Local-global processing approaches in older autistic adults:A matched control study using RCFT and WAIS-IV

Background Research on information processing of older adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is scarce, which is a caveat because findings in children may not apply to (older) autistic adults. This study examines visual local-global processing approaches in older autistic adults. Method The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) is a popular measure of visual-constructional ability, organisational strategy and memory. In this matched-control study, we explore if the qualitative and quantitative performance on the RCFT can be used as an operationalisation of central coherence in autistic older adults (n = 36; ages 50−84 years), and whether RCFT performance associates with autism-symptoms. WAIS-IV scores were also obtained to test for local-global differences in performance. Results No evidence was found for deviating processing approaches on the RCFT (both quantitative and qualitative) in the ASD group, although copying the RCFT was significantly slower. The WAIS-IV showed no differences between participant-groups, except for a significantly better performance on Visual Puzzles by autistic participants. Conclusions Using visual local-global processing tests common to clinical practice, this study provides no evidence for a weak central coherence but some support for enhanced perceptual functioning in late-diagnosed high functioning older autistic adults. There was no evidence for altered strategic approaches during the completion of a complex visual information processing task (RCFT). Combining a quantitative and a qualitative scoring system of visual information processing tasks (such as RCFT) can elucidate the preferred visual information processing style in autistic individuals

Arthritis by autoreactive T cell lines obtained from rats after injection of intestinal bacterial cell wall fragments

__Abstract__ T cell lines (B13, B19) were isolated from the lymph nodes of Lewis rats 12 days after an arthritogenic injection of cell wall fragments of Eubacterium aerofaciens (ECW), a major resident of the human intestinal flora. These cell wall fragments consist of peptidoglycan polysaccharide complexes (PPC). The cell lines that bear the helper phenotype were arthritogenic in knee or ankle joints upon intravenous injection into irradiated Lewis recipients. B13 was, however, not arthritogenic in irradiated F344 recipients that are largely RT1 identical. The arthritis induced in the knee joints of the irradiated Lewis rats was clearly shown by a 99mtechnetium-pertechnetate scanning technique and was confirmed histologically. In vitro the cell lines showed a proliferative response after stimulation with syngeneic spleen cells alone. The proliferation was significantly higher when bacterial PPC, isolated in soluble form from normal feces or ileostomy fluid were added. Recognition by B13 appeared to be MHC class II restricted. These results show that autoreactive T cell lines can be isolated from rats after injection of bacterial cell wall antigens and that these cell lines can be arthritogenic. This suggests a role for autoreactive T cells in the induction of bacterial cell wall arthritis and might give a clue for the arthritogenic properties of the normal human intestinal flora

Hypothermic Machine Perfusion in Liver Transplantation - A Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND Transplantation of livers obtained from donors after circulatory death is associated with an increased risk of nonanastomotic biliary strictures. Hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion of livers may reduce the incidence of biliary complications, but data from prospective, controlled studies are limited. METHODS In this multicenter, controlled trial, we randomly assigned patients who were undergoing transplantation of a liver obtained from a donor after circulatory death to receive that liver either after hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (machine-perfusion group) or after conventional static cold storage alone (control group). The primary end point was the incidence of nonanastomotic biliary strictures within 6 months after transplantation. Secondary end points included other graft-related and general complications. RESULTS A total of 160 patients were enrolled, of whom 78 received a machine-perfused liver and 78 received a liver after static cold storage only (4 patients did not receive a liver in this trial). Nonanastomotic biliary strictures occurred in 6% of the patients in the machine-perfusion group and in 18% of those in the control group (risk ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.14 to 0.94; P=0.03). Postreperfusion syndrome occurred in 12% of the recipients of a machine-perfused liver and in 27% of those in the control group (risk ratio, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.91). Early allograft dysfunction occurred in 26% of the machine-perfused livers, as compared with 40% of control livers (risk ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.96). The cumulative number of treatments for nonanastomotic biliary strictures was lower by a factor of almost 4 after machine perfusion, as compared with control. The incidence of adverse events was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion led to a lower risk of nonanastomotic biliary strictures following the transplantation of livers obtained from donors after circulatory death than conventional static cold storage

Lakselusinfestasjon på vill laksefisk langs Norskekysten i 2020 Sluttrapport til Mattilsynet

Source at https://www.hi.no/Overvåkingsprogrammet for lakselus på vill laksefisk (NALO) er i 2020 gjennomført på oppdrag fra Mattilsynet (MT) og Nærings- og Fiskeridepartementet (NFD). En hydrodynamisk spredningsmodell som beregner tetthet av infektive lakseluskopepoditter i vannmassene ble som tidligere år kjørt ukentlig for hele Norskekysten. Innsatsen på overvåking av utvandrende postsmolt laks er holdt på samme nivå som i 2019. På sjøørret er innsatsen i overvåkingen i 2020 differensiert mellom tradisjonell tilstandsbekreftelse og utvidet overvåking i seks fokusområder langs kysten. Som en konsekvens av dette er det undersøkt færre stasjoner i 2020 enn tidligere år, mens overvåkingen i fokusområdene er intensivert. Vaktbur ble i 2020 kun benyttet i Hardangerfjordsystemet. I tillegg ble det forsøkt å benytte spesialbyggede ruser til fangst av utvandrende laks ved to lokaliteter. Det ble gjort undersøkelser med en eller flere av ovennevnte metoder i samtlige 13 produksjonsområder langs kysten. Feltarbeidet i NALO startet 27. april i Sør-Norge og ble avsluttet 26 juli i Øst-Finnmark. Resultatene er presentert med kart, tabeller og figurer for hvert av de 13 produksjonsområdene fra sør til nord. I tillegg er mer detaljerte resultater oppgitt i tabeller i et eget appendiks til rapporten. Den etablerte grensen for begynnende negativ fysiologisk effekt fra lakselus er på 0,1 lus per gram kroppsvekt, og er illustrert i de fleste figurene. I oppsummeringen er det gjort en helhetlig vurdering av lusesituasjonene på vill laksefisk langs hele kysten både i 2020 og i et litt lengre perspektiv. Vurdering av risiko for vill laksefisk er ikke gjort i denne rapporten. Begrepene lite, moderat og mye benyttes for å illustrere forskjeller i tid og rom og er derfor ikke definert kvantitativt. Resultatene er vist for hvert av de 13 produksjonsområdene, mens oppsummeringen er mer generell. I tillegg blir det gitt en kort presentasjon om utvikling av effektindikator for lakselus på sjøørret og en statusoppdatering på datainnsamling i forbindelse med evaluering av nasjonale laksefjorder.The surveillance program for salmon lice on wild salmonids (NALO) was carried out in 2020 on behalf of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (MT) and the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD). As in previous years, a hydrodynamic dispersal model that calculates the density of infectious salmon lice in the water was run weekly for the entire Norwegian coast. Efforts to monitor migrating post-smolt salmon have been kept at the same level as in 2019. For sea trout, surveillance efforts have been differentiated between traditional situation confirmation and an extended surveillance in six focus areas along the coast in 2020. As a result, fewer stations were sampled in 2020 than in previous years, while monitoring in the focus areas has been intensified. In 2020, sentinel cages were only used in the Hardangerfjord system. In addition, attempts were made to use specially built fyke nets to catch migrating salmon at two localities. Investigations were carried out using one or more of the above methods in all 13 production areas along the coast. The fieldwork in NALO started on 27 April in southern Norway and ended on 26 July in eastern Finnmark. Results are presented with maps, tables and figures for each of the 13 production areas from south to north. In addition, more detailed results are given in tables in a separate appendix. The established threshold for the set off for negative physiological effect from salmon lice is 0.1 lice per gram of body weight and this is illustrated in most figures. In the summary, a comprehensive assessment has been made of the lice situations on wild salmonids along the entire coast both in 2020 and in a slightly longer perspective. An assessment of the risk of wild salmonids has not been made in this report. The terms small, moderate and high are used to illustrate differences in time and space and are therefore not defined quantitatively. The results are shown for each of the 13 production areas, while the summary is more general. In addition, a short presentation is given on the development of an effect indicator for salmon lice on sea trout and a status update on data collection in connection with the evaluation of national salmon fjords

Curcumin Promotes A-beta Fibrillation and Reduces Neurotoxicity in Transgenic Drosophila

The pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular deposits of misfolded and aggregated amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and intraneuronal accumulation of tangles comprised of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. For several years, the natural compound curcumin has been proposed to be a candidate for enhanced clearance of toxic Aβ amyloid. In this study we have studied the potency of feeding curcumin as a drug candidate to alleviate Aβ toxicity in transgenic Drosophila. The longevity as well as the locomotor activity of five different AD model genotypes, measured relative to a control line, showed up to 75% improved lifespan and activity for curcumin fed flies. In contrast to the majority of studies of curcumin effects on amyloid we did not observe any decrease in the amount of Aβ deposition following curcumin treatment. Conformation-dependent spectra from p-FTAA, a luminescent conjugated oligothiophene bound to Aβ deposits in different Drosophila genotypes over time, indicated accelerated pre-fibrillar to fibril conversion of Aβ1–42 in curcumin treated flies. This finding was supported by in vitro fibrillation assays of recombinant Aβ1–42. Our study shows that curcumin promotes amyloid fibril conversion by reducing the pre-fibrillar/oligomeric species of Aβ, resulting in a reduced neurotoxicity in Drosophila

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment

Harmonization of Neuroticism and Extraversion phenotypes across inventories and cohorts in the Genetics of Personality Consortium : an application of Item Response Theory

Peer reviewe