Reduction of the ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (IF1) leads to visual impairment in vertebrates

In vertebrates, mitochondria are tightly preserved energy producing organelles, which sustain nervous system development and function. The understanding of proteins that regulate their homoeostasis in complex animals is therefore critical and doing so via means of systemic analysis pivotal to inform pathophysiological conditions associated with mitochondrial deficiency. With the goal to decipher the role of the ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (IF1) in brain development, we employed the zebrafish as elected model reporting that the Atpif1a−/− zebrafish mutant, pinotage (pnttq209), which lacks one of the two IF1 paralogous, exhibits visual impairment alongside increased apoptotic bodies and neuroinflammation in both brain and retina. This associates with increased processing of the dynamin-like GTPase optic atrophy 1 (OPA1), whose ablation is a direct cause of inherited optic atrophy. Defects in vision associated with the processing of OPA1 are specular in Atpif1−/− mice thus confirming a regulatory axis, which interlinks IF1 and OPA1 in the definition of mitochondrial fitness and specialised brain functions. This study unveils a functional relay between IF1 and OPA1 in central nervous system besides representing an example of how the zebrafish model could be harnessed to infer the activity of mitochondrial proteins during development

Systematic review of dexketoprofen in acute and chronic pain

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: Dexketoprofen, an NSAID used in the management of acute and chronic pains, is licensed in several countries but has not previously been the subjected of a systematic review. We used published and unpublished information from randomised clinical trials (RCTs) of dexketoprofen in painful conditions to assess evidence on efficacy and harm. Methods: PubMed and Cochrane Central were searched for RCTs of dexketoprofen for pain of any aetiology. Reference lists of retrieved articles and reviews were also searched. Menarini Group produced copies of published and unpublished studies (clinical trial reports). Data were abstracted into a standard form. For studies reporting results of single dose administration, the number of patients with at least 50 % pain relief was derived and used to calculate the relative benefit (RB) and number-needed-to-treat (NNT) for one patient to achieve at least 50 % pain relief compared with placebo. Results: Thirty-five trials were found in acute pain and chronic pain; 6,380 patients were included, 3,381 receiving dexketoprofen. Information from 16 trials (almost half the total patients) wa

Ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy methodology: retrospective comparison of the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach versus the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy technology represents the current standard of care for the evaluation of indeterminate and suspicious lesions seen on diagnostic breast ultrasound. Yet, there remains much debate as to which particular method of ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy provides the most accurate and optimal diagnostic information. The aim of the current study was to compare and contrast the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach and the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective analysis was done of all ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedures performed by either the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach or the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach by a single surgeon from July 2001 through June 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among 1443 ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedures performed, 724 (50.2%) were by the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy technique and 719 (49.8%) were by the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy technique. The total number of false negative cases (i.e., benign findings instead of invasive breast carcinoma) was significantly greater (P = 0.008) in the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group (8/681, 1.2%) as compared to in the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group (0/652, 0%), with an overall false negative rate of 2.1% (8/386) for the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group as compared to 0% (0/148) for the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group. Significantly more (P < 0.001) patients in the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group (81/719, 11.3%) than in the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group (18/724, 2.5%) were recommended for further diagnostic surgical removal of additional tissue from the same anatomical site of the affected breast in an immediate fashion for indeterminate/inconclusive findings seen on the original ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedure. Significantly more (P < 0.001) patients in the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group (54/719, 7.5%) than in the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group (9/724, 1.2%) personally requested further diagnostic surgical removal of additional tissue from the same anatomical site of the affected breast in an immediate fashion for a benign finding seen on the original ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedure.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In appropriately selected cases, the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach appears to be advantageous to the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach for providing the most accurate and optimal diagnostic information.</p

Factors associated with excessive bleeding in cardiopulmonary bypass patients: a nested case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Excessive bleeding (EB) after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) may lead to increased mortality, morbidity, transfusion requirements and re-intervention. Less than 50% of patients undergoing re-intervention exhibit surgical sources of bleeding. We studied clinical and genetic factors associated with EB.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a nested case-control study of 26 patients who did not receive antifibrinolytic prophylaxis. Variables were collected preoperatively, at intensive care unit (ICU) admission, at 4 and 24 hours post-CPB. EB was defined as 24-hour blood loss of >1 l post-CPB. Associations of EB with genetic, demographic, and clinical factors were analyzed, using SPSS-12.2 for statistical purposes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EB incidence was 50%, associated with body mass index (BMI)< 26.4 (25–28) Kg/m², (<it>P </it>= 0.03), lower preoperative levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) (<it>P </it>= 0.01), lower body temperature during CPB (<it>P </it>= 0.037) and at ICU admission (<it>P </it>= 0.029), and internal mammary artery graft (<it>P </it>= 0.03) in bypass surgery. We found a significant association between EB and 5G homozygotes for PAI-1, after adjusting for BMI (F = 6.07; <it>P </it>= 0.02) and temperature during CPB (F = 8.84; <it>P </it>= 0.007). EB patients showed higher consumption of complement, coagulation, fibrinolysis and hemoderivatives, with significantly lower leptin levels at all postoperative time points (<it>P </it>= 0.01, <it>P </it>< 0.01 and <it>P </it>< 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Excessive postoperative bleeding in CPB patients was associated with demographics, particularly less pronounced BMI, and surgical factors together with serine protease activation.</p

Feeding behavior of the ctenophore Thalassocalyce inconstans : revision of anatomy of the order Thalassocalycida

© 2009 The Authors. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Marine Biology 156 (2009): 1049-1056, doi:10.1007/s00227-009-1149-6.Behavioral observations using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in the Gulf of California in March, 2003, provided insights into the vertical distribution, feeding and anatomy of the rare and delicate ctenophore Thalassocalyce inconstans. Additional archived ROV video records from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute of 288 sightings of T. inconstans and 2,437 individual observations of euphausiids in the Gulf of California and Monterey Canyon between 1989 and 2005 were examined to determine ctenophore and euphausiid prey depth distributions with respect to temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration [dO]. In the Gulf of California most ctenophores (96.9%) were above 350 m, the top of the oxygen minimum layer. In Monterey Canyon the ctenophores were more widely distributed throughout the water column, including the hypoxic zone, to depths as great as 3,500 m. Computer-aided behavioral analysis of two video records of the capture of euphausiids by T. inconstans showed that the ctenophore contracted its bell almost instantly (0.5 s), transforming its flattened, hemispherical resting shape into a closed bi-lobed globe in which seawater and prey were engulfed. Euphausiids entrapped within the globe displayed a previously undescribed escape response for krill (‘probing behavior’), in which they hovered and gently probed the inner surfaces of the globe with antennae without stimulating further contraction by the ctenophore. Such rapid bell contraction could be effected only by a peripheral sphincter muscle even though the presence of circumferential ring musculature was unknown for the Phylum Ctenophora. Thereafter, several live T. inconstans were collected by hand off Barbados and microscopic observations confirmed that assumption.Supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and NOAA Grant #NA06OAR4600091

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Infants with and without Eczema

Eczema is a chronic form of childhood disorder that is gaining in prevalence in affluent societies. Previous studies hypothesized that the development of eczema is correlated with changes in microbial profile and composition of early life endemic microbiota, but contradictory conclusions were obtained, possibly due to the lack of minimization of apparent non-health related confounders (e.g., age, antibiotic consumption, diet and mode of delivery). In this study, we recruited seven caesarean-delivered and total formula-fed infants, and comparatively examined the early-life endemic microbiota in these infants with and without eczema. Using 16S pyrosequencing, infants' fecal microbiota were observed to comprise Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes as the four main phyla, and the presence and absence of specific populations within these four phyla are primarily mediated by ageing. Quantitative analysis of bacterial targets on a larger sample size (n = 36 at 1, 3, and 12 months of age) revealed that the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Enterobacteriaceae were different among caesarean-delivered infants with and without eczema, and the bacterial targets may be potential biomarkers that can correlate to the health status of these infants. Our overall findings suggest that the minimization of possible confounders is essential prior to comparative evaluation and correlation of fecal microbiota to health status, and that stool samples collected from caesarean-delivered infants at less than 1 year of age may represent a good cohort to study for potential biomarkers that can distinguish infants with eczema from those without. These findings would greatly facilitate future efforts in understanding the possible pathogenesis behind certain bacterial targets, and may lead to a timely intervention that reduces the occurrence of early life eczema and possibly allergic disorders in later life

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT