Adsorption of benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride onto stainless steel using the quartz crystal microbalance and the depletion methods: An optimisation study

The adsorption behaviour of benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride (C12BDMAC) corrosion inhibitor from aqueous solutions onto a stainless steel surface has been investigated using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique and the depletion-HPLC method. Three different experimental procedures were used to carry out the adsorption measurements using the QCM. The results revealed that the employed experimental procedure had a marked influence on both of the measured frequency and dissipation energy changes. Additionally, the measured changes in the normalized frequency and dissipation changes were found to be overtone-dependent. The adsorbed amounts determined by QCM were higher than those determined by depletion due to strong contributions from the bulk liquid properties. The direct application of the measured frequency shifts corresponding to the lowest dissipation changes, ?flowestD, in the Sauerbrey equation was effective in minimising these contributions within an acceptable experimental tolerance. A correction procedure, based on the Kanazawa equation, has been proposed and applied successfully to separate the contribution from the bulk effects to the calculated adsorbed mass. The adsorption isotherms obtained from the corrected frequency shifts and the depletion method were perfectly matched over the whole range of concentrations investigated

Impact of Genetic Polymorphism of Myeloid Differentiation Primary Response Gene 88, Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2, and B-cell Lymphoma 2 like 11 in Patients with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Treated with Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristin

BACKGROUND: Despite the growing landscape of genetic drivers in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, yet their clinical implication is still unclear and R-CHOP regimen remains a “one size fits all” therapy. We aimed in this study to examine the prevalence of EZH2, BCL211 and MYD 88 genetic polymorphisms in DLBCL patients and correlate the results with various clinical and survival outcomes. METHODS: Genotyping of MYD88 (rs387907272 T/C), EZH2 (rs3757441 C/T), and BCL2L11 (rs3789068 A/G) polymorphisms were conducted using real time polymerase chain reaction analysis in a total of 75 DLBCL patients. RESULTS: Most of our cases carried the wild TT genotype of MYD88 gene (64%), the mutant TT genotype of EZH2 gene (52%) and the wild AA genotype of BCL2L11 gene (48%). Regarding cell of origin, Germinal Centre (GC) phenotype was present in 56% of cases while 44% expressed the Post-GC (PGC) phenotype. Poor response outcome to first line R-CHOP was significantly correlated with the mutated CC genotype of MYD 88 (p=0.02), while better response to R-CHOP was significantly associated with younger age <50 years (p <0.0001), good PS (p=0.046), normal LDH level (p=0.003), earlier stage (p <0.0001), good IPI score (p=0.009), absence of extranodal disease (p <0.0001) and absence of bulky disease (p=0.004). The median PFS and the 2 year OS were significantly higher in younger age, earlier stage, good IPI score, absence of extranodal disease, absence of bulky disease and in GC phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Our results emphasized that the mutated genotype of MYD 88 gene polymorphism is significantly associated with poor response to R-CHOP therapy

Adsorption of 4-n-Nonylphenol, Carvacrol, and Ethanol onto Iron Oxide from Nonaqueous Hydrocarbon Solvents.

The adsorption of 4-n-nonylphenol (4NP), carvacrol, and ethanol onto the surface of iron oxide from nonaqueous solutions is presented. It is found that adsorption of 4NP from alkanes is strong and proceeds to monolayer formation, where the molecules are essentially "upright". However, at high relative concentrations, ethanol successfully out-competes 4NP for the iron oxide surface. Estimates of the enthalpy and entropy of binding of 4NP were found to be exothermic and entropically disfavored. Sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy data indicate some evidence of binding through a phenolate anion, despite the nonpolar, nonaqueous solvent. Carvacrol is also found to adsorb as a monolayer where the molecules are lying "flat". The adsorption of ethanol onto iron oxide from dodecane was investigated through the use of quantitative NMR, which is a convenient analytical technique for measuring adsorption isotherms. It was concluded that ethanol does not form adsorbed monolayers on the surface. Instead, it partitions onto the surface as a surface-enhanced local phase separation related to its poor solubility in alkane solvents.B

Gene therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome in a severely affected adult

Until recently, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was the only curative option for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS). The first attempts at gene therapy for WAS using a \u3d2-retroviral vector improved immunological parameters substantially but were complicated by acute leukemia as a result of insertional mutagenesis in a high proportion of patients. More recently, treatment of children with a state-of-the-art self-inactivating lentiviral vector (LV-w1.6 WASp) has resulted in significant clinical benefit without inducing selection of clones harboring integrations near oncogenes. Here, we describe a case of a presplenectomized 30-year-old patient with severe WAS manifesting as cutaneous vasculitis, inflammatory arthropathy, intermittent polyclonal lymphoproliferation, and significant chronic kidney disease and requiring long-term immunosuppressive treatment. Following reduced-intensity conditioning, there was rapid engraftment and expansion of a polyclonal pool of transgene-positive functional T cells and sustained gene marking in myeloid and B-cell lineages up to 20 months of observation. The patient was able to discontinue immunosuppression and exogenous immunoglobulin support, with improvement in vasculitic disease and proin-flammatory markers. Autologous gene therapy using a lentiviral vector is a viable strategy for adult WAS patients with severe chronic disease complications and for whom an allogeneic procedure could present an unacceptable risk. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01347242

Probiotic Microbes Sustain Youthful Serum Testosterone Levels and Testicular Size in Aging Mice

The decline of circulating testosterone levels in aging men is associated with adverse health effects. During studies of probiotic bacteria and obesity, we discovered that male mice routinely consuming purified lactic acid bacteria originally isolated from human milk had larger testicles and increased serum testosterone levels compared to their age-matched controls. Further investigation using microscopy-assisted histomorphometry of testicular tissue showed that mice consuming Lactobacillus reuteri in their drinking water had significantly increased seminiferous tubule cross-sectional profiles and increased spermatogenesis and Leydig cell numbers per testis when compared with matched diet counterparts This showed that criteria of gonadal aging were reduced after routinely consuming a purified microbe such as L. reuteri. We tested whether these features typical of sustained reproductive fitness may be due to anti-inflammatory properties of L. reuteri, and found that testicular mass and other indicators typical of old age were similarly restored to youthful levels using systemic administration of antibodies blocking pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-17A. This indicated that uncontrolled host inflammatory responses contributed to the testicular atrophy phenotype in aged mice. Reduced circulating testosterone levels have been implicated in many adverse effects; dietary L. reuteri or other probiotic supplementation may provide a viable natural approach to prevention of male hypogonadism, absent the controversy and side-effects of traditional therapies, and yield practical options for management of disorders typically associated with normal aging. These novel findings suggest a potential high impact for microbe therapy in public health by imparting hormonal and gonad features of reproductive fitness typical of much younger healthy individuals.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P30-ES002109)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U01 CA164337)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RO1CA108854

Microbial Reprogramming Inhibits Western Diet-Associated Obesity

A recent epidemiological study showed that eating ‘fast food’ items such as potato chips increased likelihood of obesity, whereas eating yogurt prevented age-associated weight gain in humans. It was demonstrated previously in animal models of obesity that the immune system plays a critical role in this process. Here we examined human subjects and mouse models consuming Westernized ‘fast food’ diet, and found CD4[superscript +] T helper (Th)17-biased immunity and changes in microbial communities and abdominal fat with obesity after eating the Western chow. In striking contrast, eating probiotic yogurt together with Western chow inhibited age-associated weight gain. We went on to test whether a bacteria found in yogurt may serve to lessen fat pathology by using purified Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 6475 in drinking water. Surprisingly, we discovered that oral L. reuteri therapy alone was sufficient to change the pro-inflammatory immune cell profile and prevent abdominal fat pathology and age-associated weight gain in mice regardless of their baseline diet. These beneficial microbe effects were transferable into naïve recipient animals by purified CD4[superscript +] T cells alone. Specifically, bacterial effects depended upon active immune tolerance by induction of Foxp3[superscript +] regulatory T cells (Treg) and interleukin (Il)-10, without significantly changing the gut microbial ecology or reducing ad libitum caloric intake. Our finding that microbial targeting restored CD4[superscript +] T cell balance and yielded significantly leaner animals regardless of their dietary ‘fast food’ indiscretions suggests population-based approaches for weight management and enhancing public health in industrialized societies.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P30-ES002109)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RO1CA108854)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P01 AI045757)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U19 AI046130)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U19 AI070352)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P01 AI039671)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (Jacob Javits Merit Award NS2427)The Penates FoundationNancy Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases, Inc

Genome-wide association study for systemic lupus erythematosus in an egyptian population

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility has a strong genetic component. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) across trans-ancestral populations show both common and distinct genetic variants of susceptibility across European and Asian ancestries, while many other ethnic populations remain underexplored. We conducted the first SLE GWAS on Egyptians–an admixed North African/Middle Eastern population–using 537 patients and 883 controls. To identify novel susceptibility loci and replicate previously known loci, we performed imputation-based association analysis with 6,382,276 SNPs while accounting for individual admixture. We validated the association analysis using adaptive permutation tests (n = 109). We identified a novel genome-wide significant locus near IRS1/miR-5702 (Pcorrected = 1.98 × 10−8) and eight novel suggestive loci (Pcorrected 0.8) with lead SNPs from four suggestive loci (ARMC9, DIAPH3, IFLDT1, and ENTPD3) were associated with differential gene expression (3.5 × 10−95 < p < 1.0 × 10−2) across diverse tissues. These loci are involved in cellular proliferation and invasion—pathways prominent in lupus and nephritis. Our study highlights the utility of GWAS in an admixed Egyptian population for delineating new genetic associations and for understanding SLE pathogenesis