Metastatic progression and gene expression between breast cancer cell lines from African American and Caucasian women

African American (AA) women have a lower overall incidence of breast cancer than do Caucasian (CAU) women, but a higher overall mortality. Little is known as to why the incidence of breast cancer is lower yet mortality is higher in AA women. Many studies speculate that this is only a socio-economical problem. This investigation suggests the possibility that molecular mechanisms contribute to the increased mortality of AA women with breast cancer. This study investigates the expression of 14 genes which have been shown to play a role in cancer metastasis. Cell lines derived from AA and CAU patients were analyzed to demonstrate alterations in the transcription of genes known to be involved in cancer and the metastatic process. Total RNA was isolated from cell lines and analyzed by RT-PCR analysis. Differential expression of the 14 targeted genes between a spectrum model (6 breast cancer cell lines and 2 non-cancer breast cell lines) and a metastasis model (12 metastatic breast cancer cell lines) were demonstrated. Additionally, an in vitro comparison of the expression established differences in 5 of the 14 biomarker genes between African American and Caucasian breast cell lines. Results from this study indicates that altered expression of the genes Atp1b1, CARD 10, KLF4, Spint2, and Acly may play a role in the aggressive phenotype seen in breast cancer in African American women

Diagnosing Severe Falciparum Malaria in Parasitaemic African Children: A Prospective Evaluation of Plasma PfHRP2 Measurement.

In African children, distinguishing severe falciparum malaria from other severe febrile illnesses with coincidental Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia is a major challenge. P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) is released by mature sequestered parasites and can be used to estimate the total parasite burden. We investigated the prognostic significance of plasma PfHRP2 and used it to estimate the malaria-attributable fraction in African children diagnosed with severe malaria. Admission plasma PfHRP2 was measured prospectively in African children (from Mozambique, The Gambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) aged 1 month to 15 years with severe febrile illness and a positive P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH)-based rapid test in a clinical trial comparing parenteral artesunate versus quinine (the AQUAMAT trial, ISRCTN 50258054). In 3,826 severely ill children, Plasmadium falciparum PfHRP2 was higher in patients with coma (p = 0.0209), acidosis (p<0.0001), and severe anaemia (p<0.0001). Admission geometric mean (95%CI) plasma PfHRP2 was 1,611 (1,350-1,922) ng/mL in fatal cases (n = 381) versus 1,046 (991-1,104) ng/mL in survivors (n = 3,445, p<0.0001), without differences in parasitaemia as assessed by microscopy. There was a U-shaped association between log(10) plasma PfHRP2 and risk of death. Mortality increased 20% per log(10) increase in PfHRP2 above 174 ng/mL (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.21, 95%CI 1.05-1.39, p = 0.009). A mechanistic model assuming a PfHRP2-independent risk of death in non-malaria illness closely fitted the observed data and showed malaria-attributable mortality less than 50% with plasma PfHRP2≤174 ng/mL. The odds ratio (OR) for death in artesunate versus quinine-treated patients was 0.61 (95%CI 0.44-0.83, p = 0.0018) in the highest PfHRP2 tertile, whereas there was no difference in the lowest tertile (OR 1.05; 95%CI 0.69-1.61; p = 0.82). A limitation of the study is that some conclusions are drawn from a mechanistic model, which is inherently dependent on certain assumptions. However, a sensitivity analysis of the model indicated that the results were robust to a plausible range of parameter estimates. Further studies are needed to validate our findings. Plasma PfHRP2 has prognostic significance in African children with severe falciparum malaria and provides a tool to stratify the risk of "true" severe malaria-attributable disease as opposed to other severe illnesses in parasitaemic African children

Age estimation of Calliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae using cuticular hydrocarbon analysis and Artificial Neural Networks.

Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted daily from the larvae of two closely related blowflies Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The hydrocarbons were then analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), with the aim of observing changes within their chemical profiles in order to determine the larval age. The hydrocarbons were examined daily for each species from 1day old larvae until pupariation. The results show significant chemical changes occurring from the younger larvae to the post-feeding larvae. With the aid of a multivariate statistical method (Principal Component Analysis and Artificial Neural Networks), samples were clustered and classified, allowing for the larval age to be established. Results from this study allowed larvae to be aged to the day with at worst, 87% accuracy, which suggests there is great potential for the use of cuticular hydrocarbons present on larvae to give an indication of their age and hence potentially a valuable tool for minimum PMI estimations

Wildfire exposure and fuel management on western US national forests

Substantial investments in fuel management activities on national forests in the western US are part of a national strategy to reduce human and ecological losses from catastrophic wildfire and create fire resilient landscapes. Prioritizing these investments within and among national forests remains a challenge, partly because a comprehensive assessment that establishes the current wildfire risk and exposure does not exist, making it difficult to identify national priorities and target specific areas for fuel management. To gain a broader understanding of wildfire exposure in the national forest system, we analyzed an array of simulated and empirical data on wildfire activity and fuel treatment investments on the 82 western US national forests. We first summarized recent fire data to examine variation among the Forests in ignition frequency and burned area in relation to investments in fuel reduction treatments. We then used simulation modeling to analyze fine-scale spatial variation in burn probability and intensity. We also estimated the probability of a mega-fire event on each of the Forests, and the transmission of fires ignited on national forests to the surrounding urban interface. The analysis showed a good correspondence between recent area burned and predictions from the simulation models. The modeling also illustrated the magnitude of the variation in both burn probability and intensity among and within Forests. Simulated burn probabilities in most instances were lower than historical, reflecting fire exclusion on many national forests. Simulated wildfire transmission from national forests to the urban interface was highly variable among the Forests. We discuss how the results of the study can be used to prioritize investments in hazardous fuel reduction within a comprehensive multi-scale risk management framework.Keywords: Risk assessment, Wildfire exposure, Wildfire risk, Burn probability, National fores

Dilepton Production in High Luminosity Multi-GeV Electron Scattering

We consider the production of a 300GeV dilepton in very intense 4GeV electron scattering off of a lead target. The production cross-section and angular distribution of the resulting muons are calculated. There occur several such events per year, and their detection is rendered feasible by measurement of $e^+\mu^-\mu^-$ angular correlations.Comment: 9 pages latex, 5 figures not included (captions only

Age estimation of Calliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae using cuticular hydrocarbon analysis and Artificial Neural Networks

Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted daily from the larvae of two closely related blowflies Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The hydrocarbons were then analysed using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS), with the aim of observing changes within their chemical profiles in order to determine the larval age. The hydrocarbons were examined daily for each species from 1 day old larvae until pupariation. The results show significant chemical changes occurring from the younger larvae to the post-feeding larvae. With the aid of a multivariate statistical method (Principal Component Analysis and Artificial Neural Networks), samples were clustered and classified, allowing for the larval age to be established. Results from this study allowed larvae to be aged to the day with at worst, 87% accuracy, which suggests there is great potential for the use of cuticular hydrocarbons present on larvae to give an indication of their age and hence potentially a valuable tool for minimum PMI estimations

Adult fly age estimations using cuticular hydrocarbons and Artificial Neural Networks in forensically important Calliphoridae species

Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are forensically important as they are known to be one of the first to colonise human remains. The larval stage is typically used to assist a forensic entomologists with adult flies rarely used as they are difficult to age because they remain morphologically similar once they have gone through the initial transformation upon hatching. However, being able to age them is of interest and importance within the field. This study examined the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) of Diptera: Calliphoridae species Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria. The CHCs were extracted from the cuticles of adult flies and analysed using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). The chemical profiles were examined for the two Calliphora species at intervals of day 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 and up to day 10 for L. sericata. The results show significant chemical changes occurring between the immature and mature adult flies over the extraction period examined in this study. With the aid of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), samples were seen to cluster, allowing for the age to be established within the aforementioned time frames. The use of ANNs allowed for the automatic classification of novel samples with very good performance. This was a proof of concept study, which developed a method allowing to age post-emergence adults by using their chemical profiles