A Non-Invasive Method for the Diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome with the Evaluation of the Capacity of Salivary Glands

This study describes a non-invasive method for diagnosing Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) with MR sialography, which is based on the contrasting of the ductal system with its own secretion and the possibility of simultaneous assessment of the secretory function of parotid salivary glands (PSG). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MR sialography in the diagnosis of SS and chronic parenchymal sialadenitis. Methods and Results: The study included 60 patients aged between 25 and 70 years with PSG impairments. Inclusion criteria: patients suffering from dry mouth and enlarged PSG, with an established diagnosis of SS and chronic parenchymal sialadenitis. The sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of MR sialography was 96.6% and 95.2% in the diagnosis of SS, and 94.4% and 93.3% in the diagnosis of chronic parenchymal sialadenitis. Specificity of the method was 91.6%. Conclusion: MR sialography, highly effective and identical to sialography, allows detecting typical disorders in parotid salivary glands that are inherent to Sjogren’s syndrome and chronic parenchymal sialadenitis

The trigonal polymorph of strontium tetra­borate, β-SrB4O7

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, β-SrB4O7, contains five Sr atoms (three located on a threefold rotation axis), twelve B and 21 O atoms. The structure is made up from BO3 triangles and BO4 tetra­hedra in a 1:1 ratio. Pairs of BO3 triangles are linked to BO4 tetra­hedra via common corners, forming chains. These chains are further linked to adjacent chains through corner-sharing, leading to a three-dimensional framework with channels running parallel to [001]. The Sr2+ ions reside in the channels and exhibit strongly distorted polyhedra The density of the β-polymorph is considerably lower than that of α-SrB4O7, which is constructed solely from BO4 tetra­hedra

Crystal structure and spin-trimer magnetism of Rb-2.3(H2O)(0.8)Mn-3[B4P6O24(O,OH)(2)]

The title borophosphate is characterized by a rare combination of the magnetic high-spin Mn2+ ions in both octahedral and tetrahedral coordinations. The crystal structure and magnetic properties are presented.</p

Three qubit entanglement within graphical Z/X-calculus

The compositional techniques of categorical quantum mechanics are applied to analyse 3-qubit quantum entanglement. In particular the graphical calculus of complementary observables and corresponding phases due to Duncan and one of the authors is used to construct representative members of the two genuinely tripartite SLOCC classes of 3-qubit entangled states, GHZ and W. This nicely illustrates the respectively pairwise and global tripartite entanglement found in the W- and GHZ-class states. A new concept of supplementarity allows us to characterise inhabitants of the W class within the abstract diagrammatic calculus; these method extends to more general multipartite qubit states.Comment: In Proceedings HPC 2010, arXiv:1103.226

Human APP Gene Expression Alters Active Zone Distribution and Spontaneous Neurotransmitter Release at the Drosophila Larval Neuromuscular Junction

This study provides further insight into the molecular mechanisms that control neurotransmitter release. Experiments were performed on larval neuromuscular junctions of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster lines with different levels of human amyloid precursor protein (APP) production. To express human genes in motor neurons of Drosophila, the UAS-GAL4 system was used. Human APP gene expression increased the number of synaptic boutons per neuromuscular junction. The total number of active zones, detected by Bruchpilot protein puncta distribution, remained unchanged; however, the average number of active zones per bouton decreased. These disturbances were accompanied by a decrease in frequency of miniature excitatory junction potentials without alteration in random nature of spontaneous quantal release. Similar structural and functional changes were observed with co-overexpression of human APP and β-secretase genes. In Drosophila line with expression of human amyloid-β42 peptide itself, parameters analyzed did not differ from controls, suggesting the specificity of APP effects.These results confirm the involvement of APP in synaptogenesis and provide evidence to suggest that human APP overexpression specifically disturbs the structural and functional organization of active zone and results in altered Bruchpilot distribution and lowered probability of spontaneous neurotransmitter release

Microbiome Responses to an Uncontrolled Short-Term Diet Intervention in the Frame of the Citizen Science Project

Personalized nutrition is of increasing interest to individuals actively monitoring their health. The relations between the duration of diet intervention and the effects on gut microbiota have yet to be elucidated. Here we examined the associations of short-term dietary changes, long-term dietary habits and lifestyle with gut microbiota. Stool samples from 248 citizen-science volunteers were collected before and after a self-reported 2-week personalized diet intervention, then analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Considerable correlations between long-term dietary habits and gut community structure were detected. A higher intake of vegetables and fruits was associated with increased levels of butyrate-producing Clostridiales and higher community richness. A paired comparison of the metagenomes before and after the 2-week intervention showed that even a brief, uncontrolled intervention produced profound changes in community structure: resulting in decreased levels of Bacteroidaceae, Porphyromonadaceae and Rikenellaceae families and decreased alpha-diversity coupled with an increase of Methanobrevibacter, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium and butyrate-producing Lachnospiraceae- as well as the prevalence of a permatype (a bootstrapping-based variation of enterotype) associated with a higher diversity of diet. The response of microbiota to the intervention was dependent on the initial microbiota state. These findings pave the way for the development of an individualized diet.</p