsy samples from 19 confirmed prostate cancer patients were used for establishing PPrCC, and 18 cases (95%) succeeded. Both basal marker (CK5) and luminal markers (androgen receptor and CK8) strongly co-expressed in most of PPrCC, indicating their basal epithelial origin. After amplification under adherent culture condition in vitro, transient amplifying cells were the dominant cells. Sphere formation efficiency (SFE) of passaged PPrCC was about 0.5%, which was 27 times lower than SFE of LNCaP (13.67%) in the same condition. Compared with adherent cells from PPrCC, prostasphere from PPrCC showed up regulated stem cell markers and increased tumorigenic potential in soft-agar assay. However, spheroid cells from PPrCC prostasphere failed to initiate tumor in xenograft assay in 6 months. Thus, PPrCC can be established and amplified from prostate cancer biopsy samples. Our modified sphere culture system can enrich PrCSC from PPrCC. PMID:24427338

Evaluation of emergency medical text processor, a system for cleaning chief complaint text data.

PubMed

Travers, Debbie A; Haas, Stephanie W

2004-11-01

Emergency Medical Text Processor (EMT-P) version 1, a natural language processing system that cleans emergency department text (e.g., chst pn, chest pai), was developed to maximize extraction of standard terms (e.g., chest pain). The authors compared the number of standard terms extracted from raw chief complaint (CC) data with that for CC data cleaned with EMT-P and evaluated the accuracy of EMT-P. This cross-sectional observation study included CC text entries for all emergency department visits to three tertiary care centers in 2001. Terms were extracted from CC entries before and after cleaning with EMT-P. Descriptive statistics included number and percentage of all entries (tokens) and all unique entries (types) that matched a standard term from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). An expert panel rated the accuracy of the CC-UMLS term matches; inter-rater reliability was measured with kappa. The authors collected 203,509 CC entry tokens, of which 63,946 were unique entry types. For the raw data, 89,337 tokens (44%) and 5,081 types (8%) matched a standard term. After EMT-P cleaning, 168,050 tokens (83%) and 44,430 types (69%) matched a standard term. The expert panel reached consensus on 201 of the 222 CC-UMLS term matches reviewed (kappa=0.69-0.72). Ninety-six percent of the 201 matches were rated equivalent or related. Thirty-eight percent of the nonmatches were found to match UMLS concepts. EMT-P version 1 is relatively accurate, and cleaning with EMT-P improved the CC-UMLS term match rate over raw data. The authors identified areas for improvement in future EMT-P versions and issues to be resolved in developing a standard CC terminology.

Temperamental commonalities and differences in euthymic mood disorder patients, creative controls, and healthy controls.

PubMed

Nowakowska, Cecylia; Strong, Connie M; Santosa, Claudia M; Wang, Po W; Ketter, Terence A

2005-03-01

Understanding of mood disorders can be enhanced through assessment of temperamental traits. We explored temperamental commonalities and differences among euthymic bipolar (BP) and unipolar (MDD) mood disorder patients, creative discipline graduate student controls (CC), and healthy controls (HC). Forty-nine BP, 25 MDD, 32 CC, and 47 HC completed self-report temperament/personality measures including: The Affective Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego (TEMPS-A); the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R); and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Euthymic BP, MDD, and CC, compared to HC, had significantly increased cyclothymia, dysthymia and irritability scores on TEMPS-A; increased neuroticism and decreased conscientiousness on NEO-PI-R; and increased harm avoidance and novelty seeking as well as decreased self-directedness on TCI. TEMPS-A cyclothymia scores were significantly higher in BP than in MDD. NEO-PI-R openness was increased in BP and CC, compared to HC, and in CC compared to MDD. TCI self-transcendence scores in BP were significantly higher than in MDD, CC, and HC. Most of the subjects were not professional artists, and represented many fields; temperament might be different in different art fields. Euthymic BP, MDD, and CC compared to HC, had prominent temperamental commonalities. However, BP and CC had the additional commonality of increased openness compared to HC. BP had particularly high Cyclothymia scores that were significantly higher then those of MDD. The prominent BP-CC overlap suggests underlying neurobiological commonalities between people with mood disorders and individuals involved in creative disciplines, consistent with the notion of a temperamental contribution to enhanced creativity in individuals with bipolar disorders.

MicroRNAs in Serum and Bile of Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and/or Cholangiocarcinoma.

PubMed

Voigtländer, Torsten; Gupta, Shashi K; Thum, Sabrina; Fendrich, Jasmin; Manns, Michael P; Lankisch, Tim O; Thum, Thomas

2015-01-01

Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at high risk for the development of cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Analysis of micro ribonucleic acid (MiRNA) patterns is an evolving research field in biliary pathophysiology with potential value in diagnosis and therapy. Our aim was to evaluate miRNA patterns in serum and bile of patients with PSC and/or CC. Serum and bile from consecutive patients with PSC (n = 40 (serum), n = 52 (bile)), CC (n = 31 (serum), n = 19 (bile)) and patients with CC complicating PSC (PSC/CC) (n = 12 (bile)) were analyzed in a cross-sectional study between 2009 and 2012. As additional control serum samples from healthy individuals were analyzed (n = 12). The miRNA levels in serum and bile were determined with global miRNA profiling and subsequent miRNA-specific polymerase chain reaction-mediated validation. Serum analysis revealed significant differences for miR-1281 (p = 0.001), miR-126 (p = 0.001), miR-26a (p = 0.001), miR-30b (p = 0.001) and miR-122 (p = 0.034) between patients with PSC and patients with CC. All validated miRNAs were significantly lower in healthy individuals. MiR-412 (p = 0.001), miR-640 (p = 0.001), miR-1537 (p = 0.003) and miR-3189 (p = 0.001) were significantly different between patients with PSC and PSC/CC in bile. Patients with PSC and/or CC have distinct miRNA profiles in serum and bile. Furthermore, miRNA concentrations are different in bile of patients with CC on top of PSC indicating the potential diagnostic value of these miRNAs.

Mechanisms of tissue uptake and retention of paclitaxel-coated balloons: impact on neointimal proliferation and healing.

PubMed

Granada, Juan F; Stenoien, Mark; Buszman, Piotr P; Tellez, Armando; Langanki, Dan; Kaluza, Greg L; Leon, Martin B; Gray, William; Jaff, Michael R; Schwartz, Robert S

2014-01-01

The efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCB) for restenosis prevention has been demonstrated in humans. However, the mechanism of action for sustained drug retention and biological efficacy following single-time drug delivery is still unknown. The pharmacokinetic profile and differences in drug concentration (vessel surface vs arterial wall) of two different paclitaxel coating formulations (3 µg/mm(2)) displaying opposite solubility characteristics (CC=crystalline vs AC=amorphous) were tested in vivo and compared with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES). Also, the biological effect of both PCB formulations on vascular healing was tested in the porcine coronary injury model. One hour following balloon inflation, both formulations achieved similar arterial paclitaxel levels (CC=310 vs AC=245 ng/mg; p=NS). At 24 h, the CC maintained similar tissue concentrations, whereas the AC tissue levels declined by 99% (p<0.01). At this time point, arterial levels were 20-fold (CC) and 5-fold (AC) times higher compared to the PES group (p<0.05). At 28 days, arterial levels retained were 9.2% (CC) and 0.04% (AC, p<0.01) of the baseline levels. Paclitaxel concentration on the vessel surface was higher in the CC at 1 (CC=36.7% vs AC=13.1%, p<0.05) and 7 days (CC=38.4% vs AC=11%, p<0.05). In addition, the CC induced higher levels of neointimal inhibition, fibrin deposition and delayed healing compared with the AC group. The presence of paclitaxel deposits on the vessel surface driving diffusion into the arterial tissue in a time-dependent fashion supports the mechanism of action of PCB. This specific pharmacokinetic behaviour influences the patterns of neointimal formation and healing.

Mechanisms of tissue uptake and retention of paclitaxel-coated balloons: impact on neointimal proliferation and healing

PubMed Central

Granada, Juan F; Stenoien, Mark; Buszman, Piotr P; Tellez, Armando; Langanki, Dan; Kaluza, Greg L; Leon, Martin B; Gray, William; Jaff, Michael R; Schwartz, Robert S

2014-01-01

Background The efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCB) for restenosis prevention has been demonstrated in humans. However, the mechanism of action for sustained drug retention and biological efficacy following single-time drug delivery is still unknown. Methods and results The pharmacokinetic profile and differences in drug concentration (vessel surface vs arterial wall) of two different paclitaxel coating formulations (3 µg/mm2) displaying opposite solubility characteristics (CC=crystalline vs AC=amorphous) were tested in vivo and compared with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES). Also, the biological effect of both PCB formulations on vascular healing was tested in the porcine coronary injury model. One hour following balloon inflation, both formulations achieved similar arterial paclitaxel levels (CC=310 vs AC=245 ng/mg; p=NS). At 24 h, the CC maintained similar tissue concentrations, whereas the AC tissue levels declined by 99% (p<0.01). At this time point, arterial levels were 20-fold (CC) and 5-fold (AC) times higher compared to the PES group (p<0.05). At 28 days, arterial levels retained were 9.2% (CC) and 0.04% (AC, p<0.01) of the baseline levels. Paclitaxel concentration on the vessel surface was higher in the CC at 1 (CC=36.7% vs AC=13.1%, p<0.05) and 7 days (CC=38.4% vs AC=11%, p<0.05). In addition, the CC induced higher levels of neointimal inhibition, fibrin deposition and delayed healing compared with the AC group. Conclusions The presence of paclitaxel deposits on the vessel surface driving diffusion into the arterial tissue in a time-dependent fashion supports the mechanism of action of PCB. This specific pharmacokinetic behaviour influences the patterns of neointimal formation and healing. PMID:25332821

Cyanobacterial diversity held in microbial biological resource centers as a biotechnological asset: the case study of the newly established LEGE culture collection.

PubMed

Ramos, Vitor; Morais, João; Castelo-Branco, Raquel; Pinheiro, Ângela; Martins, Joana; Regueiras, Ana; Pereira, Ana L; Lopes, Viviana R; Frazão, Bárbara; Gomes, Dina; Moreira, Cristiana; Costa, Maria Sofia; Brûle, Sébastien; Faustino, Silvia; Martins, Rosário; Saker, Martin; Osswald, Joana; Leão, Pedro N; Vasconcelos, Vitor M

2018-01-01

Cyanobacteria are a well-known source of bioproducts which renders culturable strains a valuable resource for biotechnology purposes. We describe here the establishment of a cyanobacterial culture collection (CC) and present the first version of the strain catalog and its online database (http://lege.ciimar.up.pt/). The LEGE CC holds 386 strains, mainly collected in coastal (48%), estuarine (11%), and fresh (34%) water bodies, for the most part from Portugal (84%). By following the most recent taxonomic classification, LEGE CC strains were classified into at least 46 genera from six orders (41% belong to the Synechococcales), several of them are unique among the phylogenetic diversity of the cyanobacteria. For all strains, primary data were obtained and secondary data were surveyed and reviewed, which can be reached through the strain sheets either in the catalog or in the online database. An overview on the notable biodiversity of LEGE CC strains is showcased, including a searchable phylogenetic tree and images for all strains. With this work, 80% of the LEGE CC strains have now their 16S rRNA gene sequences deposited in GenBank. Also, based in primary data, it is demonstrated that several LEGE CC strains are a promising source of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Through a review of previously published data, it is exposed that LEGE CC strains have the potential or actual capacity to produce a variety of biotechnologically interesting compounds, including common cyanotoxins or unprecedented bioactive molecules. Phylogenetic diversity of LEGE CC strains does not entirely reflect chemodiversity. Further bioprospecting should, therefore, account for strain specificity of the valuable cyanobacterial holdings of LEGE CC.

Measuring the Properties of Dark Energy with Photometrically Classified Pan-STARRS Supernovae. I. Systematic Uncertainty from Core-collapse Supernova Contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, D. O.; Scolnic, D. M.; Riess, A. G.; Kessler, R.; Rest, A.; Kirshner, R. P.; Berger, E.; Ortega, C. A.; Foley, R. J.; Chornock, R.; Challis, P. J.; Burgett, W. S.; Chambers, K. C.; Draper, P. W.; Flewelling, H.; Huber, M. E.; Kaiser, N.; Kudritzki, R.-P.; Metcalfe, N.; Wainscoat, R. J.; Waters, C.

2017-07-01

The Pan-STARRS (PS1) Medium Deep Survey discovered over 5000 likely supernovae (SNe) but obtained spectral classifications for just 10% of its SN candidates. We measured spectroscopic host galaxy redshifts for 3147 of these likely SNe and estimate that ˜1000 are Type Ia SNe (SNe Ia) with light-curve quality sufficient for a cosmological analysis. We use these data with simulations to determine the impact of core-collapse SN (CC SN) contamination on measurements of the dark energy equation of state parameter, w. Using the method of Bayesian Estimation Applied to Multiple Species (BEAMS), distances to SNe Ia and the contaminating CC SN distribution are simultaneously determined. We test light-curve-based SN classification priors for BEAMS as well as a new classification method that relies upon host galaxy spectra and the association of SN type with host type. By testing several SN classification methods and CC SN parameterizations on large SN simulations, we estimate that CC SN contamination gives a systematic error on w ({σ }w{CC}) of 0.014, 29% of the statistical uncertainty. Our best method gives {σ }w{CC}=0.004, just 8% of the statistical uncertainty, but could be affected by incomplete knowledge of the CC SN distribution. This method determines the SALT2 color and shape coefficients, α and β, with ˜3% bias. However, we find that some variants require α and β to be fixed to known values for BEAMS to yield accurate measurements of w. Finally, the inferred abundance of bright CC SNe in our sample is greater than expected based on measured CC SN rates and luminosity functions.

Laue Crystal Structure of Shewanella oneidensis Cytochrome c Nitrite Reductase from a High-yield Expression System

PubMed Central

Youngblut, Matthew; Judd, Evan T.; Srajer, Vukica; Sayyed, Bilal; Goelzer, Tyler; Elliott, Sean J.; Schmidt, Marius; Pacheco, A. Andrew

2012-01-01

The high-yield expression and purification of Shewanella oneidensis cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNiR), and its characterization by a variety of methods, notably Laue crystallography, is reported. A key component of the expression system is an artificial ccNiR gene in which the N-terminal signal peptide from the highly expressed S. oneidensis protein “Small Tetra-heme c” replaces the wild-type signal peptide. This gene, inserted into the plasmid pHSG298 and expressed in S. oneidensis TSP-1 strain, generated ~20 mg crude ccNiR/L culture, compared with 0.5–1 mg/L for untransformed cells. Purified ccNiR has nitrite and hydroxylamine reductase activities comparable to those previously reported for E. coli ccNiR, and is stable for over two weeks in pH 7 solution at 4° C. UV/Vis spectropotentiometric titrations and protein film voltammetry identified 5 independent 1-electron reduction processes. Global analysis of the spectropotentiometric data also allowed determination of the extinction coefficient spectra for the 5 reduced ccNiR species. The characteristics of the individual extinction coefficient spectra suggest that, within each reduced species, the electrons are distributed amongst the various hemes, rather than being localized on specific heme centers. The purified ccNiR yielded good quality crystals, with which the 2.59 Å resolution structure was solved at room temperature using the Laue diffraction method. The structure is similar to that of E. coli ccNiR, except in the region where the enzyme interacts with its physiological electron donor (CymA in the case of S. oneidensis ccNiR, NrfB in the case of the E. coli protein). PMID:22382353

Structural insights into the interaction between a potent anti-inflammatory protein, viral CC chemokine inhibitor (vCCI), and the human CC chemokine, Eotaxin-1.

PubMed

Kuo, Nai-Wei; Gao, Yong-Guang; Schill, Megan S; Isern, Nancy; Dupureur, Cynthia M; Liwang, Patricia J

2014-03-07

Chemokines play important roles in the immune system, not only recruiting leukocytes to the site of infection and inflammation but also guiding cell homing and cell development. The soluble poxvirus-encoded protein viral CC chemokine inhibitor (vCCI), a CC chemokine inhibitor, can bind to human CC chemokines tightly to impair the host immune defense. This protein has no known homologs in eukaryotes and may represent a potent method to stop inflammation. Previously, our structure of the vCCI·MIP-1β (macrophage inflammatory protein-1β) complex indicated that vCCI uses negatively charged residues in β-sheet II to interact with positively charged residues in the MIP-1β N terminus, 20s region and 40s loop. However, the interactions between vCCI and other CC chemokines have not yet been fully explored. Here, we used NMR and fluorescence anisotropy to study the interaction between vCCI and eotaxin-1 (CCL11), a CC chemokine that is an important factor in the asthma response. NMR results reveal that the binding pattern is very similar to the vCCI·MIP-1β complex and suggest that electrostatic interactions provide a major contribution to binding. Fluorescence anisotropy results on variants of eotaxin-1 further confirm the critical roles of the charged residues in eotaxin-1. In addition, the binding affinity between vCCI and other wild type CC chemokines, MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), MIP-1β, and RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted), were determined as 1.1, 1.2, and 0.22 nm, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first work quantitatively measuring the binding affinity between vCCI and multiple CC chemokines.

Structural Insights into the Interaction between a Potent Anti-inflammatory Protein, Viral CC Chemokine Inhibitor (vCCI), and the Human CC Chemokine, Eotaxin-1*

PubMed Central

Kuo, Nai-Wei; Gao, Yong-Guang; Schill, Megan S.; Isern, Nancy; Dupureur, Cynthia M.; LiWang, Patricia J.

2014-01-01

Chemokines play important roles in the immune system, not only recruiting leukocytes to the site of infection and inflammation but also guiding cell homing and cell development. The soluble poxvirus-encoded protein viral CC chemokine inhibitor (vCCI), a CC chemokine inhibitor, can bind to human CC chemokines tightly to impair the host immune defense. This protein has no known homologs in eukaryotes and may represent a potent method to stop inflammation. Previously, our structure of the vCCI·MIP-1β (macrophage inflammatory protein-1β) complex indicated that vCCI uses negatively charged residues in β-sheet II to interact with positively charged residues in the MIP-1β N terminus, 20s region and 40s loop. However, the interactions between vCCI and other CC chemokines have not yet been fully explored. Here, we used NMR and fluorescence anisotropy to study the interaction between vCCI and eotaxin-1 (CCL11), a CC chemokine that is an important factor in the asthma response. NMR results reveal that the binding pattern is very similar to the vCCI·MIP-1β complex and suggest that electrostatic interactions provide a major contribution to binding. Fluorescence anisotropy results on variants of eotaxin-1 further confirm the critical roles of the charged residues in eotaxin-1. In addition, the binding affinity between vCCI and other wild type CC chemokines, MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), MIP-1β, and RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted), were determined as 1.1, 1.2, and 0.22 nm, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first work quantitatively measuring the binding affinity between vCCI and multiple CC chemokines. PMID:24482230

CC12, A High Affinity Ligand for 3H-Cimetidine Binding, is an Improgan Antagonist

PubMed Central

Hough, Lindsay B.; Nalwalk, Julia W.; Phillips, James G.; Kern, Brian; Shan, Zhixing; Wentland, Mark P.; de Esch, Iwan J.P.; Janssen, Elwin; Barr, Travis; Stadel, Rebecca

2007-01-01

Summary Improgan, a chemical congener of cimetidine, is a highly effective non-opioid analgesic when injected into the CNS. Despite extensive characterization, neither the improgan receptor, nor a pharmacological antagonist of improgan has been previously described. Presently, the specific binding of 3H-cimetidine (3HCIM) in brain fractions was used to discover 4(5)-((4-iodobenzyl)thiomethyl)-1H-imidazole, which behaved in vivo as the first improgan antagonist. The synthesis and pharmacological properties of this drug (named CC12) are described herein. In rats, CC12 (50 – 500 nmol, icv) produced dose-dependent inhibition of improgan (200 – 400 nmol) antinociception on the tail flick and hot plate tests. When given alone to rats, CC12 had no effects on nociceptive latencies, or on other observable behavioral or motor functions. Maximal inhibitory effects of CC12 (500 nmol) were fully surmounted with a large icv dose of improgan (800 nmol), demonstrating competitive antagonism. In mice, CC12 (200-400 nmol, icv) behaved as a partial agonist, producing incomplete improgan antagonism, but also limited antinociception when given alone. Radioligand binding, receptor autoradiography, and electrophysiology experiments showed that CC12's antagonist properties are not explained by activity at 25 sites relevant to analgesia, including known receptors for cannabinoids, opioids or histamine. The use of CC12 as an improgan antagonist will facilitate the characterization of improgan analgesia. Furthermore, because CC12 was also found presently to inhibit opioid and cannabinoid antinociception, it is suggested that this drug modifies a biochemical mechanism shared by several classes of analgesics. Elucidation of this mechanism will enhance understanding of the biochemistry of pain relief. PMID:17336343

Primary care provider cultural competence and racial disparities in HIV care and outcomes.

PubMed

Saha, Somnath; Korthuis, P Todd; Cohn, Jonathan A; Sharp, Victoria L; Moore, Richard D; Beach, Mary Catherine

2013-05-01

Health professional organizations have advocated for increasing the "cultural competence" (CC) of healthcare providers, to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in patient care. It is unclear whether provider CC is associated with more equitable care. To evaluate whether provider CC is associated with quality of care and outcomes for patients with HIV/AIDS. Survey of 45 providers and 437 patients at four urban HIV clinics in the U.S. Providers' self-rated CC was measured using a novel, 20-item instrument. Outcome measures included patients' receipt of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, self-efficacy in managing medication regimens, complete 3-day ARV adherence, and viral suppression. Providers' mean age was 44 years; 56 % were women, and 64 % were white. Patients' mean age was 45; 67 % were men, and 77 % were nonwhite. Minority patients whose providers scored in the middle or highest third on self-rated CC were more likely than those with providers in the lowest third to be on ARVs, have high self-efficacy, and report complete ARV adherence. Racial disparities were observed in receipt of ARVs (adjusted OR, 95 % CI for white vs. nonwhite: 6.21, 1.50-25.7), self-efficacy (3.77, 1.24-11.4), and viral suppression (13.0, 3.43-49.0) among patients of low CC providers, but not among patients of moderate and high CC providers (receipt of ARVs: 0.71, 0.32-1.61; self-efficacy: 1.14, 0.59-2.22; viral suppression: 1.20, 0.60-2.42). Provider CC was associated with the quality and equity of HIV care. These findings suggest that enhancing provider CC may reduce racial disparities in healthcare quality and outcomes.

A Meta-Analysis of the Corpus Callosum in Autism

PubMed Central

Frazier, Thomas W.; Hardan, Antonio Y.

2009-01-01

Background Several previous MRI studies have reported reductions in corpus callosum (CC) total area and CC regions in individuals with autism. However, studies have differed concerning the presence, magnitude, and/or region contributing to CC reductions. The primary aim of the present study was to determine the significance and magnitude of reduction in CC total and regional area measures in patients with autism. Method PubMed and PsycInfo databases were searched to identify MRI studies examining corpus callosum area in autism. Ten studies contributed data from 253 patients with autism (Mean age=14.58, SD=6.00) and 250 healthy controls (M age=14.47, sd=5.31). Of these ten studies, eight reported area measurements for corpus callosum regions (anterior, mid/body, and posterior), with six studies reported area for Witelson subdivisions. Meta-analytic procedures were used to quantify autism versus healthy control differences in total and region CC area measurements. Demographics and study characteristics were examined as moderators of total CC area. Results Total CC area was reduced in autism and the magnitude of the reduction was medium (Weighted Mean d=.48, 95% CI=.30-.66). All regions showed reductions in size with the magnitude of the effect decreasing caudally (anterior d=.49, mid/body d=.43, posterior d=.37). Witelson sub-division 3 (rostral body) showed the largest effect, indicating greatest reduction in the region containing pre-/supplementary motor neurons. Conclusions CC reductions are present in autism and support the aberrant connectivity hypothesis. Future diffusion tensor imaging studies examining specific fiber tracts connecting the hemispheres are needed to identify the cortical regions most affected by CC reductions. PMID:19748080

Maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) extract induces ovulation in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a possible monotherapy and a combination therapy after failure with first-line clomiphene citrate.

PubMed

Chen, Jui-Tung; Tominaga, Kunihiko; Sato, Yoshiaki; Anzai, Hideo; Matsuoka, Ryo

2010-12-01

Insulin resistance is a prominent feature of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and insulin-sensitizing drugs are used to induce ovulation. Recently, it was reported that an extract from Maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) improves insulin resistance. The objective was to explore the effects of Maitake extract (SX-fraction: MSX) to induce ovulation in patients with PCOS in comparison with and in combination with clomiphene citrate (CC). We conducted an open trial with 80 patients with PCOS at three clinics in Japan. Seventy-two (72) new patients were randomly assigned to receive MSX or CC monotherapy for up to 12 weeks. Eighteen (18) patients who did not respond to MSX or CC were subjected to combination therapy of MSX and CC for up to 16 weeks. Eight (8) patients with documented history of failure to CC received combination therapy from the beginning. Ovulation was assessed by ultrasonography. Twenty-six (26) patients in the MSX group and 31 in the CC group were evaluated for ovulation. The ovulation rates for MSX and CC were as follows: 76.9% (20/26) and 93.5% (29/31), respectively by the patients (NS), and 41.7% (30/72) and 69.9% (58/83), respectively, by the cycles (p = 0.0006). In the combination therapy, 7 of 7 patients who failed in MSX monotherapy and 6 of 8 patients who failed in CC monotherapy showed ovulation. The present study suggests that MSX alone may induce ovulation in PCOS patients and may be useful as an adjunct therapy for patients who failed first-line CC treatment.

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-sialylated mucin core polypeptide 1 is a sensitive biomarker for biliary tract carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a multicenter study.

PubMed

Shoda, Junichi; Matsuda, Atsushi; Shida, Takashi; Yamamoto, Masakazu; Nagino, Masato; Tsuyuguchi, Toshio; Yasaka, Takahiro; Tazuma, Susumu; Uchiyama, Kazuhisa; Unno, Michiaki; Ohkohchi, Nobuaki; Nakanuma, Yasuni; Kuno, Atsushi; Narimatsu, Hisashi

2017-02-01

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA)-sialylated mucin core polypeptide 1 (MUC1) was investigated as a new glycoprotein marker for cholangiocarcinoma (CC) using glycoproteomics technologies. In this multicenter study, WFA-sialylated MUC1 levels in serum and bile samples were measured to determine their diagnostic capability in biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) and intrahepatic (Ih) CC. The study included 244 patients with BTC, 59 patients with IhCC, 287 patients with benign biliary tract diseases, and 44 control subjects. Serum WFA-sialylated MUC1 levels were significantly higher in patients with either BTC or IhCC than in control subjects and those with benign biliary tract diseases. Patients with IhCC showed higher WFA-sialylated MUC1 levels than patients with tumors at other sites. No significant differences in WFA-sialylated MUC1 levels were found with regard to cancer stage or tissue type. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that WFA-sialylated MUC1 was superior to carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for the diagnosis of benign biliary tract diseases, BTC, and IhCC, as well as for stage I and II carcinomas. Significantly higher levels of biliary WFA-sialylated MUC1 were observed in BTC/IhCC than in benign biliary tract diseases. The diagnostic capability of biliary WFA-sialylated MUC1 was also superior to that of CA19-9, and diagnostic sensitivity was higher than that of biliary cytology for BTC/IhCC. WFA-sialylated MUC1 is a useful novel biomarker for BTC/IhCC. In the future, this measurement should be applied in the clinical setting.

Pushing harder, pushing faster, minimizing interruptions… but falling short of 2010 cardiopulmonary resuscitation targets during in-hospital pediatric and adolescent resuscitation.

PubMed

Sutton, Robert M; Wolfe, Heather; Nishisaki, Akira; Leffelman, Jessica; Niles, Dana; Meaney, Peter A; Donoghue, Aaron; Maltese, Matthew R; Berg, Robert A; Nadkarni, Vinay M

2013-12-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of instituting the 2010 Basic Life Support Guidelines on in-hospital pediatric and adolescent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality. We hypothesized that quality would improve, but that targets for chest compression (CC) depth would be difficult to achieve. Prospective in-hospital observational study comparing CPR quality 24 months before and after release of the 2010 Guidelines. CPR recording/feedback-enabled defibrillators collected CPR data (rate (CC/min), depth (mm), CC fraction (CCF, %), leaning (%>2.5kg)). Audiovisual feedback for depth was: 2005, ≥38mm; 2010, ≥50mm; for rate: 2005, ≥90 and ≤120CC/min; 2010, ≥100 and ≤120CC/min. The primary outcome was average event depth compared with Student's t-test. 45 CPR events (25 before; 20 after) occurred, resulting in 1336 thirty-second epochs (909 before; 427 after). Compared to 2005, average event depth (50±13mm vs. 43±9mm; p=0.047), rate (113±11CC/min vs. 104±8CC/min; p<0.01), and CCF (0.94 [0.93, 0.96] vs. 0.9 [0.85, 0.94]; p=0.013) increased during 2010. CPR epochs during the 2010 period more likely to meet Guidelines for CCF (OR 1.7; CI95: 1.2-2.4; p<0.01), but less likely for rate (OR 0.23; CI95: 0.12-0.44; p<0.01), and depth (OR 0.31; CI95: 0.12-0.86; p=0.024). Institution of the 2010 Guidelines was associated with increased CC depth, rate, and CC fraction; yet, achieving 2010 targets for rate and depth was difficult. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drainage water management combined with cover crop enhances reduction of soil phosphorus loss.

PubMed

Zhang, T Q; Tan, C S; Zheng, Z M; Welacky, T; Wang, Y T

2017-05-15

Integrating multiple practices for mitigation of phosphorus (P) loss from soils may enhance the reduction efficiency, but this has not been studied as much as individual ones. A four-year study was conducted to determine the effects of cover crop (CC) (CC vs. no CC, NCC) and drainage water management (DWM) (controlled drainage with sub-irrigation, CDS, vs. regular free tile drainage, RFD) and their interaction on P loss through both surface runoff (SR) and tile drainage (TD) water in a clay loam soil of the Lake Erie region. Cover crop reduced SR flow volume by 32% relative to NCC, regardless of DWM treatment. In contrast, CC increased TD flow volume by 57 and 9.4% with CDS and RFD, respectively, compared to the corresponding DWM treatment with NCC. The total (SR+TD) field water discharge volumes were comparable amongst all the treatments. Cover crop reduced flow-weighted mean (FWM) concentrations of particulate P (PP) by 26% and total P (TP) by 12% in SR, while it didn't affect the FWM dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentration, regardless of DWM treatments. Compared with RFD, CDS reduced FWM DRP concentration in TD water by 19%, while CC reduced FWM PP and TP concentrations in TD by 21 and 17%, respectively. Total (SR+TD) soil TP loss was the least with CDS-CC followed by RFD-CC, CDS-NCC, and RFD-NCC. Compared with RFD-NCC, currently popular practice in the region, total TP loss was reduced by 23% with CDS-CC. The CDS-CC system can be an effective practice to ultimately mitigate soil P loading to water resource. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Finding modules and hierarchy in weighted financial network using transfer entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yook, Soon-Hyung; Chae, Huiseung; Kim, Jinho; Kim, Yup

2016-04-01

We study the modular structure of financial network based on the transfer entropy (TE). From the comparison with the obtained modular structure using the cross-correlation (CC), we find that TE and CC both provide well organized modular structure and the hierarchical relationship between each industrial group when the time scale of the measurement is less than one month. However, when the time scale of the measurement becomes larger than one month, we find that the modular structure from CC cannot correctly reflect the known industrial classification and their hierarchy. In addition the measured maximum modularity, Qmax, for TE is always larger than that for CC, which indicates that TE is a better weight measure than CC for the system with asymmetric relationship.

Genomics and epigenomics of clear cell renal cell carcinoma: recent developments and potential applications.

PubMed

Rydzanicz, Małgorzata; Wrzesiński, Tomasz; Bluyssen, Hans A R; Wesoły, Joanna

2013-12-01

Majority of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) are diagnosed in the advanced metastatic stage resulting in dramatic decrease of patient survival. Thereby, early detection and monitoring of the disease may improve prognosis and treatment results. Recent technological advances enable the identification of genetic events associated with ccRCC and reveal significant molecular heterogeneity of ccRCC tumors. This review summarizes recent findings in ccRCC genomics and epigenomics derived from chromosomal aberrations, DNA sequencing and methylation, mRNA, miRNA expression profiling experiments. We provide a molecular insight into ccRCC pathology and recapitulate possible clinical applications of genomic alterations as predictive and prognostic biomarkers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

First principles study of the electronic and magnetic structures and bonding properties of UCoC2 ternary, characteristic of C-C units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matar, Samir F.

2013-03-01

The electronic structure of UCoC2, a di-carbide with the C-C units is examined from ab initio with an assessment of the properties of chemical bonding. The energy-volume equation of state shows large anisotropy effects due to C-C alignment along tetragonal c-axis leading to high linear incompressibility. Relevant features of selective bonding of uranium and cobalt with carbon at two different Wyckoff sites and strong C-C interactions are remarkable. The vibrational frequencies for C⋯C stretching modes indicate closer behavior to aliphatic C-C rather than Cdbnd C double bond. A ferromagnetic ground state is proposed from the calculations.

Highly porous regenerated cellulose hydrogel and aerogel prepared from hydrothermal synthesized cellulose carbamate.

PubMed

Gan, Sinyee; Zakaria, Sarani; Chia, Chin Hua; Chen, Ruey Shan; Ellis, Amanda V; Kaco, Hatika

2017-01-01

Here, a stable derivative of cellulose, called cellulose carbamate (CC), was produced from Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core pulp (KCP) and urea with the aid of a hydrothermal method. Further investigation was carried out for the amount of nitrogen yielded in CC as different urea concentrations were applied to react with cellulose. The effect of nitrogen concentration of CC on its solubility in a urea-alkaline system was also studied. Regenerated cellulose products (hydrogels and aerogels) were fabricated through the rapid dissolution of CC in a urea-alkaline system. The morphology of the regenerated cellulose products was viewed under Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The transformation of allomorphs in regenerated cellulose products was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transparency of regenerated cellulose products was determined by Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer. The degree of swelling (DS) of regenerated cellulose products was also evaluated. This investigation provides a simple and efficient procedure of CC determination which is useful in producing regenerated CC products.

How do different types of community commitment influence brand commitment? The mediation of brand attachment.

PubMed

Zhang, Ning; Zhou, Zhi-min; Su, Chen-ting; Zhou, Nan

2013-11-01

Although previous research indicates that participation in a brand community may foster consumer loyalty to the brand in question, research has seldom examined the mediating effect of community commitment on brand commitment. Drawing from the typologies of organizational commitment, we divide community commitment into three components: continuance community commitment (continuance CC), affective community commitment (affective CC), and normative community commitment (normative CC). We then assess the mediating role of brand attachment in the relationship between these three components and brand commitment. We test the hypotheses using a sample of online mobile phone brand communities in China. The empirical results reveal that brand attachment exerts an indirect (but not mediated) effect on the relationship between continuance CC and brand commitment and on the relationship between normative CC and brand commitment. We also find that it exerts a partial mediating effect on the relationship between affective CC and brand commitment. The findings contribute to the branding literature and have important implications for brand community management.

Asymmetric supercapacitors with high energy density based on helical hierarchical porous NaxMnO2 and MoO2 † †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5sc03326h Click here for additional data file.

PubMed Central

Lu, Xue-Feng; Huang, Zhi-Xiang; Tong, Ye-Xiang

2016-01-01

Helical hierarchical porous NaxMnO2/CC and MoO2/CC, which are assembled from nanosheets and nanoparticles, respectively, are fabricated using a simple electrodeposition method. These unique helical porous structures enable electrodes to have a high capacitance and an outstanding cycling performance. Based on the helical NaxMnO2/CC as the positive electrodes and helical MoO2/CC as the negative electrodes, high performance NaxMnO2/CC//MoO2/CC asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) are successfully assembled, and they achieve a maximum volume C sp of 2.04 F cm–3 and a maximum energy density of 0.92 mW h cm–3 for the whole device and an excellent cycling stability with 97.22% C sp retention after 6000 cycles. PMID:28791103

Properties of coupled-cluster equations originating in excitation sub-algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowalski, Karol

2018-03-01

In this paper, we discuss properties of single-reference coupled cluster (CC) equations associated with the existence of sub-algebras of excitations that allow one to represent CC equations in a hybrid fashion where the cluster amplitudes associated with these sub-algebras can be obtained by solving the corresponding eigenvalue problem. For closed-shell formulations analyzed in this paper, the hybrid representation of CC equations provides a natural way for extending active-space and seniority number concepts to provide an accurate description of electron correlation effects. Moreover, a new representation can be utilized to re-define iterative algorithms used to solve CC equations, especially for tough cases defined by the presence of strong static and dynamical correlation effects. We will also explore invariance properties associated with excitation sub-algebras to define a new class of CC approximations referred to in this paper as the sub-algebra-flow-based CC methods. We illustrate the performance of these methods on the example of ground- and excited-state calculations for commonly used small benchmark systems.

How Do Different Types of Community Commitment Influence Brand Commitment? The Mediation of Brand Attachment

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ning; Su, Chen-ting; Zhou, Nan

2013-01-01

Abstract Although previous research indicates that participation in a brand community may foster consumer loyalty to the brand in question, research has seldom examined the mediating effect of community commitment on brand commitment. Drawing from the typologies of organizational commitment, we divide community commitment into three components: continuance community commitment (continuance CC), affective community commitment (affective CC), and normative community commitment (normative CC). We then assess the mediating role of brand attachment in the relationship between these three components and brand commitment. We test the hypotheses using a sample of online mobile phone brand communities in China. The empirical results reveal that brand attachment exerts an indirect (but not mediated) effect on the relationship between continuance CC and brand commitment and on the relationship between normative CC and brand commitment. We also find that it exerts a partial mediating effect on the relationship between affective CC and brand commitment. The findings contribute to the branding literature and have important implications for brand community management. PMID:23768073

Search for the rare decays J / ψ → D 0 e + e − + c . c . and ψ ( 3686 ) → D 0 e + e − + c . c .

DOE PAGES

Ablikim, M.; Achasov, M. N.; Ahmed, S.; ...

2017-12-01

Using the data samples of (1310.6 ± 7.2) × 10 6 J / ψ events and (448.1 ± 2.9) × 106 (3686) events collected with the BESIII detector, we search for the rare decays J / ψ → D 0e +e - + c.c. and (3686) → D 0e +e - + c.c.. No significant signals are observed and the corresponding upper limits on the branching fractions at the 90% confidence level are determined to be B( J /more » ψ → D0e+e- + c.c.) < 8.5 × 10 -8 and B( (3686) → D0e+e- + c.c.) < 1.4 × 10 -7, respectively. Our limit on B( J / ψ → D 0e +e - + c.c.) is more stringent by two orders of magnitude than the previous results, and the B( (3686) → D 0e +e - + c.c.) is measured for the first time. « less

Search for the rare decays J / ψ → D 0 e + e − + c . c . and ψ ( 3686 ) → D 0 e + e − + c . c .

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ablikim, M.; Achasov, M. N.; Ahmed, S.

Using the data samples of (1310.6 ± 7.2) × 10 6 J / ψ events and (448.1 ± 2.9) × 106 (3686) events collected with the BESIII detector, we search for the rare decays J / ψ → D 0e +e - + c.c. and (3686) → D 0e +e - + c.c.. No significant signals are observed and the corresponding upper limits on the branching fractions at the 90% confidence level are determined to be B( J /more » ψ → D0e+e- + c.c.) < 8.5 × 10 -8 and B( (3686) → D0e+e- + c.c.) < 1.4 × 10 -7, respectively. Our limit on B( J / ψ → D 0e +e - + c.c.) is more stringent by two orders of magnitude than the previous results, and the B( (3686) → D 0e +e - + c.c.) is measured for the first time. « less

Highly porous regenerated cellulose hydrogel and aerogel prepared from hydrothermal synthesized cellulose carbamate

PubMed Central

Gan, Sinyee; Chia, Chin Hua; Chen, Ruey Shan; Ellis, Amanda V.; Kaco, Hatika

2017-01-01

Here, a stable derivative of cellulose, called cellulose carbamate (CC), was produced from Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core pulp (KCP) and urea with the aid of a hydrothermal method. Further investigation was carried out for the amount of nitrogen yielded in CC as different urea concentrations were applied to react with cellulose. The effect of nitrogen concentration of CC on its solubility in a urea-alkaline system was also studied. Regenerated cellulose products (hydrogels and aerogels) were fabricated through the rapid dissolution of CC in a urea-alkaline system. The morphology of the regenerated cellulose products was viewed under Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The transformation of allomorphs in regenerated cellulose products was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transparency of regenerated cellulose products was determined by Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometer. The degree of swelling (DS) of regenerated cellulose products was also evaluated. This investigation provides a simple and efficient procedure of CC determination which is useful in producing regenerated CC products. PMID:28296977

Why and How Do Nursing Homes Implement Culture Change Practices? Insights from Qualitative Interviews in a Mixed Methods Study

PubMed Central

Shield, Renée R.; Looze, Jessica; Tyler, Denise; Lepore, Michael; Miller, Susan C.

2015-01-01

Objective To understand the process of instituting culture change (CC) practices in nursing homes (NHs). Methods NH Directors of Nursing (DONs) and Administrators (NHAs) at 4,149 United States NHs were surveyed about CC practices. Follow-up interviews with 64 NHAs were conducted and analyzed by a multidisciplinary team which reconciled interpretations recorded in an audit trail. Results The themes include: 1) Reasons for implementing CC practices vary; 2) NH approaches to implementing CC practices are diverse; 3) NHs consider resident mix in deciding to implement practices; 4) NHAs note benefits and few implementation costs of implementing CC practices; 5) Implementation of changes is challenging and strategies for change are tailored to the challenges encountered; 6) Education and communication efforts are vital ways to institute change; and 7) NHA and other staff leadership is key to implementing changes. Discussion Diverse strategies and leadership skills appear to help NHs implement reform practices, including CC innovations. PMID:24652888

Calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16A modulates mucin secretion and airway smooth muscle contraction.

PubMed

Huang, Fen; Zhang, Hongkang; Wu, Meng; Yang, Huanghe; Kudo, Makoto; Peters, Christian J; Woodruff, Prescott G; Solberg, Owen D; Donne, Matthew L; Huang, Xiaozhu; Sheppard, Dean; Fahy, John V; Wolters, Paul J; Hogan, Brigid L M; Finkbeiner, Walter E; Li, Min; Jan, Yuh-Nung; Jan, Lily Yeh; Rock, Jason R

2012-10-02

Mucous cell hyperplasia and airway smooth muscle (ASM) hyperresponsiveness are hallmark features of inflammatory airway diseases, including asthma. Here, we show that the recently identified calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC) TMEM16A is expressed in the adult airway surface epithelium and ASM. The epithelial expression is increased in asthmatics, particularly in secretory cells. Based on this and the proposed functions of CaCC, we hypothesized that TMEM16A inhibitors would negatively regulate both epithelial mucin secretion and ASM contraction. We used a high-throughput screen to identify small-molecule blockers of TMEM16A-CaCC channels. We show that inhibition of TMEM16A-CaCC significantly impairs mucus secretion in primary human airway surface epithelial cells. Furthermore, inhibition of TMEM16A-CaCC significantly reduces mouse and human ASM contraction in response to cholinergic agonists. TMEM16A-CaCC blockers, including those identified here, may positively impact multiple causes of asthma symptoms.

Characterization of corncob-derived biochar and pyrolysis kinetics in comparison with corn stalk and sawdust.

PubMed

Liu, Xuan; Zhang, Yang; Li, Zifu; Feng, Rui; Zhang, Yaozhong

2014-10-01

In this study, thermal and physicochemical characterization results of corncob (CC) and its derived biochars were analyzed and differentiated from sawdust (SD) and cornstalk (CS). The pyrolysis temperature shows the largest effect on the yield of biochar produced compare with residing time, heating rate, and feedstock particle size. The CC-derived biochars produced at temperatures ranging from 300 to 600°C were analyzed. The CC was thermochemically altered to a stable biochar when the pyrolysis temperature was set to over 500°C. To deduce the reaction mechanism of the CC during the major thermal decomposition stage, 16 mechanisms in solid-state reactions were applied. The reaction order and nucleation mechanisms described the thermal decomposition of the CC. By using the best-fitted mechanisms, the kinetic parameters were calculated. The weight active energy of the CC was 122.42kJ/mol, which was the lowest value compared to those of CS and SD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Three Types of Cortical L5 Neurons that Differ in Brain-Wide Connectivity and Function

PubMed Central

Kim, Euiseok J.; Juavinett, Ashley L.; Kyubwa, Espoir M.; Jacobs, Matthew W.; Callaway, Edward M.

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Cortical layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons integrate inputs from many sources and distribute outputs to cortical and subcortical structures. Previous studies demonstrate two L5 pyramid types: cortico-cortical (CC) and cortico-subcortical (CS). We characterize connectivity and function of these cell types in mouse primary visual cortex and reveal a new subtype. Unlike previously described L5 CC and CS neurons, this new subtype does not project to striatum [cortico-cortical, non-striatal (CC-NS)] and has distinct morphology, physiology and visual responses. Monosynaptic rabies tracing reveals that CC neurons preferentially receive input from higher visual areas, while CS neurons receive more input from structures implicated in top-down modulation of brain states. CS neurons are also more direction-selective and prefer faster stimuli than CC neurons. These differences suggest distinct roles as specialized output channels, with CS neurons integrating information and generating responses more relevant to movement control and CC neurons being more important in visual perception. PMID:26671462

Three Types of Cortical Layer 5 Neurons That Differ in Brain-wide Connectivity and Function.

PubMed

Kim, Euiseok J; Juavinett, Ashley L; Kyubwa, Espoir M; Jacobs, Matthew W; Callaway, Edward M

2015-12-16

Cortical layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons integrate inputs from many sources and distribute outputs to cortical and subcortical structures. Previous studies demonstrate two L5 pyramid types: cortico-cortical (CC) and cortico-subcortical (CS). We characterize connectivity and function of these cell types in mouse primary visual cortex and reveal a new subtype. Unlike previously described L5 CC and CS neurons, this new subtype does not project to striatum [cortico-cortical, non-striatal (CC-NS)] and has distinct morphology, physiology, and visual responses. Monosynaptic rabies tracing reveals that CC neurons preferentially receive input from higher visual areas, while CS neurons receive more input from structures implicated in top-down modulation of brain states. CS neurons are also more direction-selective and prefer faster stimuli than CC neurons. These differences suggest distinct roles as specialized output channels, with CS neurons integrating information and generating responses more relevant to movement control and CC neurons being more important in visual perception. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pivot/Remote: a distributed database for remote data entry in multi-center clinical trials.

PubMed

Higgins, S B; Jiang, K; Plummer, W D; Edens, T R; Stroud, M J; Swindell, B B; Wheeler, A P; Bernard, G R

1995-01-01

1. INTRODUCTION. Data collection is a critical component of multi-center clinical trials. Clinical trials conducted in intensive care units (ICU) are even more difficult because the acute nature of illnesses in ICU settings requires that masses of data be collected in a short time. More than a thousand data points are routinely collected for each study patient. The majority of clinical trials are still "paper-based," even if a remote data entry (RDE) system is utilized. The typical RDE system consists of a computer housed in the CC office and connected by modem to a centralized data coordinating center (DCC). Study data must first be recorded on a paper case report form (CRF), transcribed into the RDE system, and transmitted to the DCC. This approach requires additional monitoring since both the paper CRF and study database must be verified. The paper-based RDE system cannot take full advantage of automatic data checking routines. Much of the effort (and expense) of a clinical trial is ensuring that study data matches the original patient data. 2. METHODS. We have developed an RDE system, Pivot/Remote, that eliminates the need for paper-based CRFs. It creates an innovative, distributed database. The database resides partially at the study clinical centers (CC) and at the DCC. Pivot/Remote is descended from technology introduced with Pivot [1]. Study data is collected at the bedside with laptop computers. A graphical user interface (GUI) allows the display of electronic CRFs that closely mimic the normal paper-based forms. Data entry time is the same as for paper CRFs. Pull-down menus, displaying the possible responses, simplify the process of entering data. Edit checks are performed on most data items. For example, entered dates must conform to some temporal logic imposed by the study. Data must conform to some acceptable range of values. Calculations, such as computing the subject's age or the APACHE II score, are automatically made as the data is entered. Data that is collected serially (BP, HR, etc.) can be displayed graphically in a trend form along with other related variables. An audit trail is created that automatically tracks all changes to the original data, making it possible to reconstruct the CRF to any point in time. On-line help provides information on the study protocol as well as assistance with the use of the system. Electronic security makes it possible to lock certain parts of the CRF once it has been monitored. Completed CRFs are transmitted to the DCC via electronic mail where it is reviewed and merged into the study database. Questions about subject data are transmitted back to the CC via electronic mail. This approach to maintaining the study database is unique in that the study data files are distributed among the CC and DCC. Until a subject's CRF is monitored (verified against the original patient data residing in the hospital record), it logically resides at the CC where it was collected. Copies are transmitted to the DCC and are only read there. Any pre-monitoring changes must be made to the data at the CC. Once the subject's CRF is monitored, it logically moves to the DCC, and any subsequent changes are made at the DCC with copies of the CRF flowing back to the CC. 3. DISCUSSION. Pivot/Remote eliminates the need for paper forms by utilizing portable computers that can be used at the patient bedside. A GUI makes it possible to quickly enter data. Because the user gets instant feedback on possible error conditions, time is saved because the original data is close at hand. The ability to display trended data or variables in the context of other data allows detection of erroneous conditions beyond simple range checks. The logical construction of the database minimizes the problem of managing dual databases (at the CC and DCC) and keeps CC personnel in the loop until all changes are made.

[Differences between Chicago and traditional classifications in the diagnosis of esophageal motor disorders with high-resolution manometry and topography of esophageal pressure].

PubMed

Abreu-Y Abreu, A T; González Sánchez, C B; Villanueva Sáenz, E; Valdovinos Díaz, M A

2010-01-01

With the introduction of high resolution manometry (HRM) and esophageal topography a novel classification (Chicago Classification) has been proposed for the diagnosis of esophageal motor disorders (EMD). Clinical differences with the traditional classification are currently under evaluation. To investigate differences between the Chicago (CC) and traditional (TC) classifications in the diagnosis of EMD. Consecutive patients with indication for esophageal manometry were studied. HRM was performed with a 36 sensors solid-state catheter and Manoview software (V2.0).Conventional manometric tracings were analyzed by an investigator blinded to the results of HRM. Diagnosis by CC and CT were compared. Two hundred patients were studied, 106 (53%) of them women (53%) with a mean patient age of 43.4 (range 16 - 84) years. Preoperative evaluation for GERD 152 (76%) was the most frequent indication. Achalasia (8), scleroderma (2) and peristaltic dysfunction (60 vs. 59) were similarly diagnosed by CC and CT. Spastic disorders were more frequently identified by CC: nutcracker esophagus (NC) in 3, spastic NC in3 and segmental NC in 11 patients versus TC: NC 5. Three patients had spasm with CC and 1 with TC. Non specific motor disorder was diagnosed by TC and 2 patients had functional obstruction with CC. Hypotensive lower esophageal sphincter was identified in 63 patients with CC vs.57 with TC. Spastic disorders and functional obstruction were the EMD better identified by HRM and CC.

The Korean version of the Sniffin' stick (KVSS) test and its validity in comparison with the cross-cultural smell identification test (CC-SIT).

PubMed

Cho, Jae Hoon; Jeong, Yong Soo; Lee, Yeo Jin; Hong, Seok-Chan; Yoon, Joo-Heon; Kim, Jin Kook

2009-06-01

The Korean Version of the Sniffin' stick (KVSS) is the first olfactory test for Koreans. Although we adopted the Sniffin' Stick, we modified it to make it more suitable for Koreans. KVSS I is a screening test, and KVSS II a more comprehensive test. The aims of this study were to apply the KVSS test and assess its clinical validity and reliability in comparison to CC-SIT. One hundred and seventy-four healthy volunteers and 206 patients with subjective decreased olfaction participated. Each participant was tested with both the CC-SIT and KVSS tests and then the correlation between these two tests was analyzed. The correlation between CC-SIT and KVSS I was 0.720 (p<0.01) and 0.714 between the CC-SIT and KVSS II total scores (p<0.01). When the degree of olfaction based on the KVSS I was used, the mean CC-SIT score was 8.6+/-1.8 for normosmia, 7.3+/-2.2 for hyposmia, and 4.2+/-2.3 for anosmia. When the KVSS II total was applied, the mean CC-SIT score was 8.4+/-1.8 for normosmia, 7.3+/-2.0 for hyposmia, and 3.7+/-2.0 for anosmia. The means of the three group differed significantly in both cases (p<0.01). Thus, the KVSS test demonstrates validity and reliability for Korean in comparison with CC-SIT.

Genomic Investigation Reveals Highly Conserved, Mosaic, Recombination Events Associated with Capsular Switching among Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup W Sequence Type (ST)-11 Strains.

PubMed

Mustapha, Mustapha M; Marsh, Jane W; Krauland, Mary G; Fernandez, Jorge O; de Lemos, Ana Paula S; Dunning Hotopp, Julie C; Wang, Xin; Mayer, Leonard W; Lawrence, Jeffrey G; Hiller, N Luisa; Harrison, Lee H

2016-07-03

Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of meningococcal disease globally. Sequence type (ST)-11 clonal complex (cc11) is a hypervirulent meningococcal lineage historically associated with serogroup C capsule and is believed to have acquired the W capsule through a C to W capsular switching event. We studied the sequence of capsule gene cluster (cps) and adjoining genomic regions of 524 invasive W cc11 strains isolated globally. We identified recombination breakpoints corresponding to two distinct recombination events within W cc11: A 8.4-kb recombinant region likely acquired from W cc22 including the sialic acid/glycosyl-transferase gene, csw resulted in a C→W change in capsular phenotype and a 13.7-kb recombinant segment likely acquired from Y cc23 lineage includes 4.5 kb of cps genes and 8.2 kb downstream of the cps cluster resulting in allelic changes in capsule translocation genes. A vast majority of W cc11 strains (497/524, 94.8%) retain both recombination events as evidenced by sharing identical or very closely related capsular allelic profiles. These data suggest that the W cc11 capsular switch involved two separate recombination events and that current global W cc11 meningococcal disease is caused by strains bearing this mosaic capsular switch. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Antinociceptive effect of cyclic phosphatidic acid and its derivative on animal models of acute and chronic pain.

PubMed

Kakiuchi, Yasutaka; Nagai, Jun; Gotoh, Mari; Hotta, Harumi; Murofushi, Hiromu; Ogawa, Tomoyo; Ueda, Hiroshi; Murakami-Murofushi, Kimiko

2011-05-14

Cyclic phosphatidic acid (cPA) is a structural analog of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), but possesses different biological functions, such as the inhibition of autotaxin (ATX), an LPA-synthesizing enzyme. As LPA is a signaling molecule involved in nociception in the peripheral and central systems, cPA is expected to possess analgesic activity. We characterized the effects of cPA and 2-carba-cPA (2ccPA), a chemically stable cPA analog, on acute and chronic pain. (1) The systemic injection of 2ccPA significantly inhibited somato-cardiac and somato-somatic C-reflexes but not the corresponding A-reflexes in anesthetized rats. (2) 2ccPA reduced sensitivity measured as the paw withdrawal response to electrical stimulation applied to the hind paws of mice through the C-fiber, but not Aδ or Aβ. (3) In mice, pretreatment with 2ccPA dose-dependently inhibited the second phase of formalin-induced licking and biting responses. (4) In mice, pretreatment and repeated post-treatments with 2ccPA significantly attenuated thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia following partial ligation of the sciatic nerve. (5) In rats, repeated post-treatments with 2ccPA also significantly attenuated thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia following chronic sciatic nerve constriction. Our results suggest that cPA and its stable analog 2ccPA inhibit chronic and acute inflammation-induced C-fiber stimulation, and that the central effects of 2ccPA following repeated treatments attenuate neuropathic pain.

Impact of Chronic Condition Status and Severity on the Time to First Dental Visit for Newly Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Iowa

PubMed Central

Chi, Donald L; Momany, Elizabeth T; Neff, John; Jones, Michael P; Warren, John J; Slayton, Rebecca L; Weber-Gasparoni, Karin; Damiano, Peter C

2011-01-01

Objective To assess the extent to which chronic condition (CC) status and severity affected how soon children had a dental visit after enrolling in Medicaid. Data Source Enrollment and claims data (2003–2008) for newly Medicaid-enrolled children ages 3–14 in Iowa. Study Design 3M Clinical Risk Grouping methods were used to identify CC status (no/yes) and CC severity (less severe/more severe). Survival analysis was used to identify the factors associated with earlier first dental visits after initially enrolling in Medicaid. Principal Findings Children with a CC were 17 percent more likely to have earlier first dental visits after enrolling in Medicaid (p<.0001). There was no significant difference by CC severity. Children who lived in a dental health professional shortage area and those who did not utilize primary medical care had significantly later first Medicaid dental visits, whereas these factors failed to reach statistical significance for children with a CC. Conclusion While newly Medicaid-enrolled children with a CC were significantly more likely to have earlier first dental visits, we failed to detect a relationship between CC severity and the time to first Medicaid dental visit. The determinants of first Medicaid dental visits were heterogeneous across subgroups of newly Medicaid-enrolled children. Future studies should identify the sociobehavioral factors associated with CCs that are potential barriers to earlier first Medicaid dental visits for newly Medicaid-enrolled children. PMID:20849559

Discrete prepotential as an indicator of successful ablation in patients with coronary cusp ventricular arrhythmia.

PubMed

Hachiya, Hitoshi; Yamauchi, Yasuteru; Iesaka, Yoshito; Yagishita, Atsuhiko; Sasaki, Takeshi; Higuchi, Koji; Kawabata, Mihoko; Sugiyama, Koji; Tanaka, Yasuaki; Kusa, Shigeki; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Miyazaki, Shinsuke; Taniguchi, Hiroshi; Isobe, Mitsuaki; Hirao, Kenzo

2013-10-01

Although coronary cusp (CC) ventricular arrhythmia (VA) can be treated by catheter ablation, reliable indicators of successful ablation sites have not been fully identified. This study comprised 392 patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation for outflow tract-VA at 3 institutions from January 2007 to August 2012. The successful ablation site was on the left CC or right CC in 35 (8.9%) of the 392 patients. In 9 (26%) of these 35 patients, a discrete prepotential was recognized, 5 of whom had left CC-VAs and 4 of whom had right CC-VAs. Radiofrequency catheter ablation was successful at the site of the prepotential in all 9 of these patients. The duration of the isoelectric line between the end of the discrete prepotential and the onset of the ventricular electrogram was 27±13 ms. The time from onset of the discrete prepotential at the successful ablation site on the CC to the QRS onset (activation time) was 69±20 ms (range, 50-98 ms). Pace mapping was graded as excellent at the successful ablation site in only 1 patient. No discrete prepotential was recorded in any successful right outflow tract-VA ablation case in this study. A discrete prepotential was seen in 9 (26%) of 35 patients with CC-VA. In left and right CC-VA, the site of a discrete prepotential with ≥50 ms activation time may indicate a successful ablation site.

Application of C/C composites to the combustion chamber of rocket engines. Part 1: Heating tests of C/C composites with high temperature combustion gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tadano, Makoto; Sato, Masahiro; Kuroda, Yukio; Kusaka, Kazuo; Ueda, Shuichi; Suemitsu, Takeshi; Hasegawa, Satoshi; Kude, Yukinori

1995-04-01

Carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite (C/C composite) has various superior properties, such as high specific strength, specific modulus, and fracture strength at high temperatures of more than 1800 K. Therefore, C/C composite is expected to be useful for many structural applications, such as combustion chambers of rocket engines and nose-cones of space-planes, but C/C composite lacks oxidation resistivity in high temperature environments. To meet the lifespan requirement for thermal barrier coatings, a ceramic coating has been employed in the hot-gas side wall. However, the main drawback to the use of C/C composite is the tendency for delamination to occur between the coating layer on the hot-gas side and the base materials on the cooling side during repeated thermal heating loads. To improve the thermal properties of the thermal barrier coating, five different types of 30-mm diameter C/C composite specimens constructed with functionally gradient materials (FGM's) and a modified matrix coating layer were fabricated. In this test, these specimens were exposed to the combustion gases of the rocket engine using nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) / monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) to evaluate the properties of thermal and erosive resistance on the thermal barrier coating after the heating test. It was observed that modified matrix and coating with FGM's are effective in improving the thermal properties of C/C composite.

MTHFR 677CC/1298CC genotypes are highly associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia: a case-control study in Korea.

PubMed

Moon, Hee Won; Kim, Tae Young; Oh, Bo Ra; Min, Hyun Chung; Cho, Han Ik; Bang, Soo Mee; Lee, Jae Hoon; Yoon, Sung Soo; Lee, Dong Soon

2007-09-01

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme involved in folate metabolism and DNA methylation. Studies on MTHFR polymorphism in leukemia have largely focused on the protective role of MTHFR polymorphism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We evaluated the C677T and A1298C polymorphisms using the TaqMan allelic discrimination assay in various malignancies. The study population included 115 subjects with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), 200 with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 196 with multiple myeloma (MM) and 434 healthy control subjects. The frequency of 1298CC was statistically significantly higher in subjects with CML than that of the controls (OR=5.12, 95% CI: 1.75-14.9, P-value=.003). Of note, the frequencies of 677CC/1298CC genotype were statistically significantly higher in subjects with CML, AML and MM than that of the controls (OR=8.8, 3.5, 3.83, P-value=.002, 0.036, 0.023, respectively). Our results demonstrate that the MTHFR 1298CC homozygote variant is strongly associated with an increased risk of CML, while MTHFR C677T does not significantly affect the risk of CML. Moreover, we demonstrated that MTHFR 677CC and 1298CC genotype might have combined effect on risk of CML, AML and MM and it is inferred that the A1298C may play a different role in carcinogenesis, depending on the types of organs involved, the types of disease entities and the genotype of C677T.

[Study on the association between 5,10-methylenetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk: a Meta-analysis].

PubMed

Li, Xiao-lei; Yu, Feng; Zhang, Yong; Qiu, Jin-chun; Liu, Si-ting; Liao, Qing-chuan

2011-10-01

To evaluate the association between polymorphism of 5,10-methylenetrahydrofolate reductase C677T and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Electronic search strategy was carried out among the databases from home and abroad to collect qualified research papers, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data on case-control studies on association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and susceptibility to ALL were collected and analyzed by models of TT vs. CC + CT or TT vs. CC through Meta-analysis. Stratified analysis was carried out according to different age groups (children or adult). In systematical analysis, the pooled odds ratios of MTHFR C677T genetype TT vs. CC + CT or TT vs. CC were 0.87 (0.69 - 1.09) and 0.82 (0.63 - 1.06) respectively; in children's group, the pooled odds ratios of MTHFR C677T genetype TT vs. CC + CT or TT vs. CC were 0.92 (0.79 - 1.08), 0.88 (0.75 - 1.05) while in adult group, the pooled odds ratios of MTHFR C677T genetype TT vs. CC + CT or TT vs. CC were 0.45 (0.26 - 0.77), and 0.41 (0.22 - 0.72) respectively. The MTHFR gene 677T variant might not be associated with the risk of children's ALL but might be associated with a reduced risk on adult's ALL.

Comparison between manual and mechanical chest compressions during resuscitation in a pediatric animal model of asphyxial cardiac arrest

PubMed Central

Fernández, Sarah N.; González, Rafael; Solana, María J.; Urbano, Javier; Toledo, Blanca

2017-01-01

Aims Chest compressions (CC) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation are not sufficiently effective in many circumstances. Mechanical CC could be more effective than manual CC, but there are no studies comparing both techniques in children. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of manual and mechanical chest compressions with Thumper device in a pediatric cardiac arrest animal model. Material and methods An experimental model of asphyxial cardiac arrest (CA) in 50 piglets (mean weight 9.6 kg) was used. Animals were randomized to receive either manual CC or mechanical CC using a pediatric piston chest compressions device (Life-Stat®, Michigan Instruments). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), arterial blood gases and end-tidal CO2 (etCO2) values were measured at 3, 9, 18 and 24 minutes after the beginning of resuscitation. Results There were no significant differences in MAP, DAP, arterial blood gases and etCO2 between chest compression techniques during CPR. Survival rate was higher in the manual CC (15 of 30 = 50%) than in the mechanical CC group (3 of 20 = 15%) p = 0.016. In the mechanical CC group there was a non significant higher incidence of haemorrhage through the endotracheal tube (45% vs 20%, p = 0.114). Conclusions In a pediatric animal model of cardiac arrest, mechanical piston chest compressions produced lower survival rates than manual chest compressions, without any differences in hemodynamic and respiratory parameters. PMID:29190801

Fundamental Contradictions in Cultural Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Yvonne M.; Munch, Shari

2009-01-01

Cultural competence (CC) is considered highly relevant to social work practice with clients belonging to ethnic and racial minority groups, as the burgeoning literature and creation of practice standards on CC attest. However, examination of the conceptual underpinnings of CC reveals several major anomalies. The authors argue that several aspects…

Age-related decline of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit expression in the auditory cortex of the mimetic aging rat model associated with the common deletion.

PubMed

Zhong, Yi; Hu, Yujuan; Peng, Wei; Sun, Yu; Yang, Yang; Zhao, Xueyan; Huang, Xiang; Zhang, Honglian; Kong, Weijia

2012-12-01

The age-related deterioration in the central auditory system is well known to impair the abilities of sound localization and speech perception. However, the mechanisms involved in the age-related central auditory deficiency remain unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions accumulated with age in the auditory system. Also, a cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) deficiency has been proposed to be a causal factor in the age-related decline in mitochondrial respiratory activity. This study was designed to explore the changes of CcO activity and to investigate the possible relationship between the mtDNA common deletion (CD) and CcO activity as well as the mRNA expression of CcO subunits in the auditory cortex of D-galactose (D-gal)-induced mimetic aging rats at different ages. Moreover, we explored whether peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) were involved in the changes of nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded CcO subunits in the auditory cortex during aging. Our data demonstrated that d-gal-induced mimetic aging rats exhibited an accelerated accumulation of the CD and a gradual decline in the CcO activity in the auditory cortex during the aging process. The reduction in the CcO activity was correlated with the level of CD load in the auditory cortex. The mRNA expression of CcO subunit III was reduced significantly with age in the d-gal-induced mimetic aging rats. In contrast, the decline in the mRNA expression of subunits I and IV was relatively minor. Additionally, significant increases in the mRNA and protein levels of PGC-1α, NRF-1 and TFAM were observed in the auditory cortex of D-gal-induced mimetic aging rats with aging. These findings suggested that the accelerated accumulation of the CD in the auditory cortex may induce a substantial decline in CcO subunit III and lead to a significant decline in the CcO activity progressively with age despite compensatory increases of PGC-1α, NRF-1 and TFAM. Therefore, CcO may be a specific intramitochondrial site of age-related deterioration in the auditory cortex, and CcO subunit III might be a target in the development of presbycusis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Digestible, metabolizable, and net energy of camelina cake fed to growing pigs and additivity of energy in mixed diets.

PubMed

Kim, J W; Koo, B; Nyachoti, C M

2017-09-01

This experiment was conducted to determine the DE, ME, and NE contents of camelina cake (CC) and to test the hypothesis that dietary glucosinolates originating from CC will affect the additivity of energy in mixed diets containing different inclusion levels of corn, soybean meal (SBM), and CC. A total of 30 growing barrows ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) with a mean BW of 16.8 kg (SD 1.4) were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatments with 6 replicates per treatment. Pigs were fed experimental diets for 16 d, including 10 d for adaptation and 6 d for total collection of feces and urine. The 5 experimental diets consisted of 3 corn-based diets to determine the DE, ME, and NE of the 3 ingredients (corn, SBM, and CC) and 2 mixed diets to test the additivity of DE, ME, and NE. The corn diet contained 97.52% corn; the SBM diet contained 67.52% corn and 30.0% SBM; the CC diet contained 67.52% corn and 30.0% CC; the Mixed diet 1 contained 67.52% corn, 20.0% SBM, and 10.0% CC; and the Mixed diet 2 contained 67.25% corn, 10.0% SBM, and 20.0% CC. Vitamins and minerals were included in the diets to meet or exceed the requirements for growing pigs (). Pigs were fed their assigned diets at 550 kcal ME/kg BW per day on the basis of BW on d 1, 5, and 10, which was close to ad libitum intake. Pigs had free access to water. Determined DE, ME, and NE contents of corn were 3,348, 3,254, and 2,579 kcal/kg, respectively; those of SBM were 3,626, 3,405, and 2,129 kcal/kg, respectively; and those of CC were 3,755, 3,465, and 2,383 kcal/kg, respectively. No differences between the predicted and determined DE, ME, and NE were observed in the 2 mixed diets. In conclusion, DE, ME, and calculated NE content of CC fed to growing pigs were 3,755, 3,465, and 2,383 kcal/kg (as-fed basis), respectively. In addition, additivity of DE, ME, and calculated NE was observed in the mixed diets containing corn, SBM, and CC, which indicates that dietary glucosinolates originating from up to 30% of CC inclusion do not affect DE, ME, and calculated NE of diets.

Theoretical study of the Diels-Alder reaction between o-benzoquinone and norbornadiene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quijano-Quiñones, Ramiro F.; Quesadas-Rojas, M.; Cuevas, Gabriel; Mena-Rejón, Gonzalo J.

2013-06-01

The reaction between norbornadiene and o-benzoquinone is an important step in polyalicyclic rigid structures synthesis. It has been considered that this reaction is an example of Diels-Alder (DA) and hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) cycloadditions with o-benzoquinone acting as diene (forming C-C bonds) and heterodiene (forming O-C bonds). We have performed a Density Functional Theory study of this reaction, employing B3LYP, mPW1PW91, and B1B95 functionals and 6-31G(d,p) and 6-31+G(d,p) Gaussian type basis sets. The results indicate that Diels-Alder is a feasible mechanism for both reactions, but should not be the main route to the formation of products with C-C bonds.

Catalytic Carbonyl Allylation, Propargylation and Vinylation from the Alcohol or Aldehyde Oxidation Level via C-C Bond Forming Hydrogenation and Transfer Hydrogenation: A Departure from Preformed Organometallic Reagents**

PubMed Central

Bower, John F.; Kim, In Su; Patman, Ryan L.; Krische, Michael J.

2009-01-01

Classical protocols for carbonyl allylation, propargylation and vinylation typically rely upon the use of preformed allyl metal, allenyl metal and vinyl metal reagents, respectively, mandating stoichiometric generation of metallic byproducts. Through transfer hydrogenative C-C coupling, carbonyl addition may be achieved from the aldehyde or alcohol oxidation level in the absence of stoichiometric organometallic reagents or metallic reductants. Here, we review transfer hydrogenative methods for carbonyl addition, which encompass the first cataltyic protocols enabling direct C–H functionalization of alcohols. PMID:19040235

Modeling Aerosol Particle Deposition on a Person Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-03

The particle Stokes number is defined as Stk = Cc ρpUjd 2 p 9µD ’ (1) (1050) (10.5) (5× 10 −6) 2 (9) (1.824× 10−5) (0.015) = 0.112, (3.2) where Cc ’ 1...sizes (5 µm and Stk = 0.11). Therefore, the appropriate modeling of the fluid fluctuations in the near-wall region is crucial for accurate sim- ulations...direction, are summarized in Figures 4.5– 4.10. For visualization purposes, the flow fields and streamlines at two cross sections through the human form

Reactivity and Selectivity in Hydrovinylation of Strained Alkenes

PubMed Central

Liu, Wang; RajanBabu, T. V.

2010-01-01

Scope of Ni(II)-catalyzed hydrovinylation has been extended to strained alkenes such as heterobicyclic- [2.2.1]heptanes and cylobutenes. Reactions involving the heterobicyclic compounds are rare examples for this class of compounds where the metal-catalyzed C-C bond-forming reactions proceed without a concomitant ring-opening process. While the enantioselectivity in these systems remains modest, hydrovinylation of endo-5,6--bis-benzyloxymethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene gives excellent yield (>90%) of the product with one of the highest enantioselectivities (95–99 %ee) reported for a C-C bondforming reaction of norbornenes. PMID:20964350

From Boxing to Ballet: Remaking a Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Garth; Moulton, Nancy

1993-01-01

Traces changes in governance at Canadore College (CC) in Ontario, focusing on the Associates Model of Governance which provides a felxible, top-down hierarchical organization that allows CC to adjust to the needs of its constituents. Reports that CC reduced its budget by $6 million while increasing enrollment by 25%. (MAB)

Roof Plans: Section "CC", Roof Plan; Roof Framing Plans: Section ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Roof Plans: Section "C-C", Roof Plan; Roof Framing Plans: Section "C-C", Section "D-D"; Roof Framing Sections: Cross Section "G-G", Cross Section "H-H" - Fort Washington, Fort Washington Light, Northeast side of Potomac River at Fort Washington Park, Fort Washington, Prince George's County, MD

Detection of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in retail pork, United Kingdom, February 2015

PubMed Central

Hadjirin, N F; Lay, E M; Paterson, G K; Harrison, E M; Peacock, S J; Parkhill, J; Zadoks, R N

2016-01-01

Livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus belonging to clonal complex 398 (LA-MRSA CC398) is an important cause of zoonotic infections in many countries. Here, we describe the isolation of LA-MRSA CC398 from retail meat samples of United Kingdom (UK) farm origin. Our findings indicate that this lineage is probably established in UK pig farms and demonstrate a potential pathway for the transmission of LA-MRSA CC398 from livestock to humans in the UK. PMID:26111237

A Two-Year Longitudinal MRI Study of the Corpus Callosum in Autism

PubMed Central

Frazier, Thomas W.; Keshavan, Matcheri S.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Hardan, Antonio Y.

2015-01-01

A growing body of literature has identified size reductions of the corpus callosum (CC) in autism. However, to our knowledge, no published studies have reported on the growth of CC volumes in youth with autism. Volumes of the total CC and its sub-divisions were obtained from 23 male children with autism and 23 age-matched male controls at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Persistent reductions in total CC volume were observed in participants with autism relative to controls. Only the rostral body sub-division showed a normalization of size over time. Persistent reductions are consistent with the diagnostic stability and life-long impairment observed in many individuals with autism. Multimodal imaging studies are needed to identify specific fiber tracks contributing to CC reductions. PMID:22350341

Deregulation of energetic metabolism in the clear cell renal cell carcinoma: A multiple pathway analysis based on microarray profiling.

PubMed

Soltysova, Andrea; Breza, Jan; Takacova, Martina; Feruszova, Jana; Hudecova, Sona; Novotna, Barbora; Rozborilova, Eva; Pastorekova, Silvia; Kadasi, Ludevit; Krizanova, Olga

2015-07-01

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most frequent type of kidney cancer. In order to better understand the biology of ccRCC, we accomplished the gene profiling of fresh tissue specimens from 11 patients with the renal tumors (9 ccRCCs, 1 oncocytoma and 1 renal B-lymphoma), in which the tumor-related data were compared to the paired healthy kidney tissues from the same patients. All ccRCCs exhibited a considerably elevated transcription of the gene coding for carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX). Moreover, the ccRCC tumors consistently displayed increased expression of genes encoding the glycolytic pathway enzymes, e.g. hexokinase II (HK2) and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and a decreased expression of genes for the mitochondrial electron transport chain components, indicating an overall reprogramming of the energetic metabolism in this tumor type. This appears to be accompanied by altered expression of the genes of the pH regulating machinery, including ion and lactate transporters. Immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissue sections confirmed the increased expression of CAIX, HK2 and LDHA in ccRCC, validating the microarray data and supporting their potential as the energetic metabolism-related biomarkers of the ccRCC.

Study of high-energy neutrino neutral-current interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aderholz, M.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Akbari, H.; Allport, P. P.; Badyal, S. K.; Ballagh, H. C.; Barth, M.; Baton, J. P.; Bingham, H. H.; Brucker, E. B.; Burnstein, R. A.; Campbell, J. R.; Cence, R. J.; Chatterjee, T. K.; Clayton, E. F.; Corrigan, G.; Coutures, C.; Deprospo, D.; Devanand; de Wolf, E. A.; Faulkner, P. J.; Foeth, H.; Fretter, W. B.; Gupta, V. K.; Hanlon, J.; Harigel, G.; Harris, F. A.; Jabiol, M. A.; Jacques, P.; Jain, V.; Jones, G. T.; Jones, M. D.; Kafka, T.; Kalelkar, M.; Kasper, P.; Kohli, J. M.; Koller, E. L.; Krawiec, R. J.; Lauko, M.; Lys, J. E.; Marage, P.; Milburn, R. H.; Miller, D. B.; Mittra, I. S.; Mobayyen, M. M.; Moreels, J.; Morrison, D. R.; Myatt, G.; Nailor, P.; Naon, R.; Napier, A.; Neveu, M.; Passmore, D.; Peters, M. W.; Peterson, V. Z.; Plano, R.; Rao, N. K.; Rubin, H. A.; Sacton, J.; Sambyal, S. S.; Schmitz, N.; Schneps, J.; Singh, J. B.; Smart, W.; Stamer, P.; Varvell, K. E.; Verluyten, L.; Wachsmuth, H.; Wainstein, S.; Willocq, S.; Yost, G. P.

1992-04-01

From an exposure of the Fermilab 15-foot bubble chamber to the Tevatron quadrupole triplet neutrino beam, we have determined the ratio of neutral-current (NC) to charged-current (CC) interactions to be 0.288+/-0.032 for events with visible hadron momentum above 10 GeV/c. The mean ν(ν¯) event energy is 150 (110) GeV, which is higher than that for any previous beam. This result agrees with those from previous experiments at lower energies. The NC/CC ratio is derived for a combined sample of ν and ν¯ events. A value of 0.274+/-0.038 is obtained for the dominant ν component assuming ν¯ NC/CC=0.39+/-0.08. For events with visible hadron momentum above 25 GeV/c, where the neutral hadron contamination remaining in the NC sample is assumed to be negligible, the combined NC/CC is 0.323+/-0.025 and the K0 production rates are 0.375+/-0.064 per CC and 0.322+/-0.073 per NC event. The corresponding Λ rates are 0.161+/-0.030 per CC and 0.113+/-0.030 per NC event. The K0 and Λ distributions of the fractional hadron energy variable z in NC events are consistent with those in CC events.

Can dendritic cells improve whole cancer cell vaccines based on immunogenically killed cancer cells?

PubMed Central

Cicchelero, Laetitia; Denies, Sofie; Devriendt, Bert; de Rooster, Hilde; Sanders, Niek N

2015-01-01

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) offers interesting opportunities in cancer cell (CC) vaccine manufacture, as it increases the immunogenicity of the dead CC. Furthermore, fusion of CCs with dendritic cells (DCs) is considered a superior method for generating whole CC vaccines. Therefore, in this work, we determined in naive mice whether immunogenically killed CCs per se (CC vaccine) elicit an antitumoral immune response different from the response observed when immunogenically killed CCs are associated with DCs through fusion (fusion vaccine) or through co-incubation (co-incubation vaccine). After tumor inoculation, the type of immune response in the prophylactically vaccinated mice differed between the groups. In more detail, fusion vaccines elicited a humoral anticancer response, whereas the co-incubation and CC vaccine mainly induced a cellular response. Despite these differences, all three approaches offered a prophylactic protection against tumor development in the murine mammary carcinoma model. In summary, it can be concluded that whole CC vaccines based on immunogenically killed CCs may not necessarily require association with DCs to elicit a protective anticancer immune response. If this finding can be endorsed in other cancer models, the manufacture of CC vaccines would greatly benefit from this new insight, as production of DC-based vaccines is laborious, time-consuming and expensive. PMID:26587315

Transmission Dynamics of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pigs

PubMed Central

Crombé, Florence; Argudín, M. Angeles; Vanderhaeghen, Wannes; Hermans, Katleen; Haesebrouck, Freddy; Butaye, Patrick

2013-01-01

From the mid-2000s on, numerous studies have shown that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), renowned as human pathogen, has a reservoir in pigs and other livestock. In Europe and North America, clonal complex (CC) 398 appears to be the predominant lineage involved. Especially worrisome is its capacity to contaminate humans in close contact with affected animals. Indeed, the typical multi-resistant phenotype of MRSA CC398 and its observed ability of easily acquiring genetic material suggests that MRSA CC398 strains with an increased virulence potential may emerge, for which few therapeutic options would remain. This questions the need to implement interventions to control the presence and spread of MRSA CC398 among pigs. MRSA CC398 shows a high but not fully understood transmission potential in the pig population and is able to persist within that population. Although direct contact is probably the main route for MRSA transmission between pigs, also environmental contamination, the presence of other livestock, the herd size, and farm management are factors that may be involved in the dissemination of MRSA CC398. The current review aims at summarizing the research that has so far been done on the transmission dynamics and risk factors for introduction and persistence of MRSA CC398 in farms. PMID:23518663

Corpus callosum segmentation using deep neural networks with prior information from multi-atlas images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Gilsoon; Hong, Jinwoo; Lee, Jong-Min

2018-03-01

In human brain, Corpus Callosum (CC) is the largest white matter structure, connecting between right and left hemispheres. Structural features such as shape and size of CC in midsagittal plane are of great significance for analyzing various neurological diseases, for example Alzheimer's disease, autism and epilepsy. For quantitative and qualitative studies of CC in brain MR images, robust segmentation of CC is important. In this paper, we present a novel method for CC segmentation. Our approach is based on deep neural networks and the prior information generated from multi-atlas images. Deep neural networks have recently shown good performance in various image processing field. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have shown outstanding performance for classification and segmentation in medical image fields. We used convolutional neural networks for CC segmentation. Multi-atlas based segmentation model have been widely used in medical image segmentation because atlas has powerful information about the target structure we want to segment, consisting of MR images and corresponding manual segmentation of the target structure. We combined the prior information, such as location and intensity distribution of target structure (i.e. CC), made from multi-atlas images in CNN training process for more improving training. The CNN with prior information showed better segmentation performance than without.

Increase of genetic diversity and clonal replacement of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in South-East Austria.

PubMed

Zarfel, Gernot; Luxner, Josefa; Folli, Bettina; Leitner, Eva; Feierl, Gebhard; Kittinger, Clemens; Grisold, Andrea

2016-07-01

Spa-typing and microarray techniques were used to study epidemiological changes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South-East Austria. The population structure of 327 MRSA isolated between 2002 and 2012 was investigated. MRSA was assigned to 58 different spa types and 14 different MLST CC (multilocus sequence type clonal complexes); in particular, between 2007 and 2012, an increasing diversity in MRSA clones could be observed. The most abundant clonal complex was CC5. On the respective SCCmec cassettes, the CC5 isolates differed clearly within this decade and CC5/SCCmecI, the South German MRSA, predominant in 2002, was replaced by CC5/SCCmecII, the Rhine-Hesse MRSA in 2012. Whereas in many European countries MLST CC22-MRSA (EMRSA 15, the Barnim epidemic MRSA) is predominant, this clone occurred in Austria nearly 10 years later than in neighbouring countries. CC45, the Berlin EMRSA, epidemic in Germany, was only sporadically found in South-East Austria. The Irish ST8-MRSA-II represented by spa-type t190 was frequently found in 2002 and 2007, but disappeared in 2012. Our results demonstrate clonal replacement of MRSA clones within the last years in Austria. Ongoing surveillance is warranted for detection of changes within the MRSA population. © FEMS 2016.

Evaluation by Rocket Combustor of C/C Composite Cooled Structure Using Metallic Cooling Tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takegoshi, Masao; Ono, Fumiei; Ueda, Shuichi; Saito, Toshihito; Hayasaka, Osamu

In this study, the cooling performance of a C/C composite material structure with metallic cooling tubes fixed by elastic force without chemical bonding was evaluated experimentally using combustion gas in a rocket combustor. The C/C composite chamber was covered by a stainless steel outer shell to maintain its airtightness. Gaseous hydrogen as a fuel and gaseous oxygen as an oxidizer were used for the heating test. The surface of these C/C composites was maintained below 1500 K when the combustion gas temperature was about 2800 K and the heat flux to the combustion chamber wall was about 9 MW/m2. No thermal damage was observed on the stainless steel tubes that were in contact with the C/C composite materials. The results of the heating test showed that such a metallic tube-cooled C/C composite structure is able to control the surface temperature as a cooling structure (also as a heat exchanger) as well as indicated the possibility of reducing the amount of coolant even if the thermal load to the engine is high. Thus, application of this metallic tube-cooled C/C composite structure to reusable engines such as a rocket-ramjet combined-cycle engine is expected.

[Comparison of texture distribution of cold rolled DC and CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy at different positions through thickness direction by XRD].

PubMed

Chen, Ming-biao; Ma, Min; Yang, Qing-xiang; Wang, Shan; Liu, Wen-chang; Zhao, Ying-mei

2013-09-01

To provide gist of DC AA 5052 and CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy to industry production and application, the texture variation of cold rolled sheets through thickness direction was studied by X-ray diffraction method, and the difference in texture at surface, quarter and center layer was analyzed. The hot plates of direct chill cast (DC) AA 5052 and continuous cast (CC) AA 5052 aluminum alloy were annealed at 454 degrees C for 4 hours and then cold rolled to different reductions. The strength and volume fraction of the fiber in CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy is larger than in DC AA 5052 aluminum alloy after same rolling reduction The volume fraction of the recrystallization texture cube in the CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy is less than in the DC AA 5052 aluminum alloy, which result in that CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy needs less cold rolling reduction than DC AA 5052 aluminum alloy for generating the texture with same intensity and volume fraction at surface layer, quarter layer and center layer. The manufacturability and performance of CC AA 5052 aluminum alloy is superior to DC AA 5052 aluminum alloy for use in stamping.

Magnetic Lateral Flow Strip for the Detection of Cocaine in Urine by Naked Eyes and Smart Phone Camera.

PubMed

Wu, Jing; Dong, Mingling; Zhang, Cheng; Wang, Yu; Xie, Mengxia; Chen, Yiping

2017-06-05

Magnetic lateral flow strip (MLFS) based on magnetic bead (MB) and smart phone camera has been developed for quantitative detection of cocaine (CC) in urine samples. CC and CC-bovine serum albumin (CC-BSA) could competitively react with MB-antibody (MB-Ab) of CC on the surface of test line of MLFS. The color of MB-Ab conjugate on the test line relates to the concentration of target in the competition immunoassay format, which can be used as a visual signal. Furthermore, the color density of the MB-Ab conjugate can be transferred into digital signal (gray value) by a smart phone, which can be used as a quantitative signal. The linear detection range for CC is 5-500 ng/mL and the relative standard deviations are under 10%. The visual limit of detection was 5 ng/mL and the whole analysis time was within 10 min. The MLFS has been successfully employed for the detection of CC in urine samples without sample pre-treatment and the result is also agreed to that of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). With the popularization of smart phone cameras, the MLFS has large potential in the detection of drug residues in virtue of its stability, speediness, and low-cost.

Antihyperglycemic activity and inhibition of advanced glycation end product formation by Cuminum cyminum in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

PubMed

Jagtap, A G; Patil, P B

2010-01-01

Cuminum cyminum is widely used as a spice in many countries. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of methanolic extract of seeds of C. cyminum (CC) on diabetes, oxidative stress and formation of advanced glycated end products (AGE) and obtain comparison with glibenclamide. In vitro studies indicated that CC inhibited free radicals and AGE formation. Treatment of streptozotocin-diabetic rats with CC and glibenclamide for 28 days caused a reduction in blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and improved serum insulin and glycogen (liver and skeletal muscle) content when compared to diabetic control rats. Significant reduction in renal oxidative stress and AGE was observed with CC when compared to diabetic control and glibenclamide. CC and glibenclamide improved antioxidant status in kidney and pancreas of diabetic rats. Diabetic rats showed increase in rat tail tendon collagen, glycated collagen, collagen linked fluorescence and reduction in pepsin digestion. Treatment with CC significantly improved these parameters when compared to diabetic control and glibenclamide group. Though the antidiabetic effect of CC was comparable to glibenclamide it had better effect in controlling oxidative stress and inhibiting the AGE formation, which are implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

pH dependent green synthesis of gold nanoparticles by completely C6-carboxylated curdlan under high temperature and various pH conditions.

PubMed

Qiu, Wen-Yi; Wang, Kai; Wang, Yao-Yao; Ding, Zhi-Chao; Wu, Li-Xia; Cai, Wu-Dan; Yan, Jing-Kun

2018-01-01

A C6-carboxylated curdlan (C6-Cc) obtained from 4-acetamido-TEMPO-mediated oxidation of curdlan was used both as a reducing and stabilizing agent for green synthesis of pH-responsive AuNPs, which was carried out by controlling the pH of the C6-Cc solution at a high temperature (100°C). C6-Cc presented a semi-flexible random coil chain in the aqueous medium at pH 5.5 and became more expanded and rigid in alkaline conditions (pH 7.1-12.0), though the primary chemical structure of C6-Cc was virtually unchanged with the pH variation. The AuNPs prepared with C6-Cc at various pHs were characterized by various instrumental measurements. The shapes and sizes of AuNPs were found to be strongly dependent on the pH of the C6-Cc solution. The C6-Cc-decorated AuNPs exhibited a more well-dispersed spherical morphology with smaller particle sizes under alkaline conditions (pH 7.1-12.0). Through this study, a facile, simple, and green method has been demonstrated for preparation of stimuli-sensitive AuNPs using biocompatible polyanionic polysaccharides. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Critical current degradation behaviour of GdBCO CC tapes in pure torsion and combined tension-torsion modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorospe, Alking; Bautista, Zhierwinjay; Shin, Hyung-Seop

2016-10-01

Coated conductor (CC) tapes utilized in high-current-density superconducting cables are commonly subjected to different loading modes, primarily torsion and tension especially in the case of twisted stacked-tape cable. Torsion load can occur due to twisting along the length or when winding the CC tapes around a former, while tension load can occur due to pre-tension when coiled and as a hoop stress when the coil is energized. In this study, electromechanical properties of single CC tapes under torsion load were investigated using a new test apparatus. The results could provide basic information for cable designers to fully characterize stacked cables. Copper-electroplated and brass-laminated CC tapes fabricated with different deposition techniques were subjected to pure torsion and combined tension-torsion loading. The critical current, I c degradation behaviours of CC tapes under torsional deformation were examined. Also, the effect of further external lamination on the I c degradation behaviour of the CC tapes under such loading conditions was investigated. In the case of the combined tension-torsion test, short samples were subjected to twist pitches of 200 mm and 100 mm. Critical parameters including reversible axial stress and strain in such twist pitch conditions were also investigated.

Transcriptomic Analysis and Meta-Analysis of Human Granulosa and Cumulus Cells

PubMed Central

Burnik Papler, Tanja; Vrtacnik Bokal, Eda; Maver, Ales; Kopitar, Andreja Natasa; Lovrečić, Luca

2015-01-01

Specific gene expression in oocytes and its surrounding cumulus (CC) and granulosa (GC) cells is needed for successful folliculogenesis and oocyte maturation. The aim of the present study was to compare genome-wide gene expression and biological functions of human GC and CC. Individual GC and CC were derived from 37 women undergoing IVF procedures. Gene expression analysis was performed using microarrays, followed by a meta-analysis. Results were validated using quantitative real-time PCR. There were 6029 differentially expressed genes (q < 10−4); of which 650 genes had a log2 FC ≥ 2. After the meta-analysis there were 3156 genes differentially expressed. Among these there were genes that have previously not been reported in human somatic follicular cells, like prokineticin 2 (PROK2), higher expressed in GC, and pregnancy up-regulated nonubiquitous CaM kinase (PNCK), higher expressed in CC. Pathways like inflammatory response and angiogenesis were enriched in GC, whereas in CC, cell differentiation and multicellular organismal development were among enriched pathways. In conclusion, transcriptomes of GC and CC as well as biological functions, are distinctive for each cell subpopulation. By describing novel genes like PROK2 and PNCK, expressed in GC and CC, we upgraded the existing data on human follicular biology. PMID:26313571

The effect of luteal-phase support with vaginal progesterone on pregnancy rates in gonadotropin and clomiphene citrate/intra-uterine insemination cycles in unexplained infertility: A prospective randomised study.

PubMed

Karadag, Burak; Dilbaz, Berna; Karcaaltincaba, Deniz; Sahin, Elif Gulsah; Ercan, Fedi; Karasu, Yetkin; Tonyalı, Nazan Vanlı

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of luteal-phase support on pregnancy rates in gonadotropin + intra-uterine insemination (Gn/IUI) and clomiphene citrate (CC) +IUI (CC/IUI) cycles in patients with unexplained infertility. Equal numbers of patients were recruited in two treatment arms (CC/IUI and Gn/IUI) (n = 100, n = 100, respectively). In each group, 50 patients received vaginal progesterone for 14 days (Crinone 8% vaginal gel, 90 mg per day) for luteal-phase support from the day after IUI and continued until menstruation or the 10th week of gestation if pregnant. There were 29 clinical pregnancies among 200 patients. Pregnancy rates were 12% in CC/IUI cycles, 10% in luteal-phase-supported CC/IUI cycles 16% in Gn/IUI cycles and 20% in luteal-phase-supported Gn/IUI cycles. Although pregnancy rates were higher in Gn/IUI cycles compared to CC/IUI cycles, luteal-phase support did not significantly affect the pregnancy rates in both groups. This study implies that luteal-phase support with progesterone has no pronounced beneficial effect on pregnancy rates in either CC/IUI or Gn/IUI cycles in patients with unexplained infertility.

A sensor based on the carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid composite for simultaneous determination of hydroquinone and catechol.

PubMed

Bu, Caihong; Liu, Xiuhui; Zhang, Yijun; Li, Li; Zhou, Xibin; Lu, Xiaoquan

2011-11-01

MWNTs-IL-Gel/GCE, a glassy carbon electrode modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and ionic liquids (IL), was developed to serve as a sensor for simultaneous determination of Hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC) in this paper. The modified GCE showed two well-defined redox waves for HQ and CC in both CV and DPV with a peak potential separation of ca. 0.1 V, which was large enough for simultaneous detection. The results revealed that the oxidation of HQ and CC with the enhancement of the redox peak current and the decrease of the peak-to-peak separation exhibit excellent electrocatalytic behaviors. A high sensitivity of 1.8×10(-7)M with detection limits of 6.7×10(-8)M and 6.0×10(-8)M (S/N=3) for HQ and CC were obtained. Moreover, the constants of apparent electron transfer rate of HQ and CC at MWNTs-IL-Gel/GCE were calculated as 7.402 s(-1) and 8.179 s(-1), respectively, and the adsorption quantity of HQ and CC was 1.408×10(-6) mol cm(-2) with chronocoulometry. The developed sensor can be applied to determinate directly of HQ and CC in aqueous solution. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dampness and Moisture Problems in Norwegian Homes

PubMed Central

Becher, Rune; Høie, Anja Hortemo; Bakke, Jan Vilhelm; Holøs, Sverre Bjørn; Øvrevik, Johan

2017-01-01

The occurrence of dampness and mold in the indoor environment is associated with respiratory-related disease outcomes. Thus, it is pertinent to know the magnitude of such indoor environment problems to be able to estimate the potential health impact in the population. In the present study, the moisture damage in 10,112 Norwegian dwellings was recorded based on building inspection reports. The levels of moisture damage were graded based on a condition class (CC), where CC0 is immaculate and CC1 acceptable (actions not required), while CC2 and CC3 indicate increased levels of damage that requires action. Of the 10,112 dwellings investigated, 3125 had verified moisture or mold damage. This amounts to 31% of the surveyed dwellings. Of these, 27% had CC2 as the worst grade, whereas 4% had CC3 as the worst grade level. The room types and building structures most prone to moisture damage were (in rank order) crawl spaces, basements, un-insulated attics, cooling rooms, and bathrooms. The high proportion of homes with moisture damage indicate a possible risk for respiratory diseases in a relatively large number of individuals, even if only the more extensive moisture damages and those located in rooms where occupants spend the majority of their time would have a significant influence on adverse health effects. PMID:29039816

Renormalized coupled cluster approaches in the cluster-in-molecule framework: predicting vertical electron binding energies of the anionic water clusters (H2O)(n)(-).

PubMed

Xu, Peng; Gordon, Mark S

2014-09-04

Anionic water clusters are generally considered to be extremely challenging to model using fragmentation approaches due to the diffuse nature of the excess electron distribution. The local correlation coupled cluster (CC) framework cluster-in-molecule (CIM) approach combined with the completely renormalized CR-CC(2,3) method [abbreviated CIM/CR-CC(2,3)] is shown to be a viable alternative for computing the vertical electron binding energies (VEBE). CIM/CR-CC(2,3) with the threshold parameter ζ set to 0.001, as a trade-off between accuracy and computational cost, demonstrates the reliability of predicting the VEBE, with an average percentage error of ∼15% compared to the full ab initio calculation at the same level of theory. The errors are predominantly from the electron correlation energy. The CIM/CR-CC(2,3) approach provides the ease of a black-box type calculation with few threshold parameters to manipulate. The cluster sizes that can be studied by high-level ab initio methods are significantly increased in comparison with full CC calculations. Therefore, the VEBE computed by the CIM/CR-CC(2,3) method can be used as benchmarks for testing model potential approaches in small-to-intermediate-sized water clusters.

The effect of a physical activity intervention on preschoolers' fundamental motor skills - A cluster RCT.

PubMed

Wasenius, Niko S; Grattan, Kimberly P; Harvey, Alysha L J; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Goldfield, Gary S; Adamo, Kristi B

2018-07-01

To assess the effect of a physical activity intervention delivered in the childcare centres (CC), with or without a parent-driven home physical activity component, on children's fundamental motor skills (FMS). Six-month 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Preschoolers were recruited from 18 licensed CC. CC were randomly assigned to a typical curriculum comparison group (COM), childcare intervention alone (CC), or childcare intervention with parental component (CC+HOME). FMS was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Linear mixed models were performed at the level of the individual while accounting for clustering. Raw locomotor skills score increased significantly in the CC group (mean difference=2.5 units, 95% Confidence Intervals, CI, 1.0-4.1, p<0.001) and the CC+HOME group (mean difference=2.4 units, 95% CI, 0.8-4.0, p<0.001) compared to the COM group. No significant (p>0.05) between group differences were observed in the raw object control skills, sum of raw scores, or gross motor quotient. No significant sex differences were found in any of the measured outcomes. A physical activity intervention delivered in childcare with or without parents' involvement was effective in increasing locomotor skills in preschoolers. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.