Bis[methyl 3-(propyl­amino)­but-2-eno­ato]zinc

The title compound, [Zn(C8H14NO2)2], represents a zinc complex with the Zn2+ cation coordinated by two O and two N atoms in a distorted tetrahedral geometry

Four Linked Genes Participate in Controlling Sporulation Efficiency in Budding Yeast

Quantitative traits are conditioned by several genetic determinants. Since such genes influence many important complex traits in various organisms, the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is of major interest, but still encounters serious difficulties. We detected four linked genes within one QTL, which participate in controlling sporulation efficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Following the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms by comparing the sequences of 145 genes between the parental strains SK1 and S288c, we analyzed the segregating progeny of the cross between them. Through reciprocal hemizygosity analysis, four genes, RAS2, PMS1, SWS2, and FKH2, located in a region of 60 kilobases on Chromosome 14, were found to be associated with sporulation efficiency. Three of the four “high” sporulation alleles are derived from the “low” sporulating strain. Two of these sporulation-related genes were verified through allele replacements. For RAS2, the causative variation was suggested to be a single nucleotide difference in the upstream region of the gene. This quantitative trait nucleotide accounts for sporulation variability among a set of ten closely related winery yeast strains. Our results provide a detailed view of genetic complexity in one “QTL region” that controls a quantitative trait and reports a single nucleotide polymorphism-trait association in wild strains. Moreover, these findings have implications on QTL identification in higher eukaryotes

An evaluation of the site specificity of soil elemental signatures for identifying and interpreting former functional areas

Soil multi-element analysis is now a routine technique employed to help answer questions about space use and function in and around archaeological sites. The pattern of enhancement of certain elements, including P, Pb, Ca, Zn, and Cu, has been shown by numerous studies to correlate closely with the archaeological and historical record. Interpretation of these soil signatures, however, has generally been more problematic. One approach to the problem has been the use of ethnographic or “known” sites to guide interpretation, but how confidently can results from one site be extrapolated to another? This study of abandoned farms tests the site specificity of soil multi-element signatures of past space use through the use of discriminant models. Data analysis suggests that one to one comparisons of similar sites are much less accurate (38% accuracy) than comparisons based on a wider range of sites (59.3% accuracy), even when the latter have contrasting geology. The results highlight the importance of individual anthropogenic practices during occupation and abandonment in the development of diagnostic soil geochemical signatures

The localisation of pre mRNA splicing factor PRPF38B is a novel prognostic biomarker that may predict survival benefit of trastuzumab in patients with breast cancer overexpressing HER2

Cancer biomarkers that can define disease status and provide a prognostic insight are essential for the effective management of patients with breast cancer (BC). The prevalence, clinicopathological and prognostic significance of PRPF38B expression in a consecutive series of 1650 patients with primary invasive breast carcinoma were examined using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the relationship(s) between clinical outcome and PRPF38B expression was explored in 627 patients with ER-negative (oestrogen receptor) disease, and 322 patients with HER2-overexpressing disease. Membranous expression of PRPF38B was observed in 148/1388 (10.7%) cases and was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features, including high grade, high mitotic index, pleomorphism, invasive ductal carcinoma of no specific type (IDC-NST), ER-negative, HER2-overexpression and p53 mutational status (all p < 0.01). In patients with ER-negative disease receiving chemotherapy, nuclear expression of PRPF38B was significantly associated with a reduced risk of relapse (p = 0.0004), whereas membranous PRPF38B expression was significantly associated with increased risk of relapse (p = 0.004; respectively) at a 5 year follow-up. When patients were stratified according to ER-negative/HER2-positive status, membranous PRPF38B expression was associated with a higher risk of relapse in those patients that did not receive trastuzumab therapy (p = 0.02), whereas in those patients with ER-negative/HER2-positive disease that received trastuzumab adjuvant therapy, membranous PRPF38B expression associated with a lower risk of relapse (p = 0.00018). Nuclear expression of PRPF38B is a good prognostic indicator in both ER-negative patients and ER-negative/HER2-positive BC (breast cancer) patients, whereas membranous localisation of PRPF38B is a poor prognostic biomarker that predicts survival benefit from trastuzumab therapy in patients with ER-negative/HER2-overexpressing BC

UK and Ireland Joint Advisory Group (JAG) consensus statements for training and certification in diagnostic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)

Background and Aims: International endoscopy societies vary in their approach for credentialing individuals in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to enable independent practice; however, there is no consensus in this or its implementation. In 2019, the Joint Advisory Group on GI Endoscopy (JAG) commissioned a working group to examine the evidence relating to this process for EUS. The aim of this was to develop evidence-based recommendations for EUS training and certification in the UK.Methods: Under the oversight of the JAG quality assurance team, a modified Delphi process was conducted which included major stakeholders from the UK and Ireland. A formal literature review was made, initial questions for study were proposed and recommendations for training and certification in EUS were formulated after a rigorous assessment using the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool and subjected to electronic voting to identify accepted statements. These were peer reviewed by JAG and relevant stakeholder societies before consensus on the final EUS certification pathway was achieved.Results: 39 initial questions were proposed of which 33 were deemed worthy of assessment and finally formed the key recommendations. The statements covered four key domains, such as: definition of competence (13 statements), acquisition of competence (10), assessment of competence (5) and postcertification mentorship (5). Key recommendations include: (1) minimum of 250 hands-on cases before an assessment for competency can be made, (2) attendance at the JAG basic EUS course, (3) completing a minimum of one formative direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) every 10 cases to allow the learning curve in EUS training to be adequately studied, (4) competent performance in summative DOPS assessments and (5) a period of mentorship over a 12-month period is recommended as minimum to support and mentor new service providers.Conclusions: An evidence-based certification pathway has been commissioned by JAG to support and quality assure EUS training. This will form the basis to improve quality of training and safety standards in EUS in the UK and Ireland.</p

Evaluating the impact of Relative Total Dose Intensity (RTDI) on patients' short and long-term outcome in taxane- and anthracycline-based chemotherapy of metastatic breast cancer- a pooled analysis

Background: Chemotherapy dose delay and/or reduction lower relative total dose intensity (RTDI) and may affect short- and long-term outcome of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Methods: Based on 933 individual patients' data of from 3 randomized MBC trials using an anthracycline and taxane we examined the impact of RTDI on efficacy and determined the lowest optimal RTDI for MBC patients. Results: Median time to disease progression (TTDP) and overall survival (OS) of all patients were 39 and 98 weeks. Overall higher RTDI was correlated with a shorter TTDP (log-rank p = 0.0525 for 85% RTDI cut-off). Proportional hazards assumption was violated, there was an early drop in the TTDP-curve for the high RTDI group. It was explained by the fact that patients with primary disease progression (PDP) do have a high RTDI per definition. Excluding those 114 patients with PDP the negative correlation between RTDI and TTDP vanished. However, non-PDP patients with RTDI-cut-off levels <85% showed a shorter OS than patients with higher RTDI levels (p = 0.0086). Conclusions: Optimizing RTDI above 85% appears to improve long-term outcome of MBC patients receiving first-line chemotherapy. Lowering RTDI had no negative influence on short term outcome like OR and TTDP

The development and preliminary psychometric properties of two positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia: the PPOM and the EID-Q.

Background: Positive psychology research in dementia care has largely been confined to the qualitative literature because of the lack of robust outcome measures. The aim of this study was to develop positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia. Methods: Two measures were each developed in four stages. Firstly, literature reviews were conducted to identify and operationalise salient positive psychology themes in the qualitative literature and to examine existing measures of positive psychology. Secondly, themes were discussed within a qualitative study to add content validity for identified concepts (n = 17). Thirdly, draft measures were submitted to a panel of experts for feedback (n = 6). Finally, measures were used in a small-scale pilot study (n = 33) to establish psychometric properties. Results: Salient positive psychology themes were identified as hope, resilience, a sense of independence and social engagement. Existing measures of hope and resilience were adapted to form the Positive Psychology Outcome Measure (PPOM). Due to the inter-relatedness of independence and engagement for people with dementia, 28 items were developed for a new scale of Engagement and Independence in Dementia Questionnaire (EID-Q) following extensive qualitative work. Both measures demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = .849 and α = .907 respectively) and convergent validity. Conclusions: Two new positive psychology outcome measures were developed using a robust four-stage procedure. Preliminary psychometric data was adequate and the measures were easy to use, and acceptable for people with dementia