Biological Synthesis of Size-Controlled Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles Using ImmobilizedRhodobacter sphaeroides

Size-controlled cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by immobilizedRhodobacter sphaeroidesin the study. The dynamic process that Cd2+was transported from solution into cell by livingR. sphaeroideswas characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Culture time, as an important physiological parameter forR. sphaeroidesgrowth, could significantly control the size of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. TEM demonstrated that the average sizes of spherical cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were 2.3 ± 0.15, 6.8 ± 0.22, and 36.8 ± 0.25 nm at culture times of 36, 42, and 48 h, respectively. Also, the UV–vis and photoluminescence spectral analysis of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were performed

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Validation of a 22-Gene Genomic Classifier in Patients With Recurrent Prostate Cancer An Ancillary Study of the NRG/RTOG 9601 Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE: Decipher (Decipher Biosciences Inc) is a genomic classifier (GC) developed to estimate the risk of distant metastasis (DM) after radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients with prostate cancer. OBJECTIVE: To validate the GC in the context of a randomized phase 3 trial. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This ancillary study used RP specimens from the phase 3 placebo-controlled NRG/RTOG 9601 randomized clinical trial conducted from March 1998 to March 2003. The specimens were centrally reviewed, and RNA was extracted from the highest-grade tumor available in 2019 with a median follow-up of 13 years. Clinical-grade whole transcriptomes from samples passing quality control were assigned GC scores (scale, 0-1). A National Clinical Trials Network–approved prespecified statistical plan included the primary objective of validating the independent prognostic ability of GC for DM, with secondary end points of prostate cancer–specific mortality (PCSM) and overall survival (OS). Data were analyzed from September 2019 to December 2019. INTERVENTIONS: Salvage radiotherapy (sRT) with or without 2 years of bicalutamide. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The preplanned primary end point of this study was the independent association of the GC with the development of DM. RESULTS: In this ancillary study of specimens from a phase 3 randomized clinical trial, GC scores were generated from 486 of 760 randomized patients with a median follow-up of 13 years; samples from a total of 352 men (median [interquartile range] age, 64.5 (60-70) years; 314 White [89.2%] participants) passed microarray quality control and comprised the final cohort for analysis. On multivariable analysis, the GC (continuous variable, per 0.1 unit) was independently associated with DM (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.05-1.32; P = .006), PCSM (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.20-1.63; P < .001), and OS (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.29; P = .002) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, Gleason score, T stage, margin status, entry prostate-specific antigen, and treatment arm. Although the original planned analysis was not powered to detect a treatment effect interaction by GC score, the estimated absolute effect of bicalutamide on 12-year OS was less when comparing patients with lower vs higher GC scores (2.4% vs 8.9%), which was further demonstrated in men receiving early sRT at a prostate-specific antigen level lower than 0.7 ng/mL (−7.8% vs 4.6%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This ancillary validation study of the Decipher GC in a randomized trial cohort demonstrated association of the GC with DM, PCSM, and OS independent of standard clinicopathologic variables. These results suggest that not all men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer after surgery benefit equally from the addition of hormone therapy to sRT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT0000287

Injectable and Oral Contraceptive Use and Cancers of the Breast, Cervix, Ovary, and Endometrium in Black South African Women: Case–Control Study

A case-control study conducted in South Africa provides new estimates of the risk of specific cancers of the female reproductive system associated with use of injectable and oral contraceptives

Viral emissions into the air and environment after SARS-CoV-2 human challenge: a phase 1, open label, first-in-human study

Background Effectively implementing strategies to curb SARS-CoV-2 transmission requires understanding who is contagious and when. Although viral load on upper respiratory swabs has commonly been used to infer contagiousness, measuring viral emissions might be more accurate to indicate the chance of onward transmission and identify likely routes. We aimed to correlate viral emissions, viral load in the upper respiratory tract, and symptoms, longitudinally, in participants who were experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods In this phase 1, open label, first-in-human SARS-CoV-2 experimental infection study at quarantine unit at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, healthy adults aged 18–30 years who were unvaccinated for SARS-CoV-2, not previously known to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and seronegative at screening were recruited. Participants were inoculated with 10 50% tissue culture infectious dose of pre-alpha wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (Asp614Gly) by intranasal drops and remained in individual negative pressure rooms for a minimum of 14 days. Nose and throat swabs were collected daily. Emissions were collected daily from the air (using a Coriolis μ air sampler and directly into facemasks) and the surrounding environment (via surface and hand swabs). All samples were collected by researchers, and tested by using PCR, plaque assay, or lateral flow antigen test. Symptom scores were collected using self-reported symptom diaries three times daily. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04865237. Findings Between March 6 and July 8, 2021, 36 participants (ten female and 26 male) were recruited and 18 (53%) of 34 participants became infected, resulting in protracted high viral loads in the nose and throat following a short incubation period, with mild-to-moderate symptoms. Two participants were excluded from the per-protocol analysis owing to seroconversion between screening and inoculation, identified post hoc. Viral RNA was detected in 63 (25%) of 252 Coriolis air samples from 16 participants, 109 (43%) of 252 mask samples from 17 participants, 67 (27%) of 252 hand swabs from 16 participants, and 371 (29%) of 1260 surface swabs from 18 participants. Viable SARS-CoV-2 was collected from breath captured in 16 masks and from 13 surfaces, including four small frequently touched surfaces and nine larger surfaces where airborne virus could deposit. Viral emissions correlated more strongly with viral load in nasal swabs than throat swabs. Two individuals emitted 86% of airborne virus, and the majority of airborne virus collected was released on 3 days. Individuals who reported the highest total symptom scores were not those who emitted most virus. Very few emissions occurred before the first reported symptom (7%) and hardly any before the first positive lateral flow antigen test (2%). Interpretation After controlled experimental inoculation, the timing, extent, and routes of viral emissions was heterogeneous. We observed that a minority of participants were high airborne virus emitters, giving support to the notion of superspreading individuals or events. Our data implicates the nose as the most important source of emissions. Frequent self-testing coupled with isolation upon awareness of first symptoms could reduce onward transmissions. Funding UK Vaccine Taskforce of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of Her Majesty's Government

ZD6474 – clinical experience to date

ZD6474 selectively targets two key pathways in tumour growth by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent tumour angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-dependent tumour cell proliferation and survival. Phase I clinical evaluation has shown ZD6474 to be generally well tolerated, with a pharmacokinetic profile appropriate for once-daily oral dosing. Phase II evaluation of ZD6474 at doses of 100−300 mg is ongoing in a range of patient types in single and combination regimens. These include three randomised studies of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. In one of these trials, the efficacy of ZD6474 monotherapy is being compared with that of the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa™) in previously treated patients. In the other two trials, the efficacy of ZD6474 in combination with certain standard chemotherapy regimens is being compared with that of standard chemotherapy alone: one with carboplatin and paclitaxel in previously untreated patients, and the second with docetaxel in patients who progressed after platinum-containing therapy. The advent of novel molecular-targeted agents such as ZD6474 has necessitated a re-evaluation of conventional cancer study design in order to optimise appraisal of this new generation of anticancer agents. The specific considerations of the ZD6474 clinical programme are discussed

The Relationship Between Stigma and Health-Related Quality of Life in People Living with HIV Who Have Full Access to Antiretroviral Treatment: An Assessment of Earnshaw and Chaudoir's HIV Stigma Framework Using Empirical Data.

The aim was to empirically test the tenets of Earnshaw and Chaudoir's HIV stigma framework and its potential covariates for persons living with HIV in Sweden. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used on survey data from 173 persons living with HIV in Sweden. Experiencing stigma was reported to a higher extent by younger persons and by women who had migrated to Sweden. As expected, anticipated stigma was related to lower Physical functioning, and internalized stigma to lower Emotional wellbeing. In contrast to that hypothesized by the HIV stigma framework, enacted stigma was not related to Physical functioning and no relationships were found between HIV-related stigma and antiretroviral adherence. These results indicate that the HIV stigma framework may need to be revised for contexts where a very high proportion of persons living with HIV are diagnosed and under efficient treatment

Widespread environmental contamination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex revealed by a molecular detection protocol

Environmental contamination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) has been considered crucial for bovine tuberculosis persistence in multi-host-pathogen systems. However, MTC contamination has been difficult to detect due to methodological issues. In an attempt to overcome this limitation we developed an improved protocol for the detection of MTC DNA. MTC DNA concentration was estimated by the Most Probable Number (MPN) method. Making use of this protocol we showed that MTC contamination is widespread in different types of environmental samples from the Iberian Peninsula, which supports indirect transmission as a contributing mechanism for the maintenance of bovine tuberculosis in this multi-host-pathogen system. The proportion of MTC DNA positive samples was higher in the bovine tuberculosis-infected than in presumed negative area (0.32 and 0.18, respectively). Detection varied with the type of environmental sample and was more frequent in sediment from dams and less frequent in water also from dams (0.22 and 0.05, respectively). The proportion of MTC-positive samples was significantly higher in spring (p<0.001), but MTC DNA concentration per sample was higher in autumn and lower in summer. The average MTC DNA concentration in positive samples was 0.82 MPN/g (CI95 0.70-0.98 MPN/g). We were further able to amplify a DNA sequence specific of Mycobacterium bovis/caprae in 4 environmental samples from the bTB-infected area

Diversity of Plasmodium falciparum Chloroquine Resistance Transporter (pfcrt) Exon 2 Haplotypes in the Pacific from 1959 to 1979

Nearly one million deaths are attributed to malaria every year. Recent reports of multi-drug treatment failure of falciparum malaria underscore the need to understand the molecular basis of drug resistance. Multiple mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt) are involved in chloroquine resistance, but the evolution of complex haplotypes is not yet well understood. Using over 4,500 archival human serum specimens collected from 19 Pacific populations between 1959 and 1979, the period including and just prior to the appearance of chloroquine treatment failure in the Pacific, we PCR-amplified and sequenced a portion of the pfcrt exon 2 from 771 P. falciparum-infected individuals to explore the spatial and temporal variation in falciparum malaria prevalence and the evolution of chloroquine resistance. In the Pacific, the prevalence of P. falciparum varied considerably across ecological zones. On the island of New Guinea, the decreases in prevalence of P. falciparum in coastal, high-transmission areas over time were contrasted by the increase in prevalence during the same period in the highlands, where transmission was intermittent. We found 78 unique pfcrt haplotypes consisting of 34 amino acid substitutions and 28 synonymous mutations. More importantly, two pfcrt mutations (N75D and K76T) implicated in chloroquine resistance were present in parasites from New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) eight years before the first report of treatment failure. Our results also revealed unexpectedly high levels of genetic diversity in pfcrt exon 2 prior to the historical chloroquine resistance selective sweep, particularly in areas where disease burden was relatively low. In the Pacific, parasite genetic isolation, as well as host acquired immune status and genetic resistance to malaria, were important contributors to the evolution of chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum