Cholelithiasis in an Infant with Bilateral Cataract and Congenital CMV Infection

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is recognized pathogen known for most common intrauterine infection in humans and vertical transmissions. We present a case of congenital CMV infection with bilateral cataract which is complicated by cholelithiasis which was later diagnosed on ultrasound examination of abdomen. This case is of particular interest because cholelithiasis has never been reported with CMV infection in literature. Patient had no history of any immune deficiency, any hemolytic or bowel disease

Role of the beta common (beta c) family of cytokines in health and disease

The β common ([βc]/CD131) family of cytokines comprises granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin (IL)-3, and IL-5, all of which use βc as their key signaling receptor subunit. This is a prototypic signaling subunit-sharing cytokine family that has unveiled many biological paradigms and structural principles applicable to the IL-2, IL-4, and IL-6 receptor families, all of which also share one or more signaling subunits. Originally identified for their functions in the hematopoietic system, the βc cytokines are now known to be truly pleiotropic, impacting on multiple cell types, organs, and biological systems, and thereby controlling the balance between health and disease. This review will focus on the emerging biological roles for the βc cytokines, our progress toward understanding the mechanisms of receptor assembly and signaling, and the application of this knowledge to develop exciting new therapeutic approaches against human disease.Timothy R. Hercus, Winnie L. T. Kan, Sophie E. Broughton, Denis Tvorogov, Hayley S. Ramshaw, Jarrod J. Sandow, Tracy L. Nero, Urmi Dhagat, Emma J. Thompson, Karen S. Cheung Tung Shing, Duncan R. McKenzie, Nicholas J. Wilson, Catherine M. Owczarek, Gino Vairo, Andrew D. Nash, Vinay Tergaonkar, Timothy Hughes, Paul G. Ekert, Michael S. Samuel, Claudine S. Bonder, Michele A. Grimbaldeston, Michael W. Parker and Angel F. Lope

Light Sensing in a Photoresponsive, Organic-Based Complementary Inverter

A photoresponsive organic complementary inverter was fabricated and its light sensing characteristics was studied. An organic circuit was fabricated by integrating p-channel pentacene and n-channel copper hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (F16CuPc) organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with a polymeric gate dielectric. The F16CuPc OTFT showed typical n-type characteristics and a strong photoresponse under illumination. Whereas under illumination the pentacene OTFT showed a relatively weak photoresponse with typical p-type characteristics. The characteristics of the organic electro-optical circuit could be controlled by the incident light intensity, a gate bias, or both. The logic threshold (V-M, when V-IN = V-OUT) was reduced from 28.6 V without illumination to 19.9 v at 6.94 mW/cm(2). By using solely optical or a combination of optical and electrical pulse signals, light sensing was demonstrated in this type of organic circuit, suggesting that the circuit can be potentially used in various optoelectronic applications, including optical sensors, photodetectors and electro-optical transceivers