Mismatch repair system in endometriotic tissue and eutopic endometrium of unaffected women

9Objective: To test the immunohistochemical staining pattern of some mismatch repair (MMR) system proteins in endometriotic tissue (ET) and eutopic endometrium. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at the Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments of the Udine University Hospital. We analyzed 528 samples obtained from 246 patients affected by endometriosis and 71 samples from 71 patients with normal endometrium. A tissue microarray model was used to analyze the immunohistochemical expression of MMR system proteins. Results: Significant loss of MMR proteins was found in the stromal component of ETs. We found MSH2 to be expressed at a higher level than any other MMR system proteins in eutopic endometrium and ETs, to be significantly correlated to Ki-67 expression in both stromal and glandular components of ETs, and to be expressed at a significantly higher level in ETs than in eutopic endometrium. When considering the subgroup of endometriosis with high recurrence rate and glandular cytoplasmic staining for aurora A kinase, we found MMR proteins expressed at a significantly higher level in these ETs than in other ETs and eutopic endometrium of unaffected women. Conclusions: We found significant loss of MMR proteins (known to be associated with microsatellite instability) in the stromal component of ETs. The group of ETs with glandular cytoplasmic staining for aurora A kinase had higher MMR protein expression, suggesting an increased activity of this system. Our result suggests a novel role of increased MSH2 expression in cellular proliferation of endometriosis.openopenGrassi, T.; Calcagno, A.; Marzinotto, S.; Londero, A.P.; Orsaria, M.; Canciani, G.N.; Beltrami, C.A.; Marchesoni, D.; Mariuzzi, L.Grassi, T.; Calcagno, A.; Marzinotto, S.; Londero, Ambrogio P.; Orsaria, M.; Canciani, G. N.; Beltrami, Carlo Alberto; Marchesoni, Diego; Mariuzzi, Laur

Efeito do pisoteio animal acumulativo e da fenação nos parâmetros físicos do solo em área com sobressemeadura de misturas forrageiras de estação fria em pastagem de Tifton.

Os sistemas de manejo do solo e de pastagem implicam em mudanças nas propriedades físicas do solo a curto, médio e longo prazo, as quais podem ou não ser restritivas ao desenvolvimento do sistema radicular. Objetivou-se, a avaliação de parâmetros físicos do solo em pastagens de tifton 85 sobressemeado com espécies forrageiras de estação fria, em área pastejada no inverno e na primavera e destinadas a produção de feno no verão. O experimento foi conduzido no Instituto Regional de Desenvolvimento Rural (IRDeR). O experimento foi disposto na forma de blocos ao acaso, com arranjo fatorial triplo (2x3x4) constituído de 2 sistemas de manejo (com e sem pastejo), 3 consórcios (aveia preta + ervilhaca, aveia preta + trevo vesiculoso e aveia preta) e quatro camadas de profundidade, com três repetições. Foram coletadas amostras de solo em quatro camadas de profundidade do solo (0-0,05, 0,05- 0,10, 0,10-0,15, 0,15-0,20 m), em todos os tratamentos, para determinação da umidade gravimétrica, densidade de partícula e densidade do solo. A umidade volumétrica, porosidade total, espaço aéreo e o grau de saturação foram calculados. Não ocorreu diferença na porosidade total nas áreas com e sem pastejo, já para o espaço aéreo, houve diferença entre as mesmas. A área com pastejo apresentou maior espaço aéreo. A densidade de partícula foi menor na camada superficial do solo. A aveia preta proporcionou uma maior umidade gravimétrica na área de exclusão de pastejo. Os valores de densidade do solo e de espaço aéreo não são restritivos ao crescimento radicular em ambas as áreas

Encoding a qubit into multilevel subspaces

We present a formalism for encoding the logical basis of a qubit into subspaces of multiple physical levels. The need for this multilevel encoding arises naturally in situations where the speed of quantum operations exceeds the limits imposed by the addressability of individual energy levels of the qubit physical system. A basic feature of the multilevel encoding formalism is the logical equivalence of different physical states and correspondingly, of different physical transformations. This logical equivalence is a source of a significant flexibility in designing logical operations, while the multilevel structure inherently accommodates fast and intense broadband controls thereby facilitating faster quantum operations. Another important practical advantage of multilevel encoding is the ability to maintain full quantum-computational fidelity in the presence of mixing and decoherence within encoding subspaces. The formalism is developed in detail for single-qubit operations and generalized for multiple qubits. As an illustrative example, we perform a simulation of closed-loop optimal control of single-qubit operations for a model multilevel system, and subsequently apply these operations at finite temperatures to investigate the effect of decoherence on operational fidelity.Comment: IOPart LaTeX, 2 figures, 31 pages; addition of a numerical simulatio

Defining and evaluating novel procedures for involving patients in Core Outcome Set research: creating a meaningful long list of candidate outcome domains

Background Tinnitus is a complex audiological condition affecting many different domains of everyday life. Clinical trials of tinnitus interventions measure and report those outcome domains inconsistently and this hinders direct comparison between study findings. To address this problem, an ongoing project is developing a Core Outcome Set; an agreed list of outcome domains to be measured and reported in all future trials. Part of this project uses a consensus methodology (‘Delphi’ survey), whereby all relevant stakeholders identify important and critical outcome domains from a long list of candidates. This article addresses a gap in the patient involvement literature by describing and reflecting on our involvement of patients to create a meaningful long list of candidate outcome domains. Methods Two Public Research Partners with lived experience of tinnitus reviewed an initial list of 124 outcome domains over two face-to-face workshops. With the Study Management Team, they interpreted each candidate outcome domain and generated a plain language description. Following this, the domain names and descriptions underwent an additional lay review by 14 patients and 5 clinical experts, via an online survey platform. Results Insights gained from the workshops and survey feedback prompted substantial, unforeseen modifications to the long list. These included the reduction of the number of outcome domains (from 124 to 66) via the exclusion of broad concepts and consolidation of equivalent domains or domains outside the scope of the study. Reviewers also applied their lived experience of tinnitus to bring clarity and relevance to domain names and plain language descriptions. Four impacts on the Delphi survey were observed: recruitment exceeded the target by 171%, there were equivalent numbers of patient and professional participants (n=358 and n=312, respectively), feedback was mostly positive, and retention was high (87%). Conclusions Patient involvement was an integral and transformative step of the study design process. Patient involvement was impactful because the online Delphi survey was successful in recruiting and retaining participants, and there were many comments about a positive participatory experience. Seven general methodological features are highlighted which fit with general principles of good patient involvement. These can benefit other Core Outcome Set developers