Microfluidics for Hydrodynamics Investigations of Sand Dollar Larvae

The life cycle of most marine invertebrates includes a planktonic larval stage before metamorphosis to bottom-dwelling adulthood. During larval stage, ciliary-mediated activity enables feeding (capture unicellular algae) and transport of materials (oxygen) required for the larva's growth, development, and successful metamorphosis. Investigating the underlying hydrodynamics of these behaviors is valuable for addressing fundamental biological questions (e.g., phenotypic plasticity) and advancing engineering applications. In this work, we combined microfluidics and fluorescence microscopy as a miniaturized PIV (mPIV) to study ciliary-medicated hydrodynamics during suspension feeding in sand dollar larvae (Dendraster excentricus). First, we confirmed the approach's feasibility by examining the underlying hydrodynamics (vortex patterns) for low- and high-fed larvae. Next, ciliary hydrodynamics were tracked from 11 days post-fertilization (DPF) to 20 DPF for 21 low-fed larvae. Microfluidics enabled the examination of baseline activities (without external flow) and behaviors in the presence of environmental cues (external flow). A library of qualitative vortex patterns and quantitative hydrodynamics was generated and shared as a stand alone repository. Results from mPIV (velocities) were used to examine the role of ciliary activity in transporting materials (oxygen). Given the laminar flow and the viscosity-dominated environments surrounding the larvae, overcoming the diffusive boundary layer is critical for the organism's survival. Peclet number analysis for oxygen transport suggested that ciliary velocities help overcome the diffusion dominated transport (max Pe numbers between 30-60). Microfluidics serving as mPIV provided a scalable and accessible approach for investigating the ciliary hydrodynamics of marine organisms.Comment: 21 pages and 11 figures (videos not included

Negative parental responses to coming out and family functioning in a sample of lesbian and gay young adults

Parental responses to youths' coming out (CO) are crucial to the subsequent adjustment of children and family. The present study investigated the negative parental reaction to the disclosure of same-sex attraction and the differences between maternal and paternal responses, as reported by their homosexual daughters and sons. Participants' perceptions of their parents' reactions (evaluated through the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale, PPRS), age at coming out, gender, parental political orientation, and religiosity involvement, the family functioning (assessed through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, FACES IV), were assessed in 164 Italian gay and lesbian young adults. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relation between family functioning and parental reaction to CO. The paired sample t-test was used to compare mothers and fathers' scores on the PPRS. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to analyze the relevance of each variable. No differences were found between mothers and fathers in their reaction to the disclosure. The analysis showed that a negative reaction to coming out was predicted by parents' right-wing political conservatism, strong religious beliefs, and higher scores in the scales Rigid and Enmeshed. Findings confirm that a negative parental reaction is the result of poor family resources to face a stressful situation and a strong belief in traditional values. These results have important implications in both clinical and social fields

Incidental Thyroid Carcinoma by FDG-PET/CT: A Study of Clinicopathological Characteristics

BACKGROUND: The rising incidence of incidental thyroid carcinoma (ITC) detected during fluoro-2-deoxy-D: -glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanning poses a challenge to clinicians. The present study aims to critically evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of ITC detected by FDG-PET/CT. METHODS: Among the 557 patients managed at our institution, 40 (7.2%) patients were identified as having ITC. Of these, 22 patients had their tumor detected by FDG-PET/CT (PET group) and 11 by ultrasonography (USG group). Additional bedside ultrasonography +/- fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was done in all patients at their clinic visit. The clinicopathological characteristics were compared between the PET and USG groups. RESULTS: The PET group had significantly more patients with history of nonthyroidal malignancy (P < 0.001). Papillary carcinoma was the most common histological type in both groups. Despite having similar histological and prognostic features including tumor size, tumor multifocality, capsular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, and lymph node metastases, tumor bilaterality (or presence of contralateral tumor focus) was significantly more frequent in the PET than the USG group (P = 0.04). The tumors were also more advanced by the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system in the PET group (P = 0.021). None of the contralateral tumor foci were evident preoperatively. One patient in the USG group developed metastatic thyroid carcinoma in neck lymph nodes 28 months after thyroid resection. CONCLUSION: ITC by FDG-PET/CT had higher incidence of tumor bilaterality than those detected by ultrasonography. Total thyroidectomy should be considered for ITC detected by FDG-PET/CT even for tumor size <10 mm.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 31 May 201

Shoulder hemiarthroplasty for fractures of the proximal humerus

Proximal humeral fractures were managed with primary hemiarthroplasty in 57 patients, 53 women (93%) and 4 men (7%) aged 51–87 years (mean 72.2). The mean follow-up period was 52 months (range 12–98), and the mean Constant score was 59.2 (range 38–76). Patients were very satisfied (n = 19); satisfied (n = 32) or dissatisfied with the outcome (n = 5). One patient required early revision surgery. Surgical treatment of three- and four-part fractures of the proximal humerus with hemiarthroplasty is a safe and effective approach, the outcome of which appears to be related to the quality of the anatomical reconstruction of the tuberosities

FIV establishes a latent infection in feline peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocytes in vivo during the asymptomatic phase of infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus of cats that establishes a lifelong persistent infection with immunologic impairment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In an approximately 2 year-long experimental infection study, cats infected with a biological isolate of FIV clade C demonstrated undetectable plasma viral loads from 10 months post-infection onward. Viral DNA was detected in CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25- T cells isolated from infected cats whereas viral RNA was not detected at multiple time points during the early chronic phase of infection. Viral transcription could be reactivated in latently infected CD4+ T cells <it>ex vivo </it>as demonstrated by detectable FIV <it>gag </it>RNA and 2-long terminal repeat (LTR) circle junctions. Viral LTR and <it>gag </it>sequences amplified from peripheral blood mononuclear cells during early and chronic stages of infection demonstrated minimal to no viral sequence variation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, these findings are consistent with FIV latency in peripheral blood CD4+ T cells isolated from chronically infected cats. The ability to isolate latently FIV-infected CD4+ T lymphocytes from FIV-infected cats provides a platform for the study of <it>in vivo </it>mechanisms of lentiviral latency.</p

The astrobiology primer: An outline of general knowledge - Version 1, 2006

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Common Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Blood Biomarker Measurements in COPD

Implementing precision medicine for complex diseases such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) will require extensive use of biomarkers and an in-depth understanding of how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental variations contribute to phenotypic diversity and disease progression. A meta-analysis from two large cohorts of current and former smokers with and without COPD [SPIROMICS (N = 750); COPDGene (N = 590)] was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with measurement of 88 blood proteins (protein quantitative trait loci; pQTLs). PQTLs consistently replicated between the two cohorts. Features of pQTLs were compared to previously reported expression QTLs (eQTLs). Inference of causal relations of pQTL genotypes, biomarker measurements, and four clinical COPD phenotypes (airflow obstruction, emphysema, exacerbation history, and chronic bronchitis) were explored using conditional independence tests. We identified 527 highly significant (p 10% of measured variation in 13 protein biomarkers, with a single SNP (rs7041; p = 10−392) explaining 71%-75% of the measured variation in vitamin D binding protein (gene = GC). Some of these pQTLs [e.g., pQTLs for VDBP, sRAGE (gene = AGER), surfactant protein D (gene = SFTPD), and TNFRSF10C] have been previously associated with COPD phenotypes. Most pQTLs were local (cis), but distant (trans) pQTL SNPs in the ABO blood group locus were the top pQTL SNPs for five proteins. The inclusion of pQTL SNPs improved the clinical predictive value for the established association of sRAGE and emphysema, and the explanation of variance (R2) for emphysema improved from 0.3 to 0.4 when the pQTL SNP was included in the model along with clinical covariates. Causal modeling provided insight into specific pQTL-disease relationships for airflow obstruction and emphysema. In conclusion, given the frequency of highly significant local pQTLs, the large amount of variance potentially explained by pQTL, and the differences observed between pQTLs and eQTLs SNPs, we recommend that protein biomarker-disease association studies take into account the potential effect of common local SNPs and that pQTLs be integrated along with eQTLs to uncover disease mechanisms. Large-scale blood biomarker studies would also benefit from close attention to the ABO blood group

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

The Fifteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release of MaNGA-derived Quantities, Data Visualization Tools, and Stellar Library

Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its first three years of operation (2014 July–2017 July). This is the third data release for SDSS-IV, and the 15th from SDSS (Data Release Fifteen; DR15). New data come from MaNGA—we release 4824 data cubes, as well as the first stellar spectra in the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), the first set of survey-supported analysis products (e.g., stellar and gas kinematics, emission-line and other maps) from the MaNGA Data Analysis Pipeline, and a new data visualization and access tool we call "Marvin." The next data release, DR16, will include new data from both APOGEE-2 and eBOSS; those surveys release no new data here, but we document updates and corrections to their data processing pipelines. The release is cumulative; it also includes the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since first light. In this paper, we describe the location and format of the data and tools and cite technical references describing how it was obtained and processed. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has also been updated, providing links to data downloads, tutorials, and examples of data use. Although SDSS-IV will continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V (2020–2025), we end this paper by describing plans to ensure the sustainability of the SDSS data archive for many years beyond the collection of data

The 13th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-IV Survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in July 2014. It pursues three core programs: APOGEE-2,MaNGA, and eBOSS. In addition, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: TDSS and SPIDERS. This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13), which contains new data, reanalysis of existing data sets and, like all SDSS data releases, is inclusive of previously released data. DR13 makes publicly available 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA,the first data released from this survey. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing SEQUELS. In addition to targeting galaxies and quasars, SEQUELS also targeted variability-selected objects from TDSS and X-ray selected objects from SPIDERS. DR13 includes new reductions ofthe SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification. DR13 releases new reductions of the APOGEE-1data from SDSS-III, with abundances of elements not previously included and improved stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. For the SDSS imaging data, DR13 provides new, more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Several value-added catalogs are being released in tandem with DR13, in particular target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS, and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE.This paper describes the location and format of the data now publicly available, as well as providing references to the important technical papers that describe the targeting, observing, and data reduction. The SDSS website, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials and examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ~6-year operations of SDSS-IV.PostprintPeer reviewe