Measurement of the top quark mass using the matrix element technique in dilepton final states

We present a measurement of the top quark mass in pp¯ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The data were collected by the D0 experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.7  fb−1. The matrix element technique is applied to tt¯ events in the final state containing leptons (electrons or muons) with high transverse momenta and at least two jets. The calibration of the jet energy scale determined in the lepton+jets final state of tt¯ decays is applied to jet energies. This correction provides a substantial reduction in systematic uncertainties. We obtain a top quark mass of mt=173.93±1.84  GeV

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Bioinformatics and Functional Analysis of an Entamoeba histolytica Mannosyltransferase Necessary for Parasite Complement Resistance and Hepatical Infection

The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) moiety is one of the ways by which many cell surface proteins, such as Gal/GalNAc lectin and proteophosphoglycans (PPGs) attach to the surface of Entamoeba histolytica, the agent of human amoebiasis. It is believed that these GPI-anchored molecules are involved in parasite adhesion to cells, mucus and the extracellular matrix. We identified an E. histolytica homolog of PIG-M, which is a mannosyltransferase required for synthesis of GPI. The sequence and structural analysis led to the conclusion that EhPIG-M1 is composed of one signal peptide and 11 transmembrane domains with two large intra luminal loops, one of which contains the DXD motif, involved in the enzymatic catalysis and conserved in most glycosyltransferases. Expressing a fragment of the EhPIG-M1 encoding gene in antisense orientation generated parasite lines diminished in EhPIG-M1 levels; these lines displayed reduced GPI production, were highly sensitive to complement and were dramatically inhibited for amoebic abscess formation. The data suggest a role for GPI surface anchored molecules in the survival of E. histolytica during pathogenesis

Antifungal Activity of Microbial Secondary Metabolites

Secondary metabolites are well known for their ability to impede other microorganisms. Reanalysis of a screen of natural products using the Caenorhabditis elegans-Candida albicans infection model identified twelve microbial secondary metabolites capable of conferring an increase in survival to infected nematodes. In this screen, the two compound treatments conferring the highest survival rates were members of the epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) family of fungal secondary metabolites, acetylgliotoxin and a derivative of hyalodendrin. The abundance of fungal secondary metabolites indentified in this screen prompted further studies investigating the interaction between opportunistic pathogenic fungi and Aspergillus fumigatus, because of the ability of the fungus to produce a plethora of secondary metabolites, including the well studied ETP gliotoxin. We found that cell-free supernatant of A. fumigatus was able to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans through the production of a secreted product. Comparative studies between a wild-type and an A. fumigatus ΔgliP strain unable to synthesize gliotoxin demonstrate that this secondary metabolite is the major factor responsible for the inhibition. Although toxic to organisms, gliotoxin conferred an increase in survival to C. albicans-infected C. elegans in a dose dependent manner. As A. fumigatus produces gliotoxin in vivo, we propose that in addition to being a virulence factor, gliotoxin may also provide an advantage to A. fumigatus when infecting a host that harbors other opportunistic fungi

Human serum-derived hydroxy long-chain fatty acids exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Circulating levels of novel long-chain hydroxy fatty acids (called GTAs) were recently discovered in the serum of healthy subjects which were shown to be reduced in subjects with colorectal cancer (CRC), independent of tumor burden or disease stage. The levels of GTAs were subsequently observed to exhibit an inverse association with age in the general population. The current work investigates the biological activity of these fatty acids by evaluating the effects of enriched human serum extracts on cell growth and inflammation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>GTAs were extracted from commercially available bulk human serum and then chromatographically separated into enriched (GTA-positive) and depleted (GTA-negative) fractions. SW620, MCF7 and LPS stimulated RAW264.7 cells were treated with various concentrations of the GTA-positive and GTA-negative extracts, and the effects on cell growth and inflammation determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Enriched fractions resulted in poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage, suppression of NFκB, induction of IκBα, and reduction in NOS2 mRNA transcript levels. In RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells, incubation with enriched fractions prior to treatment with LPS blocked the induction of several pro-inflammatory markers including nitric oxide, TNFα, IL-1β, NOS2 and COX2.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show that human serum extracts enriched with endogenous long-chain hydroxy fatty acids possess anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity. These findings support a hypothesis that the reduction of these metabolites with age may result in a compromised ability to defend against uncontrolled cell growth and inflammation, and could therefore represent a significant risk for the development of CRC.</p

Properties of Z±c(3900) produced in pp¯ collisions

We study the production of the exotic charged charmoniumlike state Z ± c ( 3900 ) in p ¯ p collisions through the sequential process ψ ( 4260 ) → Z ± c ( 3900 ) π ∓ , Z ± c ( 3900 ) → J / ψ π ± . Using the subsample of candidates originating from semi-inclusive weak decays of b -flavored hadrons, we measure the invariant mass and natural width to be M = 3902.6 + 5.2 − 5.0 ( stat ) + 3.3 − 1.4 ( syst )     MeV and Γ = 3 2 + 28 − 21 ( stat ) + 26 − 7 ( syst )     MeV , respectively. We search for prompt production of the Z ± c ( 3900 ) through the same sequential process. No significant signal is observed, and we set an upper limit of 0.70 at the 95% credibility level on the ratio of prompt production to the production via b -hadron decays. The study is based on 10.4     f b − 1 of p ¯ p collision data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider

Studies of X(3872) and ψ(2S) production in p\bar{p}over-bar collisions at 1.96 TeV

We present various properties of the production of the X (3872) and ψ(2S) states based on 10.4fb‾¹ collected by the D0 experiment in Tevatron p\bar{p} collisions at \sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV. For both states, we measure the nonprompt fraction fNP of the inclusive production rate due to decays of b-flavored hadrons. We find the fNP values systematically below those obtained at the LHC. The fNP fraction for ψ(2S) increases with transverse momentum, whereas for the X(3872) it is constant within large uncertainties, in agreement with the LHC results. The ratio of prompt to nonprompt ψ(2S) production, (1 - fNP)/fNP, decreases only slightly going from the Tevatron to the LHC, but for the X(3872), this ratio decreases by a factor of about 3. We test the soft-pion signature of the X(3872) modeled as a weakly bound charm-meson pair by studying the production of the X(3872) as a function of the kinetic energy of the X(3872) and the pion in the X(3872) π center-of-mass frame. For a subsample consistent with prompt production, the results are incompatible with a strong enhancement in the production of the X(3872) at the small kinetic energy of the X(3872) and the π in the X(3872)π center-of-mass frame expected for the X + soft-pion production mechanism. For events consistent with being due to decays of hadrons, there is no significant evidence for the soft-pion effect, but its presence at the level expected for the binding energy of 0.17 MeV and the momentum scale Λ = M(π) is not ruled out