Magnetoacoustic Portals and the Basal Heating of the Solar Chromosphere

We show that inclined magnetic field lines at the boundaries of large-scale convective cells (supergranules) provide "portals" through which low-frequency ( 5 mHz) acoustic waves, which are believed to provide the dominant source of wave heating of the chromosphere. This result opens up the possibility that low-frequency magnetoacoustic waves provide a significant source of energy for balancing the radiative losses of the ambient solar chromosphere

Differences in Presentation and Outcomes between Children with Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Children with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Report from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry Study Group

Research comparing the survival of children with familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDCM) to that of children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) has produced conflicting results

In-Space Assembly Capability Assessment for Potential Human Exploration and Science Applications

Human missions to Mars present several major challenges that must be overcome, including delivering multiple large mass and volume elements, keeping the crew safe and productive, meeting cost constraints, and ensuring a sustainable campaign. Traditional methods for executing human Mars missions minimize or eliminate in-space assembly, which provides a narrow range of options for addressing these challenges and limits the types of missions that can be performed. This paper discusses recent work to evaluate how the inclusion of in-space assembly in space mission architectural concepts could provide novel solutions to address these challenges by increasing operational flexibility, robustness, risk reduction, crew health and safety, and sustainability. A hierarchical framework is presented to characterize assembly strategies, assembly tasks, and the required capabilities to assemble mission systems in space. The framework is used to identify general mission system design considerations and assembly system characteristics by assembly strategy. These general approaches are then applied to identify potential in-space assembly applications to address each challenge. Through this process, several focus areas were identified where applications of in-space assembly could affect multiple challenges. Each focus area was developed to identify functions, potential assembly solutions and operations, key architectural trades, and potential considerations and implications of implementation. This paper helps to identify key areas to investigate were potentially significant gains in addressing the challenges with human missions to Mars may be realized, and creates a foundation on which to further develop and analyze in-space assembly concepts and assembly-based architectures

Anti-cancer effects and mechanism of actions of aspirin analogues in the treatment of glioma cancer

INTRODUCTION: In the past 25 years only modest advancements in glioma treatment have been made, with patient prognosis and median survival time following diagnosis only increasing from 3 to 7 months. A substantial body of clinical and preclinical evidence has suggested a role for aspirin in the treatment of cancer with multiple mechanisms of action proposed including COX 2 inhibition, down regulation of EGFR expression, and NF-κB signaling affecting Bcl-2 expression. However, with serious side effects such as stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding, aspirin analogues with improved potency and side effect profiles are being developed. METHOD: Effects on cell viability following 24 hr incubation of four aspirin derivatives (PN508, 517, 526 and 529) were compared to cisplatin, aspirin and di-aspirin in four glioma cell lines (U87 MG, SVG P12, GOS – 3, and 1321N1), using the PrestoBlue assay, establishing IC50 and examining the time course of drug effects. RESULTS: All compounds were found to decrease cell viability in a concentration and time dependant manner. Significantly, the analogue PN517 (IC50 2mM) showed approximately a twofold increase in potency when compared to aspirin (3.7mM) and cisplatin (4.3mM) in U87 cells, with similar increased potency in SVG P12 cells. Other analogues demonstrated similar potency to aspirin and cisplatin. CONCLUSION: These results support the further development and characterization of novel NSAID derivatives for the treatment of glioma

Proteomics and in silico approaches to extend understanding of the glutathione transferase superfamily of the tropical liver fluke Fasciola gigantica

Fasciolosis is an important foodborne, zoonotic disease of livestock and humans, with global annual health and economic losses estimated at several billion US$. Fasciola hepatica is the major species in temperate regions, while F. gigantica dominates in the tropics. In the absence of commercially available vaccines to control fasciolosis, increasing reports of resistance to current chemotherapeutic strategies and the spread of fasciolosis into new areas, new functional genomics approaches are being used to identify potential new drug targets and vaccine candidates. The glutathione transferase (GST) superfamily is both a candidate drug and vaccine target. This study reports the identification of a putatively novel Sigma class GST, present in a water-soluble cytosol extract from the tropical liver fluke F. gigantica. The GST was cloned and expressed as an enzymically active recombinant protein. This GST shares a greater identity with the human schistosomiasis GST vaccine currently at Phase II clinical trials than previously discovered F. gigantica GSTs, stimulating interest in its immuno-protective properties. In addition, in silico analysis of the GST superfamily of both F. gigantica and F. hepatica has revealed an additional Mu class GST, Omega class GSTs, and for the first time, a Zeta class member

Cardiac biomarkers in pediatric cardiomyopathy: Study design and recruitment results from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry

Background: Cardiomyopathies are a rare cause of pediatric heart disease, but they are one of the leading causes of heart failure admissions, sudden death, and need for heart transplant in childhood. Reports from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry (PCMR) have shown that almost 40% of children presenting with symptomatic cardiomyopathy either die or undergo heart transplant within 2 years of presentation. Little is known regarding circulating biomarkers as predictors of outcome in pediatric cardiomyopathy. Study Design: The Cardiac Biomarkers in Pediatric Cardiomyopathy (PCM Biomarkers) study is a multi-center prospective study conducted by the PCMR investigators to identify serum biomarkers for predicting outcome in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Patients less than 21 years of age with either DCM or HCM were eligible. Those with DCM were enrolled into cohorts based on time from cardiomyopathy diagnosis: categorized as new onset or chronic. Clinical endpoints included sudden death and progressive heart failure. Results: There were 288 children diagnosed at a mean age of 7.2±6.3 years who enrolled in the PCM Biomarkers Study at a median time from diagnosis to enrollment of 1.9 years. There were 80 children enrolled in the new onset DCM cohort, defined as diagnosis at or 12 months prior to enrollment. The median age at diagnosis for the new onset DCM was 1.7 years and median time from diagnosis to enrollment was 0.1 years. There were 141 children enrolled with either chronic DCM or chronic HCM, defined as children ≥2 years from diagnosis to enrollment. Among children with chronic cardiomyopathy, median age at diagnosis was 3.4 years and median time from diagnosis to enrollment was 4.8 years. Conclusion: The PCM Biomarkers study is evaluating the predictive value of serum biomarkers to aid in the prognosis and management of children with DCM and HCM. The results will provide valuable information where data are lacking in children. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01873976 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01873976?term=PCM+Biomarker&rank=

Btk regulates macrophage polarization in response to lipopolysaccharide

Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a strong inducer of inflammation and does so by inducing polarization of macrophages to the classic inflammatory M1 population. Given the role of Btk as a critical signal transducer downstream of TLR4, we investigated its role in M1/M2 induction. In Btk deficient (Btk (−\−)) mice we observed markedly reduced recruitment of M1 macrophages following intraperitoneal administration of LPS. Ex vivo analysis demonstrated an impaired ability of Btk(−/−) macrophages to polarize into M1 macrophages, instead showing enhanced induction of immunosuppressive M2-associated markers in response to M1 polarizing stimuli, a finding accompanied by reduced phosphorylation of STAT1 and enhanced STAT6 phosphorylation. In addition to STAT activation, M1 and M2 polarizing signals modulate the expression of inflammatory genes via differential activation of transcription factors and regulatory proteins, including NF-κB and SHIP1. In keeping with a critical role for Btk in macrophage polarization, we observed reduced levels of NF-κB p65 and Akt phosphorylation, as well as reduced induction of the M1 associated marker iNOS in Btk(−/−) macrophages in response to M1 polarizing stimuli. Additionally enhanced expression of SHIP1, a key negative regulator of macrophage polarisation, was observed in Btk(−/−) macrophages in response to M2 polarizing stimuli. Employing classic models of allergic M2 inflammation, treatment of Btk (−/−) mice with either Schistosoma mansoni eggs or chitin resulted in increased recruitment of M2 macrophages and induction of M2-associated genes. This demonstrates an enhanced M2 skew in the absence of Btk, thus promoting the development of allergic inflammation

Genetic Causes of Cardiomyopathy in Children: First Results From the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Genes Study

Pediatric cardiomyopathy is a genetically heterogeneous disease with substantial morbidity and mortality. Current guidelines recommend genetic testing in children with hypertrophic, dilated, or restrictive cardiomyopathy, but practice variations exist. Robust data on clinical testing practices and diagnostic yield in children are lacking. This study aimed to identify the genetic causes of cardiomyopathy in children and to investigate clinical genetic testing practices. Methods and Results Children with familial or idiopathic cardiomyopathy were enrolled from 14 institutions in North America. Probands underwent exome sequencing. Rare sequence variants in 37 known cardiomyopathy genes were assessed for pathogenicity using consensus clinical interpretation guidelines. Of the 152 enrolled probands, 41% had a family history of cardiomyopathy. Of 81 (53%) who had undergone clinical genetic testing for cardiomyopathy before enrollment, 39 (48%) had a positive result. Genetic testing rates varied from 0% to 97% between sites. A positive family history and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy subtype were associated with increased likelihood of genetic testing (P=0.005 and P=0.03, respectively). A molecular cause was identified in an additional 21% of the 63 children who did not undergo clinical testing, with positive results identified in both familial and idiopathic cases and across all phenotypic subtypes. Conclusions A definitive molecular genetic diagnosis can be made in a substantial proportion of children for whom the cause and heritable nature of their cardiomyopathy was previously unknown. Practice variations in genetic testing are great and should be reduced. Improvements can be made in comprehensive cardiac screening and predictive genetic testing in first-degree relatives. Overall, our results support use of routine genetic testing in cases of both familial and idiopathic cardiomyopathy