Experimental study of pH effect on uranium (UVI) particle formation and transport through quartz sand in alkaline 0.1 M sodium chloride solutions

A thorough understanding of the aqueous uranium VI (UVI) chemistry in alkaline, sodium containing solutions is imperative to address a wide range of critical challenges in environmental engineering, including nuclear waste management. The aim of the present study was to characterise experimentally in more detail the control of pH on the removal of UVI from aqueous alkaline solutions through particle formation and on subsequent transport through porous media. We conducted first static batch experiments in the pH range between 10.5 and 12.5 containing 10 ppm UVI in 0.1 M NaCl solutions and examined the particles formed using filtration, dynamic light scattering, transition electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. We found that at pH 10.5 and 11.5, between 75 and 96 % of UVI was removed from the solutions as clarkeite and studtite over a period of 48 h, forming particles with hydrodynamic diameters of 640 ± 111 nm and 837 ± 142 nm, respectively and representing aggregates of 10′s nm sized crystals randomly orientated. At pH 12.5, the formation of particles >0.2 μm became insignificant and no UVI was removed from solution. The mobility of UVI in these solutions was further studied using column experiments through quartz sand. We found that at pH 10.5 and 11.5, UVI containing particles were immobilised near the column inlet, likely due physical immobilisation of the particles (particle straining). At pH 12.5, however, UVI quantitatively eluted from the columns in the filter fraction <0.2 μm. The findings of our study reinforce a strong control of solution pH on particle size and U removal in alkaline solutions and subsequently on mobility of U through quartz porous media

Clinical features of culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective chart review describes the epidemiology and clinical features of 40 patients with culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Patients with positive M. pneumoniae cultures from respiratory specimens from January 1997 through December 1998 were identified through the Microbiology records. Charts of patients were reviewed. RESULTS: 40 patients were identified, 33 (82.5%) of whom required admission. Most infections (92.5%) were community-acquired. The infection affected all age groups but was most common in infants (32.5%) and pre-school children (22.5%). It occurred year-round but was most common in the fall (35%) and spring (30%). More than three-quarters of patients (77.5%) had comorbidities. Twenty-four isolates (60%) were associated with pneumonia, 14 (35%) with upper respiratory tract infections, and 2 (5%) with bronchiolitis. Cough (82.5%), fever (75%), and malaise (58.8%) were the most common symptoms, and crepitations (60%), and wheezes (40%) were the most common signs. Most patients with pneumonia had crepitations (79.2%) but only 25% had bronchial breathing. Immunocompromised patients were more likely than non-immunocompromised patients to present with pneumonia (8/9 versus 16/31, P = 0.05). Of the 24 patients with pneumonia, 14 (58.3%) had uneventful recovery, 4 (16.7%) recovered following some complications, 3 (12.5%) died because of M pneumoniae infection, and 3 (12.5%) died due to underlying comorbidities. The 3 patients who died of M pneumoniae pneumonia had other comorbidities. CONCLUSION: our results were similar to published data except for the finding that infections were more common in infants and preschool children and that the mortality rate of pneumonia in patients with comorbidities was high

Laparoscopic resection of a lymphangiomatous cyst of the colon: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Lymphangiomatous cysts are submucosal masses that are rarely found in the gastrointestinal tract and more often in the neck, oral cavity, and skin. These cysts are benign tumors and mostly clinically silent. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding. Their pathogenesis remains unclear.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>During a routine ultrasound examination of a Caucasian 25-year-old woman, a structure that raised our suspicions of an ovarian cyst was found. MRI showed a 4.5 cm cystic lesion in the cecal region. Laparoscopic exploration revealed unexpected contact with the ascending colon. The cyst, including its base and of portion of the colon, was resected laparoscopically. The histological examination revealed cystic lymphangioma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Lymphangiomatous cysts of the colon are very rare lesions. Although their pathology is benign, the recommended treatment is resection, which can be performed with minimal invasiveness.</p

Regulation of mammary gland branching morphogenesis by the extracellular matrix and its remodeling enzymes.

A considerable body of research indicates that mammary gland branching morphogenesis is dependent, in part, on the extracellular matrix (ECM), ECM-receptors, such as integrins and other ECM receptors, and ECM-degrading enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). There is some evidence that these ECM cues affect one or more of the following processes: cell survival, polarity, proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and migration. Both three-dimensional culture models and genetic manipulations of the mouse mammary gland have been used to study the signaling pathways that affect these processes. However, the precise mechanisms of ECM-directed mammary morphogenesis are not well understood. Mammary morphogenesis involves epithelial 'invasion' of adipose tissue, a process akin to invasion by breast cancer cells, although the former is a highly regulated developmental process. How these morphogenic pathways are integrated in the normal gland and how they become dysregulated and subverted in the progression of breast cancer also remain largely unanswered questions

Enhanced NFκB and AP-1 transcriptional activity associated with antiestrogen resistant breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Signaling pathways that converge on two different transcription factor complexes, NFκB and AP-1, have been identified in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers resistant to the antiestrogen, tamoxifen. METHODS: Two cell line models of tamoxifen-resistant ER-positive breast cancer, MCF7/HER2 and BT474, showing increased AP-1 and NFκB DNA-binding and transcriptional activities, were studied to compare tamoxifen effects on NFκB and AP-1 regulated reporter genes relative to tamoxifen-sensitive MCF7 cells. The model cell lines were treated with the IKK inhibitor parthenolide (PA) or the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (PS341), alone and in combination with tamoxifen. Expression microarray data available from 54 UCSF node-negative ER-positive breast cancer cases with known clinical outcome were used to search for potential genes signifying upregulated NFκB and AP-1 transcriptional activity in association with tamoxifen resistance. The association of these genes with patient outcome was further evaluated using node-negative ER-positive breast cancer cases identified from three other published data sets (Rotterdam, n = 209; Amsterdam, n = 68; Basel, n = 108), each having different patient age and adjuvant tamoxifen treatment characteristics. RESULTS: Doses of parthenolide and bortezomib capable of sensitizing the two endocrine resistant breast cancer models to tamoxifen were capable of suppressing NFκB and AP-1 regulated gene expression in combination with tamoxifen and also increased ER recruitment of the transcriptional co-repressor, NCoR. Transcript profiles from the UCSF breast cancer cases revealed three NFκB and AP-1 upregulated genes – cyclin D1, uPA and VEGF – capable of dichotomizing node-negative ER-positive cases into early and late relapsing subsets despite adjuvant tamoxfien therapy and most prognostic for younger age cases. Across the four independent sets of node-negative ER-positive breast cancer cases (UCSF, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Basel), high expression of all three NFκB and AP-1 upregulated genes was associated with earliest metastatic relapse. CONCLUSION: Altogether, these findings implicate increased NFκB and AP-1 transcriptional responses with tamoxifen resistant breast cancer and early metastatic relapse, especially in younger patients. These findings also suggest that agents capable of preventing NFκB and AP-1 gene activation may prove useful in restoring the endocrine responsiveness of such high-risk ER-positive breast cancers

Proteotypic classification of spontaneous and transgenic mammary neoplasms

INTRODUCTION: Mammary tumors in mice are categorized by using morphologic and architectural criteria. Immunolabeling for terminal differentiation markers was compared among a variety of mouse mammary neoplasms because expression of terminal differentiation markers, and especially of keratins, provides important information on the origin of neoplastic cells and their degree of differentiation. METHODS: Expression patterns for terminal differentiation markers were used to characterize tumor types and to study tumor progression in transgenic mouse models of mammary neoplasia (mice overexpressing Neu (Erbb2), Hras, Myc, Notch4, SV40-TAg, Tgfa, and Wnt1), in spontaneous mammary carcinomas, and in mammary neoplasms associated with infection by the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV). RESULTS: On the basis of the expression of terminal differentiation markers, three types of neoplasm were identified: first, simple carcinomas composed exclusively of cells with a luminal phenotype are characteristic of neoplasms arising in mice transgenic for Neu, Hras, Myc, Notch4, and SV40-TAg; second, 'complex carcinomas' displaying luminal and myoepithelial differentiation are characteristic of type P tumors arising in mice transgenic for Wnt1, neoplasms arising in mice infected by the MMTV, and spontaneous adenosquamous carcinomas; and third, 'carcinomas with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)' are a characteristic feature of tumor progression in Hras-, Myc-, and SV40-TAg-induced mammary neoplasms and PL/J and SJL/J mouse strains, and display de novo expression of myoepithelial and mesenchymal cell markers. In sharp contrast, EMT was not detected in papillary adenocarcinomas arising in BALB/cJ mice, spontaneous adenoacanthomas, neoplasms associated with MMTV-infection, or in neoplasms arising in mice transgenic for Neu and Wnt1. CONCLUSIONS: Immunohistochemical profiles of complex neoplasms are consistent with a stem cell origin, whereas simple carcinomas might originate from a cell committed to the luminal lineage. In addition, these results suggest that the initiating oncogenic events determine the morphologic features associated with cancer progression because EMT is observed only in certain types of neoplasm

Early predictors of impaired social functioning in male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognition impairments but its basic disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Progress has been impeded by the absence of animal models that manifest behavioral phenotypes relevant to ASD. Rhesus monkeys are an ideal model organism to address this barrier to progress. Like humans, rhesus monkeys are highly social, possess complex social cognition abilities, and exhibit pronounced individual differences in social functioning. Moreover, we have previously shown that Low-Social (LS) vs. High-Social (HS) adult male monkeys exhibit lower social motivation and poorer social skills. It is not known, however, when these social deficits first emerge. The goals of this study were to test whether juvenile LS and HS monkeys differed as infants in their ability to process social information, and whether infant social abilities predicted later social classification (i.e., LS vs. HS), in order to facilitate earlier identification of monkeys at risk for poor social outcomes. Social classification was determined for N = 25 LS and N = 25 HS male monkeys that were 1–4 years of age. As part of a colony-wide assessment, these monkeys had previously undergone, as infants, tests of face recognition memory and the ability to respond appropriately to conspecific social signals. Monkeys later identified as LS vs. HS showed impairments in recognizing familiar vs. novel faces and in the species-typical adaptive ability to gaze avert to scenes of conspecific aggression. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression using infant social ability measures perfectly predicted later social classification of all N = 50 monkeys. These findings suggest that an early capacity to process important social information may account for differences in rhesus monkeys’ motivation and competence to establish and maintain social relationships later in life. Further development of this model will facilitate identification of novel biological targets for intervention to improve social outcomes in at-risk young monkeys

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration