Cloud Chamber: A Performance with Real Time Two-Way Interaction between Subatomic Particles and Violinist

‘Cloud Chamber’ - a composition by Alexis Kirke, Antonino Chiaramonte, and Anna Troisi - is a live performance in which the invisible quantum world becomes visible as a violinist and subatomic particle tracks interact together. An electronic instrument was developed which can be “played” live by radioactive atomic particles. Electronic circuitry was developed enabling a violin to create a physical force field that directly affects the ions generated by cosmic radiation particles. This enabled the violinist and the ions to influence each other musically in real time. A glass cloud chamber was used onstage to make radioactivity visible in bright white tracks moving within, with the tracks projected onto a large screen

Yoga for treating urinary incontinence in women

Background Urinary incontinence in women is associated with poor quality of life and difficulties in social, psychological and sexual functioning. The condition may affect up to 15% of middle-aged or older women in the general population. Conservative treatments such as lifestyle interventions, bladder training and pelvic floor muscle training (used either alone or in combination with other interventions) are the initial approaches to the management of urinary incontinence. Many women are interested in additional treatments such as yoga, a system of philosophy, lifestyle and physical practice that originated in ancient India. Objectives To assess the effects of yoga for treating urinary incontinence in women. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Incontinence and Cochrane Complementary Medicine Specialised Registers. We searched the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify any ongoing or unpublished studies. We handsearched Proceedings of the International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research and the European Congress for Integrative Medicine. We searched the NHS Economic Evaluation Database for economic studies, and supplemented this search with searches for economics studies in MEDLINE and Embase from 2015 onwards. Database searches are up-to-date as of 21 June 2018. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials in women diagnosed with urinary incontinence in which one group was allocated to treatment with yoga. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts of all retrieved articles, selected studies for inclusion, extracted data, assessed risk of bias and evaluated the certainty of the evidence for each reported outcome. Any disagreements were resolved by consensus. We planned to combine clinically comparable studies in Review Manager 5 using random-effects meta-analysis and to carry out sensitivity and subgroup analyses. We planned to create a table listing economic studies on yoga for incontinence but not carry out any analyses on these studies. Main results We included two studies (involving a total of 49 women). Each study compared yoga to a different comparator, therefore we were unable to combine the data in a meta-analysis. A third study that has been completed but not yet fully reported is awaiting assessment. One included study was a six-week study comparing yoga to a waiting list in 19 women with either urgency urinary incontinence or stress urinary incontinence. We judged the certainty of the evidence for all reported outcomes as very low due to performance bias, detection bias, and imprecision. The number of women reporting cure was not reported. We are uncertain whether yoga results in satisfaction with cure or improvement of incontinence (risk ratio (RR) 6.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44 to 27.88; an increase of 592 from 111 per 1000, 95% CI 160 to 1000). We are uncertain whether there is a difference between yoga and waiting list in condition-specific quality of life as measured on the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form (mean difference (MD) 1.74, 95% CI -33.02 to 36.50); the number of micturitions (MD -0.77, 95% CI -2.13 to 0.59); the number of incontinence episodes (MD -1.57, 95% CI -2.83 to -0.31); or the bothersomeness of incontinence as measured on the Urogenital Distress Inventory 6 (MD -0.90, 95% CI -1.46 to -0.34). There was no evidence of a difference in the number of women who experienced at least one adverse event (risk difference 0%, 95% CI -38% to 38%; no difference from 222 per 1000, 95% CI 380 fewer to 380 more). The second included study was an eight-week study in 30 women with urgency urinary incontinence that compared mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to an active control intervention of yoga classes. The study was unblinded, and there was high attrition from both study arms for all outcome assessments. We judged the certainty of the evidence for all reported outcomes as very low due to performance bias, attrition bias, imprecision and indirectness. The number of women reporting cure was not reported. We are uncertain whether women in the yoga group were less likely to report improvement in incontinence at eight weeks compared to women in the MBSR group (RR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.43; a decrease of 419 from 461 per 1000, 95% CI 5 to 660). We are uncertain about the effect of MBSR compared to yoga on reports of cure or improvement in incontinence, improvement in condition-specific quality of life measured on the Overactive Bladder Health-Related Quality of Life Scale, reduction in incontinence episodes or reduction in bothersomeness of incontinence as measured on the Overactive Bladder Symptom and Quality of Life-Short Form at eight weeks. The study did not report on adverse effects. Authors' conclusions We identified few trials on yoga for incontinence, and the existing trials were small and at high risk of bias. In addition, we did not find any studies of economic outcomes related to yoga for urinary incontinence. Due to the lack of evidence to answer the review question, we are uncertain whether yoga is useful for women with urinary incontinence. Additional, well-conducted trials with larger sample sizes are needed

Diagnostic factors for recurrent pregnancy loss: an expanded workup

Purpose: There is limited information on the risk factors for recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Methods: In this study, a patient-based approach was used to investigate the possible involvement and relative relevance of a large number of diagnostic factors in 843 women with RPL who underwent an extensive diagnostic workup including 44 diagnostic factors divided into 7 major categories. Results: The rates of abnormalities found were: (1) genital infections: 11.74%; (2) uterine anatomic defects: 23.72%; (3) endocrine disorders: 29.42%; (4) thrombophilias: 62%; (5) autoimmune abnormalities: 39.2%; (6) parental karyotype abnormalities 2.25%; (7) clinical factors: 87.78%. Six hundred and fifty-nine out of eight hundred and forty-three women (78.17%) had more than one abnormality. The mean number of pregnancy losses increased by increasing the number of the abnormalities found (r = 0.86949, P < 0.02). The factors associated with the highest mean number of pregnancy losses were cervical isthmic incompetence, anti-beta-2-glycoprotein-1 antibodies, unicornuate uterus, anti-prothrombin A antibodies, protein C deficiency, and lupus anticoagulant. The majority of the considered abnormalities had similar, non-significant prevalence between women with 2 versus ≥ 3 pregnancy losses with the exception of age ≥ 35 years and MTHFR A1298C heterozygote mutation. No difference was found between women with primary and secondary RPL stratified according to the number of abnormalities detected (Chi-square: 8.55, P = 0.07). In these women, the only factors found to be present with statistically different rates were age ≥ 35 years, cigarette smoking, and genital infection by Ureaplasma. Conclusion: A patient-based diagnostic approach in women with RPL could be clinically useful and could represent a basis for future research

New Histamine-Related Five-Membered N-Heterocycle Derivatives as Carbonic Anhydrase I Activators

A series of histamine (HST)-related compounds were synthesized and tested for their activating properties on five physiologically relevant human Carbonic Anhydrase (hCA) isoforms (I, II, Va, VII and XIII). The imidazole ring of HST was replaced with different 5-membered heterocycles and the length of the aliphatic chain was varied. For the most interesting compounds some modifications on the terminal amino group were also performed. The most sensitive isoform to activation was hCA I (K(A) values in the low micromolar range), but surprisingly none of the new compounds displayed activity on hCA II. Some derivatives (1, 3a and 22) displayed an interesting selectivity for activating hCA I over hCA II, Va, VII and XIII

Bioprospecting of culturable actinobacteria from soil and rhizosphere as potential inhibitors of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

White mold, caused by S. sclerotiorum, is one important disease of soybean crops (Glicyne Max. (L)Merrill.) with considerable yield losses. Absence of effective control and resistance of the fungus to commercial fungicides make this phytopathogen a serious problem in tropical regions. Streptomyces species turn out to be potential candidates for agricultural applications due to their biotechnological features. The goal of this research was bioprospecting Streptomyces sp. for biocontrol of white mold. In order to evaluate the antifungal activity, six pre-selected isolates: S. rishiriensis (3AS4), S. albolungus (3BS4), S. champavatti (CanV2 39), S. violascens (CanV2 06f) and S. covourensis (1AS2a, 1AS2c) were used. They were grown for 2 weeks at 28 ºC at 135 rpm and crude extracts were obtained with Ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and Dichloromethane (DCM). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and spent media were performed against S. sclerotiorum. Biocontrol was evaluated under greenhouse conditions with inoculated nonsterile soil. The best MIC was determined as 0,165 mg.mL-1 for 1AS2a DCM extract. 3BS4 showed the highest mycelial inhibition growth (85,94%). Isolates 3AS4, 3BS4, 1AS2a and 1AS2c were capable of controlling white mold symptoms under greenhouse conditions. Regarding plant growth promotion, 1AS2a displayed the highest shoot:root ratio. These results suggest actinobacteria can be used as a potent biological control agent against white mold

Galeorhinus galeus, Tope

Tope (Galeorhinus galeus) is a medium-sized (to 200 cm total length) bentho-pelagic shark, widespread in temperate waters in most oceans. It is present across the Northeast, Eastern Central, Southwest, and Southeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Eastern Indian, and across all of the Pacific, except in the Northwest Pacific. It occurs on continental shelves and upper to mid slopes from shallow inshore to well offshore to depths of 826 m, though most frequently to depths of 200 m. Genetic and tagging data support up to six separate subpopulations of Tope and while the species makes extensive movements within each of the subpopulations, there is no evidence of mixing between them. Tope has a particularly low biological productivity with a late age-at-maturity and triennial reproductive cycle. It is caught globally as target and bycatch in industrial and small-scale demersal and pelagic gillnet and longline fisheries, and to a lesser extent in trawl and hook-and-line fisheries. Tope is often retained for the meat and fins but is discarded or released in some areas, in line with regional management measures. Steep subpopulation and stock reductions of >80% over the past three generation lengths (79 years) have occurred in the Southwest Atlantic, southern Africa, and Australia. In the Northeast Atlantic, the subpopulation is estimated to have undergone a reduction of 76% over the past three generation lengths (79 years). The New Zealand stock is estimated to have undergone a reduction of 30?49% over the past three generation lengths (79 years). In the Northeast Pacific, a dramatic decline in the subpopulation occurred in the early 1940s, with no recovery until 1997?2004 when localized management led to a localized increase in abundance. The consistent steep subpopulation reductions across most of the analyzed subpopulations and stocks together with the lack of movement between the subpopulations are cause for serious concern. Management in Australia, probably aided by the immigration of large mature animals from New Zealand, appears to have stabilized that stock since 2000. The subpopulation in the Northeast Atlantic has been stable in recent years, possibly due to management measures, and there is some recovery in part of the Northeast Pacific. Release of this species is mandatory since 2011 off Canada. Release is mandatory in European Union waters for line-caught Tope. The global population is estimated to have undergone a reduction of 88% with the highest probability of >80% reduction over the last three generations (79 years) due to levels of exploitation, and Tope is assessed as Critically Endangered A2bd.Fil: Walker, T. I.. University of Melbourne; AustraliaFil: Rigby, C. L.. James Cook University; AustraliaFil: Pacoureau, N.. University Fraser Simon; CanadáFil: Ellis, J.. No especifíca;Fil: Kulka, D. W.. No especifíca;Fil: Chiaramonte, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Herman, K.. Georgia Aquarium; Estados Unido

Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics.

Both astronauts and patients affected by chronic movement-limiting pathologies face impairment in muscle and/or brain performance. Increased patient survival expectations and the expected longer stays in space by astronauts may result in prolonged motor deprivation and consequent pathological effects. Severe movement limitation can influence not only the motor and metabolic systems but also the nervous system, altering neurogenesis and the interaction between motoneurons and muscle cells. Little information is yet available about the effect of prolonged muscle disuse on neural stem cells characteristics. Our in vitro study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the biological and molecular properties of neural stem cells (NSCs). Our analysis shows that NSCs derived from the SVZ of HU mice had shown a reduced proliferation capability and an altered cell cycle. Furthermore, NSCs obtained from HU animals present an incomplete differentiation/maturation. The overall results support the existence of a link between reduction of exercise and muscle disuse and metabolism in the brain and thus represent valuable new information that could clarify how circumstances such as the absence of load and the lack of movement that occurs in people with some neurological diseases, may affect the properties of NSCs and contribute to the negative manifestations of these conditions

Schroederichthys bivius, Narrowmouth Catshark

The Narrowmouth Catshark (Schroederichthys bivius) is a small (to 82 cm total Length) catshark that occurs in the Southeast Pacific and Southwest Atlantic from Valdivia, Chile, south around Cape Horn and north to southern Brazil. It is demersal on the continental shelf and upper slope at depths of 12-359 m (mostly <130 m). It is occasionally caught as bycatch of industrial and artisanal trawlers in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). It is not typically utilized and is usually discarded dead. Overall, this catshark is caught throughout most of its range in small numbers. Its small size and presumably productive life history, combined with a lack of evidence of a population reduction, indicates that it is likely able to withstand limited exposure to fishing pressure. The population is suspected to be stable, therefore, the Narrowmouth Catshark is assessed as Least Concern.Fil: Dulvy, N. K.. University Fraser Simon; CanadáFil: Acuña, E.. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Bustamante, C.. Universidad de Antofagasta; ChileFil: Chiaramonte, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia". Estación Hidrobiológica de Puerto Quequén (sede Quequén); ArgentinaFil: Cuevas, J. M.. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados UnidosFil: Herman, K.. Georgia Aquarium; Estados UnidosFil: Pompert, J.. Georgia Seafoods; Países BajosFil: Velez Zuazo, X.. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Estados Unido

Expression Pattern and Biological Significance of the lncRNA ST3GAL6-AS1 in Multiple Myeloma

The biological impact of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in multiple myeloma (MM) is becoming an important aspect of investigation, which may contribute to the understanding of the complex pathobiology of the disease whilst also providing novel potential therapeutic targets. Herein, we investigated the expression pattern and the biological significance of the lncRNA ST3 beta-galactoside alpha-2,3 sialyltransferase 6 antisense RNA 1 (ST3GAL6-AS1) in MM. We documented a high ST3GAL6-AS1 expression level in MM compared to normal plasma cells (PCs) or other hematological malignancies. Transcriptome analyses of MM PCs from patients included in the CoMMpass database indicated a potential involvement of ST3GAL6-AS1 in MAPK signaling and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathways. ST3GAL6-AS1 silencing by LNA-gapmeR antisense oligonucleotides inhibits cell proliferation and triggers apoptosis in MM cell line. Notably, ST3GAL6-AS1 silencing in vitro displayed the down-regulation of the MAPK pathway and protein ubiquitination. These data suggest that ST3GAL6-AS1 deregulation may play a pathogenetic role in MM by affecting both proliferation pathways and circuits fundamental for PC survival. However, ST3GAL6-AS1 expression levels seem not to be significantly associated with clinical outcome and its targeting appears to exert antagonistic effects with proteasome inhibitors used in MM. These findings strongly urge the need for further studies investigating the relevance of ST3GAL6-AS1 in MM