Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy following fludarabine treatment in a chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a neurological disease caused by infection of the central nervous system (CNS) with the JC polyomavirus (JCV). JCV is endemic and infects a large proportion (70–90%) of healthy individuals worldwide, but infection is latent. JCV reactivation may occur, if the immune function is compromised. Aim: To present a PML case in a CLL patient after a long course of disease and treatment with fludarabine. JCV virus infection in this patient was proven both in brain biopsy material and blood. Methods: Patient with a nine-year history of CLL was hospitalized with the weakness in the right leg and left hand, tremors, speech difficulties. An MRI diagnosed infiltrative glial tumor of the left hemisphere, proliferating predominantly in the frontal lobe, more in the gyrus frontalis superior region. CNS tumor biopsy performed. Results: Morphology and immunoprofile of the lesion consistent with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. The material from biopsy was diagnosed as positive for JCV DNA. JCV and HHV-7 genomic sequences were found in patient’s PBL DNA sample. In a plasma DNA sample, only genomic sequences were detected. Conclusion: The present case draws attention to the fact that the use of fludarabine and its combinations in CLL therapy increases the risk of JCV infection reactivation and development of serious complications like PML

Atmospheric fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb to the western Mediterranean Sea and the Saharan dust influence

Pb 210 is a well known tracer of particle dynamics in the marine environment. Geochemical models partially rely on the knowledge of its atmospheric input. Unfortunately, this is poorly known in the western Mediterranean Sea, especially regarding long-term records. In this work we have evaluated the ²¹⁰Pb annual atmospheric flux to this region from the analysis of 12 soil cores collected from coastal and island sites and total atmospheric deposition collected in Corsica during 1 year. The ²¹⁰Pb fluxes ranged from 34 ± 3 to 121 ± 12 Bq m¯² yr¯¹ , with an average of 75 Bq m¯² yr¯¹, and were strongly correlated (R²= 0.95) with mean annual rainfall. This provides the possibility to determine ²¹⁰Pb fluxes in a given location if the mean annual rainfall is well known, a useful outcome for both marine biogeochemical and soil erosion studies in this region. We have also estimated the mean annual atmospheric flux of ²¹⁰Pb due to Saharan dust events registered in total deposition north of Barcelona during the last 17 years, yielding a value of 20 Bq m¯² yr¯¹ . This flux represents a fraction of about 16% of the total atmospheric deposition of ²¹⁰Pb in this area, but it could be up to 50% in sites with lower rainfall

Symbolic analysis of analog circuits containing voltage mirrors

7 páginas, 7 figuras, 2 tablas, 4 imágenes.-- Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License.The pathological elements voltage mirror (VM) and current mirror (CM) have shown advantages in analog behavioral modeling and circuit synthesis, where many nullor-mirror equivalences have been explored to design and to transform voltage-mode circuits to current-mode ones and viceversa. However, both the VM and CM have not equivalents to perform automatic symbolic circuit analysis. In this manner, we introduce nullor-equivalents for these pathological elements allowing to include parasitics and to perform only symbolic nodal analysis. The nullor-equivalent of the CM is extended to provide multiple-outpus (MO-CM). Finally, two active filters containing VMs, CMs and MO-CMs are analysed to show the usefulness of the models.This work is supported by: UC-MEXUS and CONACyT under grants CN-09-310 and 48396-Y; by Promep-Mexico under grant UATLX-PTC-088; by Consejeria de Innovacion, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucia-Spain TIC-2532; and by the JAE-Doc program of CSIC co-funded by FSE, Spain.Peer reviewe

Photodegradation of Phenol over a Hybrid Organo-Inorganic Material: Iron(II) Hydroxyphosphonoacetate

Water treatment is a hot topic, and it will become much more important in the decades ahead. Advanced oxidation processes are being increasingly used for organic contaminant removal, for example using photo-Fenton reactions. Here we report the use of an organo-inorganic hybrid, Fe[HO3PCH(OH)COO]·2H2O, as Fenton photocatalyst for phenol oxidation with H2O2 under UVA radiation. Preactivation, catalyst content, and particle size parameters have been studied/optimized for increasing phenol mineralization. Upon reaction, iron species are leached from the catalyst making a homogeneous catalysis contribution to the overall phenol photo-oxidation. Under optimized conditions, the mineralization degree was slightly larger than 90% after 80 min of irradiation. Analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed important chemical modifications occurring on the surface of the catalyst after activation and phenol photodegradation. The sustained slow delivery of iron species upon phenol photoreaction is advantageous as the mixed heterogeneous−homogeneous catalytic processes result in very high phenol mineralization.Proyecto nacional MAT2010-1517

Subjective response to antipsychotic treatment and compliance in schizophrenia. A naturalistic study comparing olanzapine, risperidone and haloperidol (EFESO Study)

BACKGROUND: In order to compare the effectiveness of different antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia it is very important to evaluate subjective response and compliance in patient cohorts treated according to routine clinical practice. METHOD: Outpatients with schizophrenia entered this prospective, naturalistic study when they received a new prescription for an antipsychotic drug. Treatment assignment was based on purely clinical criteria, as the study did not include any experimental intervention. Patients treated with olanzapine, risperidone or haloperidol were included in the analysis. Subjective response was measured using the 10-item version of the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10), and treatment compliance was measured using a physician-rated 4 point categorical scale. RESULTS: A total of 2128 patients initiated treatment (as monotherapy) with olanzapine, 417 with risperidone, and 112 with haloperidol. Olanzapine-treated patients had significantly higher DAI-10 scores and significantly better treatment compliance compared to both risperidone- and haloperidol-treated patients. Risperidone-treated patients had a significantly higher DAI-10 score compared to haloperidol-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Subjective response and compliance were superior in olanzapine-treated patients, compared to patients treated with risperidone and haloperidol, in routine clinical practice. Differences in subjective response were explained largely, but not completely, by differences in incidence of EPS

Divalent Metal Vinylphosphonate Layered Materials: Compositional Variability, Structural Peculiarities, Dehydration Behavior, and Photoluminescent Properties

A family of M-VP (M = Ni, Co, Cd, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Pb; VP = vinylphosphonate) and M-PVP (M = Co, Cd; PVP = phenylvinylphosphonate) materials have been synthesized by hydrothermal methods and characterized by FTIR, elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Their structures were determined either by single crystal X-ray crystallography or from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data. The crystal structure of some M-VP and M-PVP materials is two-dimensional (2D) layered, with the organic groups (vinyl or phenylvinyl) protruding into the interlamellar space. However, the Pb-VP and Cu-VP materials show dramatically different structural features. The porous, three-dimensional (3D) structure of Pb-VP contains the Pb center in a pentagonal pyramid. A Cu-VP variant of the common 2D layered structure shows a very peculiar structure. The structure of the material is 2D with the layers based upon three crystallographically distinct Cu atoms; an octahedrally coordinated Cu2+ atom, a square planar Cu2+ atom and a Cu+ atom. The latter has an unusual co-ordination environment as it is 3-coordinated to two oxygen atoms with the third bond across the double bond of the vinyl group. Metal-coordinated water loss was studied by TGA and thermodiffractometry. The rehydration of the anhydrous phases to give the initial phase takes place rapidly for Cd-PVP but it takes several days for Co-PVP. The M-VP materials exhibit variable dehydration-rehydration behavior, with most of them losing crystallinity during the process.Proyecto nacional MAT2010-15175 (MICINN, España

Bladder cancer index: cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and psychometric evaluation

BACKGROUND: The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is so far the only instrument applicable across all bladder cancer patients, independent of tumor infiltration or treatment applied. We developed a Spanish version of the BCI, and assessed its acceptability and metric properties. METHODS: For the adaptation into Spanish we used the forward and back-translation method, expert panels, and cognitive debriefing patient interviews. For the assessment of metric properties we used data from 197 bladder cancer patients from a multi-center prospective study. The Spanish BCI and the SF-36 Health Survey were self-administered before and 12 months after treatment. Reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through the multi-trait multi-method matrix. The magnitude of change was quantified by effect sizes to assess responsiveness. RESULTS: Reliability coefficients ranged 0.75-0.97. The validity analysis confirmed moderate associations between the BCI function and bother subscales for urinary (r = 0.61) and bowel (r = 0.53) domains; conceptual independence among all BCI domains (r ≤ 0.3); and low correlation coefficients with the SF-36 scores, ranging 0.14-0.48. Among patients reporting global improvement at follow-up, pre-post treatment changes were statistically significant for the urinary domain and urinary bother subscale, with effect sizes of 0.38 and 0.53. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish BCI is well accepted, reliable, valid, responsive, and similar in performance compared to the original instrument. These findings support its use, both in Spanish and international studies, as a valuable and comprehensive tool for assessing quality of life across a wide range of bladder cancer patients

Hung Out to Dry: Choice of Priority Ecoregions for Conserving Threatened Neotropical Anurans Depends on Life-History Traits

Background: In the Neotropics, nearly 35 % of amphibian species are threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and habitat split; anuran species with different developmental modes respond to habitat disturbance in different ways. This entails broad-scale strategies for conserving biodiversity and advocates for the identification of high conservation-value regions that are significant in a global or continental context and that could underpin more detailed conservation assessments towards such areas. Methodology/Principal Findings: We identified key ecoregion sets for anuran conservation using an algorithm that favors complementarity (beta-diversity) among ecoregions. Using the WWF’s Wildfinder database, which encompasses 700 threatened anuran species in 119 Neotropical ecoregions, we separated species into those with aquatic larvae (AL) or terrestrial development (TD), as this life-history trait affects their response to habitat disturbance. The conservation target of 100 % of species representation was attained with a set of 66 ecoregions. Among these, 30 were classified as priority both for species with AL and TD, 26 were priority exclusively for species with AL, and 10 for species with TD only. Priority ecoregions for both developmental modes are concentrated in the Andes and in Mesoamerica. Ecoregions important for conserving species with AL are widely distributed across the Neotropics. When anuran life histories were ignored, species with AL were always underrepresented in priority sets

Evolution of a Bacterial Regulon Controlling Virulence and Mg2+ Homeostasis

Related organisms typically rely on orthologous regulatory proteins to respond to a given signal. However, the extent to which (or even if) the targets of shared regulatory proteins are maintained across species has remained largely unknown. This question is of particular significance in bacteria due to the widespread effects of horizontal gene transfer. Here, we address this question by investigating the regulons controlled by the DNA-binding PhoP protein, which governs virulence and Mg2+ homeostasis in several bacterial species. We establish that the ancestral PhoP protein directs largely different gene sets in ten analyzed species of the family Enterobacteriaceae, reflecting both regulation of species-specific targets and transcriptional rewiring of shared genes. The two targets directly activated by PhoP in all ten species (the most distant of which diverged >200 million years ago), and coding for the most conserved proteins are the phoPQ operon itself and the lipoprotein-encoding slyB gene, which decreases PhoP protein activity. The Mg2+-responsive PhoP protein dictates expression of Mg2+ transporters and of enzymes that modify Mg2+-binding sites in the cell envelope in most analyzed species. In contrast to the core PhoP regulon, which determines the amount of active PhoP and copes with the low Mg2+ stress, the variable members of the regulon contribute species-specific traits, a property shared with regulons controlled by dissimilar regulatory proteins and responding to different signals

Evolution of a Bacterial Regulon Controlling Virulence and Mg2+ Homeostasis

Related organisms typically rely on orthologous regulatory proteins to respond to a given signal. However, the extent to which (or even if) the targets of shared regulatory proteins are maintained across species has remained largely unknown. This question is of particular significance in bacteria due to the widespread effects of horizontal gene transfer. Here, we address this question by investigating the regulons controlled by the DNA-binding PhoP protein, which governs virulence and Mg2+ homeostasis in several bacterial species. We establish that the ancestral PhoP protein directs largely different gene sets in ten analyzed species of the family Enterobacteriaceae, reflecting both regulation of species-specific targets and transcriptional rewiring of shared genes. The two targets directly activated by PhoP in all ten species (the most distant of which diverged >200 million years ago), and coding for the most conserved proteins are the phoPQ operon itself and the lipoprotein-encoding slyB gene, which decreases PhoP protein activity. The Mg2+-responsive PhoP protein dictates expression of Mg2+ transporters and of enzymes that modify Mg2+-binding sites in the cell envelope in most analyzed species. In contrast to the core PhoP regulon, which determines the amount of active PhoP and copes with the low Mg2+ stress, the variable members of the regulon contribute species-specific traits, a property shared with regulons controlled by dissimilar regulatory proteins and responding to different signals