Bistability in Feshbach Resonance

A coupled atom-molecule condensate with an intraspecies Feshbach resonance is employed to explore matter wave bistability both in the presence and in the absence of a unidirectional optical ring cavity. In particular, a set of conditions are derived that allow the threshold for bistability, due both to two-body s-wave scatterings and to cavity-mediated two-body interactions, to be determined analytically. The latter bistability is found to support, not only transitions between a mixed (atom-molecule) state and a pure molecular state as in the former bistability, but also transitions between two distinct mixed states.Comment: 6 pages + 3 figures; To appear in Jounal of Modern Optics, Special Issue - Festschrift in Honor of Lorenzo Narducc

Silver-Russell Syndrome: A Case Report

A 15-year-old male boy with hemihypertrophy (left side) of the body was admitted in the hospital with the history of repeated attacks of convulsion. The patient was diagnosed as Silver-Russell syndrome on clinical ground. Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is a very rare genetic disorder that appears no later than early childhood. This is usually characterized by asymmetry in the size of the two halves or other parts of the body. Silver-Russell Syndrome occurs mostly in isolated cases because of sporadic genetic changes (mutations) for no apparent reason. For lack of facilities we were not able to do genetic study

Emergency room surgical workload in an inner city UK teaching hospital

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.TA Mai-Phan was funded by Vietnam Overseas Scholarship Program (VOSP) of Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training for his MSc studentship. HM Kocher is funded by the Department of Health (UK) Clinician Scientist Fellowship

A central review of histopathology reports after breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the neo-tango trial.

BACKGROUND: Neo-tAnGo, a National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) multicentre randomised neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in early breast cancer, enroled 831 patients in the United Kingdom. We report a central review of post-chemotherapy histopathology reports on the surgical specimens, to assess the presence and degree of response. METHODS: A central independent two-reader review (EP and HME) of histopathology reports from post-treatment surgical specimens was performed. The quality and completeness of pathology reporting across all centres was assessed. The reviews included pathological response to chemotherapy (pathological complete response (pCR); minimal residual disease (MRD); and lesser degrees of response), laterality, the number of axillary metastases and axillary nodes, and the type of surgery. A consensus was reached after discussion. RESULTS: In all, 825 surgical reports from 816 patients were available for review. Out of 4125 data items there were 347 discrepant results (8.4% of classifications), which involved 281 patients. These involved grading of breast response (169 but only 9 involving pCR vs MRD); laterality (6); presence of axillary metastasis (35); lymph node counts (108); and type of axillary surgery (29). Excluding cases with pCR, only 45% of reports included any comment regarding response in the breast and 30% in the axillary lymph nodes. CONCLUSION: We found considerable variability in the completeness of reporting of surgical specimens within this national neoadjuvant breast cancer trial. This highlights the need for consensus guidelines among trial groups on histopathology reporting, and the participation of histopathologists throughout the development and analysis of neoadjuvant trials

Pregnant women’s awareness, knowledge and beliefs about pelvic floor muscles: a cross-sectional survey

Introduction and hypothesis: Pregnant women benefit from completing pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFMEs). The aims of the study were to evaluate pregnant women’s levels of awareness, knowledge, and beliefs about the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) and PFMEs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Respondents were pregnant women over the age of 18 years who attended antenatal clinics in Western Australia (WA). Questionnaire items measured awareness and knowledge about PFMs, confidence and beliefs about engaging in PFMEs, and attendance at antenatal education (ANE) classes. Chi-squared tests examined potential associations between questionnaire items and respondent characteristics. Results: Mean gestation of respondents (n = 633 out of 850; 74% response rate) was 28.7 (+7.8) weeks and 50% were giving birth for the first time. Although 76% of respondents knew that PFMs can prevent urinary incontinence, only 27% knew that they prevented faecal incontinence and 41% thought it was normal to leak urine when pregnant. Only n = 72 (11%) were practicing PFMEs. Respondents who had attended ANE (28%) were significantly more knowledgeable about pelvic floor function (p < .001) and significantly less likely to believe that leaking urine during pregnancy was normal (p = 0.02), compared with those who had not attended ANE. Respondents who did not speak English at home (18%) were significantly less knowledgeable about PFMs and PFMEs, and significantly less likely to have attended, or planned to attend, ANE classes. Conclusion: Pregnant women require more health education regarding PFMs. Education should be provided using diverse modes, especially for women from migrant backgrounds and women who do not plan to attend formal ANE classes

Complications of biliary-enteric anastomoses

INTRODUCTION Biliary-enteric anastomoses are performed for a range of indications and may result in early and late complications. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors and management of anastomotic leak and stricture following biliary-enteric anastomosis. METHODS A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients who underwent biliary-enteric anastomoses in a tertiary referral centre between 2000 and 2010 was performed. RESULTS Four hundred and sixty-two biliary-enteric anastomoses were performed. Of these, 347 (75%) were performed for malignant disease. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy or choledocho-jejunostomy were performed in 440 (95%) patients. Perioperative 30-day mortality was 6.5% (n=30). Seventeen patients had early bile leaks (3.7%) and 17 had late strictures (3.7%) at a median of 12 months. On univariable logistic regression analysis, younger age was a significant risk factor for biliary anastomotic leak. However, on multivariable analysis only biliary reconstruction following biliary injury (odds ratio [OR]=6.84; p=0.002) and anastomosis above the biliary confluence (OR=4.62; p=0.03) were significant. Younger age and biliary reconstruction following injury appeared to be significant risk factors for biliary strictures but multivariable analysis showed that only younger age was significant. CONCLUSIONS Biliary-enteric anastomoses have a low incidence of early and late complications. Biliary reconstruction following injury and a high anastomosis (above the confluence) are significant risk factors for anastomotic leak. Younger patients are significantly more likely to develop an anastomotic stricture over the longer term

Analysis of Two Novel Midgut-Specific Promoters Driving Transgene Expression in Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes

Background: Tissue-specific promoters controlling the expression of transgenes in Anopheles mosquitoes represent a valuable tool both for studying the interaction between these malaria vectors and the Plasmodium parasites they transmit and for novel malaria control strategies based on developing Plasmodium-refractory mosquitoes by expressing anti-parasitic genes. With this aim we have studied the promoter regions of two genes from the most important malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, whose expression is strongly induced upon blood feeding. Results: We analysed the A. gambiae Antryp1 and G12 genes, which we have shown to be midgut-specific and maximally expressed at 24 hours post-bloodmeal (PBM). Antryp1, required for bloodmeal digestion, encodes one member of a family of 7 trypsin genes. The G12 gene, of unknown function, was previously identified in our laboratory in a screen for genes induced in response to a bloodmeal. We fused 1.1 kb of the upstream regions containing the putative promoter of these genes to reporter genes and transformed these into the Indian malaria vector A. stephensi to see if we could recapitulate the expression pattern of the endogenous genes. Both the Antryp1 and G12 upstream regions were able to drive femalepredominant, midgut-specific expression in transgenic mosquitoes. Expression of the Antryp1-driven reporter in transgenic A. stephensi lines was low, undetectable by northern blot analysis, and failed to fully match the induction kinetics of the endogenous Antryp1 gene in A. gambiae. This incomplete conservation of expression suggests either subtle differences i

Two distinct nanovirus species infecting faba bean in Morocco

Using monoclonal antibodies raised against a Faba bean necrotic yellows virus (FBNYV) isolate from Egypt and a Faba bean necrotic stunt virus (FBNSV) isolate from Ethiopia, a striking serological variability among nanovirus isolates from faba bean in Morocco was revealed. To obtain a better understanding of this nanovirus variability in Morocco, the entire genomes of two serologically contrasting isolates referred to as Mor5 and Mor23 were sequenced. The eight circular ssDNA components, each identified from Mor5- and Mor23-infected tissues and thought to form the complete nanovirus genome, ranged in size from 952 to 1,005 nt for Mor5 and from 980 to 1,004 nt for Mor23 and were structurally similar to previously described nanovirus DNAs. However, Mor5 and Mor23 differed from each other in overall nucleotide and amino acid sequences by 25 and 26%, respectively. Mor23 was most closely related to typical FBNYV isolates described earlier from Egypt and Syria, with which it shared a mean amino acid sequence identity of about 94%. On the other hand, Mor5 most closely resembled a FBNSV isolate from Ethiopia, with which it shared a mean amino acid sequence identity of approximately 89%. The serological and genetic differences observed for Mor5 and Mor23 were comparable to those observed earlier for FBNYV, FBNSV, and Milk vetch dwarf virus. Following the guidelines on nanovirus species demarcation, this suggests that Mor23 and Mor5 represent isolates of FBNYV and FBNSV, respectively. This is the first report not only on the presence of FBNSV in a country other than Ethiopia but also on the occurrence and complete genome sequences of members of two nanovirus species in the same country, thus providing evidence for faba bean crops being infected by members of two distinct nanovirus species in a restricted geographic area

Collapse of superconductivity in a hybrid tin-graphene Josephson junction array

When a Josephson junction array is built with hybrid superconductor/metal/superconductor junctions, a quantum phase transition from a superconducting to a two-dimensional (2D) metallic ground state is predicted to happen upon increasing the junction normal state resistance. Owing to its surface-exposed 2D electron gas and its gate-tunable charge carrier density, graphene coupled to superconductors is the ideal platform to study the above-mentioned transition between ground states. Here we show that decorating graphene with a sparse and regular array of superconducting nanodisks enables to continuously gate-tune the quantum superconductor-to-metal transition of the Josephson junction array into a zero-temperature metallic state. The suppression of proximity-induced superconductivity is a direct consequence of the emergence of quantum fluctuations of the superconducting phase of the disks. Under perpendicular magnetic field, the competition between quantum fluctuations and disorder is responsible for the resilience at the lowest temperatures of a superconducting glassy state that persists above the upper critical field. Our results provide the entire phase diagram of the disorder and magnetic field-tuned transition and unveil the fundamental impact of quantum phase fluctuations in 2D superconducting systems.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Safety and immunogenicity of the chlamydia vaccine candidate CTH522 adjuvanted with CAF01 liposomes or aluminium hydroxide: a first-in-human, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection worldwide. National screening programmes and antibiotic treatment have failed to decrease incidence, and to date no vaccines against genital chlamydia have been tested in clinical trials. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity, in humans, of a novel chlamydia vaccine based on a recombinant protein subunit (CTH522) in a prime-boost immunisation schedule. METHODS: This phase 1, first-in-human, double-blind, parallel, randomised, placebo-controlled trial was done at Hammersmith Hospital in London, UK, in healthy women aged 19-45 years. Participants were randomly assigned (3:3:1) to three groups: CTH522 adjuvanted with CAF01 liposomes (CTH522:CAF01), CTH522 adjuvanted with aluminium hydroxide (CTH522:AH), or placebo (saline). Participants received three intramuscular injections of 85 μg vaccine (with adjuvant) or placebo to the deltoid region of the arm at 0, 1, and 4 months, followed by two intranasal administrations of 30 μg unadjuvanted vaccine or placebo (one in each nostril) at months 4·5 and 5·0. The primary outcome was safety and the secondary outcome was humoral immunogenicity (anti-CTH522 IgG seroconversion). This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, number NCT02787109. FINDINGS: Between Aug 15, 2016, and Feb 13, 2017, 35 women were randomly assigned (15 to CTH522:CAF01, 15 to CTH522:AH, and five to placebo). 32 (91%) received all five vaccinations and all participants were included in the intention-to-treat analyses. No related serious adverse reactions were reported, and the most frequent adverse events were mild local injection-site reactions, which were reported in all (15 [100%] of 15) participants in the two vaccine groups and in three (60%) of five participants in the placebo group (p=0·0526 for both comparisons). Intranasal vaccination was not associated with a higher frequency of related local reactions (reported in seven [47%] of 15 participants in the active treatment groups vs three [60%] of five in the placebo group; p=1·000). Both CTH522:CAF01 and CTH522:AH induced anti-CTH522 IgG seroconversion in 15 (100%) of 15 participants after five immunisations, whereas no participants in the placebo group seroconverted. CTH522:CAF01 showed accelerated seroconversion, increased IgG titres, an enhanced mucosal antibody profile, and a more consistent cell-mediated immune response profile compared with CTH522:AH. INTERPRETATION: CTH522 adjuvanted with either CAF01 or aluminium hydroxide appears to be safe and well tolerated. Both vaccines were immunogenic, although CTH522:CAF01 had a better immunogenicity profile, holding promise for further clinical development. FUNDING: European Commission and The Innovation Fund Denmark