A study of sonosalpingogram compared to laparoscopic chromopertubation in the evaluation of tubal patency

Background: Tubal problems associated with infertility can be due to blocked tubes, adhesion and scarring of the tubes and distal block leading to Hydrosalpinx. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of Sonosalpingography in the assessment of tubal patency, in comparison to the gold standard method of laparoscopic Chromopertubation and to determine its value as a basic non-invasive screening procedure in infertile women.Methods: A prospective study involving a series of 50 women including both primary and secondary infertility registered in the infertility clinic, Obstetrics and Gynaecology department, at Jubilee Mission Hospital for 1 year (June 2011 to June 2012). These patients after initial evaluation were subjected to sonosalpingography on one of the days between 5th and 10th days of the menstrual cycle for assessment of tubal patency. This was followed by laparoscopy with chromopertubation on the same day or next day. The results of the two tests were compared to determine the accuracy of these SSG.Results: Mean duration of infertility 6-12 years of standard deviation (SD) from mean of 3.72 years. SE<0.4769 and 95% CI was 5.6 to 7.079 yrs. Sensitively for tubal patency with SSG compared to Laparoscopic chromotubation was 93.30% with 95% CI between 84.77 and 96.85.Conclusions: If SSG is performed as a base line test, laparoscopy can be reserved for those women who have unexplained infertility or whose SSG is abnormal or whose medical history and physical examination reveal pelvic pathology

Contracting and reporting conservatism around a change in fiduciary duties

Working paper available at https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soa_research/1298/</p

L’inventaire des collections de Primates Hominidés du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

Un travail de reconditionnement des squelettes de Primates Hominidés au Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle a permis d’améliorer leurs conditions de stockage et de compléter des éléments documentaires, anatomiques et pathologiques. Le programme décrit ici, pose la question du mode d’utilisation de ce type de collection et amène ainsi à réfléchir sur les modalités préventives qui permettront d’éviter dispersion et mélange de ses éléments

Integration of Maps Enables a Cytogenomics Analysis of the Complete Karyotype in Solea senegalensis

The Pleuronectiformes order, which includes several commercially-important species, has undergone extensive chromosome evolution. One of these species is Solea senegalensis, a flatfish with 2n = 42 chromosomes. In this study, a cytogenomics approach and integration with previous maps was applied to characterize the karyotype of the species. Synteny analysis of S. senegalensis was carried out using two flatfish as a reference: Cynoglossus semilaevis and Scophthalmus maximus. Most S. senegalensis chromosomes (or chromosome arms for metacentrics and submetacentrics) showed a one-to-one macrosyntenic pattern with the other two species. In addition, we studied how repetitive sequences could have played a role in the evolution of S. senegalensis bi-armed (3, and 5-9) and acrocentric (11, 12 and 16) chromosomes, which showed the highest rearrangements compared with the reference species. A higher abundance of TEs (Transposable Elements) and other repeated elements was observed adjacent to telomeric regions on chromosomes 3, 7, 9 and 16. However, on chromosome 11, a greater abundance of DNA transposons was detected in interstitial BACs. This chromosome is syntenic with several chromosomes of the other two flatfish species, suggesting rearrangements during its evolution. A similar situation was also found on chromosome 16 (for microsatellites and low complexity sequences), but not for TEs (retroelements and DNA transposons). These differences in the distribution and abundance of repetitive elements in chromosomes that have undergone remodeling processes during the course of evolution also suggest a possible role for simple repeat sequences in rearranged regions

In Silico Detection and FISH Analysis to Determine Location of miRNAs in Solea Senegalensis Chromosomes Using BACs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that play a very important role in gene expression by regulating mRNA cleavage and translation. The Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis (Kaup 1858), is a flatfish species that shows great potential for marine aquaculture. Nevertheless, the existence of sexual dysfunction of males reared in captivity, high larval mortality, and diseases have hampered its production. The integration of sequence information with data on chromosomal physical location is useful for understanding genetic processes and is essential for comparative analysis, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and positional cloning of gene

Mechanistic and kinetic investigations of on/off (photo)switchable binding of carbon monoxide by chromium(0), molybdenum(0) and tungsten(0) carbonyl complexes with a pyridyl‐mesoionic carbene ligand

This work tackles the photochemistry of a series of mononuclear Cr0, Mo0 and W0 carbonyl complexes containing a bidentate mesoionic carbene ligand of the 1,2,3‐triazol‐5‐ylidene type. FTIR spectroscopy, combined with density functional theory calculations, revealed a clean photo‐induced reaction in organic solvents (acetonitrile, pyridine, valeronitrile) to give mainly one photoproduct with monosubstitution of a carbonyl ligand for a solvent molecule. The highest photodissociation quantum yields were reached for the Cr0 complex under UV irradiation (266 nm). Based on previous investigations, the kinetics of the dark reverse reactions have now been determined, with reaction times of up to several hours in pyridine. Photochemical studies in the solid state (KBr matrix, frozen solution) also showed light‐induced reactivity with stabilization of the metastable intermediate with a free coordination site at very low temperature. The identified reactive species emphasizes a mechanism without ligand–sphere reorganization.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf

The HLA ligandome of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas reveals shared tumour-exclusive peptides for semi-personalised vaccination

Background The immune peptidome of OPSCC has not previously been studied. Cancer-antigen specific vaccination may improve clinical outcome and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD1/PD-L1 antibodies. Methods Mapping of the OPSCC HLA ligandome was performed by mass spectrometry (MS) based analysis of naturally presented HLA ligands isolated from tumour tissue samples (n = 40) using immunoaffinity purification. The cohort included 22 HPV-positive (primarily HPV-16) and 18 HPV-negative samples. A benign reference dataset comprised of the HLA ligandomes of benign haematological and tissue datasets was used to identify tumour-associated antigens. Results MS analysis led to the identification of naturally HLA-presented peptides in OPSCC tumour tissue. In total, 22,769 peptides from 9485 source proteins were detected on HLA class I. For HLA class II, 15,203 peptides from 4634 source proteins were discovered. By comparative profiling against the benign HLA ligandomic datasets, 29 OPSCC-associated HLA class I ligands covering 11 different HLA allotypes and nine HLA class II ligands were selected to create a peptide warehouse. Conclusion Tumour-associated peptides are HLA-presented on the cell surfaces of OPSCCs. The established warehouse of OPSCC-associated peptides can be used for downstream immunogenicity testing and peptide-based immunotherapy in (semi)personalised strategies

Focal structural variants revealed by whole genome sequencing disrupt the histone demethylase KDM4C in B cell lymphomas

Histone methylation-modifiers, like EZH2 and KMT2D, are recurrently altered in B-cell lymphomas. To comprehensively describe the landscape of alterations affecting genes encoding histone methylation-modifiers in lymphomagenesis we investigated whole genome and transcriptome data of 186 mature B-cell lymphomas sequenced in the ICGC MMML-Seq project. Besides confirming common alterations of KMT2D (47% of cases), EZH2 (17%), SETD1B (5%), PRDM9 (4%), KMT2C (4%), and SETD2 (4%) also identified by prior exome or RNAseq studies, we here unravel KDM4C in chromosome 9p24, encoding a histone demethylase, to be recurrently altered. Focal structural variation was the main mechanism of KDM4C alterations, which was independent from 9p24 amplification. We identified KDM4C alterations also in lymphoma cell lines including a focal homozygous deletion in a classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell line. By integrating RNAseq and genome sequencing data we predict KDM4C structural variants to result in loss-of-function. By functional reconstitution studies in cell lines, we provide evidence that KDM4C can act as tumor suppressor. Thus, we show that identification of structural variants in whole genome sequencing data adds to the comprehensive description of the mutational landscape of lymphomas and, moreover, establish KDM4C as putative tumor suppressive gene recurrently altered in subsets of B-cell derived lymphomas

Prognostic Significance of MYC Rearrangement and Translocation Partner in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma : A Study by the Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium

PURPOSE: MYC rearrangement (MYC-R) occurs in approximately 10% of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) and has been associated with poor prognosis in many studies. The impact of MYC-R on prognosis may be influenced by the MYC partner gene (immunoglobulin [IG] or a non-IG gene). We evaluated a large cohort of patients through the Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium to validate the prognostic significance of MYC-R (single-, double-, and triple-hit status) in DLBCL within the context of the MYC partner gene. METHODS: The study cohort included patients with histologically confirmed DLBCL morphology derived from large prospective trials and patient registries in Europe and North America who were uniformly treated with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone therapy or the like. Fluorescence in situ hybridization for the MYC, BCL2, BCL6, and IG heavy and light chain loci was used, and results were correlated with clinical outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 5,117 patients were identified of whom 2,383 (47%) had biopsy material available to assess for MYC-R. MYC-R was present in 264 (11%) of 2,383 patients and was associated with a significantly shorter progression-free and overall survival, with a strong time-dependent effect within the first 24 months after diagnosis. The adverse prognostic impact of MYC-R was only evident in patients with a concurrent rearrangement of BCL2 and/or BCL6 and an IG partner (hazard ratio, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.6 to 3.6; P < .001). CONCLUSION: The negative prognostic impact of MYC-R in DLBCL is largely observed in patients with MYC double hit/triple-hit disease in which MYC is translocated to an IG partner, and this effect is restricted to the first 2 years after diagnosis. Our results suggest that diagnostic strategies should be adopted to identify this high-risk cohort, and risk-adjusted therapeutic approaches should be refined further

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Strain ST398 Is Present in Midwestern U.S. Swine and Swine Workers

BACKGROUND: Recent research has demonstrated that many swine and swine farmers in the Netherlands and Canada are colonized with MRSA. However, no studies to date have investigated carriage of MRSA among swine and swine farmers in the United States (U.S.). METHODS: We sampled the nares of 299 swine and 20 workers from two different production systems in Iowa and Illinois, comprising approximately 87,000 live animals. MRSA isolates were typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using SmaI and EagI restriction enzymes, and by multi locus sequence typing (MLST). PCR was used to determine SCCmec type and presence of the pvl gene. RESULTS: In this pilot study, overall MRSA prevalence in swine was 49% (147/299) and 45% (9/20) in workers. The prevalence of MRSA carriage among production system A's swine varied by age, ranging from 36% (11/30) in adult swine to 100% (60/60) of animals aged 9 and 12 weeks. The prevalence among production system A's workers was 64% (9/14). MRSA was not isolated from production system B's swine or workers. Isolates examined were not typeable by PFGE when SmaI was used, but digestion with EagI revealed that the isolates were clonal and were not related to common human types in Iowa (USA100, USA300, and USA400). MLST documented that the isolates were ST398. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that colonization of swine by MRSA was very common on one swine production system in the midwestern U.S., suggesting that agricultural animals could become an important reservoir for this bacterium. MRSA strain ST398 was the only strain documented on this farm. Further studies are examining carriage rates on additional farms