Costimulatory molecule-deficient dendritic cell progenitors (MHC class II⁺, CD80(dim), CD86^-) prolong cardiac allograft survival in nonimmunosuppressed recipients

We have shown previously that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-stimulated mouse bone marrow-derived MHC class II+ dendritic cell (DC) progenitors that are deficient in cell surface expression of the costimulatory molecules B7-1 (CD8O) and B7-2 (CD86) can induce alloantigen- specific T-cell anergy in vitro. To test the in vivo relevance of these findings, 2 x 106 B10 (H2(b)) mouse bone marrow-derived DC progenitors (NLDC 145+, MHC class II+, B7-1(dim), B7-2(-/dim)) that induced T-cell hyporesponsiveness in vitro were injected systemically into normal C3H (H2(k)) recipients. Seven days later, the mice received heterotopic heart transplants from B10 donors. No immunosuppressive treatment was given. Median graft survival time was prolonged significantly from 9.5 to 22 days. Median graft survival time was also increased, although to a lesser extent (16.5 days), in mice that received third-party (BALB/c; H2(d)) DC progenitors. Ex vivo analysis of host T-cell responses to donor and third-party alloantigens 7 days after the injection of DC progenitors (the time of heart transplant) revealed minimal anti-donor mixed leukocyte reaction and cytotoxic T lymphocyte reactivity. These responses were reduced substantially compared with those of spleen cells from animals pretreated with 'mature' granulocyte- macrophage colony-stimulating factor + interleukin-4-stimulated DC (MHC class II(bright), B7-1+, B7-2(bright)), many of which rejected their heart grafts in an accelerated fashion. Among the injected donor MHC class II+ DC progenitors that migrated to recipient secondary lymphoid tissue were cells that appeared to have up-regulated cell surface B7-1 and B7-2 molecule expression. This observation may explain, at least in part, the temporary or unstable nature of the hyporesponsiveness induced by the DC progenitors in nonimmunosuppressed recipients

Comparison of contrast enhanced three dimensional echocardiography with MIBI gated SPECT for the evaluation of left ventricular function

Background. In clinical practice and in clinical trials, echocardiography and scintigraphy are used the most for the evaluation of global left ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular (LV) volumes. Actually, poor quality imaging and geometrical assumptions are the main limitations of LVEF measured by echocardiography. Contrast agents and 3D echocardiography are new methods that may alleviate these potential limitations. Methods. Therefore we sought to examine the accuracy of contrast 3D echocardiography for the evaluation of LV volumes and LVEF relative to MIBI gated SPECT as an independent reference. In 43 patients addressed for chest pain, contrast 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) and MIBI gated SPECT were prospectively performed on the same day. The accuracy and the variability of LV volumes and LVEF measurements were evaluated. Results. Due to good endocardial delineation, LV volumes and LVEF measurements by contrast RT3DE were feasible in 99% of the patients. The mean LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) of the group by scintigraphy was 143 65 mL and was underestimated by triplane contrast RT3DE (128 60 mL; p < 0.001) and less by full-volume contrast RT3DE (132 62 mL; p < 0.001). Limits of agreement with scintigraphy were similar for triplane andfull-volume, modalities with the best results for full-volume. Results were similar for calculation of LV end-systolic volume (LVESV). The mean LVEF was 44 16% with scintigraphy and was not significantly different with both triplane contrast RT3DE (45 15%) and full-volume contrast RT3DE (45 15%). There was an excellent correlation between two different observers for LVEDV, LVESV and LVEF measurements and inter observer agreement was also good for both contrast RT3DE techniques. Conclusion. Contrast RT3DE allows an accurate assessment of LVEF compared to the LVEF measured by SPECT, and shows low variability between observers. Although RT3DE triplane provides accurate evaluation of left ventricular function, RT3DE full-volume is superior to triplane modality in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. © 2009 Cosyns et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei 106Zr and 108Zr

The low-lying states in 106Zr and 108Zr have been investigated by means of {\beta}-{\gamma} and isomer spectroscopy at the RI beam factory, respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620\pm150 ns has been identified in 108Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2+ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed sub-shell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of 108Zr indicates that a spherical sub-shell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of 108Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in 108Zr is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Is there a clinically significant seasonal component to hospital admissions for atrial fibrillation?

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac dysrhythmia, particularly in the elderly. Recent studies have indicated a statistically significant seasonal component to atrial fibrillation hospitalizations. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population cohort study using time series analysis to evaluate seasonal patterns of atrial fibrillation hospitalizations for the province of Ontario for the years 1988 to 2001. Five different series methods were used to analyze the data, including spectral analysis, X11, R-Squared, autocorrelation function and monthly aggregation. RESULTS: This study found evidence of weak seasonality, most apparent at aggregate levels including both ages and sexes. There was dramatic increase in hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation over the years studied and an age dependent increase in rates per 100,000. Overall, the magnitude of seasonal difference between peak and trough months is in the order of 1.4 admissions per 100,000 population. The peaks for hospitalizations were predominantly in April, and the troughs in August. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms statistical evidence of seasonality for atrial fibrillation hospitalizations. This effect is small in absolute terms and likely not significant for policy or etiological research purposes

Houselessness and syringe service program utilization among people who inject drugs in eight rural areas across the USA: A cross-sectional analysis

Background: Research conducted in urban areas has highlighted the impact of housing instability on people who inject drugs (PWID), revealing that it exacerbates vulnerability to drug-related harms and impedes syringe service program (SSP) use. However, few studies have explored the effects of houselessness on SSP use among rural PWID. This study examines the relationship between houselessness and SSP utilization among PWID in eight rural areas across 10 states. Methods: PWID were recruited using respondent-driven sampling for a cross-sectional survey that queried self-reported drug use and SSP utilization in the prior 30 days, houselessness in the prior 6 months and sociodemographic characteristics. Using binomial logistic regression, we examined the relationship between experiencing houselessness and any SSP use. To assess the relationship between houselessness and the frequency of SSP use, we conducted multinomial logistic regression analyses among participants reporting any past 30-day SSP use. Results: Among 2394 rural PWID, 56.5% had experienced houselessness in the prior 6 months, and 43.5% reported past 30-day SSP use. PWID who had experienced houselessness were more likely to report using an SSP compared to their housed counterparts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.24 [95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.01, 1.52]). Among those who had used an SSP at least once (n = 972), those who experienced houselessness were just as likely to report SSP use two (aOR = 0.90 [95% CI 0.60, 1.36]) and three times (aOR = 1.18 [95% CI 0.77, 1.98]) compared to once. However, they were less likely to visit an SSP four or more times compared to once in the prior 30 days (aOR = 0.59 [95% CI 0.40, 0.85]). Conclusion: This study provides evidence that rural PWID who experience houselessness utilize SSPs at similar or higher rates as their housed counterparts. However, housing instability may pose barriers to more frequent SSP use. These findings are significant as people who experience houselessness are at increased risk for drug-related harms and encounter additional challenges when attempting to access SSPs.</p

Photodynamic therapy for the treatment of atherosclerotic plaque: Lost in translation?

Acute coronary syndrome is a life-threatening condition of utmost clinical importance, which, despite recent progress in the field, is still associated with high morbidity and mortality. Acute coronary syndrome results from a rupture or erosion of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque with secondary platelet activation and thrombus formation, which leads to partial or complete luminal obstruction of a coronary artery. During the last decade, scientific evidence demonstrated that when an acute coronary event occurs, several nonculprit plaques are in a “vulnerable” state. Among the promising approaches, several investigations provided evidence of photodynamic therapy (PDT)-induced stabilization and regression of atherosclerotic plaque. Significant development of PDT strategies improved its therapeutic outcome. This review addresses PDT's pertinence and major problems/challenges toward its translation to a clinical reality

Local Cattle and Badger Populations Affect the Risk of Confirmed Tuberculosis in British Cattle Herds

Background: The control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) remains a priority on the public health agenda in Great Britain, after launching in 1998 the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of badger (Meles meles) culling as a control strategy. Our study complements previous analyses of the RBCT data (focusing on treatment effects) by presenting analyses of herd-level risks factors associated with the probability of a confirmed bTB breakdown in herds within each treatment: repeated widespread proactive culling, localized reactive culling and no culling (survey-only). Methodology/Principal Findings: New cases of bTB breakdowns were monitored inside the RBCT areas from the end of the first proactive badger cull to one year after the last proactive cull. The risk of a herd bTB breakdown was modeled using logistic regression and proportional hazard models adjusting for local farm-level risk factors. Inside survey-only and reactive areas, increased numbers of active badger setts and cattle herds within 1500 m of a farm were associated with an increased bTB risk. Inside proactive areas, the number of M. bovis positive badgers initially culled within 1500 m of a farm was the strongest predictor of the risk of a confirmed bTB breakdown. Conclusions/Significance: The use of herd-based models provide insights into how local cattle and badger populations affect the bTB breakdown risks of individual cattle herds in the absence of and in the presence of badger culling. These measures of local bTB risks could be integrated into a risk-based herd testing programme to improve the targeting o

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer who declined to participate in randomised clinical chemotherapy trials

There are inadequate data on the outcomes of patients who declined to participate in randomised clinical trials as compared with those of participants. We retrospectively reviewed the patient characteristics and treatment outcomes of both participants and non-participants in the two randomised trials for chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Trial 1 compared four platinum-based combination regimens. Trial 2 compared two sequences of carboplatin plus paclitaxel and gefitinib therapies. Nineteen of 119 (16%) and 153 (37%) patients declined to participate in Trials 1 and 2, respectively. Among the background patient characteristics, the only variable associated with trial participation or declining was the patients' attending physicians (P<0.001). Important differences were not observed in the clinical outcomes between participants and non-participants, for whom the response rates were 30.6 vs 34.2% and the median survival times were 489 vs 461 days, respectively. The hazard ratio for overall survival, adjusted for other confounding variables, was 0.965 (95% confidence interval: 0.73–1.28). In conclusion, there was no evidence to suggest any difference in the characteristics and clinical outcomes between participants and non-participants. Trial designs and the doctor–patient relationship may have an impact on the patient accrual to randomised trials

Role of Echocardiography in Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is most common arrhythmia and its prevalence appears to be increasing as the population ages. Echocardiography can play a key role in risk stratification and management of patients with AF. Transthoracic echocardiography allows rapid and comprehensive assessment of cardiac anatomical structure and function. Pulmonary vein flow monitoring using echocardiography has the potential to an increasing role in the evaluation of cardiac function and AF ablation procedures. Transesophageal echocardiography also provides accurate information about the presence of a thrombus in the atria and thromboembolic risk. The novel technique of intracardiac echocardiography has emerged as a popular and useful tool in the everyday practice of interventional electrophysiology. Other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have complementary roles in risk stratification and assessment of patients with AF. Echocardiography continues to be the foundation of clinical evaluation and management of AF

Study of ground and excited state decays in N approximate to Z Ag nuclei

4 pags., 4 figs. -- CGS15 – Capture Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy and Related TopicsA decay spectroscopy experiment was performed within the EURICA campaign at RIKEN in 2012. It aimed at the isomer and particle spectroscopy of excited states and ground states in the mass region below the doubly magic 100Sn. The N = Z nuclei 98In, 96Cd and 94Ag were of particular interest for the present study. Preliminary results on the neutron deficient nuclei 93Ag and 94Ag are presented. In 94Ag a more precise value for the half-life of the ground state’s superallowed Fermi transition was deduced. In addition the energy spectra of the mentioned decay could be reproduced through precise Geant4 simulations of the used active stopper SIMBA. This will enable us to extract Qβ values from the measured data. The decay of 93Ag is discussed based on the observed implantation-decay correlation events.This work was carried out at the RIBF operated by RIKEN Nishina Center, RIKEN and CNS, University of Tokyo. We acknowledge the EUROBALL Owners Committee for the loan of germanium detectors and the PreSpec Collaboration for the readout electronics of the cluster detectors. This work was supported by the German BMBF under Contract No. 05P12PKFNE and by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant No. DE-FG02-91ER-40609