Hospitalisation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and risk of suicide: a population-based case-control study

Objectives To examine risk of suicide among individuals with hospitalised chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to profile differences according to sex, age, psychiatric history, and recency and frequency of COPD hospitalisations. Design Nested case–control study. Setting Data were retrieved from Danish national registries. Participants All suicide cases aged 40–95 years deceased between 1981 and 2006 in Denmark (n=19 869) and up to 20 live population controls per case matched on sex and date of birth (n=321 867 controls). Main outcome measures The relative risk of suicide associated with COPD was computed using conditional logistic regression and adjusted for effects of psychiatric history and important sociodemographic factors. Results In our study population, 3% of suicide cases had been hospitalised for COPD compared with 1% of matched population controls. Thus, a hospitalised COPD was associated with a significantly increased risk for suicide (OR 2.6; 95% CI 2.3 to 2.8). The increased risk remained significant after adjustment for psychiatric history and sociodemographic variables (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.8 to 2.2), and increased progressively with frequency and recency of COPD hospitalisation. At the same time, suicide risk associated with COPD differed significantly by sex, age and psychiatric status. The relative risk was more pronounced in women, in individuals older than 60 years and in persons with no history of psychiatric illness. Conclusions COPD confers an important risk factor for suicide completion. Risk assessment and prevention efforts should take patients’ sex, age and psychiatric history into consideration

KDEL receptors assist dengue virus exit from the endoplasmic reticulum

Membrane receptors at the surface of target cells are key host factors for virion entry; however, it is unknown whether trafficking and secretion of progeny virus requires host intracellular receptors. In this study, we demonstrate that dengue virus (DENV) interacts with KDEL receptors (KDELR), which cycle between the ER and Golgi apparatus, for vesicular transport from ER to Golgi. Depletion of KDELR by siRNA reduced egress of both DENV progeny and recombinant subviral particles (RSPs). Coimmunoprecipitation of KDELR with dengue structural protein prM required three positively charged residues at the N terminus, whose mutation disrupted protein interaction and inhibited RSP transport from the ER to the Golgi. Finally, siRNA depletion of class II Arfs, which results in KDELR accumulation in the Golgi, phenocopied results obtained with mutagenized prME and KDELR knockdown. Our results have uncovered a function for KDELR as an internal receptor involved in DENV trafficking.published_or_final_versio

Atropselective syntheses of (-) and (+) rugulotrosin A utilizing point-to-axial chirality transfer

Chiral, dimeric natural products containing complex structures and interesting biological properties have inspired chemists and biologists for decades. A seven-step total synthesis of the axially chiral, dimeric tetrahydroxanthone natural product rugulotrosin A is described. The synthesis employs a one-pot Suzuki coupling/dimerization to generate the requisite 2,2'-biaryl linkage. Highly selective point-to-axial chirality transfer was achieved using palladium catalysis with achiral phosphine ligands. Single X-ray crystal diffraction data were obtained to confirm both the atropisomeric configuration and absolute stereochemistry of rugulotrosin A. Computational studies are described to rationalize the atropselectivity observed in the key dimerization step. Comparison of the crude fungal extract with synthetic rugulotrosin A and its atropisomer verified that nature generates a single atropisomer of the natural product.P50 GM067041 - NIGMS NIH HHS; R01 GM099920 - NIGMS NIH HHS; GM-067041 - NIGMS NIH HHS; GM-099920 - NIGMS NIH HH

HIV Screening and Awareness Survey for Pregnant Women in a Remote Area in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China

Objective: The number of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China has increased in recent years. HIV screening for pregnant women was performed in a remote area in Xinjiang, as an effort to promote universal HIV screening in pregnant women and to help prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Methods: Pregnant women in Burqin and Jeminay Counties in Xinjiang were offered free voluntary HIV screening. Local mid-level medical workers were trained to use Determine® HIV-1/2 kit for HIV screening. All the tested pregnant women signed a consent form, received HIV education material, and participated in an HIV knowledge survey. Results: All the 890 pregnant women receiving HIV test had negative result. Among these women, 67.6% were Kazakh and 40.9% were farmers. Survey of HIV knowledge showed that these women's awareness about mother-to-child transmission was limited. The levels of HIV knowledge were related with ethnic background, age, education and profession of the pregnant women. Conclusion: The results suggested that HIV infection had not become a significant problem among the pregnant women in this remote area of Xinjiang, but continued efforts to improve the awareness of HIV, especially the knowledge about mother-to-child transmission of HIV, in pregnant women were needed

Silkworm Thermal Biology: A Review of Heat Shock Response, Heat Shock Proteins and Heat Acclimation in the Domesticated Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are known to play ecological and evolutionary roles in this postgenomic era. Recent research suggests that HSPs are implicated in cardiovascular biology and disease development, proliferation and regulation of cancer cells, cell death via apoptosis, and several other key cellular functions. These activities have generated great interest amongst cell and molecular biologists, and these biologists are keen to unravel other hitherto unknown potential functions of this group of proteins. Consequently, the biological significance of HSPs has led to cloning and characterization of genes encoding HSPs in many organisms including the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). However, most of the past investigations in B. mori were confined to expression of HSPs in tissues and cell lines, whereas information on their specific functional roles in biological, physiological, and molecular processes is scarce. Naturally occurring or domesticated polyvoltines (known to be the tropical race) are more resistant to high temperatures and diseases than bi- or univoltines (temperate races). The mechanism of ecological or evolutionary modification of HSPs during the course of domestication of B. mori - particularly in relation to thermotolerance in geographically distinct races/strains - is still unclear. In addition, the heat shock response, thermal acclimation, and hardening have not been studied extensively in B. mori compared to other organisms. Towards this, recent investigations on differential expression of HSPs at various stages of development, considering the concept of the whole organism, open ample scope to evaluate their biological and commercial importance in B. mori which has not been addressed in any of the representative organisms studied so far. Comparatively, heat shock response among different silkworm races/strains of poly-, bi-, and univoltines varies significantly and thermotolerance increases as the larval development proceeds. Hence, this being the first review in this area, an attempt has been made to collate all available information on the heat shock response, HSPs expression, associated genes, amino acid sequences, and acquired/unacquired thermotolerance. The aim is to present this as a valuable resource for addressing the gap in knowledge and understanding evolutionary significance of HSPs between domesticated (B. mori) and non-domesticated insects. It is believed that the information presented here will also help researchers/breeders to design appropriate strategies for developing novel strains for the tropics

Identification of a Novel Marine Fish Virus, Singapore Grouper Iridovirus-Encoded MicroRNAs Expressed in Grouper Cells by Solexa Sequencing

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitous non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. An increasing number of studies has revealed that viruses can also encode miRNAs, which are proposed to be involved in viral replication and persistence, cell-mediated antiviral immune response, angiogenesis, and cell cycle regulation. Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) is a pathogenic iridovirus that has severely affected grouper aquaculture in China and Southeast Asia. Comprehensive knowledge about the related miRNAs during SGIV infection is helpful for understanding the infection and the pathogenic mechanisms. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To determine whether SGIV encoded miRNAs during infection, a small RNA library derived from SGIV-infected grouper (GP) cells was constructed and sequenced by Illumina/Solexa deep-sequencing technology. We recovered 6,802,977 usable reads, of which 34,400 represented small RNA sequences encoded by SGIV. Sixteen novel SGIV-encoded miRNAs were identified by a computational pipeline, including a miRNA that shared a similar sequence to herpesvirus miRNA HSV2-miR-H4-5p, which suggests miRNAs are conserved in far related viruses. Generally, these 16 miRNAs are dispersed throughout the SGIV genome, whereas three are located within the ORF057L region. Some SGIV-encoded miRNAs showed marked sequence and length heterogeneity at their 3' and/or 5' end that could modulate their functions. Expression levels and potential biological activities of these viral miRNAs were examined by stem-loop quantitative RT-PCR and luciferase reporter assay, respectively, and 11 of these viral miRNAs were present and functional in SGIV-infected GP cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided a genome-wide view of miRNA production for iridoviruses and identified 16 novel viral miRNAs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental demonstration of miRNAs encoded by aquatic animal viruses. The results provide a useful resource for further in-depth studies on SGIV infection and iridovirus pathogenesis

Malaria and other vector-borne infection surveillance in the U.S. Department of Defense Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance program: review of 2009 accomplishments

Vector-borne infections (VBI) are defined as infectious diseases transmitted by the bite or mechanical transfer of arthropod vectors. They constitute a significant proportion of the global infectious disease burden. United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD) personnel are especially vulnerable to VBIs due to occupational contact with arthropod vectors, immunological naiveté to previously unencountered pathogens, and limited diagnostic and treatment options available in the austere and unstable environments sometimes associated with military operations. In addition to the risk uniquely encountered by military populations, other factors have driven the worldwide emergence of VBIs. Unprecedented levels of global travel, tourism and trade, and blurred lines of demarcation between zoonotic VBI reservoirs and human populations increase vector exposure. Urban growth in previously undeveloped regions and perturbations in global weather patterns also contribute to the rise of VBIs. The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) and its partners at DoD overseas laboratories form a network to better characterize the nature, emergence and growth of VBIs globally. In 2009 the network tested 19,730 specimens from 25 sites for Plasmodium species and malaria drug resistance phenotypes and nearly another 10,000 samples to determine the etiologies of non-Plasmodium species VBIs from regions spanning from Oceania to Africa, South America, and northeast, south and Southeast Asia. This review describes recent VBI-related epidemiological studies conducted by AFHSC-GEIS partner laboratories within the OCONUS DoD laboratory network emphasizing their impact on human populations

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal