VZV in biopsy-positive and -negative giant cell arteritis: Analysis of 100+ temporal arteries

Objective: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection may trigger the inflammatory cascade that characterizes giant cell arteritis (GCA). Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded GCA-positive temporal artery (TA) biopsies (50 sections/TA) including adjacent skeletal muscle and normal TAs obtained postmortem from subjects >50 years of age were examined by immunohistochemistry for presence and distribution of VZV antigen and by ultrastructural examination for virions. Adjacent regions were examined by hematoxylin & eosin staining. VZV antigen–positive slides were analyzed by PCR for VZV DNA. Results: VZV antigen was found in 61/82 (74%) GCA-positive TAs compared with 1/13 (8%) normal TAs (p < 0.0001, relative risk 9.67, 95% confidence interval 1.46, 63.69). Most GCA-positive TAs contained viral antigen in skip areas. VZV antigen was present mostly in adventitia, followed by media and intima. VZV antigen was found in 12/32 (38%) skeletal muscles adjacent to VZV antigen–positive TAs. Despite formalin fixation, VZV DNA was detected in 18/45 (40%) GCA-positive VZV antigen–positive TAs, in 6/10 (60%) VZV antigen–positive skeletal muscles, and in one VZV antigen–positive normal TA. Varicella-zoster virions were found in a GCA-positive TA. In sections adjacent to those containing VZV, GCA pathology was seen in 89% of GCA-positive TAs but in none of 18 adjacent sections from normal TAs. Conclusions: Most GCA-positive TAs contained VZV in skip areas that correlated with adjacent GCA pathology, supporting the hypothesis that VZV triggers GCA immunopathology. Antiviral treatment may confer additional benefit to patients with GCA treated with corticosteroids, although the optimal antiviral regimen remains to be determined

Polaron formation for a non-local electron-phonon coupling: A variational wave-function study

We introduce a variational wave-function to study the polaron formation when the electronic transfer integral depends on the relative displacement between nearest-neighbor sites giving rise to a non-local electron-phonon coupling with optical phonon modes. We analyze the ground state properties such as the energy, the electron-lattice correlation function, the phonon number and the spectral weight. Variational results are found in good agreement with analytic weak-coupling perturbative calculations and exact numerical diagonalization of small clusters. We determine the polaronic phase diagram and we find that the tendency towards strong localization is hindered from the pathological sign change of the effective next-nearest-neighbor hopping.Comment: 11 page

Gender, Professional Orientation, and Student Achievement: Elements of School Culture

This study explored the relationships between professional orientation (defined as how the principal sees his or her role in the organization) and school culture, the influence of gender on professional orientation, and the relationship between school culture and the academic achievement of students. One hundred principals were surveyed. Two instruments, the Professional Orientation and the School Culture Survey were completed. The results were analyzed using linear regression statistics to determine (a) gender and professional orientation effect on the factors of school culture, and (b) if factors of school culture had an effect on student success in the elementary school. Findings of this study suggested that the professional orientation of the principal does appear to have a significant effect on school culture. In addition, professional orientation choices do vary in ways that can be connected to gender. Of the six school culture factors, only learning partnership appears to have any significant effect on student achievement

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Continuous fungal treatment of non-sterile veterinary hospital effluent: pharmaceuticals removal and microbial community assessment

Source point treatment of effluents with a high load of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), such as hospital wastewater, is a matter of discussion among the scientific community. Fungal treatments have been reported to be successful in degrading this type of pollutants and, therefore, the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor was applied for the removal of PhACs from veterinary hospital wastewater. Sixty-six percent removal was achieved in a non-sterile batch bioreactor inoculated with T. versicolor pellets. On the other hand, the study of microbial communities by means of DGGE and phylogenetic analyses led us to identify some microbial interactions and helped us moving to a continuous process. PhAC removal efficiency achieved in the fungal treatment operated in non-sterile continuous mode was 44 % after adjusting the C/N ratio with respect to the previously calculated one for sterile treatments. Fungal and bacterial communities in the continuous bioreactors were monitored as well.Authors want to acknowledge the UAB veterinary hospital staff for their kind permission and help for the samplings. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (projects CTM2013-48545-C2 and AIB2010PT-00169) and supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2014-SGR-476 and 2014-SGR-291). The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) is a member of the Xarxa de Referencia en Biotecnologia de la Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Badia-Fabregat and D. Lucas acknowledge the predoctoral grants from UAB and from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (AP-2010-4926), respectively. The authors also thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462 co-funded by Operational Competitiveness Programme, FEDER, and Project "BioEnv-Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world," REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000048, co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Towards BioDBcore: a community-defined information specification for biological databases

The present article proposes the adoption of a community-defined, uniform, generic description of the core attributes of biological databases, BioDBCore. The goals of these attributes are to provide a general overview of the database landscape, to encourage consistency and interoperability between resources and to promote the use of semantic and syntactic standards. BioDBCore will make it easier for users to evaluate the scope and relevance of available resources. This new resource will increase the collective impact of the information present in biological database

De novo mutations in histone modifying genes in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most frequent birth defect, affecting 0.8% of live births1. Many cases occur sporadically and impair reproductive fitness, suggesting a role for de novo mutations. By analysis of exome sequencing of parent-offspring trios, we compared the incidence of de novo mutations in 362 severe CHD cases and 264 controls. CHD cases showed a significant excess of protein-altering de novo mutations in genes expressed in the developing heart, with an odds ratio of 7.5 for damaging mutations. Similar odds ratios were seen across major classes of severe CHD. We found a marked excess of de novo mutations in genes involved in production, removal or reading of H3K4 methylation (H3K4me), or ubiquitination of H2BK120, which is required for H3K4 methylation2–4. There were also two de novo mutations in SMAD2; SMAD2 signaling in the embryonic left-right organizer induces demethylation of H3K27me5. H3K4me and H3K27me mark `poised' promoters and enhancers that regulate expression of key developmental genes6. These findings implicate de novo point mutations in several hundred genes that collectively contribute to ~10% of severe CHD