Self-Consistent Two-Gap Description of MgB₂ Superconductor

A self-consistent two-gap γ-model is used to quantitatively describe several thermodynamic properties of MgB2 superconductor. The superconducting coupling matrix, vij, was obtained from the fitting of the superfluid density in the entire superconducting temperature range. Using this input, temperature-dependent superconducting gaps, specific heat, and upper critical fields were calculated with no adjustable parameters and compared with the experimental data as well as with the first-principles calculations. The observed agreement between fit and data shows that γ-model provides adequate quantitative description of the two-gap superconductivity in MgB2 and may serve as a relatively simple and versatile self-consistent description of the thermodynamic quantities in multi-gap superconductors

International Chronic Ocular Graft-vs-Host-Disease (GVHD) Consensus Group: Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Chronic GVHD (Part I)

The International Chronic Ocular GVHD Consensus Group held 4 working meetings to define new diagnostic metrics for chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). After considering the factors currently used to diagnose chronic ocular GVHD, the Consensus Group identified 4 subjective and objective variables to measure in patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT): OSDI, Schirmer's score without anesthesia, corneal staining, and conjunctival injection. Each variable was scored 0–2 or 0–3, with a maximum composite score of 11. Consideration was also given to the presence or the absence of systemic GVHD. On the basis of their composite score and the presence or absence of systemic GVHD, patients were assigned to one of three diagnostic categories: NO, PROBABLE, or DEFINITE ocular GVHD. New diagnostic criteria for chronic ocular GVHD are presented by the Consensus Group. Validation studies are needed to identify the best combination of the proposed metrics to maximize diagnostic sensitivity and specificity

Review of fisheries and management of sea cucumbers in the Indian Ocean

Several sea cucumber species (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are fished, mostly for export of the dried product for Oriental consumers. Previous studies had analysed the historical trends at the world-scale until 2014. In the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) holothurian fisheries have a long history and several programmes have tried to ameliorate their management. Information has been recently gathered through a questionnaire and access to the most recent, yet unpublished available data (2015 to 2021) from different countries, through the evaluation of catches and/or processed product, present management systems, the imports of beche de mer and other products from Indian Ocean (IO) countries into the major market hub of Hong Kong SAR, and the Food and Agricuture Organisation (FAO) yearly statistics. The results are first presented for WIO countries, highlighting recent improvements in management. Imports from 16 WIO countries into the Hong Kong market (2017-2020 data) indicate the importance of the hub. The FAO world statistics are used to present the changes for the last few years, concentrating on the WIO countries. The recent trends show that demand for holothurians is still very high. Inconsistencies in the unit used in the reported statistics (fresh or dry weight) exist, and this needs to be addressed. The national data should be collected at the species level, to be able to follow the changes and the stock status. A regional approach is needed to encourage use of comparable management tools and follow future trends

The one-dimensional contact process: duality and renormalisation

We study the one-dimensional contact process in its quantum version using a recently proposed real space renormalisation technique for stochastic many-particle systems. Exploiting the duality and other properties of the model, we can apply the method for cells with up to 37 sites. After suitable extrapolation, we obtain exponent estimates which are comparable in accuracy with the best known in the literature.Comment: 15 page

The C-type lectin receptor CLECSF8 (CLEC4D) is expressed by myeloid cells and triggers cellular activation through syk kinase

11 pags, 7 figsCLECSF8 is a poorly characterized member of the "Dectin-2 cluster" of C-type lectin receptors and was originally thought to be expressed exclusively by macrophages. We show here that CLECSF8 is primarily expressed by peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes and weakly by several subsets of peripheral blood dendritic cells. However, expression of this receptor is lost upon in vitro differentiation of monocytes into dendritic cells or macrophages. Like the other members of the Dectin-2 family, which require association of their transmembrane domains with signaling adaptors for surface expression, CLECSF8 is retained intracellularly when expressed in non-myeloid cells. However, we demonstrate that CLECSF8 does not associate with any known signaling adaptor molecule, including DAP10, DAP12, or the FcRγ chain, and we found that the C-type lectin domain of CLECSF8 was responsible for its intracellular retention. Although CLECSF8 does not contain a signaling motif in its cytoplasmic domain, we show that this receptor is capable of inducing signaling via Syk kinase in myeloid cells and that it can induce phagocytosis, proinflammatory cytokine production, and the respiratory burst. These data therefore indicate that CLECSF8 functions as an activation receptor on myeloid cells and associates with a novel adaptor molecule. Characterization of the CLECSF8-deficient mice and screening for ligands using oligosaccharide microarrays did not provide further insights into the physiological function of this receptor. © 2012 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the National Research Foundation, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, the University of Cape Town, the UK Research Council Basic Technology Initiative “Glycoar-rays” (GRS/79268), and the UK Medical Research Council. A. S. P is a fellowof the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BPD/26515/2006, Portugal) and M. A. C. of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Programe “Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios” (JaeDoc/098/2011) cofinanced by the Fondo Social Europeo

One million dog vaccinations recorded on mHealth innovation used to direct teams in numerous rabies control campaigns

<div><p>Background</p><p>Canine transmitted rabies kills an estimated 59,000 people annually, despite proven methods for elimination through mass dog vaccination. Challenges in directing and monitoring numerous remote vaccination teams across large geographic areas remain a significant barrier to the up-scaling of focal vaccination programmes to sub-national and national level. Smartphone technology (mHealth) is increasingly being used to enhance the coordination and efficiency of public health initiatives in developing countries, however examples of successful scaling beyond pilot implementation are rare. This study describes a smartphone app and website platform, “Mission Rabies App”, used to co-ordinate rabies control activities at project sites in four continents to vaccinate over one million dogs.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Mission Rabies App made it possible to not only gather relevant campaign data from the field, but also to direct vaccination teams systematically in near real-time. The display of user-allocated boundaries on Google maps within data collection forms enabled a project manager to define each team’s region of work, assess their output and assign subsequent areas to progressively vaccinate across a geographic area. This ability to monitor work and react to a rapidly changing situation has the potential to improve efficiency and coverage achieved, compared to regular project management structures, as well as enhancing capacity for data review and analysis from remote areas. The ability to plot the location of every vaccine administered facilitated engagement with stakeholders through transparent reporting, and has the potential to motivate politicians to support such activities.</p><p>Results</p><p>Since the system launched in September 2014, over 1.5 million data entries have been made to record dog vaccinations, rabies education classes and field surveys in 16 countries. Use of the system has increased year-on-year with adoption for mass dog vaccination campaigns at the India state level in Goa and national level in Haiti.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Innovative approaches to rapidly scale mass dog vaccination programmes in a sustained and systematic fashion are urgently needed to achieve the WHO, OIE and FAO goal to eliminate canine-transmitted human deaths by 2030. The Mission Rabies App is an mHealth innovation which greatly reduces the logistical and managerial barriers to implementing large scale rabies control activities. Free access to the platform aims to support pilot campaigns to better structure and report on proof-of-concept initiatives, clearly presenting outcomes and opportunities for expansion. The functionalities of the Mission Rabies App may also be beneficial to other infectious disease interventions.</p></div

A phase 1/2, open-label, multicenter study of isatuximab in combination with cemiplimab in patients with lymphoma

Patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma have limited treatment options, requiring newer regimens. In this Phase 1/2 study (NCT03769181), we assessed the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of isatuximab (Isa, anti-CD38 antibody) in combination with cemiplimab (Cemi, anti-programmed death-1 [PD-1] receptor antibody; Isa&nbsp;+&nbsp;Cemi) in patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). In Phase 1, we characterized the safety and tolerability of Isa&nbsp;+&nbsp;Cemi with planned dose de-escalation to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). Six patients in each cohort were treated with a starting dose of Isa&nbsp;+&nbsp;Cemi to determine the RP2D. In Phase 2, the primary endpoints were complete response in Cohort A1 (cHL anti-PD-1/programmed death-ligand 1 [PD-L1] naïve), and objective response rate in Cohorts A2 (cHL anti-PD-1/PD-L1 progressors), B (DLBCL), and C (PTCL). An interim analysis was performed when the first 18 (Cohort A1), 12 (Cohort A2), 17 (Cohort B), and 11 (Cohort C) patients in Phase 2 had been treated and followed up for 24&nbsp;weeks. Isa&nbsp;+&nbsp;Cemi demonstrated a manageable safety profile with no new safety signals. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed at the starting dose; thus, the starting dose of each drug was confirmed as the RP2D. Based on the Lugano 2014 criteria, 55.6% (Cohort A1), 33.3% (Cohort A2), 5.9% (Cohort B), and 9.1% (Cohort C) of patients achieved a complete or partial response. Pharmacokinetic analyses suggested no effect of Cemi on Isa exposure. Modest clinical efficacy was observed in patients with cHL regardless of prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 exposure. In DLBCL or PTCL cohorts, interim efficacy analysis results did not meet prespecified criteria to continue enrollment in Phase 2 Stage 2. Isa&nbsp;+&nbsp;Cemi did not have a synergistic effect in these patient populations

PRMT1-dependent regulation of RNA metabolism and DNA damage response sustains pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer that has remained clinically challenging to manage. Here we employ an RNAi-based in vivo functional genomics platform to determine epigenetic vulnerabilities across a panel of patient-derived PDAC models. Through this, we identify protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) as a critical dependency required for PDAC maintenance. Genetic and pharmacological studies validate the role of PRMT1 in maintaining PDAC growth. Mechanistically, using proteomic and transcriptomic analyses, we demonstrate that global inhibition of asymmetric arginine methylation impairs RNA metabolism, which includes RNA splicing, alternative polyadenylation, and transcription termination. This triggers a robust downregulation of multiple pathways involved in the DNA damage response, thereby promoting genomic instability and inhibiting tumor growth. Taken together, our data support PRMT1 as a compelling target in PDAC and informs a mechanism-based translational strategy for future therapeutic development. Statement of significance PDAC is a highly lethal cancer with limited therapeutic options. This study identified and characterized PRMT1-dependent regulation of RNA metabolism and coordination of key cellular processes required for PDAC tumor growth, defining a mechanism-based translational hypothesis for PRMT1 inhibitors