Extremely bulky copper(I) complexes of [HB(3,5-{1-naphthyl}(2)pz)(3)](-) and [HB(3,5-{2-naphthyl}(2)pz)(3)](-) and their self-assembly on graphene

Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic Material

FOS rearrangement and expression in cementoblastoma

Cementoblastomas are rare odontogenic tumors developing in close proximity to the roots of teeth. Due to their striking morphologic resemblance to osteoblastomas of the peripheral skeleton, we set out to determine whether cementoblastomas harbor the same FOS rearrangements with overexpression of c-FOS as has recently been described for osteoblastomas. In total, 16 cementoblastomas were analyzed for FOS expression by immunohistochemistry and for FOS rearrangements by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We observed strong and diffuse staining of c-FOS in 71% of cementoblastomas and identified a FOS rearrangement in all cases (n=3) applicable for FISH. In the remaining cases, FISH failed due to decalcification. Cementoblastomas harbor similar FOS rearrangements and show overexpression of c-FOS like osteoblastomas, suggesting that both entities might represent parts of the spectrum of the same disease.Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas

Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{$6\times 10^{19}$eV}. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than $3.1^\circ$ from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron $12^{\rm th}$ catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is $(38^{+7}_{-6})$, compared with $21$ expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of $(69^{+11}_{-13})$. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201

Automated entire thrombus density measurements for robust and comprehensive thrombus characterization in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background and Purpose: In acute ischemic stroke (AIS) management, CT-based thrombus density has been associated with treatment success. However, currently used thrombus measurements are prone to inter-observer variability and oversimplify the heterogeneous thrombus composition. Our aim was first to introduce an automated method to assess the entire thrombus density and then to compare the measured entire thrombus density with respect to current standard manual measurements. Materials and Method: In 135 AIS patients, the density distribution of the entire thrombus was determined. Density distributions were described usingmedians, interquartile ranges (IQR), kurtosis, and skewedness. Differences between themedian of entire thrombusmeasurements and commonly applied manualmeasurements using 3 regions of interest were determined using linear regression. Results: Density distributions varied considerably with medians ranging from 20.0 to 62.8 HU and IQRs ranging from 9.3 to 55.8 HU. The average median of the thrombus density distributions (43.5 ± 10.2 HU) was lower than the manual assessment (49.6 ± 8.0 HU) (p<0.05). The difference between manual measurements and median density of entire thrombus decreased with increasing density (r = 0.64; p<0.05), revealing relatively higher manual measurements for low density thrombi such that manual density measurement tend overestimates the real thrombus density. Conclusions: Automatic measurements of the full thrombus expose a wide variety of thrombi density distribution, which is not grasped with currently used manual measurement. Furthermore, d

Two-year clinical follow-up of the Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in The Netherlands (MR CLEAN): Design and statistical analysis plan of the extended follow-up study

Background: MR CLEAN was the first randomized trial to demonstrate the short-term clinical effectiveness of endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation. Several other trials confirmed that endovascular treatment improves clinical outcome at three months. However, limited data are available on long-term clinical outcome. We aimed to estimate the effect of endovascular treatment on functional outcome at two-year follow-up in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Secondly, we aimed to assess the effect of endovascular treatment on major vascular events and mortality during two years of follow-up. Methods: MR CLEAN is a multicenter clinical trial with randomized treatment allocation, open-label treatment, and blinded endpoint evaluation. Patients included were 18 years or older with acute ischemic stroke caused by a proven anterior proximal artery occlusion who could be treated within six hours after stroke onset. The intervention contrast was endovascular treatment and usual care versus no endovascular treatment and usual care. The current study extended the follow-up duration from three months to two years. The primary outcome is the score on the modified Rankin scale at two years. Secondary outcomes include all-cause mortality and the occurrence of major vascular events within two years of follow-up. Discussion: The results of our study provide information on the long-term clinical effectiveness of endovascular treatment, which may have implications for individual treatment decisions and estimates of cost-effectiveness. Trial registration:NTR1804. Registered on 7 May 2009; ISRCTN10888758. Registered on 24 July 2012 (main MR CLEAN trial); NTR5073. Registered on 26 February 2015 (extended follow-up study)

Memory extinction and spontaneous recovery shaping parasitoid foraging behavior

Animals can alter their foraging behavior through associative learning, where an encounter with an essential resource (e.g., food or a reproductive opportunity) is associated with nearby environmental cues (e.g., volatiles). This can subsequently improve the animal’s foraging efficiency. However, when these associated cues are encountered again, the anticipated resource is not always present. Such an unrewarding experience, also called a memory-extinction experience, can change an animal’s response to the associated cues. Although some studies are available on the mechanisms of this process, they rarely focus on cues and rewards that are relevant in an animal’s natural habitat. In this study, we tested the effect of different types of ecologically relevant memory-extinction experiences on the conditioned plant volatile preferences of the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata that uses these cues to locate its caterpillar hosts. These extinction experiences consisted of contact with only host traces (frass and silk), contact with nonhost traces, or oviposition in a nonhost near host traces, on the conditioned plant species. Our results show that the lack of oviposition, after contacting host traces, led to the temporary alteration of the conditioned plant volatile preference in C. glomerata, but this effect was plant species-specific. These results provide novel insights into how ecologically relevant memory-extinction experiences can fine-tune an animal’s foraging behavior. This fine-tuning of learned behavior can be beneficial when the lack of finding a resource accurately predicts current, but not future foraging opportunities. Such continuous reevaluation of obtained information helps animals to prevent maladaptive foraging behavior

Effects of oviposition in a non-host species on foraging behaviour of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata

Parasitoids lay their eggs in or on a host, usually another insect. During foraging, parasitoids can encounter insects that differ in terms of host suitability and quality. At one extreme end of this spectrum are non-hosts that are unsuitable for offspring development.Non-hosts are generally ignored but parasitization does occur and occasionally also results in egg deposition. Here, the authors investigate how oviposition in a non-host influences subsequent foraging behaviour of a parasitoid and whether this is mediated by learning. The study system consists of the endoparasitoid Cotesia glomerata and the presumed non-host caterpillar Mamestra brassicae.In the presence of Pieris brassicae hosts and/or their traces (frass), C. glomerata inserted its ovipositor into M. brassicae caterpillars. Eggs were deposited, but all eggs disappeared within 96 h, confirming the non-host status of M. brassicae. In contrast to the expectation, there was no memory retention after oviposition in a non-host and parasitoids did not alter their behaviour with respect to non-host contacts and ovipositions. Instead, C. glomerata became more motivated to forage on a non-host infested leaf.The authors propose that egg deposition in non-hosts by C. glomerata might be due to their high egg load, which is thought to make parasitoids less selective on host quality, especially when they have few reproductive opportunities. In such cases, fitness costs to individual females are low. Egg deposition in non-hosts might ultimately lead to host range expansion if parasitoids overcome the defence response of non-hosts over evolutionary time

Bright Cyan Phosphorescence of a (Phosphane)copper(I) Complex of the Trihydridopyrazolylborate Ligand H3B(3,5-Ph(2)Pz)(-)

Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic Material

Multi-camera field monitoring reveals costs of learning for parasitoid foraging behaviour

1. Dynamic conditions in nature have led to the evolution of behavioural traits that allow animals to use information on local circumstances and adjust their behaviour accordingly, for example through learning. Although learning can improve foraging efficiency, the learned information can become unreliable as the environment continues to change. This could lead to potential fitness costs when memories holding such unreliable information persist. Indeed, persistent unreliable memory was found to reduce the foraging efficiency of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata under laboratory conditions. 2. Here, we evaluated the effect of such persistent unreliable memory on the foraging behaviour of C. glomerata in the field. This is a critical step in studies of foraging theory, since animal behaviour evolved under the complex conditions present in nature. 3. Existing methods provide little detail on how parasitoids interact with their environment in the field, therefore we developed a novel multi-camera system that allowed us to trace parasitoid foraging behaviour in detail. With this multi-camera system, we studied how persistent unreliable memory affected the foraging behaviour of C. glomerata when these memories led parasitoids to plants infested with non-host caterpillars in a semi-field set-up. 4. Our results demonstrate that persistent unreliable memory can lead to maladaptive foraging behaviour in C. glomerata under field conditions and increased the likelihood of oviposition in the non-host caterpillar Mamestra brassica. Furthermore, these time- and egg-related costs can be context dependent, since they rely on the plant species used. 5. These results provide us with new insight on how animals use previously obtained information in naturally complex and dynamic foraging situations and confirm that costs and benefits of learning depend on the environment animals forage in. Although behavioural studies of small animals in natural habitats remain challenging, novel methods such as our multi-camera system contribute to understanding the nuances of animal foraging behaviour

Palladium‐Catalyzed Isomerization/(Cyclo)carbonylation of Pentenamides: a Mechanistic Study of the Chemo‐ and Regioselectivity

A new isomerizing ring‐closing amidocarbonylation reaction is reported using Pd catalysis with bulky diphosphane ligands. From terminal as well as internal pentenamide isomers (PAs), cyclic imides were obtained in good yield (92 %) with cationic Pd catalysts supported by bis‐PCg ligands (PCg=6‐phospha‐2,4,8‐trioxa‐1,3,5,7‐tetramethyladamant‐6‐yl). An excess of strong acid is required to obtain high selectivity for imide products. From a low‐temperature NMR study it was deduced that N coordination of the amide moiety is responsible for a high selectivity to cyclic imide products. In weakly acidic conditions, O coordination of the amide functionality leads to the formation of cyanoacids (i.e., 5‐cyanovaleric acid, 2‐methyl‐4‐cyanobutyric acid and 2‐ethyl‐3‐cyanopropionic acid). It is proposed that the formation of these cyanoacids occurs through a novel intramolecular tandem dehydrating hydroxycarbonylation reaction of PAs. This reaction also occurs in intermolecular versions of amidocarbonylation with mixtures of alkene and amide substrates. Experiments with N‐alkylated amides have been instrumental in developing mechanistic models. The strong acid co‐catalyst ensures double‐bond isomerization to occur faster than product formation, resulting in the same product mixture, irrespective of the use of terminal or internal pentenamides. The remaining challenge is to arrive at the desired adipimide by overcoming the undesirable regioselectivity caused by chelation of the amide.Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic Material