Designing hollow nano gold golf balls.

Hollow/porous nanoparticles, including nanocarriers, nanoshells, and mesoporous materials have applications in catalysis, photonics, biosensing, and delivery of theranostic agents. Using a hierarchical template synthesis scheme, we have synthesized a nanocarrier mimicking a golf ball, consisting of (i) solid silica core with a pitted gold surface and (ii) a hollow/porous gold shell without silica. The template consisted of 100 nm polystyrene beads attached to a larger silica core. Selective gold plating of the core followed by removal of the polystyrene beads produced a golf ball-like nanostructure with 100 nm pits. Dissolution of the silica core produced a hollow/porous golf ball-like nanostructure

Noncoronary Cardiac Abnormalities Are Associated With Coronary Artery Dilation and With Laboratory Inflammatory Markers in Acute Kawasaki Disease

ObjectivesWe explored the association of noncoronary cardiac abnormalities with coronary artery dilation and with laboratory inflammatory markers early after Kawasaki disease (KD) diagnosis.BackgroundLeft ventricular (LV) dysfunction, mitral regurgitation (MR), and aortic root dilation occur early after diagnosis; their associations with coronary artery dilation and inflammatory markers have not been well-described.MethodsCentrally interpreted echocardiograms were obtained at KD diagnosis and 1 and 5 weeks after diagnosis on 198 subjects in the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Pediatric Heart Network KD pulsed steroid trial. Regression models were constructed to investigate the relationships among early LV dysfunction, MR, and aortic root dilation with coronary artery dilation and laboratory inflammatory markers.ResultsAt diagnosis, LV systolic dysfunction was present in 20% of subjects and was associated with coronary artery dilation, seen in 29% (p = 0.004). Although LV dysfunction improved rapidly, LV dysfunction at diagnosis predicted greater odds of coronary artery dilation at 1 and 5 weeks after diagnosis (5-week odds ratio: 2.7, 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 6.3). At diagnosis, MR was present in 27% of subjects and aortic root dilation was present in 8%; each was associated with larger coronary artery size at diagnosis. Left ventricular dysfunction was associated with higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate and, at diagnosis only, lower serum albumin; MR was associated with higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate and lower albumin at all times. Aortic root size had little association with inflammatory markers.ConclusionsNoncoronary cardiac abnormalities are associated with coronary artery dilation and laboratory evidence of inflammation in the first 5 weeks after KD, suggesting a shared inflammatory mechanism. (Trial of Pulse Steroid Therapy in Kawasaki Disease [A Trial Conducted by the Pediatric Heart Network]; NCT00132080

Patient-centric trials for therapeutic development in precision oncology

An enhanced understanding of the molecular pathology of disease gained from genomic studies is facilitating the development of treatments that target discrete molecular subclasses of tumours. Considerable associated challenges include how to advance and implement targeted drug-development strategies. Precision medicine centres on delivering the most appropriate therapy to a patient on the basis of clinical and molecular features of their disease. The development of therapeutic agents that target molecular mechanisms is driving innovation in clinical-trial strategies. Although progress has been made, modifications to existing core paradigms in oncology drug development will be required to realize fully the promise of precision medicine

Primary malignant melanoma of the stomach: report of a case

We report a case of primary malignant melanoma (MM) of the stomach. The patient, a 73-year-old man, was referred to our hospital for investigation of an elevated lesion in the stomach, detected by gastroscopy. On admission, physical examinations and laboratory data were unremarkable. Gastroscopy revealed a pigmented, elevated tumor, approximately 2 cm in diameter, in the posterior wall of the stomach. A biopsy was taken, which resulted in a diagnosis of MM, based on the presence of melanin in tumor cells. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography showed no accumulation of tracer except for the tumor in the stomach, indicating that it was a primary MM of the stomach. The patient underwent distal gastrectomy, but died of recurrence 1 year later. Very few cases of primary MM of the stomach have been reported. Thus, we report this case, followed by a review of the literature

Network Modeling of Liver Metabolism to Predict Plasma Metabolite Changes During Short-Term Fasting in the Laboratory Rat

The liver—a central metabolic organ that integrates whole-body metabolism to maintain glucose and fatty-acid regulation, and detoxify ammonia—is susceptible to injuries induced by drugs and toxic substances. Although plasma metabolite profiles are increasingly investigated for their potential to detect liver injury earlier than current clinical markers, their utility may be compromised because such profiles are affected by the nutritional state and the physiological state of the animal, and by contributions from extrahepatic sources. To tease apart the contributions of liver and non-liver sources to alterations in plasma metabolite profiles, here we sought to computationally isolate the plasma metabolite changes originating in the liver during short-term fasting. We used a constraint-based metabolic modeling approach to integrate central carbon fluxes measured in our study, and physiological flux boundary conditions gathered from the literature, into a genome-scale model of rat liver metabolism. We then measured plasma metabolite profiles in rats fasted for 5–7 or 10–13 h to test our model predictions. Our computational model accounted for two-thirds of the observed directions of change (an increase or decrease) in plasma metabolites, indicating their origin in the liver. Specifically, our work suggests that changes in plasma lipid metabolites, which are reliably predicted by our liver metabolism model, are key features of short-term fasting. Our approach provides a mechanistic model for identifying plasma metabolite changes originating in the liver

Baubles, Bangles, and Biotypes: A Critical Review of the use and Abuse of the Biotype Concept

Pest species of insects are notoriously prone to escape the weapons deployed in management efforts against them. This is particularly true in herbivorous insects. When a previously successful tactic fails the insect population has apparently adapted to it and is often considered to be a new or distinct entity, and given the non-formal category ‘biotype’. The entities falling under the umbrella term ‘biotype’ are not consistent either within or between biotypes, and their underlying genetic composition and origins, while generally unknown, are likely heterogeneous within and variable between biotypes. In some cases race or species may be more appropriate referents. Some examples of applications of the concept in the context of host plant resistance are discussed. It is argued here that the term ‘biotype’ and its applications are overly simplistic, confused, have not proved useful in current pest management, and lack predictive power for future management