Noise-based approximation to thermal spin-injection in Fe/GaAs

© 2017 Author(s). We analyze the prospects for thermal spin-injection from iron into gallium arsenide via the application of electrical noise. By estimating the applied effective temperature-equivalent gradients, we characterize the magnitude of any electrical part of the thermal spin-injection efficiency or the spin-dependent Seebeck effect. The magnitude of the non-local spin signal associated with this effect suggests that temperature differences on the order of ∼100 K would be needed for true thermal spin-injection experiments. The large size of the effective temperature gradients induced by the noise-based method means that even very small thermo-electric effects can be quantified

The widespread use of topical antimicrobials enriches for resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Carriage rates of Staphylococcus aureus on affected skin in atopic dermatitis (AD) are approximately 70%. Increasing disease severity during flares and overall disease severity correlate with increased burden of S. aureus. Treatment in AD therefore often targets S. aureus with topical and systemic antimicrobials. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether antimicrobial sensitivities and genetic determinants of resistance differed in S. aureus isolates from the skin of children with AD and healthy child nasal carriers. METHODS: In this case-control study, we compared S. aureus isolates from children with AD (n = 50) attending a hospital dermatology department against nasal carriage isolates from children without skin disease (n = 49) attending a hospital emergency department for noninfective conditions. Using whole genome sequencing we generated a phylogenetic framework for the isolates based on variation in the core genome, then compared antimicrobial resistance phenotypes and genotypes between disease groups. RESULTS: Staphylococcus aureus from cases and controls had on average similar numbers of phenotypic resistances per isolate. Case isolates differed in their resistance patterns, with fusidic acid resistance (FusR ) being significantly more frequent in AD (P = 0·009). The genetic basis of FusR also differentiated the populations, with chromosomal mutations in fusA predominating in AD (P = 0·049). Analysis revealed that FusR evolved multiple times and via multiple mechanism in the population. Carriage of plasmid-derived qac genes, which have been associated with reduced susceptibility to antiseptics, was eight times more frequent in AD (P = 0·016). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that strong selective pressure drives the emergence and maintenance of specific resistances in AD

WiseEye: next generation expandable and programmable camera trap platform for wildlife research

Funding: The work was supported by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1. The work of S. Newey and RJI was part funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS). Details published as an Open Source Toolkit, PLOS Journals at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169758Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A primary cutaneous adenoid-cystic carcinoma in a young woman. Differential diagnosis and clinical implications

Primary cutaneous adenoid-cystic carcinoma (PCACC) is a rare slow-growing neoplasm of disputed histogenesis characterized by a cribriform pattern at histology and local aggressive behaviour. Up to date about 60 cases of PCACC have been reported in the literature. This tumour is most common in the scalp, affects middle-aged and older individuals (mean age 59) and has predilection for women. We describe an unexpected case of PCACC in a 32-years-old woman referred to our clinic for a subcutaneous nodule in the scalp showing a slow growth and indolent course. The differential diagnosis and the clinical management of this PCACC patient, successfully treated with a wide local excision, are presented and discussed

Increased ventral striatal volume in college-aged binge drinkers

BACKGROUND Binge drinking is a serious public health issue associated with cognitive, physiological, and anatomical differences from healthy individuals. No studies, however, have reported subcortical grey matter differences in this population. To address this, we compared the grey matter volumes of college-age binge drinkers and healthy controls, focusing on the ventral striatum, hippocampus and amygdala. METHOD T1-weighted images of 19 binge drinkers and 19 healthy volunteers were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. Structural data were also covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Cluster-extent threshold and small volume corrections were both used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS Binge drinkers had significantly larger ventral striatal grey matter volumes compared to controls. There were no between group differences in hippocampal or amygdalar volume. Ventral striatal, amygdalar, and hippocampal volumes were also negatively related to AUDIT scores across groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings stand in contrast to the lower ventral striatal volume previously observed in more severe forms of alcohol use disorders, suggesting that college-age binge drinkers may represent a distinct population from those groups. These findings may instead represent early sequelae, compensatory effects of repeated binge and withdrawal, or an endophenotypic risk factor

Evidence for distinct coastal and offshore communities of bottlenose dolphins in the north east Atlantic.

Bottlenose dolphin stock structure in the northeast Atlantic remains poorly understood. However, fine scale photo-id data have shown that populations can comprise multiple overlapping social communities. These social communities form structural elements of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) [corrected] populations, reflecting specific ecological and behavioural adaptations to local habitats. We investigated the social structure of bottlenose dolphins in the waters of northwest Ireland and present evidence for distinct inshore and offshore social communities. Individuals of the inshore community had a coastal distribution restricted to waters within 3 km from shore. These animals exhibited a cohesive, fission-fusion social organisation, with repeated resightings within the research area, within a larger coastal home range. The offshore community comprised one or more distinct groups, found significantly further offshore (>4 km) than the inshore animals. In addition, dorsal fin scarring patterns differed significantly between inshore and offshore communities with individuals of the offshore community having more distinctly marked dorsal fins. Specifically, almost half of the individuals in the offshore community (48%) had characteristic stereotyped damage to the tip of the dorsal fin, rarely recorded in the inshore community (7%). We propose that this characteristic is likely due to interactions with pelagic fisheries. Social segregation and scarring differences found here indicate that the distinct communities are likely to be spatially and behaviourally segregated. Together with recent genetic evidence of distinct offshore and coastal population structures, this provides evidence for bottlenose dolphin inshore/offshore community differentiation in the northeast Atlantic. We recommend that social communities should be considered as fundamental units for the management and conservation of bottlenose dolphins and their habitat specialisations

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours

Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions

Conservation of pattern as a tool for inference on spatial snapshots in ecological data

As climate change and other anthropogenic factors increase the uncertainty of vegetation ecosystem persistence, the ability to rapidly assess their dynamics is paramount. Vegetation and sessile communities form a variety of striking regular spatial patterns such as stripes, spots and labyrinths, that have been used as indicators of ecosystem current state, through qualitative analysis of simple models. Here we describe a new method for rigorous quantitative estimation of biological parameters from a single spatial snapshot. We formulate a synthetic likelihood through consideration of the expected change in the correlation structure of the spatial pattern. This then allows Bayesian inference to be performed on the model parameters, which includes providing parameter uncertainty. The method was validated against simulated data and then applied to real data in the form of aerial photographs of seagrass banding. The inferred parameters were found to be able to reproduce similar patterns to those observed and able to detect strength of spatial competition, competition-induced mortality and the local range of reproduction. This technique points to a way of performing rapid inference of spatial competition and ecological stability from a single spatial snapshots of sessile communities

Durable Responses and Low Toxicity After Fast Off-Rate CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Therapy in Adults With Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

PURPOSE Prognosis for adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is poor, and there are currently no licensed CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapeutics. We developed a novel second-generation CD19-CAR (CAT19-41BB-Z) with a fast off rate, designed for more physiologic T-cell activation to reduce toxicity and improve engraftment. We describe the multicenter phase I ALLCAR19 (NCT02935257) study of autologous CAT19-41BB-Z CAR T cells (AUTO1) in relapsed or refractory (r/r) adult B-ALL. METHODS Patients age ≥ 16 years with r/r B-ALL were eligible. Primary outcomes were toxicity and manufacturing feasibility. Secondary outcomes were depth of response at 1 and 3 months, persistence of CAR-T, incidence and duration of hypogammaglobulinemia and B-cell aplasia, and event-free survival and overall survival at 1 and 2 years. RESULTS Twenty-five patients were leukapheresed, 24 products were manufactured, and 20 patients were infused with AUTO1. The median age was 41.5 years; 25% had prior blinatumomab, 50% prior inotuzumab ozogamicin, and 65% prior allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. At the time of preconditioning, 45% had ≥ 50% bone marrow blasts. No patients experienced ≥ grade 3 cytokine release syndrome; 3 of 20 (15%) experienced grade 3 neurotoxicity that resolved to ≤ grade 1 within 72 hours with steroids. Seventeen of 20 (85%) achieved minimal residual disease–negative complete response at month 1, and 3 of 17 underwent allogeneic stem-cell transplantation while in remission. The event-free survival at 6 and 12 months was 68.3% (42.4-84.4) and 48.3% (23.1%-69.7%), respectively. High-level expansion (Cmax 127,152 copies/µg genomic DNA) and durable CAR-T persistence were observed with B-cell aplasia ongoing in 15 of 20 patients at last follow-up. CONCLUSION AUTO1 demonstrates a tolerable safety profile, high remission rates, and excellent persistence in r/r adult B-ALL. Preliminary data support further development of AUTO1 as a stand-alone treatment for r/r adult B-ALL

An Investigation into the Poor Survival of an Endangered Coho Salmon Population

To investigate reasons for the decline of an endangered population of coho salmon (O. kisutch), 190 smolts were acoustically tagged during three consecutive years and their movements and survival were estimated using the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking project (POST) array. Median travel times of the Thompson River coho salmon smolts to the lower Fraser River sub-array were 16, 12 and 10 days during 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. Few smolts were recorded on marine arrays. Freshwater survival rates of the tagged smolts during their downstream migration were 0.0–5.6% (0.0–9.0% s.e.) in 2004, 7.0% (6.2% s.e.) in 2005, and 50.9% (18.6% s.e.) in 2006. Overall smolt-to-adult return rates exhibited a similar pattern, which suggests that low freshwater survival rates of out-migrating smolts may be a primary reason for the poor conservation status of this endangered coho salmon population