Impact of Radiatively Interactive Dust Aerosols in the NASA GEOS-5 Climate Model: Sensitivity to Dust Particle Shape and Refractive Index

We investigate the radiative effects of dust aerosols in the NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model. GEOS-5 is improved with the inclusion of a sectional aerosol and cloud microphysics module, the Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA). Into CARMA we introduce treatment of the dust and sea salt aerosol lifecycle, including sources, transport evolution, and sinks. The aerosols are radiatively coupled to GEOS-5, and we perform a series of multi-decade AMIP-style simulations in which dust optical properties (spectral refractive index and particle shape distribution) are varied. Optical properties assuming spherical dust particles are from Mie theory, while those for non-spherical shape distributions are drawn from a recently available database for tri-axial ellipsoids. The climatologies of the various simulations generally compare well to data from the MODIS, MISR, and CALIOP space-based sensors, the ground-based AERONET, and surface measurements of dust deposition and concentration. Focusing on the summertime Saharan dust cycle we show significant variability in our simulations resulting from different choices of dust optical properties. Atmospheric heating due to dust enhances surface winds over important Saharan dust sources, and we find a positive feedback where increased dust absorption leads to increased dust emissions. We further find that increased dust absorption leads to a strengthening of the summertime Hadley cell circulation, increasing dust lofting to higher altitudes and strengthening the African Easterly Jet. This leads to a longer atmospheric residence time, higher altitude, and generally more northward transport of dust in simulations with the most absorbing dust optical properties. We find that particle shape, although important for radiance simulations, is a minor effect compared to choices of refractive index, although total atmospheric forcing is enhanced by greater than 10 percent for simulations incorporating a spheroidal shape distribution versus ellipsoidal or spherical shapes

Integrative genome-scale metabolic analysis of Vibrio vulnificus for drug targeting and discovery

Chromosome 1 of Vibrio vulnificus tends to contain larger portion of essential or housekeeping genes on the basis of the genomic analysis and gene knockout experiments performed in this study, while its chromosome 2 seems to have originated and evolved from a plasmid.The genome-scale metabolic network model of V. vulnificus was reconstructed based on databases and literature, and was used to identify 193 essential metabolites.Five essential metabolites finally selected after the filtering process are 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropteridine (AHHMP), D-glutamate (DGLU), 2,3-dihydrodipicolinate (DHDP), 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate (DX5P), and 4-aminobenzoate (PABA), which were predicted to be essential in V. vulnificus, absent in human, and are consumed by multiple reactions.Chemical analogs of the five essential metabolites were screened and a hit compound showing the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 μg/ml and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 4 μg/ml against V. vulnificus was identified

A Prospective Study of Single-Dose Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Live Donor Nephrectomy

PURPOSE: To perform a prospective analysis of the clinical outcomes of prophylactic antibiotic treatment before the standard surgical modality of living donor nephrectomy (LDN) without postoperative antibiotic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From November 2005 to June 2010, a total of 470 patients underwent LDN at our medical institution, and 280 of these patients were injected with 1 g cephalosporin 30 minutes before the operation. The group receiving prophylactic antibiotics was compared with a control group composed of 190 patients who received injections of 2 g cephalosporin per day for 5 days after the operation. The presence of fever, incidence of blood transfusion, and period of drainage use were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in gender, age, body mass index, incidence of blood transfusion after the operation, fever over 38degrees C 3 days after the operation, or period of drain insertion between the single-dose group and the control group. The follow-up was conducted for 1 month after the operation, and 1 case of surgical site infection (SSI) was observed in each group (p=0.783). CONCLUSIONS: Of 280 patients in the single-dose group, 1 contracted SSI. In comparison with the control group, which was dosed with prophylactic antibiotics for 5 days after the operation, the single-dose group did not have a significantly different occurrence of SSI. We found that the incidence rate of SSI did not increase, even though prophylactic antibiotics were not used after standard and conventional open surgeries, such as video-assisted minilaparotomy surgery.ope

The pNNx Heart Rate Variability Statistics: An Application to Neuroautonomic Dysfunction of Clozapine-Treated Subjects

Objective The percentage Of Successive normal cardiac interbeat intervals greater than 50 msec (pNN50) is a widely used heart rate variability measure, which is useful in identifying the neuroautonomic dysfunction of psychiatric disorders. However, pNN50 is only one member of a larger family of pNNx statistics, where x is greater than 0 msec. The potential application of the general pNNx statistics has not yet been explored in the psychiatric field. The authors examined the pNNx statistics in clozapine-treated subjects and normal controls to evaluate the usefulness of the general pNNx statistics. Methods Sixty-one schizophrenic patients treated with clozapine and fifty-nine normal controls were evaluated. probability values for the differences between the groups at each pNN value (range: pNN1-pNN100) were calculated using data obtained from a 30-minute electrocardiogram. Results The conventional pNN50 and pNNx values with x<50 msec were all significantly lower in the patient group (p<0.05). The distinction between the two groups was more prominent at pNN values less than 50 msec than that observed at pNN50. The maximum separation between groups occurred at pNN5 (68.2 +/- 19.1 vs 22.5 +/- 20.5, p<10(-22)). Conclusion The pNNx with x<50 msec provided more robust discrimination between the groups than the conventional pNN50, suggesting the importance of analyzing very small variations of interbeat interval in discriminating normal and pathological heart rate patterns. The results also Suggest that the general pNNx statistics may be applied and useful in evaluating the neuroautonomic dysfunction in patients treated with clozapine, complementing the traditionally Computed pNN50 value. Psychiatry Invest 2009;6:294-298This study was supported in part by the Brain Korea 21 project for Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy (Seoul National University) and by Grant No. 04-2006-0540 from Seoul National University Hospital.Duschek S, 2009, HYPERTENS RES, V32, P938, DOI 10.1038/hr.2009.115Lollgen D, 2009, MUSCLE NERVE, V39, P536, DOI 10.1002/mus.21242Siepmann M, 2008, APPL PSYCHOPHYS BIOF, V33, P195, DOI 10.1007/s10484-008-9064-zBar KB, 2008, J CLIN PSYCHOPHARM, V28, P694, DOI 10.1097/JCP.0b013e31818a6d25Bar KJ, 2008, PSYCHIAT RES, V157, P255, DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2007.04.021Bar KJ, 2007, CLIN NEUROPHYSIOL, V118, P2009, DOI 10.1016/j.clinph.2007.06.012Bar KJ, 2007, SCHIZOPHR RES, V95, P115, DOI 10.1016/j.schres.2007.05.034Kim JH, 2006, EUR NEUROPSYCHOPHARM, V16, P459, DOI 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2005.11.003Mujica-Parodi LR, 2005, NEUROPSYCHOBIOLOGY, V51, P10, DOI 10.1159/000082850KIM W, 2005, J KOREAN NEUROPSYCHI, V44, P176Tank J, 2004, HYPERTENSION, V43, P1035, DOI 10.1161/01.HYP.0000125729.90521.94Kim JH, 2004, PROG NEURO-PSYCHOPH, V28, P371, DOI 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2003.11.007Mueck-Weymann M, 2004, CLIN AUTON RES, V14, P15, DOI 10.1007/s10286-004-0123-0Yeragani VK, 2003, PSYCHIAT RES, V121, P185, DOI 10.1016/S0165-1781(03)00235-XAgelink MW, 2003, PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY, V36, P166Mietus JE, 2002, HEART, V88, P378Yeragani VK, 2002, BIOL PSYCHIAT, V52, P418Eschweiler GW, 2002, PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY, V35, P96Goldberger AL, 2002, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V99, P2466, DOI 10.1073/pnas.012579499Ansakorpi H, 2002, J NEUROL NEUROSUR PS, V72, P26MALASPINA D, 2002, CNS SPECTRUMS, V7, P53Mueck-Weymann M, 2002, DEPRESS ANXIETY, V16, P93, DOI 10.1002/da.10037Cohen H, 2001, BRIT J PSYCHIAT, V179, P167Haapaniemi TH, 2001, J NEUROL NEUROSUR PS, V70, P305Cohen H, 2001, CLIN NEUROPHARMACOL, V24, P106Agelink MW, 2001, J CLIN PSYCHOPHARM, V21, P8Toichi M, 1999, INT J PSYCHOPHYSIOL, V31, P147Malaspina D, 1997, BIOL PSYCHIAT, V41, P612Korpelainen JT, 1996, STROKE, V27, P2059HALL RCW, 1995, PSYCHOSOMATICS, V36, P267RECHLIN T, 1994, BIOL PSYCHIAT, V35, P888*AM PSYCH ASS, 1994, DIAGN STAT MAN MENT, P273HUIKURI HV, 1990, AM J CARDIOL, V65, P391BIGGER JT, 1988, AM J CARDIOL, V61, P208KAY SR, 1987, SCHIZOPHRENIA BULL, V13, P261EWING DJ, 1984, BRIT HEART J, V52, P396GUY W, 1976, ECDEU ASSESSMENT PSY

Methylsulfonylmethane Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth by Down-Regulating STAT3 and STAT5b Pathways

Breast cancer is the most aggressive form of all cancers, with high incidence and mortality rates. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) inhibits breast cancer growth in mice xenografts. MSM is an organic sulfur-containing natural compound without any toxicity. In this study, we demonstrated that MSM substantially decreased the viability of human breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. MSM also suppressed the phosphorylation of STAT3, STAT5b, expression of IGF-1R, HIF-1α, VEGF, BrK, and p-IGF-1R and inhibited triple-negative receptor expression in receptor-positive cell lines. Moreover, MSM decreased the DNA-binding activities of STAT5b and STAT3, to the target gene promoters in MDA-MB 231 or co-transfected COS-7 cells. We confirmed that MSM significantly decreased the relative luciferase activities indicating crosstalk between STAT5b/IGF-1R, STAT5b/HSP90α, and STAT3/VEGF. To confirm these findings in vivo, xenografts were established in Balb/c athymic nude mice with MDA-MB 231 cells and MSM was administered for 30 days. Concurring to our in vitro analysis, these xenografts showed decreased expression of STAT3, STAT5b, IGF-1R and VEGF. Through in vitro and in vivo analysis, we confirmed that MSM can effectively regulate multiple targets including STAT3/VEGF and STAT5b/IGF-1R. These are the major molecules involved in tumor development, progression, and metastasis. Thus, we strongly recommend the use of MSM as a trial drug for treating all types of breast cancers including triple-negative cancers

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

Genome-Wide Association Study of Lung Adenocarcinoma in East Asia and Comparison With a European Population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications