Biomolecular Corona Associated with Nanostructures: The Potentially Disruptive Role of Raman Microscopy

When nanostructures and other materials are exposed to biological fluids, they are immediately covered by a layer of biological molecules, which is typically referred to as a “biomolecular corona” (BC). This represents the first component of a material that interacts with biological systems, so characterizing the composition and the dynamic evolution of BC is essential for predicting the interactions of materials and living organisms. This review provides an analysis of current BC characterization techniques, with particular attention to nanostructures involved in biomedical applications. The influence on cell–nanostructure interactions is assessed and the advantages and limitations of each technique are discussed and compared. An in-depth analysis of Raman microscopy, a relatively unexploited tool with great potential in the characterization of BC, is then conducted. Raman microscopy can be used to analyze a vast amount of specimens without the need for staining, and can provide analysis on a spatial scale of hundreds of nanometers: it may thus represent a potentially disruptive tool for the characterization of BC, as it overcomes many of the limitations posed by current techniques

The application of data mining techniques in manipulated financial statement classification: The case of turkey

Predicting financially false statements to detect frauds in companies has an increasing trend in recent studies. The manipulations in financial statements can be discovered by auditors when related financial records and indicators are analyzed in depth together with the experience of auditors in order to create knowledge to develop a decision support system to classify firms. Auditors may annotate the firms’ statements as “correct” or “incorrect” to add their experience, and then these annotations with related indicators can be used for the learning process to generate a model. Once the model is learned and tested for validation, it can be used for new firms to predict their class values. In this research, we attempted to reveal this benefit in the framework of Turkish firms. In this regard, the study aims at classifying financially correct and false statements of Turkish firms listed on Borsa İstanbul, using their particular financial ratios as indicators of a success or a manipulation. The dataset was selected from a particular period after the crisis (2009 to 2013). Commonly used three classification methods in data mining were employed for the classification: decision tree, logistic regression, and artificial neural network, respectively. According to the results, although all three methods are performed well, the latter had the best performance, and it outperforms other two classical methods. The common ground of the selected methods is that they pointed out the Z-score as the first distinctive indicator for classifying financial statements under consideration

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia: recent advancements, molecular effects, and future directions in the omics era

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have attracted attention in the biomedical field thanks to their ability to prompt hyperthermia in response to an alternated magnetic field. Hyperthermia is well known for inducing cell death, in particular in tumour cells, which seem to have a higher sensitivity to temperature increases. For this reason, hyperthermia has been recommended as a therapeutic tool against cancer. Despite the potentialities of this approach, little is still known about the effects provoked by magnetic hyperthermia at the molecular level, and about the particular cell death mechanisms that are activated. Nevertheless, in-depth knowledge of this aspect would allow improvement of therapeutic outcomes and favour clinical translation. Moreover, in the last few decades, a lot of effort has been put into finding an effective delivery strategy that could improve SPION biodistribution and localisation at the action site. The aim of this review is to provide a general outline of magnetic hyperthermia, focusing on iron oxide nanoparticles and their interactions with magnetic fields, as well as on new strategies to efficiently deliver them to the target site, and on recent in vitro and in vivo studies proposing possible cell death pathways activated by the treatment. We will also cover their current clinical status, and discuss the contributions of omics in understanding molecular interactions between iron oxide nanoparticles and the biological environment

Recursive Partitioning Analysis of Mediastinal N2 Lymph Node Involvement with Selected Biological Markers in Operable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Correlative Study

Background: Expressions of various biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been linked with the prognosis and involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes.Methods: In this study, we utilized recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) by using P53, c-erb-B2, and P-glycoprotein (PGP) expressions evaluated by immunohistochemistry to estimate retrospectively the likelihood of the occult N2 mediastinal lymph node involvement in patients with operable NSCLC.Results: In univariate tests, immunohistochemical staining of the primary tumor for these 3 markers in 61 patients undergoing surgery revealed no direct relationship with the N2 involvement. However, RPA demonstrated in patients aged 75 and with 4 mediastinal lymph nodes removed that, high PGP expression frequency (20%) predicted an increased likelihood of the N2 involvement (46.7%, R2 = 0.25). Univariate nominal logistic regression analysis revealed that RPA group affiliation, and the number of mediastinal lymph nodes resected (logarithmic transformation) were associated with the metastasis to N2 lymph nodes (χ2 = 17.59, p = 0.0005, and χ2 = 2.40, p = 0.0654, respectively). Multivariate analysis confirmed that only RPA group affiliation predicted the N2 involvement (χ2 = 14.63, p = 0.0022).Conclusion: This study shows for the first time that PGP expression of the primary tumor may help to predict the occult N2 mediastinal lymph node involvement in NSCLC. Thus, further research is required to understand whether PGP expression may aid in the decision process for preoperative mediastinoscopy

Searching for Lee-Wick Gauge Bosons at the LHC

In an extension of the Standard Model(SM) based on the ideas of Lee and Wick, Grinstein, O'Connell and Wise have found an interesting way to remove the usual quadratically divergent contributions to the Higgs mass induced by radiative corrections. Phenomenologically, the model predicts the existence of Terascale, negative-norm copies of the usual SM fields with rather unique properties: ghost-like propagators and negative decay widths, but with otherwise SM-like couplings. The model is both unitary and causal on macroscopic scales. In this paper we examine whether or not such states with these unusual properties can be uniquely identified as such at the LHC. We find that in the extended strong and electroweak gauge boson sector of the model, which is the simplest one to analyze, such an identification can be rather difficult. Observation of heavy gluon-like resonances in the dijet channel offers the best hope for this identification.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figs; discussion adde

Differences in biological traits composition of benthic assemblages between unimpacted habitats

There is an implicit requirement under contemporary policy drivers to understand the characteristics of benthic communities under anthropogenically-unimpacted scenarios. We used a trait-based approach on a large dataset from across the European shelf to determine how functional characteristics of unimpacted benthic assemblages vary between different sedimentary habitats. Assemblages in deep, muddy environments unaffected by anthropogenic disturbance show increased proportions of downward conveyors and surface deposit-feeders, while burrowing, diffusive mixing, scavenging and predation traits assume greater numerical proportions in shallower habitats. Deep, coarser sediments are numerically more dominated by sessile, upward conveyors and suspension feeders. In contrast, unimpacted assemblages of coarse sediments in shallower regions are proportionally dominated by the diffusive mixers, burrowers, scavengers and predators. Finally, assemblages of gravelly sediments exhibit a relatively greater numerical dominance of non-bioturbators and asexual reproducers. These findings may be used to form the basis of ranking habitats along a functional sensitivity gradient

Recent evolution of an ice‐cored moraine at the Gentianes Pass, Valais Alps, Switzerland

International audienceLateral moraines located in permafrost environments often preserve large amounts of both glacier and periglacial ice. To understand how ice‐cored moraines located in high alpine environments evolve in a context of both glacier retreat and permafrost degradation, we performed 11 terrestrial laser‐scanning measurement campaigns between 2007 and 2014 on a highly anthropogenic overprinted moraine prone to instability. Resulting comparison of the subsequent 3D models allowed to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the morphological evolution of the moraine. The comparisons indicate a very high geomorphic activity of the moraine including large areas affected by downslope movements of blocks and 10 landslides with a volume between 24 ± 1 and 1,138 ± 47 m3. Data also indicated a very strong ice melt with a loss of ice thickness locally reaching 17.7 m at the foot of the moraine. These results, compared with resistivity and thermal measurements of the ground, suggest the combined role of ice loss at the foot of the moraine and the permafrost activity/warming in triggering these processes

Public health insurance and entry into self-employment

We estimate the impact of a differential treatment of paid employees versus self-employed workers in a public health insurance system on the entry rate into entrepreneurship. In Germany, the public health insurance system is mandatory for most paid employees, but not for the selfemployed, who usually buy private health insurance. Private health insurance contributions are relatively low for the young and healthy, and until 2013 also for males, but less attractive at the other ends of these dimensions and if membership in the public health insurance allows other family members to be covered by contribution-free family insurance. Therefore, the health insurance system can create incentives or disincentives to starting up a business depending on the family’s situation and health. We estimate a discrete time hazard rate model of entrepreneurial entry based on representative household panel data for Germany, which include personal health information, and we account for non- random sample selection. We estimate that an increase in the health insurance cost differential between self-employed workers and paid employees by 100 euro per month decreases the annual probability of entry into selfemployment by 0.38 percentage points, i.e. about a third of the average annual entry rate. The results show that the phenomenon of entrepreneurship lock, which an emerging literature describes for the system of employer provided health insurance in the USA, can also occur in a public health insurance system. Therefore, entrepreneurial activity should be taken into account when discussing potential health care reforms, not only in the USA and in Germany

Solve-RD: systematic pan-European data sharing and collaborative analysis to solve rare diseases

For the first time in Europe hundreds of rare disease (RD) experts team up to actively share and jointly analyse existing patient’s data. Solve-RD is a Horizon 2020-supported EU flagship project bringing together >300 clinicians, scientists, and patient representatives of 51 sites from 15 countries. Solve-RD is built upon a core group of four European Reference Networks (ERNs; ERN-ITHACA, ERN-RND, ERN-Euro NMD, ERN-GENTURIS) which annually see more than 270,000 RD patients with respective pathologies. The main ambition is to solve unsolved rare diseases for which a molecular cause is not yet known. This is achieved through an innovative clinical research environment that introduces novel ways to organise expertise and data. Two major approaches are being pursued (i) massive data re-analysis of >19,000 unsolved rare disease patients and (ii) novel combined -omics approaches. The minimum requirement to be eligible for the analysis activities is an inconclusive exome that can be shared with controlled access. The first preliminary data re-analysis has already diagnosed 255 cases form 8393 exomes/genome datasets. This unprecedented degree of collaboration focused on sharing of data and expertise shall identify many new disease genes and enable diagnosis of many so far undiagnosed patients from all over Europe