An Experimental Investigation of Electrical Conductivities in Biopolymers

Tuberculosis is a devastating infectious disease causing many deaths worldwide. Recent investigations have implicated neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the host response to tuberculosis. The aim of the current study was to obtain evidence for NETs release in the circulation during human tuberculosis. For this we measured the plasma concentrations of nucleosomes in conjunction with neutrophil elastase, in 64 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 32 healthy controls. Patients with active tuberculosis had elevated plasma levels of nucleosomes and elastase when compared with local healthy blood donors. Furthermore nucleosome and elastase levels showed a positive correlation. These findings provide the first evidence for the release of NETs in the circulation of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis

The impact of point mutations in the human androgen receptor : classification of mutations on the basis of transcriptional activity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The impact of donor policies in Europe: a steady increase, but not everywhere

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transplantable organs are scarce everywhere. Therefore, countries have developed policies to support the efficient use of potential donors. Nevertheless, the shortage of organs remains. Were these policies in vain? The aim of this study is to assess the impact of donor policies on donor procurement in 10 Western European countries from 1995 to 2005.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>To assess the impact of the donor policies we studied the conversion of potential donors into effectuated donors. 80% of the donors died from CVAs or a (traffic) accident. We considered these mortality rates to be a good proxy for potential donors. Here we call the conversion of potential donors into actual donors 'the donor efficiency rate by proxy'.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mortality rates for CVA and (traffic) accidents have decreased in the countries under study. At the same time, in most countries the donor efficiency rates have steadily increased. The variance in donor efficiency rates between countries has also increased from 1995 to 2005. Four countries introduced a new consent system or changed their existing system, without (visible) long-term effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The overall increase in donor efficiency means that the efforts to improve donor policies have paid off. However, substantial differences between countries were found. The success of donor policies in terms of the number of absolute donors is blurred by the success of policies on traffic safety and CVA treatment. It remains unclear which specific policy measures are responsible for the increase in donor efficiency rates. This increase is not related to having a presumed consent system. Furthermore, an analysis of countries that introduced a new consent system or changed their system showed no effect on donor efficiency.</p

Neural network generated parametrizations of deeply virtual Compton form factors

We have generated a parametrization of the Compton form factor (CFF) H based on data from deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) using neural networks. This approach offers an essentially model-independent fitting procedure, which provides realistic uncertainties. Furthermore, it facilitates propagation of uncertainties from experimental data to CFFs. We assumed dominance of the CFF H and used HERMES data on DVCS off unpolarized protons. We predict the beam charge-spin asymmetry for a proton at the kinematics of the COMPASS II experiment.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Galactic Center with IceCube-79

The Milky Way is expected to be embedded in a halo of dark matter particles, with the highest density in the central region, and decreasing density with the halo-centric radius. Dark matter might be indirectly detectable at Earth through a flux of stable particles generated in dark matter annihilations and peaked in the direction of the Galactic Center. We present a search for an excess flux of muon (anti-) neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Center using the cubic-kilometer-sized IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole. There, the Galactic Center is always seen above the horizon. Thus, new and dedicated veto techniques against atmospheric muons are required to make the southern hemisphere accessible for IceCube. We used 319.7 live-days of data from IceCube operating in its 79-string configuration during 2010 and 2011. No neutrino excess was found and the final result is compatible with the background. We present upper limits on the self-annihilation cross-section, \left, for WIMP masses ranging from 30 GeV up to 10 TeV, assuming cuspy (NFW) and flat-cored (Burkert) dark matter halo profiles, reaching down to $\simeq 4 \cdot 10^{-24}$ cm$^3$ s$^{-1}$, and $\simeq 2.6 \cdot 10^{-23}$ cm$^3$ s$^{-1}$ for the $\nu\overline{\nu}$ channel, respectively.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to EPJ-C, added references, extended limit overvie

A method to assess the clinical significance of unclassified variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes based on cancer family history

Introduction Unclassified variants (UVs) in the BRCA1/BRCA2 genes are a frequent problem in counseling breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer families. Information about cancer family history is usually available, but has rarely been used to evaluate UVs. The aim of the present study was to identify which is the best combination of clinical parameters that can predict whether a UV is deleterious, to be used for the classification of UVs. Methods We developed logistic regression models with the best combination of clinical features that distinguished a positive control of BRCA pathogenic variants (115 families) from a negative control population of BRCA variants initially classified as UVs and later considered neutral (38 families). Results The models included a combination of BRCAPRO scores, Myriad scores, number of ovarian cancers in the family, the age at diagnosis, and the number of persons with ovarian tumors and/ or breast tumors. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were respectively 0.935 and 0.836 for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 models. For each model, the minimum receiver operating characteristic distance (respectively 90% and 78% specificity for BRCA1 and BRCA2) was chosen as the cutoff value to predict which UVs are deleterious from a study population of 12 UVs, present in 59 Dutch families. The p. S1655F, p. R1699W, and p. R1699Q variants in BRCA1 and the p. Y2660D, p. R2784Q, and p. R3052W variants in BRCA2 are classified as deleterious according to our models. The predictions of the p. L246V variant in BRCA1 and of the p. Y42C, p. E462G, p. R2888C, and p. R3052Q variants in BRCA2 are in agreement with published information of them being neutral. The p. R2784W variant in BRCA2 remains uncertain. Conclusions The present study shows that these developed models are useful to classify UVs in clinical genetic practic

Emergence and Genetic Variation of Neuraminidase Stalk Deletions in Avian Influenza Viruses

When avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are transmitted from their reservoir hosts (wild waterfowl and shorebirds) to domestic bird species, they undergo genetic changes that have been linked to higher virulence and broader host range. Common genetic AIV modifications in viral proteins of poultry isolates are deletions in the stalk region of the neuraminidase (NA) and additions of glycosylation sites on the hemagglutinin (HA). Even though these NA deletion mutations occur in several AIV subtypes, they have not been analyzed comprehensively. In this study, 4,920 NA nucleotide sequences, 5,596 HA nucleotide and 4,702 HA amino acid sequences were analyzed to elucidate the widespread emergence of NA stalk deletions in gallinaceous hosts, the genetic polymorphism of the deletion patterns and association between the stalk deletions in NA and amino acid variants in HA. Forty-seven different NA stalk deletion patterns were identified in six NA subtypes, N1–N3 and N5–N7. An analysis that controlled for phylogenetic dependence due to shared ancestry showed that NA stalk deletions are statistically correlated with gallinaceous hosts and certain amino acid features on the HA protein. Those HA features included five glycosylation sites, one insertion and one deletion. The correlations between NA stalk deletions and HA features are HA-NA-subtype-specific. Our results demonstrate that stalk deletions in the NA proteins of AIV are relatively common. Understanding the NA stalk deletion and related HA features may be important for vaccine and drug development and could be useful in establishing effective early detection and warning systems for the poultry industry

Neurogenic mechanisms in bladder and bowel ageing

The prevalence of both urinary and faecal incontinence, and also chronic constipation, increases with ageing and these conditions have a major impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Management of bladder and bowel dysfunction in the elderly is currently far from ideal and also carries a significant financial burden. Understanding how these changes occur is thus a major priority in biogerontology. The functions of the bladder and terminal bowel are regulated by complex neuronal networks. In particular neurons of the spinal cord and peripheral ganglia play a key role in regulating micturition and defaecation reflexes as well as promoting continence. In this review we discuss the evidence for ageing-induced neuronal dysfunction that might predispose to neurogenic forms of incontinence in the elderly

Shedding Light on the Galaxy Luminosity Function

From as early as the 1930s, astronomers have tried to quantify the statistical nature of the evolution and large-scale structure of galaxies by studying their luminosity distribution as a function of redshift - known as the galaxy luminosity function (LF). Accurately constructing the LF remains a popular and yet tricky pursuit in modern observational cosmology where the presence of observational selection effects due to e.g. detection thresholds in apparent magnitude, colour, surface brightness or some combination thereof can render any given galaxy survey incomplete and thus introduce bias into the LF. Over the last seventy years there have been numerous sophisticated statistical approaches devised to tackle these issues; all have advantages -- but not one is perfect. This review takes a broad historical look at the key statistical tools that have been developed over this period, discussing their relative merits and highlighting any significant extensions and modifications. In addition, the more generalised methods that have emerged within the last few years are examined. These methods propose a more rigorous statistical framework within which to determine the LF compared to some of the more traditional methods. I also look at how photometric redshift estimations are being incorporated into the LF methodology as well as considering the construction of bivariate LFs. Finally, I review the ongoing development of completeness estimators which test some of the fundamental assumptions going into LF estimators and can be powerful probes of any residual systematic effects inherent magnitude-redshift data.Comment: 95 pages, 23 figures, 3 tables. Now published in The Astronomy & Astrophysics Review. This version: bring in line with A&AR format requirements, also minor typo corrections made, additional citations and higher rez images adde