LRRK2 R1441G mice are more liable to dopamine depletion and locomotor inactivity

postprin

Inducible nitric oxide synthase, Nos2, does not mediate optic neuropathy and retinopathy in the DBA/2J glaucoma model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) contributes to neural death in some settings, but its role in glaucoma remains controversial. NOS2 is implicated in retinal ganglion cell degeneration in a rat glaucoma model in which intraocular pressure (IOP) is experimentally elevated by blood vessel cauterization, but not in a rat glaucoma model where IOP was elevated by injection of hypertonic saline. To test the importance of NOS2 for an inherited glaucoma, in this study we both genetically and pharmacologically decreased NOS2 activity in the DBA/2J mouse glaucoma model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of <it>Nos2 </it>in the optic nerve head was analyzed at both the RNA and protein levels at different stages of disease pathogenesis. To test the involvement of <it>Nos2 </it>in glaucomatous neurodegeneration, a null allele of <it>Nos2 </it>was backcrossed into DBA/2J mice and the incidence and severity of glaucoma was assessed in mice of each <it>Nos2 </it>genotype. Additionally, DBA/2J mice were treated with the NOS2 inhibitor aminoguanidine and the disease compared to untreated mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Optic nerve head <it>Nos2 </it>RNA levels varied and increased during moderate but decreased at early and severe stages of disease. Despite the presence of a few NOS2 positive cells in the optic nerve head, NOS2 protein was not substantially increased during the glaucoma. Genetic deficiency of <it>Nos2 </it>or aminoguanidine treatment did not alter the IOP profile of DBA/2J mice. Additionally, neither <it>Nos2 </it>deficiency nor aminoguanidine had any detectable affect on the glaucomatous optic nerve damage.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Glaucomatous neurodegeneration in DBA/2J mice does not require NOS2 activity. Further experiments involving various models are needed to assess the general importance of <it>Nos2 </it>in glaucoma.</p

Spontaneous regression in alveolar soft part sarcoma: case report and literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sarcomas are a type of malignant tumors that arise from connective tissue. They are most of the time found in extremities</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We are presenting a case of adult male patient, who was found to have huge abdominal mass and multiple gastric and duodenal polyps. Pathological diagnosis for all lesions was Alveolar soft part sarcoma. Although he complained from metastasis to both lungs and right atrium, all these deposits regressed spontaneously. Patient stated that he used some herbs (Teucrium polium, Cat Thyme) prescribed for him. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was given. The duration of regression was about 5 months before other lesions appeared. Later on, he died secondary to brain metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ASPS is a rare type of sarcomas that affect primarily the lower limbs. This tumor does rarely metastasize to the gastrointestinal tract.</p

Epitope Presentation of Dengue Viral Envelope Glycoprotein Domain III on Hepatitis B Core Protein Virus-Like Particles Produced in Nicotiana benthamiana

Dengue fever is currently ranked as the top emerging tropical disease, driven by increased global travel, urbanization, and poor hygiene conditions as well as global warming effects which facilitate the spread of Aedes mosquitoes beyond their current distribution. Today, more than 100 countries are affected most of which are tropical Asian and Latin American nations with limited access to medical care. Hence, the development of a dengue vaccine that is dually cost-effective and able to confer a comprehensive protection is ultimately needed. In this study, a consensus sequence of the antigenic dengue viral glycoprotein domain III (cEDIII) was used aiming to provide comprehensive coverage against all four circulating dengue viral serotypes and potential clade replacement event. Utilizing hepatitis B tandem core technology, the cEDIII sequence was inserted into the immunodominant c/e1 loop region so that it could be displayed on the spike structures of assembled particles. The tandem core particles displaying cEDIII epitopes (tHBcAg-cEDIII) were successfully produced in Nicotiana benthamiana via Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression strategy to give a protein of ∼54 kDa, detected in both soluble and insoluble fractions of plant extracts. The assembled tHBcAg-cEDIII virus-like particles (VLPs) were also visualized from transmission electron microscopy. These VLPs had diameters that range from 32 to 35 nm, presenting an apparent size increment as compared to tHBcAg control particles without cEDIII display (namely tEL). Mice immunized with tHBcAg-cEDIII VLPs showed a positive seroconversion to cEDIII antigen, thereby signifying that the assembled tHBcAg-cEDIII VLPs have successfully displayed cEDIII antigen to the immune system. If it is proven to be successful, tHBcAg-cEDIII has the potential to be developed as a cost-effective vaccine candidate that confers a simultaneous protection against all four infecting dengue viral serotypes

On negative results when using sentiment analysis tools for software engineering research

Recent years have seen an increasing attention to social aspects of software engineering, including studies of emotions and sentiments experienced and expressed by the software developers. Most of these studies reuse existing sentiment analysis tools such as SentiStrength and NLTK. However, these tools have been trained on product reviews and movie reviews and, therefore, their results might not be applicable in the software engineering domain. In this paper we study whether the sentiment analysis tools agree with the sentiment recognized by human evaluators (as reported in an earlier study) as well as with each other. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of the choice of a sentiment analysis tool on software engineering studies by conducting a simple study of differences in issue resolution times for positive, negative and neutral texts. We repeat the study for seven datasets (issue trackers and Stack Overflow questions) and different sentiment analysis tools and observe that the disagreement between the tools can lead to diverging conclusions. Finally, we perform two replications of previously published studies and observe that the results of those studies cannot be confirmed when a different sentiment analysis tool is used

Spoligotyping and Drug Resistance Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains from National Survey in China

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), is one of the major causes of death in the world today. Although China has the second largest global case rate of tuberculosis, a systematic study of TB prevalence in China has not been completed. From 2006 to 2007, the base line surveillance of tuberculosis was carried out by Ministry of Health, and more than 4000 representative strains were selected from 31 provinces in China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The aim of the present research was to survey the genotypes of representative Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) strains from China using spacer oligonucleotide typing (spoligotyping), and to analyze the relationship between genotype and drug resistance for the first time. A total of 4017 clinical isolates were collected from 2007 to 2008 throughout China. Among those M. tuberculosis isolates, 2500 (62.2%) isolates were Beijing genotypes. The percentage of Beijing genotypes in northern China was higher than in southern China (76.5% vs. 53.2%). Additionally, the frequencies of rifampin-resistant, ofloxacin-resistant and multidrug-resistant isolates were significantly higher in Beijing genotype strains than non-Beijing strains. Furthermore, a novel genotype named "China Southern genotype (CS)" was only isolated from Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Hence, it is very practical to uncover the reason for prevalence of the CS type in southern China. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, Beijing family genotypes were still the predominant genotype throughout China, which exhibited a greater correlation with rifampin-resistance, ofloxacin-resistance and MDR phenotypes than other TB spoligotypes, and some regions of China showed several unique characters in the distribution of M. tuberculosis genotypes. Our research represents an important contribution for the TB control and research community, which completes broad pictures on drug resistance levels and distribution of M. tuberculosis strain types over China

Probing the short range spin dependent interactions by polarized 3^{3} 3 He atom beams

Experiments using polarized 3He atom beams to search for short range spin dependent forces are proposed. High intensity, high polarization, small beam size 3He atom beams have been successfully produced and used in surface science researches. By incorporating background reduction designs as combination shielding by µ-metal and superconductor and double beam paths, the precision of spin rotation angle per unit length could be improved by a factor of ~104. By this precision, in combination with a high density and low magnetic susceptibility sample source mass, and reversing one beam path if necessary, sensitivities on three different types of spin dependent interactions could be improved by as much as ~102 to ~108 over the current experiments at the millimeter range

Prevalence of low back pain and associated occupational factors among Chinese coal miners

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Very few studies have evaluated the association between occupational factors and low back pain (LBP) among miners. The epidemiological data on LBP in Chinese miners are limited. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of low back pain in Chinese coal miners and to investigate the role of occupational factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted to examine 1573 coal miners in northern China. The prevalence of LBP over a 12-month period was assessed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Odds ratios were calculated to examine the association between the prevalence of LBP over a 12-month period and occupational factors using logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the coal miners, 64.9% self-reported LBP in a 12-month period. Occupational factors associated with LBP were identified, including tasks with a high degree of repetitiveness (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.0-1.6), tasks characterized by a high level of physical demand (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8), posture requiring extreme bending (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-1.7) and insufficient recovery time (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.8).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Low back pain is common among Chinese miners. There were strong associations with occupational factors.</p