Timing of embryonic quiescence determines viability of embryos from the calanoid copepod, Acartia tonsa (Dana)

<div><p>Like 41 other calanoid copepods, <i>Acartia tonsa</i>, are capable of inducing embryonic quiescence when experiencing unfavorable environmental conditions. The ecdysone-signaling cascade is known to have a key function in developmental processes like embryogenesis and molting of arthropods, including copepods. We examined the role of <i>ecdysteroid-phosphate phosphatase</i> (<i>EPPase</i>), <i>ecdysone receptor</i> (<i>EcR</i>), <i>ß fushi tarazu transcription factor 1</i> (<i>ßFTZ-F1</i>), and the <i>ecdysteroid-regulated early gene E74</i> (<i>E74</i>), which represent different levels of the ecdysone-signaling cascade in our calanoid model organism. Progression of embryogenesis was monitored and hatching success determined to evaluate viability. Embryos that were induced quiescence before the gastrulation stage would stay in gastrulation during the rest of quiescence and exhibited a slower pace of hatching as compared to subitaneous embryos. In contrast, embryos developed further than gastrulation would stay in gastrulation or later stages during quiescence and showed a rapid pace in hatching after quiescence termination. Expression patterns suggested two peaks of the biological active ecdysteroids, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). The first peak of 20E was expressed in concert with the beginning of embryogenesis originating from yolk-conjugated ecdysteroids, based on <i>EPPase</i> expression. The second peak is suggested to originate from <i>de novo</i> synthesized 20E around the limb bud stage. During quiescence, the expression patterns of <i>EPPase</i>, <i>EcR</i>, <i>ßFTZ-F1</i>, and <i>E74</i> were either decreasing or not changing over time. This suggests that the ecdysone-signaling pathway play a key role in the subitaneous development of <i>A</i>. <i>tonsa</i> embryogenesis, but not during quiescence. The observation is of profound ecological and practical relevance for the dynamics of egg banks.</p></div

Eggs of the copepod Acartia tonsa Dana require hypoxic conditions to tolerate prolonged embryonic development arrest

Additional file 1. Raw data and calculations for all experiments as well as an overview of experiments in this study

Patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome in a university hospital emergency department: an observational study

BACKGROUND: It is widely considered that improved diagnostics in suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are needed. To help clarify the current situation and the improvement potential, we analyzed characteristics, disposition and outcome among patients with suspected ACS at a university hospital emergency department (ED). METHODS: 157 consecutive patients with symptoms of ACS were included at the ED during 10 days. Risk of ACS was estimated in the ED for each patient based on history, physical examination and ECG by assigning them to one of four risk categories; I (obvious myocardial infarction, MI), II (strong suspicion of ACS), III (vague suspicion of ACS), and IV (no suspicion of ACS). RESULTS: 4, 17, 29 and 50% of the patients were allocated to risk categories I-IV respectively. 74 patients (47%) were hospitalized but only 19 (26%) had ACS as the discharge diagnose. In risk categories I-IV, ACS rates were 100, 37, 12 and 0%, respectively. Of those admitted without ACS, at least 37% could probably, given perfect ED diagnostics, have been immediately discharged. 83 patients were discharged from the ED, and among them there were no hospitalizations for ACS or cardiac mortality at 6 months. Only about three patients per 24 h were considered eligible for a potential ED chest pain unit. CONCLUSIONS: Almost 75% of the patients hospitalized with suspected ACS did not have it, and some 40% of these patients could probably, given perfect immediate diagnostics, have been managed as outpatients. The potential for diagnostic improvement in the ED seems large

Prevalence of anaemia in older persons: systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ageing populations will impact on healthcare provision, especially since extra years are not necessarily spent in good health. It is important to identify and understand the significance of common medical problems in older people. Anaemia may be one such problem. We report on the prevalence of anaemia in cohorts of elderly people in the general population. The presence of anaemia is associated with a worse prognosis for both morbidity and mortality.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Electronic searching and reference lists of published reports were used to identify studies that reported on prevalence of anaemia in cohorts of at least 100 individuals predominantly aged 65 years and over living in developed countries, together with criteria used to define anaemia. Studies of anaemia prevalence in specific disease groups or published before 1980 were excluded. Prevalence data for the entire cohort, for men and women separately and for different age bands were extracted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-five studies contributed data. Thirty-four studies (n = 85,409) used WHO criteria to define anaemia. The weighted mean prevalence was 17% (3–50%) overall, and 12% (3–25%) in studies based in the community (27, n = 69,975), 47% (31–50%) in nursing homes (3, n = 1481), and 40% (40–72%) in hospital admissions (4, n = 13,953). Anaemia prevalence increased with age, was slightly higher in men than women, and was higher in black people than white. Most individuals classified as anaemic using WHO criteria were only mildly anaemic.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Anaemia, as defined by WHO criteria, is common in older people living in the community and particularly common in nursing home residents and hospital admissions. Predicted demographic changes underline the need to understand more about anaemia in older people.</p

Imaging in breast cancer: Diffuse optics in breast cancer: detecting tumors in pre-menopausal women and monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) and diffuse optical imaging (DOI) are non-invasive diagnostic techniques that employ near-infrared (NIR) light to quantitatively characterize the optical properties of centimeter-thick, multiple-scattering tissues. Although NIR was first applied to breast diaphanography more than 70 years ago, quantitative optical methods employing time- or frequency-domain 'photon migration' technologies have only recently been used for breast imaging. Because their performance is not limited by mammographic density, optical methods can provide new insight regarding tissue functional changes associated with the appearance, progression, and treatment of breast cancer, particularly for younger women and high-risk subjects who may not benefit from conventional imaging methods. This paper reviews the principles of diffuse optics and describes the development of broadband DOS for quantitatively measuring the optical and physiological properties of thick tissues. Clinical results are shown highlighting the sensitivity of diffuse optics to malignant breast tumors in 12 pre-menopausal subjects ranging in age from 30 to 39 years and a patient undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer. Significant contrast was observed between normal and tumor regions of tissue for deoxy-hemoglobin (p = 0.005), oxy-hemoglobin (p = 0.002), water (p = 0.014), and lipids (p = 0.0003). Tissue hemoglobin saturation was not found to be a reliable parameter for distinguishing between tumor and normal tissues. Optical data were converted into a tissue optical index that decreased 50% within 1 week in response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These results suggest a potential role for diffuse optics as a bedside monitoring tool that could aid the development of new strategies for individualized patient care

Azimuthal Anisotropy of Photon and Charged Particle Emission in Pb+Pb Collisions at 158 A GeV/c

The azimuthal distributions of photons and charged particles with respect to the event plane are investigated as a function of centrality in Pb + Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c in the WA98 experiment at the CERN SPS. The anisotropy of the azimuthal distributions is characterized using a Fourier analysis. For both the photon and charged particle distributions the first two Fourier coefficients are observed to decrease with increasing centrality. The observed anisotropies of the photon distributions compare well with the expectations from the charged particle measurements for all centralities.Comment: 8 pages and 6 figures. The manuscript has undergone a major revision. The unwanted correlations were enhanced in the random subdivision method used in the earlier version. The present version uses the more established method of division into subevents separated in rapidity to minimise short range correlations. The observed results for charged particles are in agreement with results from the other experiments. The observed anisotropy in photons is explained using flow results of pions and the correlations arising due to the decay of the neutral pion

Properties of Graphene: A Theoretical Perspective

In this review, we provide an in-depth description of the physics of monolayer and bilayer graphene from a theorist's perspective. We discuss the physical properties of graphene in an external magnetic field, reflecting the chiral nature of the quasiparticles near the Dirac point with a Landau level at zero energy. We address the unique integer quantum Hall effects, the role of electron correlations, and the recent observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in the monolayer graphene. The quantum Hall effect in bilayer graphene is fundamentally different from that of a monolayer, reflecting the unique band structure of this system. The theory of transport in the absence of an external magnetic field is discussed in detail, along with the role of disorder studied in various theoretical models. We highlight the differences and similarities between monolayer and bilayer graphene, and focus on thermodynamic properties such as the compressibility, the plasmon spectra, the weak localization correction, quantum Hall effect, and optical properties. Confinement of electrons in graphene is nontrivial due to Klein tunneling. We review various theoretical and experimental studies of quantum confined structures made from graphene. The band structure of graphene nanoribbons and the role of the sublattice symmetry, edge geometry and the size of the nanoribbon on the electronic and magnetic properties are very active areas of research, and a detailed review of these topics is presented. Also, the effects of substrate interactions, adsorbed atoms, lattice defects and doping on the band structure of finite-sized graphene systems are discussed. We also include a brief description of graphane -- gapped material obtained from graphene by attaching hydrogen atoms to each carbon atom in the lattice.Comment: 189 pages. submitted in Advances in Physic

Vitamin B12 status in patients of Turkish and Dutch descent with depression: A comparative cross-sectional study

Background: Studies have shown a clear relationship between depressive disorders and vitamin B12 deficiency. Gastroenteritis and Helicobacter pylori infections can cause vitamin B12 deficiency. Helicobacter pylori infections are not uncommon among people of Turkish descent in The Netherlands. Aim: To examine the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency in depressive patients of Turkish descent and compare it to the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency in depressive patients of Dutch descent. Methods: The present study is a comparative cross-sectional study of 47 patients of Turkish descent and 28 of Dutch descent. The depressive disorder diagnosis and differential diagnosis were made using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition text revision (SCID). The severity of the depressive symptoms was determined using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-21). Serum baseline vitamin B6 and B12, folic acid and total serum homocysteine (tHcy) levels were measured. Results: The average ages of the patients of Turkish and Dutch descent were 40.57 and 44.75 years, respectively. There were no demonstrable differences between the serum vitamin B6, folic acid and tHcy levels in the two groups. The serum vitamin B12 levels were however clearly lower in the patients of Turkish descent than in those of Dutch descent. Vitamin B12 deficiency was however observed in 14 patients of Turkish descent and 1 of Dutch descent. This difference was significant. On the BDI, the patients of Turkish descent scored significantly higher than those of Dutch descent. Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency and those with hyperhomocysteinaemia had a significantly higher BDI score than patients with normal vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels. No relationship was observed with vitamin B12 and tHcy. Conclusion: Vitamin B12 deficiency occurs more frequently in depressive patients of Turkish than of Dutch descent. This is why it is advisable to test the vitamin B12 serum level in depressive patients of Turkish descent

Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in $|\eta|<0.8$ and $0.3 < p_T < 20$ GeV/$c$ are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$. The result indicates only weak medium effects ($R_{\rm AA} \approx$ 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, $R_{\rm AA}$ reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7GeV/$c$ and increases significantly at larger $p_{\rm T}$. The measured suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/98