Serum levels of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and-9 and their tissue inhibitors in inflammatory neuromuscular disorders

We monitored serum levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) before and during intravenously applied immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy in 33 patients with chronic immune-mediated neuropathies and myopathies and 15 controls. Baseline MMP-2 and TIMP-2 serum levels were lower and MMP-9 and TIMP-1 serum levels higher in all patients compared to age-matched controls. Eight days after IVIG treatment, MMP-2, TIMP-2, and TIMP-1 serum levels increased, while MMP-9 serum levels decreased, indicating tissue repair. After 60 days, MMP-9 levels increased, MMP-2 approached normal levels, while TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 serum levels were below day 8 levels, indicating relapsing tissue damage. Comparing the MMP/TIMP results with the clinical courses, IVIG treatment tended to change MMP/TIMP levels in a way that paralleled clinical improvement and relapse. In sum, during a distinct time period, IVIG therapy seems to be able to modulate VIMP-mediated tissue repair. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Focus Group Data Saturation: A New Approach to Data Analysis

The qualitative research “gold standard” for quality research is data saturation. The limited literature on reporting data saturation and transparency in qualitative research has supported an inconsistent research standard suggesting researchers have not adequately reported data saturation to promote transparency (O’Reilly & Parker, 2012). Confusion regarding how to analyze qualitative data to achieve data saturation, how to write clear qualitative research findings, and present these findings in a usable manner continues (Sandelowski & Leeman, 2012). A phenomenological asynchronous online focus group using WordPress® was employed to answer the research question. Based on the current literature on the topic of focus group data saturation, the study findings were analyzed by group, individual, and day of the study. Additionally, the data was presented in a chart format providing a visible approach to data analysis and saturation. Employing three different methods of data analysis to confirm saturation and transparency provides qualitative researchers with different approaches to data analysis for saturation and enhancement of trustworthiness. Placing data in a visual configuration provides an alternative method of presenting research findings. The data analysis methods presented are not meant to replace existing methods of achieving data saturation but to provide an alternate approach to achieving data saturation and reporting the findings in a clear, usable format

Widespread extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) abnormalities in TLE with and without mesial temporal sclerosis

MR spectroscopy has demonstrated extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions in medial temporal lobe epilepsy with (TLE-MTS) and without (TLE-no) mesial temporal sclerosis. Because of the limited brain coverage of those previous studies, it was, however, not possible to assess differences in the distribution and extent of these abnormalities between TLE-MTS and TLE-no. This study used a 3D whole brain echoplanar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) sequence to address the following questions: (1) Do TLE-MTS and TLE-no differ regarding severity and distribution of extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions? (2) Do extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions provide additional information for focus lateralization? Forty-three subjects (12 TLE-MTS, 13 TLE-no, 18 controls) were studied with 3D EPSI. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM2) was used to identify regions of significantly decreased NAA/(Cr+Cho) in TLE groups and in individual patients. TLE-MTS and TLE-no had widespread extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions. NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions had a bilateral fronto-temporal distribution in TLE-MTS and a more diffuse, less well defined distribution in TLE-no. Extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) decreases in the single subject analysis showed a large inter-individual variability and did not provide additional focus lateralizing information. Extrahippocampal NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions in TLE-MTS and TLE-no are neither focal nor homogeneous. This reduces their value for focus lateralization and suggests a heterogeneous etiology of extrahippocampal spectroscopic metabolic abnormalities in TLE

16th Annual Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases Patient Symposium

On November 13, 2021, Charles J. Yeo, MD, FACS, and the multidisciplinary team of clinicians and scientists hosted the 16th Annual Pancreatic Cancer & Related Diseases Symposium. The video of the event is available here: vimeo.com/646517712/36786afe68. View our Pancreatic Cancer Program 2021 Update to learn more about Dr. Yeo and the team’s great work! PROGRAM Welcome and Program OverviewCharles J. Yeo, MD, FACSSamuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery Advances in FT in Treating Pancreatic CancerAdam Mueller, MD, PhDInstructor, Radiation Oncology KRAS Mutation Allele Frequency Impacts Prognosis in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Using Next-Generation SequencingHarish Lavu, MD, FACSProfessor of Surgery COVID-19 Pandemic and the JPTR: Results of the 2022-2021 Annual SurveyTheresa P. Yeo, PhD, AOCHP, ACNP-BC, FAANPProfessor, Jefferson College of Nursing Jefferson Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute UpdateAvinoam Nevler, MDAssistant Professor Pancreatic Cancer: Progress in Systemic TherapiesDaniel Lin, MD, MScAssistant Professor of Medical Oncology Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (PNETs): Overview and TreatmentWilbur B. Bowne, MDProfessor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Questions & Answers Survivor Tribute Photo & Survivor Testimonia

Broadband, Polarization-Sensitive Photodetector Based on Optically-Thick Films of Macroscopically Long, Dense, and Aligned Carbon Nanotubes

Increasing performance demands on photodetectors and solar cells require the development of entirely new materials and technological approaches.Wereport on the fabrication and optoelectronic characterization of a photodetector based on optically-thick films of dense, aligned, and macroscopically long single-wall carbon nanotubes. The photodetector exhibits broadband response from the visible to the mid-infrared under global illumination, with a response time less than 32 ms. Scanning photocurrent microscopy indicates that the signal originates at the contact edges, with an amplitude and width that can be tailored by choosing different contact metals. A theoretical model demonstrates the photothermoelectric origin of the photoresponse due to gradients in the nanotube Seebeck coefficient near the contacts. The experimental and theoretical results open a new path for the realization of optoelectronic devices based on three-dimensionally organized nanotubes

Testing the paradox of enrichment along a land use gradient in a multitrophic aboveground and belowground community

In the light of ongoing land use changes, it is important to understand how multitrophic communities perform at different land use intensities. The paradox of enrichment predicts that fertilization leads to destabilization and extinction of predator-prey systems. We tested this prediction for a land use intensity gradient from natural to highly fertilized agricultural ecosystems. We included multiple aboveground and belowground trophic levels and land use-dependent searching efficiencies of insects. To overcome logistic constraints of field experiments, we used a successfully validated simulation model to investigate plant responses to removal of herbivores and their enemies. Consistent with our predictions, instability measured by herbivore-induced plant mortality increased with increasing land use intensity. Simultaneously, the balance between herbivores and natural enemies turned increasingly towards herbivore dominance and natural enemy failure. Under natural conditions, there were more frequently significant effects of belowground herbivores and their natural enemies on plant performance, whereas there were more aboveground effects in agroecosystems. This result was partly due to the “boom-bust” behavior of the shoot herbivore population. Plant responses to herbivore or natural enemy removal were much more abrupt than the imposed smooth land use intensity gradient. This may be due to the presence of multiple trophic levels aboveground and belowground. Our model suggests that destabilization and extinction are more likely to occur in agroecosystems than in natural communities, but the shape of the relationship is nonlinear under the influence of multiple trophic interactions.

Variations in Health Insurance Coverage for Rural and Urban Nonelderly Adult Residents of Florida, Indiana, and Kansas

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72274/1/j.1748-0361.2006.00023.x.pd

Habitat structure: a fundamental concept and framework for urban soil ecology

Habitat structure is defined as the composition and arrangement of physical matter at a location. Although habitat structure is the physical template underlying ecological patterns and processes, the concept is relatively unappreciated and underdeveloped in ecology. However, it provides a fundamental concept for urban ecology because human activities in urban ecosystems are often targeted toward management of habitat structure. In addition, the concept emphasizes the fine-scale, on-the-ground perspective needed in the study of urban soil ecology. To illustrate this, urban soil ecology research is summarized from the perspective of habitat structure effects. Among the key conclusions emerging from the literature review are: (1) habitat structure provides a unifying theme for multivariate research about urban soil ecology; (2) heterogeneous urban habitat structures influence soil ecological variables in different ways; (3) more research is needed to understand relationships among sociological variables, habitat structure patterns and urban soil ecology. To stimulate urban soil ecology research, a conceptual framework is presented to show the direct and indirect relationships among habitat structure and ecological variables. Because habitat structure serves as a physical link between sociocultural and ecological systems, it can be used as a focus for interdisciplinary and applied research (e.g., pest management) about the multiple, interactive effects of urbanization on the ecology of soils

Evaluation and pharmacovigilance of projects promoting cultivation and local use of Artemisia annua for malaria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are promoting the use of <it>Artemisia annua </it>teas as a home-based treatment for malaria in situations where conventional treatments are not available. There has been controversy about the effectiveness and safety of this approach, but no pharmacovigilance studies or evaluations have been published to date.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A questionnaire about the cultivation of <it>A. annua</it>, treatment of patients, and side-effects observed, was sent to partners of the NGO Anamed in Kenya and Uganda. Some of the respondents were then selected purposively for more in-depth semi-structured interviews.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighteen partners in Kenya and 21 in Uganda responded. 49% reported difficulties in growing the plant, mainly due to drought. Overall about 3,000 cases of presumed malaria had been treated with <it>A. annua </it>teas in the previous year, of which about 250 were in children and 54 were in women in the first trimester of pregnancy. The commonest problem observed in children was poor compliance due to the bitter taste, which was improved by the addition of sugar or honey. Two miscarriages were reported in pregnant patients. Only four respondents reported side-effects in other patients, the commonest of which was vomiting. 51% of respondents had started using <it>A. annua </it>tea to treat illnesses other than malaria.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Local cultivation and preparation of <it>A. annua </it>are feasible where growing conditions are appropriate. Few adverse events were reported even in children and pregnant women. Where ACT is in short supply, it would make sense to save it for young children, while using <it>A. annua </it>infusions to treat older patients who are at lower risk. An ongoing pharmacovigilance system is needed to facilitate reporting of any adverse events.</p

Possible interactions between bacterial diversity, microbial activity and supraglacial hydrology of cryoconite holes in Svalbard

The diversity of highly active bacterial communities in cryoconite holes on three Arctic glaciers in Svalbard was investigated using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of the 16S rRNA locus. Construction and sequencing of clone libraries allowed several members of these communities to be identified, with Proteobacteria being the dominant one, followed by Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes. T-RFLP data revealed significantly different communities in holes on the (cold) valley glacier Austre Brøggerbreen relative to two adjacent (polythermal) valley glaciers, Midtre Lovénbreen and Vestre Brøggerbreen. These population compositions correlate with differences in organic matter content, temperature and the metabolic activity of microbial communities concerned. No within-glacier spatial patterns were observed in the communities identified over the 2-year period and with the 1 km-spaced sampling. We infer that surface hydrology is an important factor in the development of cryoconite bacterial communities