A predictive analytics model for differentiating between transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and its mimics

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a brief episode of neurological dysfunction resulting from cerebral ischemia not associated with permanent cerebral infarction. TIA is associated with high diagnostic errors because of the subjective nature of findings and the lack of clinical and imaging biomarkers. The goal of this study was to design and evaluate a novel multinomial classification model, based on a combination of feature selection mechanisms coupled with logistic regression, to predict the likelihood of TIA, TIA mimics, and minor stroke

No evidence for parasitism-linked changes in immune function or oxidative physiology over the annual cycle of an avian species

Temporally changing environmental conditions occur in most parts of the world and can exert strong pressure on the immune defense of organisms. Seasonality may result in changes in physiological traits over the year, and such changes may be essential for the optimization of defense against infections. Evidence from field and laboratory studies suggest the existence of links between environmental conditions, such as infection risk, and the ability of animals to mount an immune response or to overcome infections; however, the importance of parasites in mediating seasonal change in immune defense is still debated. In this study, we test the hypothesis that seasonal change in immune function and connected physiological traits is related to parasite infection. We sampled captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) once every 2 mo over 14 mo and compared the annual variation in 12 measures of condition, immune function, antioxidant status, and oxidative damage among birds naturally infested with coccidians or medicated against these parasites. We found significant variation in 10 of 12 traits over the year. However, we found little support for parasite-mediated change in immune function and oxidative status in captive house sparrows. Of the 12 measures, only one was slightly affected by parasite treatment. In support of the absence of any effect of coccidians on the annual profile of the condition and physiological traits, we found no consistent relationships between the intensity of infestation and these response variables over the year. Our results show that chronic coccidian infections have limited effect on the seasonal changing of physiological traits and that the patterns of these measures are probably more affected by acute infection and/or virulent parasite strains

Seasonal Patterns and Relationships among Coccidian Infestations, Measures of Oxidative Physiology, and Immune Function in Free-Living House Sparrows over an Annual Cycle

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Investigation into the Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in the Antitumor Activity of Doxil

Purpose. Our recent studies show specific localization of long-circulating liposomes (LCL) within the endosomal/lysosomal compartment of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM). Based on this finding, the present study aims to investigate whether clinically applied LCL formulations such as Doxil (LCLencapsulated doxorubicin), have alternative mechanisms of action additionally to direct drug-mediated cytotoxicity towards tumor cells. Methods. The antitumor activity of Doxil was evaluated in B16.F10 melanoma-bearing mice, in the presence and in the absence of TAM. To suppress TAM functions, liposomal clodronate (Lip-CLOD) was injected 24 h before the actual treatment. The effect of Doxil on the levels of angiogenic factors was determined using an angiogenic protein array. As positive control, the same experiments were conducted with LCL-encapsulated prednisolone phosphate (LCL-PLP), a tumor-targeted formulation with known strong anti-angiogenic/anti-inflammatory effects on TAM. Results. Our results show that the antitumor efficacy of Doxil was only partially attributed to the inhibition of TAM-mediated angiogenesis whereas LCL-PLP inhibited tumor growth through strong suppressive effects on pro-angiogenic functions of TAM. As described previously, the main mechanism of Doxil might be a cytotoxic effect on tumor cells. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the antitumor activity of Doxil does not depend mainly on the presence of functional TAM in tumors

Multi-parametric assessment of the anti-angiogenic effects of liposomal glucocorticoids

Inflammation plays a prominent role in tumor growth. Anti-inflammatory drugs have therefore been proposed as anti-cancer therapeutics. In this study, we determined the anti-angiogenic activity of a single dose of liposomal prednisolone phosphate (PLP-L), by monitoring tumor vascular function and viability over a period of one week. C57BL/6 mice were inoculated subcutaneously with B16F10 melanoma cells. Six animals were PLP-L-treated and six served as control. Tumor tissue and vascular function were probed using MRI before and at three timepoints after treatment. DCE-MRI was used to determine Ktrans, ve, time-to-peak, initial slope and the fraction of non-enhancing pixels, complemented with immunohistochemistry. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), T2 and tumor size were assessed with MRI as well. PLP-L treatment resulted in smaller tumors and caused a significant drop in Ktrans 48 h post-treatment, which was maintained until one week after drug administration. However, this effect was not sufficient to significantly distinguish treated from non-treated animals. The therapy did not affect tumor tissue viability but did prevent the ADC decrease observed in the control group. No evidence for PLP-L-induced tumor vessel normalization was found on histology. Treatment with PLP-L altered tumor vascular function. This effect did not fully explain the tumor growth inhibition, suggesting a broader spectrum of PLP-L activities

Seasonal patterns and relationships among coccidian infestations, measures of oxidative physiology, and immune function in free-living house sparrows over an annual cycle

Temporal variation in oxidative physiology and its associated immune function may occur as a result of changes in parasite infection over the year. Evidence from field and laboratory studies suggests links between infection risk, oxidative stress, and the ability of animals to mount an immune response; however, the importance of parasites in mediating seasonal change in physiological makeup is still debated. Also, little is known about the temporal consistency of relationships among parasite infestation, markers of oxidative status and immune function in wild animals, and whether variation in oxidative measures can be viewed as a single integrated system. To address these questions, we sampled free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus) every 2 mo over a complete year and measured infestation with coccidian parasites as well as nine traits that reflect condition, oxidative physiology, and immune function. We found significant seasonal variation in coccidian infestation and in seven out of nine condition and physiological variables over the year. However, we found little support for parasite-mediated change in condition, oxidative physiology, and immune functions in house sparrows. In accordance with this, we found no temporal consistency in relationships between the intensity of infestation and physiology. Among measures of oxidative physiology, antioxidants (measured as the total antioxidant capacity and the concentration of uric acid in the plasma) and oxidative damage (measured through the level of malondialdehyde in plasma) positively and consistently covaried over the year, while no such associations were found for the rest of traits (body mass, total glutathione, and leukocyte numbers). Our results show that natural levels of chronic coccidian infection have a limited effect on the seasonal change of physiological traits, suggesting that the variation of the latter is probably more affected by short-term disturbances, such as acute infection and/or season-specific stress stimuli

Structure, mineralogy, and microbial diversity of geothermal spring microbialites associated with a deep oil drilling in Romania

© 2015 Coman, Chiriac, Robeson, Ionescu, Dragos, Barbu-Tudoran, Andrei, Banciu, Sicora and Podar. Modern mineral deposits play an important role in evolutionary studies by providing clues to the formation of ancient lithified microbial communities. Here we report the presence of microbialite-forming microbial mats in different microenvironments at 32°C, 49°C, and 65°C around the geothermal spring from an abandoned oil drill in Ciocaia, Romania. The mineralogy and the macro- and microstructure of the microbialites were investigated, together with their microbial diversity based on a 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach. The calcium carbonate is deposited mainly in the form of calcite. At 32°C and 49°C, the microbialites show a laminated structure with visible microbial mat-carbonate crystal interactions. At 65°C, the mineral deposit is clotted, without obvious organic residues. Partial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing showed that the relative abundance of the phylum Archaea was low at 32°C (1%. The dominant bacterial groups at 32°C were Cyanobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Thermi, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Defferibacteres. At 49°C, there was a striking dominance of the Gammaproteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Armantimonadetes. The 65°C sample was dominated by Betaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, [OP1], Defferibacteres, Thermi, Thermotogae, [EM3], and Nitrospirae. Several groups from Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, together with Halobacteria and Melainabacteria were described for the first time in calcium carbonate deposits. Overall, the spring from Ciocaia emerges as a valuable site to probe microbes-minerals interrelationships along thermal and geochemical gradients