Evaluating the personality structure of semi-captive Asian elephants living in their natural habitat

Data on personality for long-lived, highly social wild mammals with high cognitive abilities are rare. We investigated the personality structure of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) by using a large sample of semi-captive timber elephants in Myanmar. Data were collected during 2014-2017 using questionnaires, for which elephant riders (mahouts) rated 28 behavioural adjectives of elephants. Repeated questionnaires were obtained for each elephant from several raters whenever possible, resulting in 690 ratings of 150 female and 107 male elephants. We started by performing a confirmatory factor analysis to compare the fit of our data to a previously published captive elephant personality structure. Owing to a poor fit of this model to our data, we proceeded by performing explanatory factor analysis to determine the personality structure in our study population. This model suggested that personality in these elephants was manifested as three factors that we labelled as Attentiveness, Sociability and Aggressiveness. This structure did not differ between the sexes. These results provide the basis for future research on the link between personality and reproductive success in this endangered species and more generally, help to resolve the selective pressures on personalities in long-lived, highly social species

Nephrin Regulates Lamellipodia Formation by Assembling a Protein Complex That Includes Ship2, Filamin and Lamellipodin

Actin dynamics has emerged at the forefront of podocyte biology. Slit diaphragm junctional adhesion protein Nephrin is necessary for development of the podocyte morphology and transduces phosphorylation-dependent signals that regulate cytoskeletal dynamics. The present study extends our understanding of Nephrin function by showing in cultured podocytes that Nephrin activation induced actin dynamics is necessary for lamellipodia formation. Upon activation Nephrin recruits and regulates a protein complex that includes Ship2 (SH2 domain containing 5′ inositol phosphatase), Filamin and Lamellipodin, proteins important in regulation of actin and focal adhesion dynamics, as well as lamellipodia formation. Using the previously described CD16-Nephrin clustering system, Nephrin ligation or activation resulted in phosphorylation of the actin crosslinking protein Filamin in a p21 activated kinase dependent manner. Nephrin activation in cell culture results in formation of lamellipodia, a process that requires specialized actin dynamics at the leading edge of the cell along with focal adhesion turnover. In the CD16-Nephrin clustering model, Nephrin ligation resulted in abnormal morphology of actin tails in human podocytes when Ship2, Filamin or Lamellipodin were individually knocked down. We also observed decreased lamellipodia formation and cell migration in these knock down cells. These data provide evidence that Nephrin not only initiates actin polymerization but also assembles a protein complex that is necessary to regulate the architecture of the generated actin filament network and focal adhesion dynamics

Final results from the PERUSE study of first-line pertuzumab plus trastuzumab plus a taxane for HER2-positive locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, with a multivariable approach to guide prognostication

Background: The phase III CLinical Evaluation Of Pertuzumab And TRAstuzumab (CLEOPATRA) trial established the combination of pertuzumab, trastuzumab and docetaxel as standard first-line therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer (LR/mBC). The multicentre single-arm PERtUzumab global SafEty (PERUSE) study assessed the safety and efficacy of pertuzumab and trastuzumab combined with investigator-selected taxane in this setting. Patients and methods: Eligible patients with inoperable HER2-positive LR/mBC and no prior systemic therapy for LR/mBC (except endocrine therapy) received docetaxel, paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel with trastuzumab and pertuzumab until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Prespecified subgroup analyses included subgroups according to taxane, hormone receptor (HR) status and prior trastuzumab. Exploratory univariable analyses identified potential prognostic factors; those that remained significant in multivariable analysis were used to analyse PFS and OS in subgroups with all, some or none of these factors. Results: Of 1436 treated patients, 588 (41%) initially received paclitaxel and 918 (64%) had HR-positive disease. The most common grade 653 adverse events were neutropenia (10%, mainly with docetaxel) and diarrhoea (8%). At the final analysis (median follow-up: 5.7 years), median PFS was 20.7 [95% confidence interval (CI) 18.9-23.1] months overall and was similar irrespective of HR status or taxane. Median OS was 65.3 (95% CI 60.9-70.9) months overall. OS was similar regardless of taxane backbone but was more favourable in patients with HR-positive than HR-negative LR/mBC. In exploratory analyses, trastuzumab-pretreated patients with visceral disease had the shortest median PFS (13.1 months) and OS (46.3 months). Conclusions: Mature results from PERUSE show a safety and efficacy profile consistent with results from CLEOPATRA and median OS exceeding 5 years. Results suggest that paclitaxel is a valid alternative to docetaxel as backbone chemotherapy. Exploratory analyses suggest risk factors that could guide future trial design

Expression pattern of T-helper 17 cell signaling pathway and mucosal inflammation in celiac disease

Objective. The aim was to investigate the mucosal activation of a broad range of genes associated with the T-helper 17 cell (Th17) signaling pathway in children at different stages of celiac disease (CD), including children with increased risk for CD and children with untreated and gluten-free diet (GFD)-treated CD. Material and methods. Small intestinal biopsies were taken from children with untreated and GFD-treated CD, transglutaminase antibody (TGA)-positive children with potential CD, and reference children. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) arrays were used to study the gene expression pattern of Th17-related genes, and quantitative PCR was used to study the interleukin (IL)-17A expression. Results. The mucosal expression of CD8A was elevated at all stages of CD. Children with untreated CD had diminished levels of IL-17RE, IL-23R, RORc, STAT6, CCL22, NFATC2, IL-18, CD4, CD247, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)9 but had elevated levels of MMP3, IL-17, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and CD8A, compared to references. The majority of the aforementioned genes, being differentially expressed in untreated CD, displayed similar expression in GFD-treated children and references. Children with untreated and GFD-treated CD had elevated expression of IFN-gamma but had reduced expression of CD247. Interestingly, children with potential CD displayed reduced FOXP3, IL-21, and IL-17A levels. Conclusion. Mucosal upregulation of Th17 immunity occurs at the late stage of disease and is downregulated with dietary treatment, thus indicating that IL-17 immunity is not a fundamental feature of CD as Th1 immunity, which is not fully downregulated by GFD

Phase 1 Lymfactin (R) Study : 24-month Efficacy and Safety Results of Combined Adenoviral VEGF-C and Lymph Node Transfer Treatment for Upper Extremity Lymphedema

BACKGROUND: Lymphedema is a common problem after breast cancer treatment. Lymfactin (R) is a prolymphangiogenic growth factor vector inducing the expression of human vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C). It promotes growth and repair of lymphatic vessels.METHODS: Lymfactin (R) was combined with microvascular lymph node transfer surgery (VLNT) to study the safety and efficacy of the treatment in breast cancer-related upper limb lymphedema (BCRL) patients. This is a continuation study with a 3 year efficacy and 5 year safety follow-up.RESULTS: Fifteen patients were recruited in the study between June 2016 and February 2018. Three patients received a lower dose (1 x 10 10 viral particles (vp)), and 12 patients received a higher dose (1 x 10 11 vp) of Lymfactin (R), respectively. In the higher dose group, the reduction of excess arm volume was on average 46% after the 12 month follow-up, and the transport index was improved in 7/12 patients. At baseline, removal of the compression garment for 7 days resulted in significant arm swelling (105.7 +/- 161.0 ml, p = 0.0253). However, at 12 months, there was less and not significant swelling after removal of the garment (84.4 +/- 143.0 ml, p = 0.0682). Lymphedema Quality of Life Inventory (LQOLI or LyQLI) questionnaire showed significant and sustained improvement of quality of life.CONCLUSIONS: During 24 months' of follow-up, the results indicate that Lymfactin (R) is well tol-erated. The most promising findings were a 46% reduction in excess arm volume and a nonsignif-icant volume increase after garment removal at 12 months, suggesting that there is potential for the reduction of lymphedema.(c) 2022 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Pub-lished by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )Peer reviewe