Identification of Giardia lamblia DHHC Proteins and the Role of Protein S-palmitoylation in the Encystation Process

Protein S-palmitoylation, a hydrophobic post-translational modification, is performed by protein acyltransferases that have a common DHHC Cys-rich domain (DHHC proteins), and provides a regulatory switch for protein membrane association. In this work, we analyzed the presence of DHHC proteins in the protozoa parasite Giardia lamblia and the function of the reversible S-palmitoylation of proteins during parasite differentiation into cyst. Two specific events were observed: encysting cells displayed a larger amount of palmitoylated proteins, and parasites treated with palmitoylation inhibitors produced a reduced number of mature cysts. With bioinformatics tools, we found nine DHHC proteins, potential protein acyltransferases, in the Giardia proteome. These proteins displayed a conserved structure when compared to different organisms and are distributed in different monophyletic clades. Although all Giardia DHHC proteins were found to be present in trophozoites and encysting cells, these proteins showed a different intracellular localization in trophozoites and seemed to be differently involved in the encystation process when they were overexpressed. dhhc transgenic parasites showed a different pattern of cyst wall protein expression and yielded different amounts of mature cysts when they were induced to encyst. Our findings disclosed some important issues regarding the role of DHHC proteins and palmitoylation during Giardia encystation.Fil: Merino, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Zamponi, Nahuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Vranych, Cecilia Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Touz, Maria Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Ropolo, Andrea Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; Argentin

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training versus Continuous Training on Physical Fitness, Cardiovascular Function and Quality of Life in Heart Failure Patients

Introduction Physical fitness is an important prognostic factor in heart failure (HF). To improve fitness, different types of exercise have been explored, with recent focus on high-intensity interval training (HIT). We comprehensively compared effects of HIT versus continuous training (CT) in HF patients NYHA II-III on physical fitness, cardiovascular function and structure, and quality of life, and hypothesize that HIT leads to superior improvements compared to CT. Methods Twenty HF patients (male:female 19:1, 64±8 yrs, ejection fraction 38±6%) were allocated to 12-weeks of HIT (10*1-minute at 90% maximal workload—alternated by 2.5 minutes at 30% maximal workload) or CT (30 minutes at 60–75% of maximal workload). Before and after intervention, we examined physical fitness (incremental cycling test), cardiac function and structure (echocardiography), vascular function and structure (ultrasound) and quality of life (SF-36, Minnesota living with HF questionnaire (MLHFQ)). Results Training improved maximal workload, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) related to the predicted VO2peak, oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold, and maximal oxygen pulse (all P<0.05), whilst no differences were present between HIT and CT (N.S.). We found no major changes in resting cardiovascular function and structure. SF-36 physical function score improved after training (P<0.05), whilst SF-36 total score and MLHFQ did not change after training (N.S.). Conclusion Training induced significant improvements in parameters of physical fitness, although no evidence for superiority of HIT over CT was demonstrated. No major effect of training was found on cardiovascular structure and function or quality of life in HF patients NYHA II-III

Cost-effectiveness analysis of different systolic blood pressure targets for people with a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack: Economic analysis of the PAST-BP study.

The PAST-BP trial found that using a lower systolic blood pressure target (<130 mmHg or lower versus <140 mmHg) in a primary care population with prevalent cerebrovascular disease was associated with a small additional reduction in blood pressure (2.9 mmHg).To determine the cost effectiveness of an intensive systolic blood pressure target (<130 mmHg or lower) compared with a standard target (<140 mmHg) in people with a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack on general practice stroke/transient ischaemic attack registers in England.A Markov model with a one-year time cycle and a 30-year time horizon was used to estimate the cost per quality-adjusted life year of an intensive target versus a standard target. Individual patient level data were used from the PAST-BP trial with regard to change in blood pressure and numbers of primary care consultations over a 12-month period. Published sources were used to estimate life expectancy and risks of cardiovascular events and their associated costs and utilities.In the base-case results, aiming for an intensive blood pressure target was dominant, with the incremental lifetime costs being £169 lower per patient than for the standard blood pressure target with a 0.08 quality-adjusted life year gain. This was robust to sensitivity analyses, unless intensive blood pressure lowering reduced quality of life by 2% or more.Aiming for a systolic blood pressure target of <130 mmHg or lower is cost effective in people who have had a stroke/transient ischaemic attack in the community, but it is difficult to separate out the impact of the lower target from the impact of more active management of blood pressure

Measurement of the WW and WZ production cross section using final states with a charged lepton and heavy-flavor jets in the full CDF Run II data set

Citation: Aaltonen, T., Amerio, S., Amidei, D., Anastassov, A., Annovi, A., Antos, J., . . . Zucchelli, S. (2016). Measurement of the WW and WZ production cross section using final states with a charged lepton and heavy-flavor jets in the full CDF Run II data set. Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 94(3). doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.94.032008We present a measurement of the total WW and WZ production cross sections in pp collision at s=1.96 TeV, in a final state consistent with leptonic W boson decay and jets originating from heavy-flavor quarks from either a W or a Z boson decay. This analysis uses the full data set collected with the CDF II detector during Run II of the Tevatron collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.4 fb-1. An analysis of the dijet mass spectrum provides 3.7? evidence of the summed production processes of either WW or WZ bosons with a measured total cross section of ?WW+WZ=13.7±3.9 pb. Independent measurements of the WW and WZ production cross sections are allowed by the different heavy-flavor decay patterns of the W and Z bosons and by the analysis of secondary-decay vertices reconstructed within heavy-flavor jets. The productions of WW and of WZ dibosons are independently seen with significances of 2.9? and 2.1?, respectively, with total cross sections of ?WW=9.4±4.2 pb and ?WZ=3.7-2.2+2.5 pb. The measurements are consistent with standard-model predictions. © 2016 American Physical Society

ass and lifetime measurements of bottom and charm baryons in ppˉp\bar p collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 1.96 TeV

We report on mass and lifetime measurements of several ground state charmed and bottom baryons, using a data sample corresponding to 9.6 $\textrm{fb}^{-1}$ from $p\bar p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV, and recorded with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Baryon candidates are reconstructed from data collected with an online event selection designed for the collection of long-lifetime heavy-flavor decay products and a second event selection designed to collect $J/\psi \rightarrow \mu^+ \, \mu^-$ candidates. First evidence for the process $\Omega_b^- \rightarrow \Omega_c^0 \, \pi^-$ is presented with a significance of $3.3\sigma$. We measure the following baryon masses: \begin{eqnarray} M(\Xi_c^{0}) = 2470.85\pm0.24(stat)\pm0.55(syst) \, MeV/c^2, \nonumber M(\Xi_c^{+}) = 2468.00\pm0.18(stat)\pm0.51(syst) \, MeV/c^2, \nonumber \\ M(\Lambda_b) = 5620.15\pm0.31(stat)\pm0.47(syst) \, MeV/c^2, \nonumber \\ M(\Xi_b^-) = 5793.4\pm1.8(stat)\pm0.7(syst) \, MeV/c^2, \nonumber \\ M(\Xi_b^0) = 5788.7\pm4.3(stat)\pm1.4(syst) \, MeV/c^2, \, and \nonumber \\ M(\Omega_b^-) = 6047.5\pm3.8(stat)\pm0.6(syst) \, MeV/c^2. \nonumber \end{eqnarray} The isospin splitting of the $\Xi_b^{-,0}$ states is found to be $M(\Xi_b^-)-M(\Xi_b^0)=4.7\pm4.7(stat)\pm0.7(syst)$ MeV/$c^2$. The isospin splitting of the $\Xi_c^{0,+}$ states is found to be $M(\Xi_c^0)-M(\Xi_c^+)$ = $2.85\pm0.30(stat)\pm0.04(syst)$ MeV/$c^2$. The following lifetime measurements are made: \begin{eqnarray} \tau(\Lambda_b) = 1.565\pm0.035(stat)\pm0.020(syst) \, ps, \nonumber \\ \tau(\Xi_b^-) = 1.32\pm0.14(stat)\pm0.02(syst) \, ps, \nonumber \\ \tau(\Omega_b^-) = 1.66^{+0.53}_{-0.40}(stat)\pm0.02(syst) \, ps. \nonumber \end{eqnarray

Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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