Co-creation of information leaflets to meet the support needs of people living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) through innovative use of wiki technology

Objective: People living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) experience frustration with the lack of knowledge and understanding of CRPS as a pain condition. We report on our attempt to address this issue. Method: People living with CRPS taking part in a larger study were invited to co-construct a CRPS wiki page that addressed the areas in which they had experienced the most difficulty. A blank wiki page was set up for participants to populate with issues they felt needed to be raised and addressed. Results: Participants failed to engage with the wiki technology. We modified our procedure and completed an inductive analysis of a sister-forum which participants were using as part of the larger study. Six issues of importance were identified. We used the discussion forum threads to populate the themes. Due to a continued lack of engagement with the wiki technology, the team decided to create a suite of leaflets which were piloted with delegates at a CRPS patient conference. Conclusions: Future work should be mindful of the extent to which patients are able and willing to share their experiences through such technology. Striking the balance between patient-endorsed and researcher-driven co-creation of such material is imperative

A hybrid radiation detector for simultaneous spatial and temporal dosimetry

In this feasibility study an organic plastic scintillator is calibrated against ionisation chamber measurements and then embedded in a polymer gel dosimeter to obtain a quasi-4D experimental measurement of a radiation field. This hybrid dosimeter was irradiated with a linear accelerator, with temporal measurements of the dose rate being acquired by the scintillator and spatial measurements acquired with the gel dosimeter. The detectors employed in this work are radiologically equivalent; and we show that neither detector perturbs the intensity of the radiation field of the other. By employing these detectors in concert, spatial and temporal variations in the radiation intensity can now be detected and gel dosimeters can be calibrated for absolute dose from a single irradiation

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

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

High-Content, High-Throughput Analysis of Cell Cycle Perturbations Induced by the HSP90 Inhibitor XL888

BACKGROUND: Many proteins that are dysregulated or mutated in cancer cells rely on the molecular chaperone HSP90 for their proper folding and activity, which has led to considerable interest in HSP90 as a cancer drug target. The diverse array of HSP90 client proteins encompasses oncogenic drivers, cell cycle components, and a variety of regulatory factors, so inhibition of HSP90 perturbs multiple cellular processes, including mitogenic signaling and cell cycle control. Although many reports have investigated HSP90 inhibition in the context of the cell cycle, no large-scale studies have examined potential correlations between cell genotype and the cell cycle phenotypes of HSP90 inhibition. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address this question, we developed a novel high-content, high-throughput cell cycle assay and profiled the effects of two distinct small molecule HSP90 inhibitors (XL888 and 17-AAG [17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin]) in a large, genetically diverse panel of cancer cell lines. The cell cycle phenotypes of both inhibitors were strikingly similar and fell into three classes: accumulation in M-phase, G2-phase, or G1-phase. Accumulation in M-phase was the most prominent phenotype and notably, was also correlated with TP53 mutant status. We additionally observed unexpected complexity in the response of the cell cycle-associated client PLK1 to HSP90 inhibition, and we suggest that inhibitor-induced PLK1 depletion may contribute to the striking metaphase arrest phenotype seen in many of the M-arrested cell lines. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our analysis of the cell cycle phenotypes induced by HSP90 inhibition in 25 cancer cell lines revealed that the phenotypic response was highly dependent on cellular genotype as well as on the concentration of HSP90 inhibitor and the time of treatment. M-phase arrest correlated with the presence of TP53 mutations, while G2 or G1 arrest was more commonly seen in cells bearing wt TP53. We draw upon previous literature to suggest an integrated model that accounts for these varying observations

Patterns of Diversity in Soft-Bodied Meiofauna: Dispersal Ability and Body Size Matter

Background: Biogeographical and macroecological principles are derived from patterns of distribution in large organisms, whereas microscopic ones have often been considered uninteresting, because of their supposed wide distribution. Here, after reporting the results of an intensive faunistic survey of marine microscopic animals (meiofauna) in Northern Sardinia, we test for the effect of body size, dispersal ability, and habitat features on the patterns of distribution of several groups.Methodology/Principal Findings: As a dataset we use the results of a workshop held at La Maddalena (Sardinia, Italy) in September 2010, aimed at studying selected taxa of soft-bodied meiofauna (Acoela, Annelida, Gastrotricha, Nemertodermatida, Platyhelminthes and Rotifera), in conjunction with data on the same taxa obtained during a previous workshop hosted at Tjärnö (Western Sweden) in September 2007. Using linear mixed effects models and model averaging while accounting for sampling bias and potential pseudoreplication, we found evidence that: (1) meiofaunal groups with more restricted distribution are the ones with low dispersal potential; (2) meiofaunal groups with higher probability of finding new species for science are the ones with low dispersal potential; (3) the proportion of the global species pool of each meiofaunal group present in each area at the regional scale is negatively related to body size, and positively related to their occurrence in the endobenthic habitat.Conclusion/Significance: Our macroecological analysis of meiofauna, in the framework of the ubiquity hypothesis for microscopic organisms, indicates that not only body size but mostly dispersal ability and also occurrence in the endobenthic habitat are important correlates of diversity for these understudied animals, with different importance at different spatial scales. Furthermore, since the Western Mediterranean is one of the best-studied areas in the world, the large number of undescribed species (37%) highlights that the census of marine meiofauna is still very far from being complete

Implementing long-term EAP follow-up with clients and family members to help prevent relapse—With implications for primary prevention

This paper reports on a study in progress which involves (a) regular post-treatment contact by employee assistance program (EAP) staff with employees who seek help through the EAP, and (b) contact with a family member or other support person designated by the employee. The contacts are designed to provide support for maintenance of therapeutic gains, assistance in adjusting to current life situations, and early identification and prevention of relapse. The study will evaluate the process of initiating these contacts and will examine their effectiveness at reducing relapse. Factors associated with implementing these services in an EAP context are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45089/1/10935_2005_Article_BF02197146.pd

Mechanics rules cell biology

Cells in the musculoskeletal system are subjected to various mechanical forces in vivo. Years of research have shown that these mechanical forces, including tension and compression, greatly influence various cellular functions such as gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, and secretion of matrix proteins. Cells also use mechanotransduction mechanisms to convert mechanical signals into a cascade of cellular and molecular events. This mini-review provides an overview of cell mechanobiology to highlight the notion that mechanics, mainly in the form of mechanical forces, dictates cell behaviors in terms of both cellular mechanobiological responses and mechanotransduction

The Princeton Protein Orthology Database (P-POD): A Comparative Genomics Analysis Tool for Biologists

Many biological databases that provide comparative genomics information and tools are now available on the internet. While certainly quite useful, to our knowledge none of the existing databases combine results from multiple comparative genomics methods with manually curated information from the literature. Here we describe the Princeton Protein Orthology Database (P-POD, http://ortholog.princeton.edu), a user-friendly database system that allows users to find and visualize the phylogenetic relationships among predicted orthologs (based on the OrthoMCL method) to a query gene from any of eight eukaryotic organisms, and to see the orthologs in a wider evolutionary context (based on the Jaccard clustering method). In addition to the phylogenetic information, the database contains experimental results manually collected from the literature that can be compared to the computational analyses, as well as links to relevant human disease and gene information via the OMIM, model organism, and sequence databases. Our aim is for the P-POD resource to be extremely useful to typical experimental biologists wanting to learn more about the evolutionary context of their favorite genes. P-POD is based on the commonly used Generic Model Organism Database (GMOD) schema and can be downloaded in its entirety for installation on one's own system. Thus, bioinformaticians and software developers may also find P-POD useful because they can use the P-POD database infrastructure when developing their own comparative genomics resources and database tools