Influence of Polyphenol Levels on the Perception of Aroma in Vitis vinifera cv. Malbec wine

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of two ranges of polyphenols naturally present in Malbec wine,high concentrations (4.5-7.2 g/L) and low (1.4-3.2 g/L), on the perception of aroma. Samples with a maximumethanol level of 13.5% were taken from the fermentation tanks before the clarification and filtration process. AQuantitative Descriptive Analysis of wines was assessed by ten trained assessors, and HS-SPME-GC-MS andphysicochemical analyses were performed. The intensities of fruity (P < 0.01), citrus (P < 0.01), strawberry (P< 0.05), cooked fruit (P < 0.01) and floral (P < 0.01) aromas decreased when the level of polyphenols increased.Neither volatile compounds nor physicochemical analyses were significant in the two groups of wines

Evaluation of pregnancy and delivery in 13 women who underwent resection of a sacrococcygeal teratoma during early childhood

Sacrococcygeal teratoma resection often brings changes in pelvic anatomy and physiology with possible consequences for defecation, micturition and sexual function. It is unknown, whether these changes have any gynecological and obstetric sequelae. Until now four pregnancies after sacrococcygeal teratoma resection have been described and cesarean section has been suggested to be the method of choice for delivery. We evaluated the pregnancy course and mode of delivery in women previously treated for a sacrococcygeal teratoma. The records of all patients who underwent sacrococcygeal teratoma resection after 1970 in one of the six pediatric surgical centers in the Netherlands were reviewed retrospectively. Women aged 18 years and older were eligible for participation. Patient characteristics, details about the performed operation and tumor histology were retrieved from the records. Consenting participants completed a questionnaire addressing fertility, pregnancy and delivery details. Eighty-nine women were eligible for participation; 20 could not be traced. Informed consent was received from 41, of whom 38 returned the completed questionnaire (92.7%). Thirteen of these 38 women conceived, all but one spontaneously. In total 20 infants were born, 17 by vaginal delivery and 3 by cesarean section, in one necessitated by previous intra-abdominal surgery as a consequence of sacrococcygeal teratoma resection. Conversion to a cesarean section was never necessary. None of the 25 women without offspring reported involuntary childlessness. There are no indications that resection of a sacrococcygeal teratoma in female patients is associated with reduced fertility: spontaneous pregnancy is possible and vaginal delivery is safe for mother and child, irrespective of the sacrococcygeal teratoma classification or tumor histolog

Lung Function after the Minimal Invasive Pectus Excavatum Repair (Nuss Procedure)

Background The Nuss procedure was introduced at our center in 1999. The operation was mainly performed for cosmesis. Little information is available regarding the influence of this operation on lung function. Methods The aim of this study, a prospective analysis, was to analyze the effect of the Nuss procedure on lung function variables. Between 1999 and 2007 a total of 203 patients with pectus excavatum were treated with the Nuss procedure, of whom 145 (104 male, 41 female) were located at Emma Children’s Hospital. In the latter subset of consecutive patients, static lung function variables [total lung capacity (TLC), functional residual capacity (FRC), vital capacity (VC)] and dynamic lung function variables [forced expired volume in 1 s (FEV1), maximum expiratory flow (MEF50)] were performed using spirometry and body box measurements at four time points: prior to operation Some of these data were presented at the International Surgical Week

Microarray evidence of glutaminyl cyclase gene expression in melanoma: implications for tumor antigen specific immunotherapy

BACKGROUND: In recent years encouraging progress has been made in developing vaccine treatments for cancer, particularly with melanoma. However, the overall rate of clinically significant results has remained low. The present research used microarray datasets from previous investigations to examine gene expression patterns in cancer cell lines with the goal of better understanding the tumor microenvironment. METHODS: Principal Components Analyses with Promax rotational transformations were carried out with 90 cancer cell lines from 3 microarray datasets, which had been made available on the internet as supplementary information from prior publications. RESULTS: In each of the analyses a well defined melanoma component was identified that contained a gene coding for the enzyme, glutaminyl cyclase, which was as highly expressed as genes from a variety of well established biomarkers for melanoma, such as MAGE-3 and MART-1, which have frequently been used in clinical trials of melanoma vaccines. CONCLUSION: Since glutaminyl cyclase converts glutamine and glutamic acid into a pyroglutamic form, it may interfere with the tumor destructive process of vaccines using peptides having glutamine or glutamic acid at their N-terminals. Finding ways of inhibiting the activity of glutaminyl cyclase in the tumor microenvironment may help to increase the effectiveness of some melanoma vaccines

Using ESTs to improve the accuracy of de novo gene prediction

BACKGROUND: ESTs are a tremendous resource for determining the exon-intron structures of genes, but even extensive EST sequencing tends to leave many exons and genes untouched. Gene prediction systems based exclusively on EST alignments miss these exons and genes, leading to poor sensitivity. De novo gene prediction systems, which ignore ESTs in favor of genomic sequence, can predict such "untouched" exons, but they are less accurate when predicting exons to which ESTs align. TWINSCAN is the most accurate de novo gene finder available for nematodes and N-SCAN is the most accurate for mammals, as measured by exact CDS gene prediction and exact exon prediction. RESULTS: TWINSCAN_EST is a new system that successfully combines EST alignments with TWINSCAN. On the whole C. elegans genome TWINSCAN_EST shows 14% improvement in sensitivity and 13% in specificity in predicting exact gene structures compared to TWINSCAN without EST alignments. Not only are the structures revealed by EST alignments predicted correctly, but these also constrain the predictions without alignments, improving their accuracy. For the human genome, we used the same approach with N-SCAN, creating N-SCAN_EST. On the whole genome, N-SCAN_EST produced a 6% improvement in sensitivity and 1% in specificity of exact gene structure predictions compared to N-SCAN. CONCLUSION: TWINSCAN_EST and N-SCAN_EST are more accurate than TWINSCAN and N-SCAN, while retaining their ability to discover novel genes to which no ESTs align. Thus, we recommend using the EST versions of these programs to annotate any genome for which EST information is available. TWINSCAN_EST and N-SCAN_EST are part of the TWINSCAN open source software package

Investigation of G72 (DAOA) expression in the human brain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polymorphisms at the G72/G30 locus on chromosome 13q have been associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in more than ten independent studies. Even though the genetic findings are very robust, the physiological role of the predicted G72 protein has thus far not been resolved. Initial reports suggested G72 as an activator of D-amino acid oxidase (DAO), supporting the glutamate dysfunction hypothesis of schizophrenia. However, these findings have subsequently not been reproduced and reports of endogenous human G72 mRNA and protein expression are extremely limited. In order to better understand the function of this putative schizophrenia susceptibility gene, we attempted to demonstrate G72 mRNA and protein expression in relevant human brain regions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of G72 mRNA was studied by northern blotting and semi-quantitative SYBR-Green and Taqman RT-PCR. Protein expression in human tissue lysates was investigated by western blotting using two custom-made specific anti-G72 peptide antibodies. An in-depth <it>in silico </it>analysis of the G72/G30 locus was performed in order to try and identify motifs or regulatory elements that provide insight to G72 mRNA expression and transcript stability.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite using highly sensitive techniques, we failed to identify significant levels of G72 mRNA in a variety of human tissues (e.g. adult brain, amygdala, caudate nucleus, fetal brain, spinal cord and testis) human cell lines or schizophrenia/control post mortem BA10 samples. Furthermore, using western blotting in combination with sensitive detection methods, we were also unable to detect G72 protein in a number of human brain regions (including cerebellum and amygdala), spinal cord or testis. A detailed <it>in silico </it>analysis provides several lines of evidence that support the apparent low or absent expression of G72.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that native G72 protein is not normally present in the tissues that we analysed in this study. We also conclude that the lack of demonstrable G72 expression in relevant brain regions does not support a role for G72 in modulation of DAO activity and the pathology of schizophrenia via a DAO-mediated mechanism. <it>In silico </it>analysis suggests that G72 is not robustly expressed and that the transcript is potentially labile. Further studies are required to understand the significance of the G72/30 locus to schizophrenia.</p

A genome-wide SNP-association study confirms a sequence variant (g.66493737C>T) in the equine myostatin (MSTN) gene as the most powerful predictor of optimum racing distance for Thoroughbred racehorses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Thoroughbred horses have been selected for traits contributing to speed and stamina for centuries. It is widely recognized that inherited variation in physical and physiological characteristics is responsible for variation in individual aptitude for race distance, and that muscle phenotypes in particular are important.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A genome-wide SNP-association study for optimum racing distance was performed using the EquineSNP50 Bead Chip genotyping array in a cohort of <it>n </it>= 118 elite Thoroughbred racehorses divergent for race distance aptitude. In a cohort-based association test we evaluated genotypic variation at 40,977 SNPs between horses suited to short distance (≤ 8 f) and middle-long distance (> 8 f) races. The most significant SNP was located on chromosome 18: BIEC2-417495 ~690 kb from the gene encoding myostatin (<it>MSTN</it>) [<it>P</it>_unadj.= 6.96 × 10^-6]. Considering best race distance as a quantitative phenotype, a peak of association on chromosome 18 (chr18:65809482-67545806) comprising eight SNPs encompassing a 1.7 Mb region was observed. Again, similar to the cohort-based analysis, the most significant SNP was BIEC2-417495 (<it>P</it>_unadj.= 1.61 × 10^-9; <it>P</it>_Bonf.= 6.58 × 10^-5). In a candidate gene study we have previously reported a SNP (g.66493737C>T) in <it>MSTN </it>associated with best race distance in Thoroughbreds; however, its functional and genome-wide relevance were uncertain. Additional re-sequencing in the flanking regions of the <it>MSTN </it>gene revealed four novel 3' UTR SNPs and a 227 bp SINE insertion polymorphism in the 5' UTR promoter sequence. Linkage disequilibrium was highest between g.66493737C>T and BIEC2-417495 (<it>r</it>²= 0.86).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Comparative association tests consistently demonstrated the g.66493737C>T SNP as the superior variant in the prediction of distance aptitude in racehorses (g.66493737C>T, <it>P </it>= 1.02 × 10^-10; BIEC2-417495, <it>P</it>_unadj.= 1.61 × 10^-9). Functional investigations will be required to determine whether this polymorphism affects putative transcription-factor binding and gives rise to variation in gene and protein expression. Nonetheless, this study demonstrates that the g.66493737C>T SNP provides the most powerful genetic marker for prediction of race distance aptitude in Thoroughbreds.</p

MAGE-C2/CT10 Protein Expression Is an Independent Predictor of Recurrence in Prostate Cancer

The cancer-testis (CT) family of antigens is expressed in a variety of malignant neoplasms. In most cases, no CT antigen is found in normal tissues, except in testis, making them ideal targets for cancer immunotherapy. A comprehensive analysis of CT antigen expression has not yet been reported in prostate cancer. MAGE-C2/CT-10 is a novel CT antigen. The objective of this study was to analyze extent and prognostic significance of MAGE-C2/CT10 protein expression in prostate cancer. 348 prostate carcinomas from consecutive radical prostatectomies, 29 castration-refractory prostate cancer, 46 metastases, and 45 benign hyperplasias were immunohistochemically analyzed for MAGE-C2/CT10 expression using tissue microarrays. Nuclear MAGE-C2/CT10 expression was identified in only 3.3% primary prostate carcinomas. MAGE-C2/CT10 protein expression was significantly more frequent in metastatic (16.3% positivity) and castration-resistant prostate cancer (17% positivity; p<0.001). Nuclear MAGE-C2/CT10 expression was identified as predictor of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy (p = 0.015), which was independent of preoperative PSA, Gleason score, tumor stage, and surgical margin status in multivariate analysis (p<0.05). MAGE-C2/CT10 expression in prostate cancer correlates with the degree of malignancy and indicates a higher risk for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Further, the results suggest MAGE-C2/CT10 as a potential target for adjuvant and palliative immunotherapy in patients with prostate cancer

The Large Observatory for x-ray timing

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study