A review of the developments in nuclear track methodology as published in the proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Tracks in Solids from 1990 to 2008

International audienceThe aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the developments in nuclear track methodology as published in the proceedings of the last ten meetings of the International Conference on Nuclear Tracks in Solids (ICNTS) from the Marburg (Germany) conference in 1990 to the Bologna (Italy) conference of 2008. Nuclear Tracks Methodology (NTM) examines the effects of the interaction between charged particles and solid materials and presents several desirable characteristics: the detectors can easily be cut into a size appropriate for any application and can be used in locations for which other radiation detectors are not suitable; the etching and reading instrumentation is relatively simple; there is a quasiinsensibility to gamma radiation for reasonable dose exposures (typically <1 kGy); after chemical etching the information recorded on the detector material is essentially permanent; and, finally, the system involves relatively low costs. These characteristics have contributed to the importance of NTM for radiation detection in an immense number of applications across a wide range of scientific and technological fields. This paper reviews the new ideas, topics, materials and applications related to NTM that have been presented over the past ten ICNTS meetings from 1990 to 2008, and analyzes the evolution of various topics. One could argue that the conferences themselves have been an important source of new ideas and applications for the nuclear track research community. Two important observations arise from this review. The first is that the contributions of the past ten international conferences can be conveniently classified into 12 categories. The second is that the number of papers published varied widely from conference to conference. Several factors contributed: the variation in the number of conference participants, the interests of local participants (who account for a disproportionate number of conference participants), the location of the conference, and the appearance of new international conferences devoted to topics similar to those covered by the ICNTS

Games and learning: the importance of cognitive and affective engagement during game play

Many researchers have posited different types of engagement, distinguishing between behavioral, cognitive and affective engagement. We think that game designers and learning researchers should examine all types of engagement using multiple methodologies as a means to understand what students are learning from educational games during game play. In this article, we present findings from a qualitative study (N = 30) that focuses on the importance of cognitive and affective engagement during game play with educational games. To do this, we used the game called Ferran Alsina. The GIE research group from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia created this game that would help also to develop learning competences skills. The game used the Catalan education curriculum to work on the learning competences of primary education skills. We discuss the implications of our findings with educational games and results for measuring engagement

Advantages of plasmatic CXCL-10 as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker for the risk of rejection and subclinical rejection in kidney transplantation

This study evaluate the potential of plasmatic CXCL-10 (pCXCL-10) as a pre&post transplantation prognostic and diagnostic biomarker of T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR), antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) and subclinical rejection (SCR) risk in adult kidney recipients considering BKV and CMV infections as possible clinical confounder factors. Twenty-eight of 100 patients included experienced rejection (TCMR:14; ABMR:14); 8 SCR; 13 and 16 were diagnosed with BKV and CMV infection, respectively. Pre-transplantation pCXCL-10 was significantly increased in TCMR and ABMR and post-transplantation in TCMR, ABMR and SCR compared with nonrejectors. All CMV+ patients showed pCXCL-10 levels above the cutoff values established for rejection whereas the 80% of BKV+ patients showed pCXCL-10 concentration < 100 pg/mL. pCXCL-10 could improve pre-transplantation patient stratification and immunosuppressive treatment selection according to rejection risk; and after kidney transplantation could be a potential early prognostic biomarker for rejection. Clinical confounding factor in BKV+ and particularly in CMV+ patients must be discarded

Deficiency in p53 is required for doxorubicin induced transcriptional activation of NF-кB target genes in human breast cancer

NF-кB has been linked to doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer patients. NF- кB nuclear translocation and DNA binding in doxorubicin treated-breast cancer cells have been extensively examined; however its functional relevance at transcriptional level on NF-кB -dependent genes and the biological consequences are unclear. We studied NF-кB -dependent gene expression induced by doxorubicin in breast cancer cells and fresh human cancer specimens with different genetic backgrounds focusing on their p53 status. NF-кB –dependent signature of doxorubicin was identified by gene expression microarrays in breast cancer cells treated with doxorubicin and the IKKβ-inhibitor MLN120B, and confirmed ex vivo in human cancer samples. The association with p53 was functionally validated. Finally, NF-кB activation and p53 status was determined in a cohort of breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant doxorubicin-based chemotherapy. Doxorubicin treatment in the p53-mutated MDA-MB-231 cells resulted in NF NF- кB driven-gene transcription signature. Modulation of genes related with invasion, metastasis and chemoresistance (ICAM-1, CXCL1, TNFAIP3, IL8) were confirmed in additional doxorubicin-treated cell lines and fresh primary human breast tumors. In both systems, p53-deficient background correlated with the activation of the NF-кB –dependent signature. Furthermore, restoration of p53WT in the mutant p53 MDAMB- 231 cells impaired NF-кB driven transcription induced by doxorubicin. Moreover, a p53 deficient background and nuclear NF-кB /p65 in breast cancer patients correlated with reduced disease free-survival. This study supports that p53 deficiency is necessary for a doxorubicin driven NF-кB -response that limits doxorubicin cytotoxicity in breast cancer and is linked to an aggressive clinical behavior.Financial support: This work was supported by RD12/0036/0051 (J.A.), RD09/0076/0101, RD09/0076/0036, RD12/0036/0054 (A.B), RD12/0036/0070 (A. Ll), PI12/00680 (J.A.), PI12/01552 (F.R.), PI12/01421 (A.Ll.), 2009 SGR 321 (J.A.), FMM 9757/002 (F.R.), and the “Xarxa de Bancs de tumors sponsored by Pla Director d’Oncologia de Catalunya (XBTC). J.A. and F.R. are recipients of intensification program ISCIII/FEDER. We thank Fundació Cellex (Barcelona) for a generous donation to the Hospital del Mar Medical Oncology Service. We thank Millenium for generously providing MLN120B

A Bioactive Extract Rich in Triterpenic Acid and Polyphenols from Olea europaea Promotes Systemic Immunity and Protects Atlantic Salmon Smolts Against Furunculosis

In the present study, the modulation of the transcriptional immune response (microarray analysis) in the head kidney (HK) of the anadromous fish Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed a diet supplemented with an olive fruit extract (AQUOLIVE®) was evaluated. At the end of the trial (133 days), in order to investigate the immunomodulatory properties of the phytogenic tested against a bacterial infection, an in vivo challenge with Aeromonas salmonicida was performed. A total number of 1,027 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (805 up- and 222 downregulated) were found when comparing the transcriptomic profiling of the HK from fish fed the control and AQUOLIVE® diets. The HK transcripteractome revealed an expression profile that mainly favored biological processes related to immunity. Particularly, the signaling of i-kappa B kinase/NF-kappa and the activation of leukocytes, such as granulocytes and neutrophils degranulation, were suggested to be the primary actors of the innate immune response promoted by the tested functional feed additive in the HK. Moreover, the bacterial challenge with A. salmonicida that lasted 12 days showed that the cumulative survival was higher in fish fed the AQUOLIVE® diet (96.9 ± 6.4%) than the control group (60.7 ± 13.5%). These results indicate that the dietary supplementation of AQUOLIVE® at the level of 0.15% enhanced the systemic immune response and reduced the A. salmonicida cumulative mortality in Atlantic salmon smolts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhancing the First-Pass Effect in Acute Stroke: The Impact of Stent Retriever Characteristics

Introduction: Although stentrievers (SRs) have been a mainstay of mechanical thrombectomy (MT), and current guidelines recommend the use of SRs in the treatment of large vessel occlusion stroke (LVO), there is a paucity of studies in the literature comparing SRs directly against each other in terms of mechanical and functional properties. Timely access to endovascular therapy and the ability to restore intracranial flow in a safe, efficient, and efficacious manner have been critical to the success of MT. This study aimed to investigate the impact of contemporary SR characteristics, including model, brand, size, and length, on the first-pass effect (FPE) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: Consecutive patients with M1 occlusion treated with a single SR+BGC were recruited from the ROSSETTI registry. The primary outcome was the FPE that was defined as modified (mFPE) or true (tFPE) for the achievement of modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) grades 2b-3 or 3 after a single device pass, respectively. We compared patients who achieved mFPE with those who achieved tFPE according to SR characteristics. Results: We included 610 patients (52.3% female and 47.7% male, mean age 75.1 +/- 13.62 years). mFPE was achieved in 357 patients (58.5%), whereas tFPE was achieved in 264 (43.3%). There was no significant association between SR characteristics and mFPE or tFPE. Specifically, the SR size did not show a statistically significant relationship with improvement in FPE. Similarly, the length of the SR did not yield significant differences in the mFPE and tFPE, even when the data were grouped. Conclusions: Our data indicate that contemporary SR-mediated thrombectomy characteristics, including model, brand, size, and length, do not significantly affect the FPE

Los registros acumulativos de casos psiquiátricos como sistema de información y evaluación dentro del marco de la reforma psiquiátrica. Documento del grupo de trabajo sobre registros de casos psiquiátricos.

Sin resumen

Los registros acumulativos de casos psiquiátricos como sistema de información y evaluación dentro del marco de la reforma psiquiátrica. Documento del grupo de trabajo sobre registros de casos psiquiátricos.

Sin resumen

ATP5H/KCTD2 locus is associated with Alzheimer's disease risk

To identify loci associated with Alzheimer disease, we conducted a three-stage analysis using existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genotyping in a new sample. In Stage I, all suggestive single-nucleotide polymorphisms (at P<0.001) in a previously reported GWAS of seven independent studies (8082 Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases; 12 040 controls) were selected, and in Stage II these were examined in an in silico analysis within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium GWAS (1367 cases and 12904 controls). Six novel signals reaching P<5 × 10-6 were genotyped in an independent Stage III sample (the Fundació ACE data set) of 2200 sporadic AD patients and 2301 controls. We identified a novel association with AD in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, H+ transporting, mitochondrial F0 (ATP5H)/Potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing protein 2 (KCTD2) locus, which reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and genotyping sample (rs11870474, odds ratio (OR)=1.58, P=2.6 × 10 -7 in discovery and OR=1.43, P=0.004 in Fundació ACE data set; combined OR=1.53, P=4.7 × 10 -9). This ATP5H/KCTD2 locus has an important function in mitochondrial energy production and neuronal hyperpolarization during cellular stress conditions, such as hypoxia or glucose deprivation