Effective connectivity during working memory and resting states: A DCM study

Publication date: 1 April 2018
Source:NeuroImage, Volume 169
Author(s): Kyesam Jung, Karl J. Friston, Chongwon Pae, Hanseul H. Choi, Sungho Tak, Yoon Kyoung Choi, Bumhee Park, Chan-A Park, Chaejoon Cheong, Hae-Jeong Park
Although the relationship between resting-state functional connectivity and task-related activity has been addressed, the relationship between task and resting-state directed or effective connectivity – and its behavioral concomitants – remains elusive. We evaluated effective connectivity under an N-back working memory task in 24 participants using stochastic dynamic causal modelling (DCM) of 7 T fMRI data. We repeated the analysis using resting-state data, from the same subjects, to model connectivity among the same brain regions engaged by the N-back task. This allowed us to: (i) examine the relationship between intrinsic (task-independent) effective connectivity during resting (Arest) and task states (Atask), (ii) cluster phenotypes of task-related changes in effective connectivity (Btask) across participants, (iii) identify edges (Btask) showing high inter-individual effective connectivity differences and (iv) associate reaction times with the similarity between Btask and Arest in these edges. We found a strong correlation between Arest and Atask over subjects but a marked difference between Btask and Arest. We further observed a strong clustering of individuals in terms of Btask, which was not apparent in Arest. The task-related effective connectivity Btask varied highly in the edges from the parietal to the frontal lobes across individuals, so the three groups were clustered mainly by the effective connectivity within these networks. The similarity between Btask and Arest at the edges from the parietal to the frontal lobes was positively correlated with 2-back reaction times. This result implies that a greater change in context-sensitive coupling – from resting-state connectivity – is associated with faster reaction times. In summary, task-dependent connectivity endows resting-state connectivity with a context sensitivity, which predicts the speed of information processing during the N-back task.



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Scholar : These new articles for Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology are available online

The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content New for Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology and online now on Taylor & Francis Online: Note Corrigendum Pages: 1-1 | DOI: 10.1080/03115518.2017.1417479 Browse papers on image & data fusion, GIS, LiDAR & more in the International Journal of Image and Data Fusion's exclusive Editor's Choice collection. To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Cosmetics, Vol. 5, Pages 9: Significance of Ubiad1 for Epidermal Keratinocytes Involves More Than CoQ10 Synthesis: Implications for Skin Aging

Cosmetics, Vol. 5, Pages 9: Significance of Ubiad1 for Epidermal Keratinocytes Involves More Than CoQ10 Synthesis: Implications for Skin Aging

Cosmetics doi: 10.3390/cosmetics5010009

Authors: Florian Labarrade Gopinathan Menon Laura Labourasse Catherine Gondran Karine Cucumel Nouha Domloge

The significance of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) as an anti-oxidant barrier of the skin, as well as a key component in anti-aging strategies for skin care products, has been firmly established. Biosynthesis of CoQ10 in the mitochondria is well known, but there is only limited information on the non-mitochondrial synthesis of CoQ10 in the skin. Recent findings in zebrafish identified that a tumor suppressor, Ubiad1, is also a key enzyme in the non-mitochondrial synthesis of CoQ10. The purpose of this study was to investigate expression of Ubiad1 in human skin, and its implication in the skin's cutaneous response to oxidative stress. We observed Ubiad1 localization in the epidermis, particularly a subcellular localization in the Golgi apparatus. Ubiad1 modulation by a pentapeptide was associated with an observed reduction in ROS/RNS stresses (−44%/−19% respectively), lipid peroxidation (−25%) and preservation of membrane fluidity under stress conditions. Electron microscopy of keratinocytes revealed a significant degree of stimulation of the Golgi complex, as well as significantly improved mitochondrial morphology. Given the importance of CoQ10 in mitigating the visible signs of skin aging, our findings identify Ubiad1 as an essential component of the defensive barriers of the epidermis.

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IRF1 up-regulates isg15 gene expression in dsRNA stimulation or CSFV infection by targeting nucleotides −487 to −325 in the 5′ flanking region

Publication date: February 2018
Source:Molecular Immunology, Volume 94
Author(s): Xiao-Quan Li, Xiao Ning Li, Jing-Jing Liang, Xin-Bin Cai, Qian Tao, Yu-Xiao Li, Qing Qin, Su-Ping Xu, Ting Rong Luo
Interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) encodes a ubiquitin-like protein that is heavily involved in immune response elicitation. As an important member of interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family, IRF1 can activate the expression of multiple genes, including the human optineurin gene (Sudhakar et al., 2013). In this study, a sequence in the promoter region of the optineurin gene was compared to the 5′ flanking region of the porcine isg15 gene. Porcine IRF1 also possesses antiviral activity against several swine viruses (Li et al., 2015), but the mechanism is not well understood. Herein, we report that porcine IRF1 and ISG15 were up-regulated in porcine kidney (PK-15) cells following stimulation with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) or classical swine fever virus (CSFV) infection. We also found that siRNA-mediated knockdown of IRF1 expression resulted in lower ISG15 expression in response to polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] or CSFV infection. The overexpression of IRF1 resulted in ISG15 up-regulation. IRF1 was shown to translocate to the nucleus in response to dsRNA stimulation. To further identify the functional domain of the isg15 gene that promotes IRF1 transcriptional activity, firefly luciferase and ISG15 reporter systems were constructed. The results of the firefly luciferase and ISG15 reporter assay suggested that IRF1 mediates the up-regulation of ISG15. Nucleotides −487 to −325, located in the 5′ flanking region of the isg15 gene, constituted the promoter region of IRF1. ChIP assay indicated that IRF1 protein was able to interact with the DNA in the 5′fr of isg15 gene in cells. As an innate immune response protein with broad-spectrum antiviral activity, the up-regulation of ISG15 mediated by IRF1 in porcine cells is reported for the first time. These results warrant further investigation into the antiviral activity of porcine IRF1 against reported swine viruses.



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DNA induction of MDM2 promotes proliferation of human renal mesangial cells and alters peripheral B cells subsets in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus

Publication date: February 2018
Source:Molecular Immunology, Volume 94
Author(s): Chen-xing Zhang, Ji Chen, Li Cai, Jing Wu, Jia-yuan Wang, Lan-fang Cao, Wei Zhou, Tong-xin Chen
The study is aimed to investigate the role of MDM2 in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN) in pediatric SLE (pSLE). We confirmed that MDM2 expression was increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as well as renal specimen of SLE compared with that of controls by western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Percentage of apoptotic and necrotic CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T and B cells were detected by flow cytometry respectively and levels of plasma cell free DNA (cfDNA) were quantified in SLE and healthy controls (HC). We also proved that elevated apoptotic and necrotic CD4⁺T cells were the main cause for increased plasma levels of cfDNA in pSLE. Additionally, upon DNA transfection MDM2 increased while P53 and P21 decreased in human renal mesangial cells (HRMC), with concomitant increase in proliferation rate and proportion of cells in S phase, as demonstrated by cell proliferation assay and cell cycle analysis. However, MDM2 inhibition reversed the trend. Furthermore, percentage of switched memory B cells decreased and proportion of double negative B cells increased upon blockage of MDM2 in PBMC. In summary, our study provided the first evidence that DNA induction of MDM2 promotes proliferation of HRMC and alters peripheral B cells subsets in pSLE. Thus our study has not only elucidated the pathogenesis of MDM2 in pediatric LN but also provided a novel target for drug development. In conclusion, our data suggested that apoptosis, cfDNA and MDM2 could form a pathological axis in SLE, especially in pSLE.



http://ift.tt/2mjrl2l

Immunization with recombinant FliD confers protection against Helicobacter pylori infection in mice

Publication date: February 2018
Source:Molecular Immunology, Volume 94
Author(s): Amir Ghasemi, Nazanin Mohammad, Josef Mautner, Mehrnaz Taghipour Karsabet, Abolfazl Ardjmand, Rezvan Moniri
Nearly half of the world's population is infected with Helicobacter pylori. Clinical manifestations of this infection range from gastritis and peptic ulcers to gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma. Due to the emerging of antibiotic resistant strains and poor patient compliance of the antibiotic therapy, there is increasing interest in the development of a protective vaccine against H. pylori infection. The bacterial protein FliD forms a capping structure on the end of each flagellum which is critical to prevent depolymerization and structural degradation. In this study, the potential of FliD as a prospective H. pylori subunit vaccine was assessed. For this purpose, immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant FliD (rFliD) from H. pylori was evaluated in C57BL/6 mice. Purified rFliD was formulated with different adjuvants and administered via subcutaneous or oral route. Subcutaneous immunization with rFliD elicited predominantly mixed Th1 and Th17 immune responses, with high titers of specific IgG1 and IgG2a. Splenocytes of immunized mice exhibited strong antigen-specific memory responses, resulting in the secretion of high amounts of IFN-γ and IL-17, and low levels of IL-4. Immunization with rFliD caused a significant reduction in H. pylori bacterial load relative to naïve control mice (p < 0.001), demonstrating a robust protective effect. Taken together, these results suggest that subcutaneous vaccination with rFliD formulated with CpG or Addavax could be considered as a potential candidate for the development of a subunit vaccine against H. pylori infection.



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The emerging role of nanomaterials in immunological sensing — a brief review

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Molecular Immunology
Author(s): Simon R. Corrie, Magdalena Plebanski
Nanomaterials are beginning to play an important role in the next generation of immunological assays and biosensors, with potential impacts both in research and clinical practice. In this brief review, we highlight two areas in which nanomaterials are already making new and important contributions in the past 5–10 years: firstly, in the improvement of assay and biosensor sensitivity for detection of low abundance proteins of immunological significance, and secondly, in the real-time and continuous monitoring of protein secretion from arrays of individual cells. We finish by challenging the immunology/sensing communities to work together to develop nanomaterials that can provide real-time, continuous, and sensitive molecular readouts in vivo, a lofty goal that will require significant collaborative effort.



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StrataXRT vs Standard Clinical Practice for the Prevention of Acute Dermatitis in Head and Neck Cancers Patients

Conditions:   Head and Neck Cancers;   Acute Radiation Dermatitis
Intervention:   Device: StrataXRT
Sponsor:   National University Hospital, Singapore
Not yet recruiting

http://ift.tt/2EqAxsn

O-Arm-Guided Percutaneous Radiofrequency Cordotomy

Background: Pain is often one of the most debilitating symptoms in patients with advanced oncological disease. Patients with localized pain due to malignancy refractory to medical treatment can benefit from selective percutaneous cordotomy that disconnects the ascending pain fibers in the spinothalamic tract. Objectives: Over the past year, we have been performing percutaneous radiofrequency cordotomy with the use of the O-Arm intraoperative imaging system that allows both 2D fluoroscopy and 3D reconstructed computerized tomography imaging. We present our experience using this technique, focusing on technical nuances and complications. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all patients who underwent percutaneous cordotomy between March 2016 and March 2017. Results: Nineteen patients underwent percutaneous cordotomy procedures. Two patients developed intraoperative delirium and were unable to tolerate the procedure. In 16 out of 17 completed procedures, we achieved excellent immediate pain relief (94%). At 1 month after operation, 15 of the 17 (88%) patients were pain free, and at 3 months 5 out of 5 patients available for follow-up were still free of their original pain. Mirror pain developed in 6 of the 17 patients (35%), but was mild in 4 of these cases and controlled with medications. We experienced 1 serious complication (6%) of ipsilateral hemiparesis. Conclusion: Percutaneous cordotomy using the O-Arm is safe and effective in the treatment of intractable oncological pain.
Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 2017;95:409-416

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Double Anterior Stereotactic Cingulotomy for Intractable Oncological Pain

Background: Stereotactic anterior cingulotomy has been used in the treatment of patients suffering from refractory oncological pain due to its effects on pain perception. However, the optimal targets as well as suitable candidates and outcome measures have not been well defined. We report our initial experience in the ablation of 2 cingulotomy targets on each side and the use of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) as a perioperative assessment tool. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent stereotactic anterior cingulotomy in our Department between November 2015 and February 2017 was performed. All patients had advanced metastatic cancer with limited prognosis and suffered from intractable oncological pain. Results: Thirteen patients (10 women and 3 men) underwent 14 cingulotomy procedures. Their mean age was 54 ± 14 years. All patients reported substantial pain relief immediately after the operation. Out of the 6 preoperatively bedridden patients, 3 started ambulating shortly after. At the 1-month follow-up, the mean preoperative Visual Analogue Scale score decreased from 9 ± 0.9 to 4 ± 2.7 (p = 0.003). Mean BPI pain severity and interference scores decreased from levels of 29 ± 4 and 55 ± 12 to 16 ± 12 (p = 0.028) and 37 ± 15 (p = 0.043), respectively. During the 1- and 3-month follow-up visits, 9/11 patients (82%) and 5/7 patients (71%) available for follow-up reported substantial pain relief. No patient reported worsening of pain during the study period. Neuropsychological analyses of 6 patients showed stable cognitive functions with a mild nonsignificant decline in focused attention and executive functions. Adverse events included transient confusion or mild apathy in 5 patients (38%) lasting 1-4 weeks. Conclusions: Our initial experience indicates that double stereotactic cingulotomy is safe and effective in alleviating refractory oncological pain.
Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 2017;95:400-408

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Prolactin and human skin–the effects of sex and site on expression and function

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Scholar : Xenobiotica, Volume 48, Issue 3, March 2018 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online

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The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content Xenobiotica, Volume 48, Issue 3, March 2018 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online. This new issue contains the following articles: General Xenobiochemistry A novel in vitro allometric scaling methodology for aldehyde oxidase substrates to enable selection of appropriate species for traditional allometry Rachel D. Crouch, J. Matthew Hutzler & J. Scott Daniels Pages: 219-231 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1296208 Co-treatment with indole-3-carbinol and resveratrol modify porcine CYP1A and CYP3A activities and expression Galia Zamaratskaia, Rebekka Thøgersen, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar & Martin Krøyer Rasmussen Pages: 232-240 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1300708 Potential biomarkers for monitoring the toxicity of long-term exposure to atrazine in rat by metabonomic analysis Xiao-Feng Zhang, Chong-Hua Zhang, Jing Zheng, Long-Xue Li, Tian-Qi Geng & Yang Zhang Pages: 241-249 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1303221 The inhibition of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) by tetraiodothyronine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) Da-Wei Chen, Zuo Du, Chun-Ze Zhang, Wei-Hua Zhang, Yun-Feng Cao, Hong-Zhi Sun, Zhi-Tu Zhu, Kun Yang, Yong-Zhe Liu, Ze-Wei Zhao, Zhi-Wei Fu, Wen-Qing Gu, Yang Yu & Zhong-Ze Fang Pages: 250-257 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1304593 Enzymatic kinetics regarding reversible metabolism of CS-0777, a sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator, via phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in humans Shin-Ichi Inaba, Maki Yamaguchi-Goto, Kaoru Tanaka-Takanaka, Kiyoaki Yonesu, Hidetaka Sakurai, Kazuishi Kubota & Takashi Izumi Pages: 258-268 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1306150 Animal Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism Characterization of metabolites of larotaxel in rat by liquid chromatography coupled with Q exactive high-resolution benchtop quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometer Zhenzhen Liu, Pengyi Hou, Lian Liu & Feng Qian Pages: 269-278 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1297872 Comparative pharmacokinetics study of anastrozole after single administration and combination with celecoxib Xiaoyang Sun, Mingming Lv, Binjie Wang, Simin Zhao, Ping Guo, Shixiao Wang, Liqiang Gu & Xiaohui Chen Pages: 279-284 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1298872 Metabolic map of osthole and its effect on lipids Qi Zhao, Xin-Mei Li, Hong-Ning Liu, Frank J. Gonzalez & Fei Li Pages: 285-299 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1306660 Xenobiotic Transporters Transport properties of valsartan, sacubitril and its active metabolite (LBQ657) as determinants of disposition Imad Hanna, Natalya Alexander, Matthew H. Crouthamel, John Davis, Adrienne Natrillo, Phi Tran, Arpine Vapurcuyan & Bing Zhu Pages: 300-313 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1295171 The involvement of multidrug and toxin extrusion protein 1 in the distribution and excretion of berberine Ling Xiao, Yaru Xue, Cuifeng Zhang, Le Wang, Yunfei Lin & Guoyu Pan Pages: 314-323 | DOI: 10.1080/00498254.2017.1300707 To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

In the Setting of Negative Mammogram, is Additional Breast Ultrasound Necessary for Evaluation of Breast Pain?

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018
Source:Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology
Author(s): Eralda Mema, Emma Cho, Yun-Kyoung Ryu, Priya Jadeja, Ralph Wynn, Brett Taback, Richard Ha
PurposeTo evaluate whether in the setting of negative diagnostic mammogram for breast pain additional ultrasound is necessary.MethodsRetrospective IRB approved review of our database identified 8085 women who underwent ultrasound evaluation for breast pain from 1/1/2013 to 12/31/2013. Of 8085 women, 559 women had mammogram evaluation preceding the ultrasound and these women comprise the basis of this study. The patient′s age, type of mammogram exam (screening or diagnostic), BIRADS breast density, type of breast pain (focal, diffuse, cyclical, unilateral, bilateral), additional breast symptoms (palpable concern, nipple discharge, skin changes, others), mammogram/ultrasound findings and final BIRADS assessment, follow-up imaging and follow-up biopsy results were reviewed and recorded.ResultsThe median age of patients was 46 years old (range 27–97). Patients recalled from negative screening mammogram were 29.8% (167/559). Patients with preceding negative diagnostic mammogram were 70.2% (392/559). The BIRADS breast density (BD) distribution was BD1: 5.5%, BD2: 39.9%, BD3: 46.0%, BD4: 8.6%. Final BIRADS assessments were BIRADS 1/2 (79%), BIRADS3 (12.9%), BIRADS 4 (8.1%), BIRADS 5 (0%). Majority (66.9%, 374/559) of the patient had breast pain alone. Additional breast symptoms were also noted as follows: palpable concern (24%), nipple discharge (3.9%), skin changes/other (5.2%). On follow-up evaluation, 26 findings were recommended for tissue sampling yielding 2 malignancies (0.4%, 2/559) in 2 patients. In the setting of negative mammogram and clinical symptom of breast pain alone yielded no malignances (NPV, 100%, 374/374) and was not impacted by breast density. In patients with additional symptoms accompanying pain, malignancies were present despite negative mammogram in 2 patients; nipple discharge (4.5%, 1/22) and palpable concern (0.7%, 1/134).ConclusionIn the setting of negative mammogram and breast pain alone, additional evaluation with ultrasound is likely low yield and may be unnecessary. However, with additional symptoms such as palpable concern or nipple discharge, ultrasound is likely an important adjunct modality for identifying mammographically occult tumors.



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Scholar : These new articles for Aphasiology are available online

The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content New for Aphasiology and online now on Taylor & Francis Online: Original Articles The lexical or sub-lexical locus of facilitation by phonemic cueing in aphasic speakers: the effect of onset cohort size Pauline Pellet Cheneval, Bertrand Glize & Marina Laganaro Pages: 1-22 | DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2017.1423273 Routledge Psychology 2017 sponsor of BPS #PsychCrunch podcasts. Access 25 journal articles: http://bit.ly/psychcrunch2017 To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Issue Information

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Prolactin and human skin–the effects of sex and site on expression and function

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Effects of hypothalamic leptin gene therapy on osteopetrosis in leptin-deficient mice

Impaired resorption of cartilage matrix deposited during endochondral ossification is a defining feature of juvenile osteopetrosis. Growing, leptin-deficient ob/ob mice exhibit a mild form of osteopetrosis. However, the extent to which the disease is (1) self-limiting and (2) reversible by leptin treatment is unknown. We addressed the first question by performing histomorphometric analysis of femurs in rapidly growing (2-month-old), slowly growing (4-month-old) and skeletally mature (6-month-old) wild-type (WT) and ob/ob male mice. Absent by 6 months of age in WT mice, cartilage matrix persisted to varying extents in distal femur epiphysis, metaphysis and diaphysis in ob/ob mice, suggesting that the osteopetrotic phenotype is not entirely self-limiting. To address the second question, we employed hypothalamic recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene therapy to restore leptin signaling in ob/ob mice. Two-month-old mice were randomized to one of the three groups: (1) untreated control, (2) rAAV-Leptin or (3) control vector rAAV-green fluorescent protein and vectors injected intracerebroventricularly. Seven months later, rAAV-leptin-treated mice exhibited no cartilage in the metaphysis and greatly reduced cartilage in the epiphysis and diaphysis. At the cellular level, the reduction in cartilage was associated with increased bone turnover. These findings (1) support the concept that leptin is important for normal replacement of cartilage by bone, and (2) demonstrate that osteopetrosis in ob/ob mice is bone-compartment-specific and reversible by leptin at skeletal sites capable of undergoing robust bone turnover.

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Vitamin D, the placenta and early pregnancy: effects on trophoblast function

Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in vitamin D metabolism, notably increased maternal serum levels of active vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin (1,25(OH)₂D). This appears to be due primarily to increased renal activity of the enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) that catalyzes synthesis of 1,25(OH)₂D, but CYP27B1 expression is also prominent in both the maternal decidua and fetal trophoblast components of the placenta. The precise function of placental synthesis of 1,25(OH)₂D remains unclear, but is likely to involve localized tissue-specific responses with both decidua and trophoblast also expressing the vitamin D receptor (VDR) for 1,25(OH)₂D. We have previously described immunomodulatory responses to 1,25(OH)₂D by diverse populations of VDR-expressing cells within the decidua. The aim of the current review is to detail the role of vitamin D in pregnancy from a trophoblast perspective, with particular emphasis on the potential role of 1,25(OH)₂D as a regulator of trophoblast invasion in early pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnant women, and a wide range of studies have linked low vitamin D status to adverse events in pregnancy. To date, most of these studies have focused on adverse events later in pregnancy, but the current review will explore the potential impact of vitamin D on early pregnancy, and how this may influence implantation and miscarriage.

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Scholar : Culture, Theory and Critique, Volume 59, Issue 1, February 2018 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online

The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content Culture, Theory and Critique, Volume 59, Issue 1, February 2018 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online. This new issue contains the following articles: Articles Three sump concepts: an exhortation to critical social scientists John Welsh Pages: 1-19 | DOI: 10.1080/14735784.2017.1403939 Thinking ecologically with Judith Butler Joshua Trey Barnett Pages: 20-39 | DOI: 10.1080/14735784.2017.1392881 Middle East and other futurisms: imaginary temporalities in contemporary art and visual culture Jussi Parikka Pages: 40-58 | DOI: 10.1080/14735784.2017.1410439 The institution of institutionalism: difference, universalism and the legacies of Institutional Critique Carlos Garrido Castellano Pages: 59-73 | DOI: 10.1080/14735784.2017.1410438 Browse this free access collection on: Communication, Media and Culture in Asia. To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Coxsackievirus and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: The Wolf’s Footprints

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism
Author(s): Decio L. Eizirik, Anne Op de Beeck
Enteroviruses are important environmental contributors to islet inflammation (insulitis) in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). A recent study characterized the proteomic alterations induced by Coxsackievirus type B (CVB) infection of human islets. This provides relevant information to decipher the words of the virus-induced 'dialog' between β cells and the immune system that leads to autoimmunity.



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Nanocube line-up affects optical properties

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Nano Today





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Reversible textile keeps body warm and cool

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Nano Today





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Nanoscale order brings flexibility to concrete

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Nano Today





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Facet-dependent photocatalysis of nanosize semiconductive metal oxides and progress of their characterization

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Nano Today
Author(s): Yung-Kang Peng, S.C. Edman Tsang
Semiconductive metal oxides are of great importance in environmental remediation and electronics because of their ability to generate charge carriers when excited with appropriate light energy. The electronic structure, light absorption and charge transport properties of the metal oxides have made possible their applications as photocatalysts. Recently, facet-engineering by morphology control has been intensively studied as an efficient approach to further enhance their photocatalytic performance. However, various processing steps and post-treatments used during the preparation of facet-engineered particles may generate different surface active sites which may affect their photocatalysis. Moreover, many traditional techniques (PL, EPR, XPS and Raman) used for materials characterization (oxygen vacancy, hydroxyl group, cation…etc.) are not truly surface specific but the analyses range from top few layers to bulk. Accordingly, they can only provide very limited information on the chemical states of the surface active features and distributions among facets, causing difficulty to unambiguously correlate facet-dependent results with activity. As a result, this always leads to different interpretations amongst researchers during the past decades. In this article, we will review on the controversies generated among researchers, when they correlated the performance of two most popular photocatalysts, ZnO and TiO2 with their facet activities based on characterization from the traditional techniques. As there are shortcomings of these techniques in producing truly facet-dependent features, some results can be misleading and with no cross-literature comparison. This review is also focussed on the new capability of probe-molecule-assisted NMR which allows a genuine differentiation of surface active sites from various facets. This surface-fingerprint technique has been demonstrated to provide both qualitative (chemical shift) and quantitative (peak intensity) information on the concentration and distribution of truly surface features. In light of the new technique this article will revisit the facet-dependent photocatalytic properties and shed light on these issues.

Graphical abstract

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Dual-targeted nanomedicines for enhanced tumor treatment

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Nano Today
Author(s): Yaqin Zhu, Jan Feijen, Zhiyuan Zhong
Based on the overexpression of specific receptors on tumor cells, active targeting nanomedicines have been developed with the ability to efficiently deliver imaging agents in the tumor area or anticancer drugs into tumor cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Nevertheless, the efficacy of single-ligand nanomedicines is still limited due to the complexity of the tumor microenvironment. In recent years, dual-ligand nanomedicines have attracted a lot of interest, because these nanomedicines endowed with versatile functions, have the potential to improve the efficacy of tumor-targeted delivery. In this review, an overview of various dual-ligand nanomedicines for tumor targeted therapy will be presented, the role of cell penetrating peptides in combination with targeting ligands will be discussed and factors that affect the targeting efficacy of dual-ligand nanomedicines will be evaluated.

Graphical abstract

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Magnetic Cu-MOFs embedded within graphene oxide nanocomposites for enhanced preconcentration of benzenoid-containing insecticides

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Talanta, Volume 181
Author(s): Xuemei Wang, Xiaomin Ma, Pengfei Huang, Juan Wang, Tongtong Du, Xinzhen Du, Xiaoquan Lu
Hybrid magnetic nanocomposites based on Cu-MOFs, graphene oxide (GO), and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared via chemical bonding approach, which GO were used as platforms to load nanostructured Cu-MOFs and Fe3O4 NPs. The composite features both magnetic separation characteristics and high MOFs porosity, making it an excellent adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE). The as-synthesized nanocomposites are characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM, TEM, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. The composites are used in MSPE of six aromatic insecticides from various real samples prior to their quantification by HPLC. Amount of adsorbent, extraction times, extraction temperature, desorption times and oscillation rate are optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the method has a relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.9–2.7%, and good linearity (correlation coefficients higher than 0.9931). The low LOD and LOQ for six insecticides are found to be 0.30–1.58μgL^-1 and 1.0–5.2μgL^-1, respectively. The RSDs of within batch extraction are 1.6–9.5% and 3.9–12% for batch to batch extraction. The experimental results suggest that the nanocomposites have potential application for removal of hazardous pollutants from effluents.

Graphical abstract

http://ift.tt/2CSwyrg

A novel electrochemiluminescent biosensor based on resonance energy transfer between poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracar-boxylic acid for insulin detection

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Volume 104
Author(s): Han Zhang, Fumei Zuo, Xingrong Tan, Shenghao Xu, Ruo Yuan, Shihong Chen
An electrochemiluminescencent (ECL) biosensor was designed for the determination of insulin using a novel ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) strategy. In this strategy, carboxyl poly(9,9-dioctyfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) dots (PFO dots) were worked as ECL donor and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracar-boxylic acid (PTCA) exploited as ECL acceptor, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) employed as the coreactant. The ECL donor and ECL acceptor were separately labeled with primary antibody (Ab1) and secondary antibody (Ab2), forming a sensing interface to the analyte target, insulin. In this expected sandwich-type ECL biosensor, PFO dots acted as sensing platform and PTCA employed as labels to quench the ECL emission of PFO dots. During the determination process, ECL signal of PFO dots was decreased in a gradual way by the increase of insulin concentration, and the quenching mechanism was also investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the constructed biosensor exhibited an excellent performance, including a wide linear range from 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ng/mL to 1.0 × 10²ng/mL, low detection limit of 3.0 × 10⁻⁶ng/mL, good stability and selectivity for the detection of insulin. This pair of PFO-PTCA, as a new donor-acceptor pair in ECL-RET system, would provide a promising platform for bioanalysis in ECL field.



http://ift.tt/2maJnmr

A novel cytosensor based on Pt@Ag nanoflowers and AuNPs/Acetylene black for ultrasensitive and highly specific detection of Circulating Tumor Cells

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Volume 104
Author(s): Sitian Tang, Huawei Shen, Yixiong Hao, Zhenglan Huang, Yiyi Tao, Yang Peng, Yongcan Guo, Guoming Xie, Wenli Feng
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), as the cellular origin of metastasis, are cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor and circulate in the peripheral blood. And they provide a wealth of information about tumor phenotype. Here, this work reported a novel ultrasensitive immunoassay protocol for the detection of CTCs by using Pt@Ag nanoflowers (Pt@AgNFs) and AuNPs/Acetylene black (AuNPs/AB) nanomaterial. In the established approach, AuNPs/AB nanomaterial was used as substrate material to increase the specific surface area and enhance the conductivity of the gold electrode. Protein G was used for oriented immobilization of capture antibody, which strongly improved the capture efficiency of MCF-7 cells. The innovatively synthesized Pt@AgNFs by our group with high specific surface area and good biocompatibility were not only as the carriers of signal antibodies (Ab2) but also catalyzed the reduction of H2O2, which effectually amplified the current signal. A linear relationship between current signals and the concentrations of CTCs was obtained in the range from 20 to 1×10⁶ cells mL⁻¹ and the detection limit is as low as 3 cells mL⁻¹ on condition of acceptable stability and reproducibility. Furthermore, the as-proposed cytosensor showed excellent performance in the detection of CTCs in human blood samples. These results suggest that the proposed cytosensor will be a promising application for accurately quantitative detection of CTCs.



http://ift.tt/2CWIDvK

Poly(3,6-diamino-9-ethylcarbazole) based molecularly imprinted polymer sensor for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of 17-β-estradiol in biological fluids

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Volume 104
Author(s): Weilu Liu, Haifeng Li, Shangmin Yu, Jiaxing Zhang, Weihua Zheng, Liting Niu, Gengen Li
In this work, we reported the synthesis of 3, 6-diamino-9-ethylcarbazole and its application as a new monomer for preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) electrochemical sensor. The as prepared MIP sensor exhibited ultrahigh sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of 17-β-estradiol in attomolar levels (1 × 10^–18molL⁻¹). The sensor works by detecting the change of the interfacial impedance that is derived from recognition of 17-β-estradiol on the MIP layer. The MIP sensor based on 3, 6-diamino-9-ethylcarbazole monomer revealed better performance than that of unmodified carbazole monomer. The monomer/template ratio, electropolymerization scanning cycles, and the incubation pH values were optimised in order to obtain the best detection efficiency. Under the optimised condition, the MIP sensor exhibits a wide linear range from 1aM to 10μM (1 × 10^–18 ̶ 1 × 10⁻⁵molL⁻¹). A low detection limit of 0.36aM (3.6 × 10^–19molL⁻¹) and a good selectivity towards structurally similar compounds were obtained. The proposed MIP sensor also exhibits long-term stability and applicability in human serum samples. These advantages enabled this MIP sensor to be a promising alternative of electrochemical sensor and may be extended to detection of other endogenous compounds.



http://ift.tt/2mcRoY2

Spore-based biosensor to monitor the microbicidal efficacy of gaseous hydrogen peroxide sterilization processes

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Volume 104
Author(s): Jan Oberländer, Marlena Mayer, Anton Greeff, Michael Keusgen, Michael J. Schöning
In this work, a spore-based biosensor is evaluated to monitor the microbicidal efficacy of sterilization processes applying gaseous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The sensor is based on interdigitated electrode structures (IDEs) that have been fabricated by means of thin-film technologies. Impedimetric measurements are applied to study the effect of sterilization process on spores of Bacillus atrophaeus. This resilient microorganism is commonly used in industry to proof the sterilization efficiency. The sensor measurements are accompanied by conventional microbiological challenge tests, as well as morphological characterizations with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The sensor measurements are correlated with the microbiological test routines. In both methods, namely the sensor-based and microbiological one, a tailing effect has been observed. The results are evaluated and discussed in a three-dimensional calibration plot demonstrating the sensor's suitability to enable a rapid process decision in terms of a successfully performed sterilization.



http://ift.tt/2CUC3FT

Ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing of Hg2+ based on thymine-Hg2+-thymine interaction and signal amplification of alkaline phosphatase catalyzed silver deposition

Publication date: 1 May 2018
Source:Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Volume 104
Author(s): Aigui Xu, Long Chao, Hongbo Xiao, Yuyun Sui, Jia Liu, Qingji Xie, Shouzhuo Yao
We report an ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor for Hg²⁺ detection, on the basis of two Hg²⁺-specific oligonucleotide probes (a thiolated capture probe and a biotinated signal probe), "terminal" signal amplification of alkaline phosphatase catalyzed deposition of silver and in situ microliter-droplet anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). The thiolated capture probe is immobilized on an Au-plated glassy carbon electrode, and the biotinated signal probe is then attached to the electrode surface through the thymine-Hg²⁺-thymine interaction in the presence of Hg²⁺. A streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (ALP) composite is then immobilized on the electrode surface via biotin–streptavidin interaction. The immobilized ALP can catalyze the hydrolyzation of ascorbic acid 2-phosphate trisodium salt to generate ascorbic acid, which can reduce AgNO3 to form silver deposit on the modified electrode. Quantitative analysis of Hg²⁺ is conducted through microliter-droplet ASV of silver after its simultaneous chemical dissolution and cathodic preconcentration on the modified electrode. The sensor can linearly respond to the common logarithm of Hg²⁺ concentration from 0.1nM to 250μM with a limit of detection of 0.01nM (2 ppt, S/N = 3) and a sensitivity as high as 227μAdec⁻¹.



http://ift.tt/2CXhN6z

Letter about: Treatment for residual stones using flexible ureteroscopy and holmium laser lithotripsy after the management of complex calculi with single-tract percutaneous nephrolithotomy

http://ift.tt/2CWy3EW

Scholar : These new articles for New Political Science are available online

The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content New for New Political Science and online now on Taylor & Francis Online: Book Review The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One State at a Time Melissa Zoe Fryer Pages: 1-3 | DOI: 10.1080/07393148.2018.1420548 To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Etoposide as a single agent in the treatment of mycosis fungoides: A retrospective analysis

Abstract

Several chemotherapy agents have shown efficacy in the treatment of mycosis fungoides (MF). In the literature, there is limited data on the use of single agent etoposide for MF. We aimed to retrospectively review our experience with single agent etoposide in the treatment of advanced-stage or refractory early-stage MF with focus on analyzing its efficacy and safety. We included 13 MF patients who were treated with single agent etoposide. Patients were identified through the Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma Database of Indiana University that involves patients treated from 2006 to 2016. Overall nine patients (69%) responded to treatment. No complete response was identified. Median time to response was 12.5 weeks (range: 6–25.4). Median duration of response was 43 weeks (range: 5–60) and median time to treatment failure was 31.3 weeks (range: 12.4–230). Hematological toxicity was observed in eight patients including two patients with grade 4 neutropenia and/or lymphopenia leading to sepsis. Higher doses of etoposide were significantly correlated with higher grades of anemia, neutropenia or lymphopenia (p < .05). Our study demonstrates that etoposide is an effective treatment for MF and may be considered in selected patients with progressive MF who have failed other treatments.

http://ift.tt/2AKII0o

Issue Information

http://ift.tt/2CU1wA9

Long-term response to recombinant human growth hormone treatment: a new predictive mathematical method

Abstract

Introduction

Recombinant GH has been offered to GH-deficient (GHD) subjects for more than 30 years, in order to improve height and growth velocity in children and to enhance metabolic effects in adults.

Aim

The aim of our work is to describe the long-term effect of rhGH treatment in GHD pediatric patients, suggesting a growth prediction model.

Material and methods

A homogeneous database is defined for diagnosis and treatment modalities, based on GHD patients afferent to Hospital Regina Margherita in Turin (Italy). In this study, 232 GHD patients are selected (204 idiopathic GHD and 28 organic GHD). Each measure is shown in terms of mean with relative standard deviations (SD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). To estimate the final height of each patient on the basis of few measures, a mathematical growth prediction model [based on Gompertzian function and a mixed method based on the radial basis functions (RBFs) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) models] was performed.

Results

The results seem to highlight the benefits of an early start of treatment, further confirming what is suggested by the literature. Generally, the RBF–PSO method shows a good reliability in the prediction of the final height. Indeed, RMSE is always lower than 4, i.e., in average the forecast will differ at most of 4 cm to the real value.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the large and accurate database of Italian GHD patients allowed us to assess the rhGH treatment efficacy and compare the results with those obtained in other Countries. Moreover, we proposed and validated a new mathematical model forecasting the expected final height after therapy which was validated on our cohort.

http://ift.tt/2FewzUK

Scholar : New articles have been published for Journal of Natural History, Volume 52, Issue 3-4

The online platform for Taylor & Francis Online content The following articles have been newly published in the issue Journal of Natural History, Volume 52, Issue 3-4 on Taylor & Francis Online: Original Articles Reproductive behaviour of the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium cappellei (Anura: Centrolenidae) in the Southern Amazon Janaina da Costa de Noronha, Domingos de Jesus Rodrigues Pages: 207-224 | DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2017.1414324 The issue is in progress. To view all articles already published in this issue, please visit: http://ift.tt/2lWTACE Hoping to have your article read by anyone, anywhere and at any time? Find out more about publishing open access with Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. To update which email alerts you receive, manage your alerts within the My Account area. You can also unsubscribe from this alert with one click. If you need any further help, please contact us at support@tandfonline.com Please do not reply to this email. To ensure that you receive your alerts and information from Taylor & Francis Online, please add "alerts@tandfonline.com" and "info@tandfonline.com" to your safe senders list. Taylor & Francis, an Informa business. Taylor & Francis is a trading name of Informa UK Limited, registered in England under no. 1072954. Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Crystallographic and morphological analysis of sandblasted highly translucent dental zirconia

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Dental Materials
Author(s): Masanao Inokoshi, Haruki Shimizu, Kosuke Nozaki, Tomohiro Takagaki, Kumiko Yoshihara, Noriyuki Nagaoka, Fei Zhang, Jozef Vleugels, Bart Van Meerbeek, Shunsuke Minakuchi
ObjectiveTo assess the influence of alumina sandblasting on four highly translucent dental zirconia grades.MethodsFully sintered zirconia disk-shaped specimens (15-mm diameter; 0.5-mm thickness) of four highly translucent yttria partially stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) grades (KATANA HT, KATANA STML, KATANA UTML, Kuraray Noritake; Zpex Smile, Tosoh) were sandblasted with 50-μm alumina (Al2O3) sand (Kulzer) or left 'as-sintered' (control) (n=5). For each zirconia grade, the translucency was measured using a colorimeter. Surface roughness was assessed using 3D confocal laser microscopy, upon which the zirconia grades were statistically compared for surface roughness using a Kruskal–Wallis test (n=10). X-ray diffraction (XRD) with Rietveld analysis was used to assess the zirconia-phase composition. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to assess the potentially induced residual stress.ResultsThe translucency of KATANA UTML was the highest (36.7±1.8), whereas that of KATANA HT was the lowest (29.5±0.9). The 'Al2O3-sandblasted' and 'as-sintered' zirconia revealed comparable surface-roughness Sa values. Regarding zirconia-phase composition, XRD with Rietveld analysis revealed that the 'as-sintered' KATANA UTML contained the highest amount of cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2) phase (71wt%), while KATANA HT had the lowest amount of c-ZrO2 phase (41wt%). KATANA STML and Zpex Smile had a comparable zirconia-phase composition (60wt% c-ZrO2 phase). After Al2O3-sandblasting, a significant amount (over 25wt%) of rhombohedral zirconia (r-ZrO2) phase was detected for all highly translucent zirconia grades.SignificanceAl2O3-sandblasting did not affect the surface roughness of the three highly translucent Y-PSZ zirconia grades, but it changed its phase composition.



http://ift.tt/2CL6GdK

Aberrant, autistic, and food-related behaviors in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome. The comparison between young adults and adults

Publication date: February 2018
Source:Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 73
Author(s): Hiroyuki Ogata, Hiroshi Ihara, Masao Gito, Masayuki Sayama, Nobuyuki Murakami, Tadayuki Ayabe, Yuji Oto, Toshiro Nagai, Kazutaka Shimoda
This study aims to explore the differences of age as well as genotype in regards to the severity of behavioral symptoms in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), with emphasis on the comparison between youngadults and adults.The Food Related Problem Questionnaire (FRPQ), the Aberrant Behavior Checklist Japanese Version (ABC-J), and the Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS) were administered to 46 PWS patients, including 33 young adults (ages 18–28) and 13 adults(ages 30–45). To examine the differences between young adults and adults, Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted. Statistically significant differences were found in ABC-J (p = .027) and PARS (p = .046), with higher scores in young adults than adults. Such differences between the two age groups were still true for the subgroups having a paternal chromosome 15q deletion (DEL) for ABC-J (p = .050) and part of PARS ("Problematic behavior"; p = .007). By contrast, there was no significant differences between young adults and adults regarding FRPQ (p = .65).These results suggest that aberrant behaviors decline from around the ages of thirty, in PWS patients in general and in DEL subgroups in particular, while food-related behaviors give no indication of diminishing in spite of developmental growth



http://ift.tt/2CU5RlX

Visualization of age-related vascular alterations in facial skin using optical coherence tomography-based angiography

Publication date: Available online 8 January 2018
Source:Journal of Dermatological Science
Author(s): Yusuke Hara, Toyonobu Yamashita, Kumiko Kikuchi, Yoshihide Kubo, Chika Katagiri, Kentaro Kajiya, Souichi Saeki




http://ift.tt/2FhwrUA

Health care-associated infections in Iran: A national update for the year 2015

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018
Source:American Journal of Infection Control
Author(s): Babak Eshrati, Hossein Masoumi Asl, Shirin Afhami, Zahra Pezeshki, Arash Seifi
BackgroundA national surveillance system for health care-associated infections (HAIs) in Iran is relatively new, and an update on incidence and mortality rates can aid clinicians and stakeholders in development of new guidelines and imperative modifications to be made.MethodsData were extracted from the national HAIs surveillance software for more than 7 million hospitalizations during 2015. Data regarding age, gender, deaths, ward of admission, and microbiologic findings were collected and analyzed.ResultsFrom 491 hospitals, 7,018,393 hospitalizations were reported during 2015; 82,950 patients had been diagnosed with at least 1 HAI, 6,355 of whom died (crude fatality rate, 7.7). Men comprised 51.4% of the patients. The incidence rate was calculated to be 1.18. Urinary tract infections and pneumonia were the most commonly reported infections (27.9% and 23.8%) and 33% of patients were older than age 65 years. Intensive care units had the highest incidence rates, followed by burn units with incidence rates close to 9. Highest percentages of deaths were reported among patients with an HAI in the intensive care unit (20.6%) and those with pneumonia (39.6%).ConclusionAlthough the underreporting of HAIs hinders accurate calculation of incidence, the present study provides a general update. The results can help in modification of national guidelines and appropriate choice of antimicrobial agents in the management of HAIs.



http://ift.tt/2EoTwU0

Impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium's multidimensional approach on rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia in 14 intensive care units in 11 hospitals of 5 cities within Argentina

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018
Source:American Journal of Infection Control
Author(s): Victor Daniel Rosenthal, Javier Desse, Diego Marcelo Maurizi, Gustavo Jorge Chaparro, Pablo Wenceslao Orellano, Viviana Chediack, Rafael Cabrera, Daniel Golschmid, Cristina Graciela Silva, Julio Cesar Vimercati, Juan Pablo Stagnaro, Ivanna Perez, María Laura Spadaro, Adriana Miriam Montanini, Dina Pedersen, Teresa Laura Paniccia, Ana María Ríos Aguilera, Raul Cermesoni, Juan Ignacio Mele, Ernesto Alda, Analía Edith Paldoro, Agustín Román Ortta, Bettina Cooke, María Cecilia García, Mora Nair Obed, Cecilia Verónica Domínguez, Pablo Alejandro Saúl, María Cecilia Rodríguez del Valle, Alberto Claudio Bianchi, Gustavo Alvarez, Ricardo Pérez, Carolina Oyola
BackgroundTo analyze the impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) multidimensional approach (IMA) on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates in 11 hospitals within 5 cities of Argentina from January 2014-April 2017.MethodsA multicenter, prospective, before–after surveillance study was conducted through the use of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium Surveillance Online System. During baseline, we performed outcome surveillance of VAP applying the definitions of the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention's National Healthcare Safety Network. During intervention, we implemented the IMA, which included a bundle of infection prevention practice interventions, education, outcome surveillance, process surveillance, feedback on VAP rates and consequences, and performance feedback of process surveillance. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed using a logistic regression model to estimate the effect of the intervention.ResultsWe recorded 3,940 patients admitted to 14 intensive care units. At baseline, there were 19.9 VAPs per 1,000 mechanical ventilator (MV)-days—with 2,920 MV-days and 58 VAPs, which was reduced during intervention to 9.4 VAPs per 1,000 MV-days—with 9,261 MV-days and 103 VAPs. This accounted for a 52% rate reduction (incidence density rate, 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-0.7; P .001).ConclusionsImplementing the IMA was associated with significant reductions in VAP rates in intensive care units within Argentina.



http://ift.tt/2FkkYTZ

The efficacy of infection prevention and control committees in Lesotho: A qualitative study

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018
Source:American Journal of Infection Control
Author(s): Eltony Mugomeri
BackgroundThe implementation of the core components of infection prevention and control (IPC) recommended by the World Health Organization faces severe challenges, particularly in developing countries. Given that hospital IPC committees in these countries are the key implementers of IPC, there is a need to evaluate their effectiveness. This study qualitatively evaluated the effectiveness of IPC committees in the southern African country of Lesotho with the aim of identifying themes for policy discourse on improving IPC practice in the country.MethodsData gathering was conducted through open interviews with purposefully selected key informant IPC committee members and relevant officials at the Ministry of Health, whereas data analysis was based on grounded theory.ResultsDespite their commitment, IPC committees were largely ineffective because of 5 major barriers, namely poor sense of competence, administrative constraints, inadequate financial support, role uncertainty, and negative staff attitudes. Poor IPC governance was found to be a central barrier to the effectiveness of IPC committees in Lesotho.ConclusionsThe import of this study is that effective IPC governance is key to improving the IPC program in Lesotho. Effective leadership with the necessary competencies is needed to steer the IPC program in the country.



http://ift.tt/2En4olh

Smoothened Sensor Places Sodium and Sterols Center Stage

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Robert Blassberg, James Briscoe
Regulation of Smoothened by PTCH1 is central to Hedgehog signal transduction. Reporting recently in PNAS, Myers et al. (2017) provide evidence that a transmembrane flux of sodium ions drives PTCH1 activity and that cholesterol regulates Smoothened via its transmembrane domain.

Teaser

Regulation of Smoothened by PTCH1 is central to Hedgehog signal transduction. Reporting recently in PNAS, Myers et al. (2017) provide evidence that a transmembrane flux of sodium ions drives PTCH1 activity and that cholesterol regulates Smoothened via its transmembrane domain.


http://ift.tt/2mgcuWc

Putting Your Best Egg Forward

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Christopher K. Patil, Vladimir Denic
In a recent issue of Nature, Bohnert and Kenyon (2017) describe a signaling pathway that prevents transgenerational inheritance of cytoplasmic protein aggregates. Fertilizing sperm trigger aggregate clearance in the ovum by a microautophagy-like effector mechanism mediated by inter-organelle communication between lysosomes and mitochondria.

Teaser

In a recent issue of Nature, Bohnert and Kenyon (2017) describe a signaling pathway that prevents transgenerational inheritance of cytoplasmic protein aggregates. Fertilizing sperm trigger aggregate clearance in the ovum by a microautophagy-like effector mechanism mediated by inter-organelle communication between lysosomes and mitochondria.


http://ift.tt/2qJZbBZ

Circadian Clocks and UPR: New Twists as the Story Unfolds

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Nikolay B. Milev, David Gatfield
Circadian clocks help control the unfolded protein response (UPR). In a recent issue of Nature Cell Biology, Bu et al. (2017) show that the interaction is reciprocal, with miRNA-211 providing a signal from the UPR to the clock component BMAL1, affecting circadian timing, global translational control, and cancer cell survival.

Teaser

Circadian clocks help control the unfolded protein response (UPR). In a recent issue of Nature Cell Biology, Bu et al. (2017) show that the interaction is reciprocal, with miRNA-211 providing a signal from the UPR to the clock component BMAL1, affecting circadian timing, global translational control, and cancer cell survival.


http://ift.tt/2mgf2nd

Ihor R. Lemischka (1953–2017)

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Natalia Ivanova, Carlos-Filipe Pereira, Dung-Fang Lee




http://ift.tt/2qIwju9

Understanding the Lipid Droplet Proteome and Protein Targeting

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Joel M. Goodman
Reporting in this issue of Developmental Cell, Bersuker et al. (2018) adapt APEX technology to lipid droplets for a more accurate view of the droplet proteome and Prévost et al. (2018) provide important insights into the basis of droplet protein targeting that altogether extend the understanding of this organelle.

Teaser

Reporting in this issue of Developmental Cell, Bersuker et al. (2018) adapt APEX technology to lipid droplets for a more accurate view of the droplet proteome and Prévost et al. (2018) provide important insights into the basis of droplet protein targeting that altogether extend the understanding of this organelle.


http://ift.tt/2mgc424

Ribosomal Protein S12e Has a Distinct Function in Cell Competition

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Abhijit Kale, Zhejun Ji, Marianthi Kiparaki, Jorge Blanco, Gerard Rimesso, Stephane Flibotte, Nicholas E. Baker
Wild-type Drosophila cells can remove cells heterozygous for ribosomal protein mutations (known as "Minute" mutant cells) from genetic mosaics, a process termed cell competition. The ribosomal protein S12 was unusual because cells heterozygous for rpS12 mutations were not competed by wild-type, and a viable missense mutation in rpS12 protected Minute cells from cell competition with wild-type cells. Furthermore, cells with Minute mutations were induced to compete with one another by altering the gene dose of rpS12, eliminating cells with more rpS12 than their neighbors. Thus RpS12 has a special function in cell competition that defines the competitiveness of cells. We propose that cell competition between wild-type and Minute cells is initiated by a signal of ribosomal protein haploinsufficiency mediated by RpS12. Since competition between cells expressing different levels of Myc did not require RpS12, other kinds of cell competition may be initiated differently.

Teaser

Cells with mutations in ribosomal protein genes are eliminated from Drosophila tissues by cell competition, but how are mutations detected? Kale et al. show that ribosomal protein S12 is necessary for cell competition. The study suggests that S12 has a distinct signaling function that targets cells for competition.


http://ift.tt/2qLLWAM

Budding Yeast Has a Minimal Endomembrane System

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Kasey J. Day, Jason C. Casler, Benjamin S. Glick
The endomembrane system consists of the secretory and endocytic pathways, which communicate by transport to and from the trans-Golgi network (TGN). In mammalian cells, the endocytic pathway includes early, late, and recycling endosomes. In budding yeast, different types of endosomes have been described, but the organization of the endocytic pathway has remained unclear. We performed a spatial and temporal analysis of yeast endosomal markers and endocytic cargoes. Our results indicate that the yeast TGN also serves as an early and recycling endosome. In addition, as previously described, yeast contains a late or prevacuolar endosome (PVE). Endocytic cargoes localize to the TGN shortly after internalization, and manipulations that perturb export from the TGN can slow the passage of endocytic cargoes to the PVE. Yeast apparently lacks a distinct early endosome. Thus, yeast has a simple endocytic pathway that may reflect the ancestral organization of the endomembrane system.

Teaser

Although the mammalian endocytic pathway has early, late, and recycling endosomes, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae system is unresolved. Day et al. show that yeast only has two endosome types: the trans-Golgi network, functioning as both an early and recycling endosome, and the long-lived prevacuolar endosome, possibly reflecting the ancestral organization of the endomembrane system.


http://ift.tt/2mgc8ik

Mechanism and Determinants of Amphipathic Helix-Containing Protein Targeting to Lipid Droplets

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Coline Prévost, Morris E. Sharp, Nora Kory, Qingqing Lin, Gregory A. Voth, Robert V. Farese, Tobias C. Walther
Cytosolic lipid droplets (LDs) are the main storage organelles for metabolic energy in most cells. They are unusual organelles that are bounded by a phospholipid monolayer and specific surface proteins, including key enzymes of lipid and energy metabolism. Proteins targeting LDs from the cytoplasm often contain amphipathic helices, but how they bind to LDs is not well understood. Combining computer simulations with experimental studies in vitro and in cells, we uncover a general mechanism for targeting of cytosolic proteins to LDs: large hydrophobic residues of amphipathic helices detect and bind to large, persistent membrane packing defects that are unique to the LD surface. Surprisingly, amphipathic helices with large hydrophobic residues from many different proteins are capable of binding to LDs. This suggests that LD protein composition is additionally determined by mechanisms that selectively prevent proteins from binding LDs, such as macromolecular crowding at the LD surface.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Prévost, Sharp, et al. explore how cytosolic proteins target the surface of lipid droplets (LDs). A distinctive surface structure makes LDs suited to recruiting large hydrophobic amino acid-enriched protein motifs. Rather than specific LD protein-targeting mechanisms, regulation is likely at the level of preventing promiscuous association by non-LD proteins.


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Force Generation via β-Cardiac Myosin, Titin, and α-Actinin Drives Cardiac Sarcomere Assembly from Cell-Matrix Adhesions

Publication date: 8 January 2018
Source:Developmental Cell, Volume 44, Issue 1
Author(s): Anant Chopra, Matthew L. Kutys, Kehan Zhang, William J. Polacheck, Calvin C. Sheng, Rebeccah J. Luu, Jeroen Eyckmans, J. Travis Hinson, Jonathan G. Seidman, Christine E. Seidman, Christopher S. Chen
Truncating mutations in the sarcomere protein titin cause dilated cardiomyopathy due to sarcomere insufficiency. However, it remains mechanistically unclear how these mutations decrease sarcomere content in cardiomyocytes. Utilizing human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, CRISPR/Cas9, and live microscopy, we characterize the fundamental mechanisms of human cardiac sarcomere formation. We observe that sarcomerogenesis initiates at protocostameres, sites of cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, where nucleation and centripetal assembly of α-actinin-2-containing fibers provide a template for the fusion of Z-disk precursors, Z bodies, and subsequent striation. We identify that β-cardiac myosin-titin-protocostamere form an essential mechanical connection that transmits forces required to direct α-actinin-2 centripetal fiber assembly and sarcomere formation. Titin propagates diastolic traction stresses from β-cardiac myosin, but not α-cardiac myosin or non-muscle myosin II, to protocostameres during sarcomerogenesis. Ablating protocostameres or decoupling titin from protocostameres abolishes sarcomere assembly. Together these results identify the mechanical and molecular components critical for human cardiac sarcomerogenesis.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Chopra, Kutys, Zhang, et al. identify that dilated cardiomyopathy-causing titin truncation mutations impair early-stage sarcomerogenesis in a model of dynamic human cardiac sarcomere assembly. This work uncovers fundamental mechanisms driving sarcomere assembly and reveals a critical role for titin in connecting β-cardiac myosin-generated tension to protocostameres to initiate sarcomerogenesis.


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Editorial

Dermatology 2017;233:259

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Speckled lentiginous nevus: understanding the process of development and regression

Speckled lentiginous nevus (SLN) is characterized by a brownish macule studded with blackish, multiple melanocytic nevi, although the cutaneous manifestations may vary by cases, and change by age. Therefore, there has been disagreement as to whether SLN is a congenital or acquired disease 1, 2). In rare cases of SLN, halo phenomenon may occur around the pre-existing lesion, associated with the coexistence of distant vitiligo 3). Here, we report a patient whose café-au-lait spot at birth changed to SLN, followed by the occurrence of vitiligo and poliosis through the process of spontaneous regression phenomenon against the SLN. We examined T-cell clones infiltrating around the melanocytic nevi and in the patient's peripheral blood.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Cosmetics, Vol. 5, Pages 10: Personal Care Products Are Only One of Many Exposure Routes of Natural Toxic Substances to Humans and the Environment

Cosmetics, Vol. 5, Pages 10: Personal Care Products Are Only One of Many Exposure Routes of Natural Toxic Substances to Humans and the Environment

Cosmetics doi: 10.3390/cosmetics5010010

Authors: Thomas Bucheli Bjarne Strobel Hans Hansen

The special issue "A Critical View on Natural Substances in Personal Care Products" is dedicated to addressing the multidisciplinary special challenges of natural ingredients in personal care products (PCP) and addresses also environmental exposure. In this perspective article, we argue that environmental exposure is probably not so much dominated by PCP use, but in many cases by direct emission from natural or anthropogenically managed vegetation, including agriculture. In support of this hypothesis, we provide examples of environmental fate and behaviour studies for compound classes that are either listed in the International Nomenclature of Cosmetics Ingredients (INCI) or have been discussed in a wider context of PCP applications and have been classified as potentially harmful to humans and the environment. Specifically, these include estrogenic isoflavones, the carcinogenic ptaquiloside and pyrrolizidine alkaloids, saponins, terpenes and terpenoids, such as artemisinin, and mycotoxins. Research gaps and challenges in the domains of human and environmental exposure assessment of natural products common to our currently rather separated research communities are highlighted.

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Exploratory study of atmospheric methane enhancements derived from natural gas use in the Houston urban area

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Atmospheric Environment, Volume 176
Author(s): Nancy P. Sanchez, Chuantao Zheng, Weilin Ye, Beata Czader, Daniel S. Cohan, Frank K. Tittel, Robert J. Griffin
The extensive use of natural gas (NG) in urban areas for heating and cooking and as a vehicular fuel is associated with potentially significant emissions of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas that influences the chemistry of the atmosphere, can be emitted from different sources including leakage from NG infrastructure, transportation activities, end-use uncombusted NG, landfills and livestock. Although significant CH4 leakage associated with aging local NG distribution systems in the U.S. has been reported, further investigation is required to study the role of this infrastructure component and other NG-related sources in atmospheric CH4 enhancements in urban centers. In this study, neighborhood-scale mobile-based monitoring of potential CH4 emissions associated with NG in the Greater Houston area (GHA) is reported. A novel dual-gas 3.337 μm interband cascade laser-based sensor system was developed and mobile-mode deployed for simultaneous CH4 and ethane (C2H6) monitoring during a period of over 14 days, corresponding to ∼ 90 h of effective data collection during summer 2016. The sampling campaign covered ∼250 exclusive road miles and was primarily concentrated on eight residential zones with distinct infrastructure age and NG usage levels. A moderate number of elevated CH4 concentration events (37 episodes) with mixing ratios not exceeding 3.60 ppmv and associated with atmospheric background enhancements below 1.21 ppmv were observed during the field campaign. Source discrimination analyses based on the covariance between CH4 and C2H6 levels indicated the predominance of thermogenic sources (e.g., NG) in the elevated CH4 concentration episodes. The volumetric fraction of C2H6 in the sources associated with the thermogenic CH4 spikes varied between 2.7 and 5.9%, concurring with the C2H6 content in NG distributed in the GHA. Isolated CH4 peak events with significantly higher C2H6 enhancements (∼11%) were observed at industrial areas and locations with high density of petroleum and gas pipelines in the GHA, indicating potential variability in Houston's thermogenic CH4 sources.



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Detection of nuclear testing from surface concentration measurements: Analysis of radioxenon from the February 2013 underground test in North Korea

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Atmospheric Environment, Volume 176
Author(s): R.J. Kurzeja, R.L. Buckley, D.W. Werth, S.R. Chiswell
A method is outlined and tested to detect low level nuclear or chemical sources from time series of concentration measurements. The method uses a mesoscale atmospheric model to simulate the concentration signature from a known or suspected source at a receptor which is then regressed successively against segments of the measurement series to create time series of metrics that measure the goodness of fit between the signatures and the measurement segments. The method was applied to radioxenon data from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) collection site in Ussuriysk, Russia (RN58) after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) underground nuclear test on February 12, 2013 near Punggye. The metrics were found to be a good screening tool to locate data segments with a strong likelihood of origin from Punggye, especially when multiplied together to a determine the joint probability. Metrics from RN58 were also used to find the probability that activity measured in February and April of 2013 originated from the Feb 12 test. A detailed analysis of an RN58 data segment from April 3/4, 2013 was also carried out for a grid of source locations around Punggye and identified Punggye as the most likely point of origin. Thus, the results support the strong possibility that radioxenon was emitted from the test site at various times in April and was detected intermittently at RN58, depending on the wind direction. The method does not locate unsuspected sources, but instead, evaluates the probability of a source at a specified location. However, it can be extended to include a set of suspected sources. Extension of the method to higher resolution data sets, arbitrary sampling, and time-varying sources is discussed along with a path to evaluate uncertainty in the calculated probabilities.



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