Raman Fingerprints of Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons.

Bottom-up approaches allow the production of ultranarrow and atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with electronic and optical properties controlled by the specific atomic structure. Combining Raman spectroscopy and ab initio simulations, we show that GNR width, edge geometry, and functional groups all influence their Raman spectra. The low-energy spectral region below 1000 cm(-1) is particularly sensitive to edge morphology and functionalization, while the D peak dispersion can be used to uniquely fingerprint the presence of GNRs and differentiates them from other sp(2) carbon nanostructures.We acknowledge funding from: the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the framework of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award, endowed by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research of Germany; the ESF project GOSPEL (Ref. No. 09-EuroGRAPHENE-FP-001); the European Research Council (grant NOC-2D, NANOGRAPH, and Hetero2D); the Italian Ministry of Research through the national projects PRIN-GRAF (Grant No. 20105ZZTSE) and FIRB-FLASHit (Grant No. RBFR12SWOJ); the DFG Priority Program SPP 1459; the Graphene Flagship (Ref. No. CNECT-ICT-604391); the EU project MoQuaS; EPSRC Grants (EP/K01711X/1, EP/K017144/1); the EU grant GENIUS; a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. Computer time was granted by PRACE at the CINECA Supercomputing Center (Grant No. PRA06 1348), and by the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under contract number DE-SC0012704.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Chemical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b0418

Genetic Selection of Low Fertile Onchocerca volvulus by Ivermectin Treatment

Onchocerca volvulus is the causative agent of onchocerciasis, or “river blindness”. Ivermectin has been used for mass treatment of onchocerciasis for up to 18 years, and recently there have been reports of poor parasitological responses to the drug and evidence of drug resistance. Drug resistance has a genetic basis. In this study, genetic changes in β-tubulin, a gene associated with ivermectin resistance in nematodes, were seen in parasites obtained from the patients exposed to repeated ivermectin treatment compared with parasites obtained from the same patients before any exposure to ivermectin. Furthermore, the extent of the genetic changes was dependent on the level of ivermectin treatment exposure. This genetic selection was associated with a lower reproductive rate in the female parasites. The data indicates that this genetic selection is for a population of O. volvulus that is more tolerant to ivermectin. This selection could have implications for the development of ivermectin resistance in O. volvulus and for the ongoing onchocerciasis control programmes. Monitoring for the possible development and spread of ivermectin resistance, as part of the control programmes, should be implemented so that any foci of resistant parasites can be treated by alternative control measures

Association between infection early in life and mental disorders among youth in the community: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study was to examine the association between infection early in life and mental disorders among youth in the community.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were drawn from the MECA (Methods in Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent psychopathology), a community-based study of 1,285 youth in the United States conducted in 1992. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between parent/caregiver-reported infection early in life and DSM/DISC diagnoses of mental disorders at ages 9-17.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Infection early in life was associated with a significantly increased odds of major depression (OR = 3.9), social phobia (OR = 5.8), overanxious disorder (OR = 6.1), panic disorder (OR = 12.1), and oppositional defiant disorder (OR = 3.7).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings are consistent with and extend previous results by providing new evidence suggesting a link between infection early in life and increased risk of depression and anxiety disorders among youth. These results should be considered preliminary. Replication of these findings with longitudinal epidemiologic data is needed. Possible mechanisms are discussed.</p

Resonant Thermoelectric Nanophotonics

Photodetectors are typically based either on photocurrent generation from electron–hole pairs in semiconductor structures or on bolometry for wavelengths that are below bandgap absorption. In both cases, resonant plasmonic and nanophotonic structures have been successfully used to enhance performance. Here, we show subwavelength thermoelectric nanostructures designed for resonant spectrally selective absorption, which creates large localized temperature gradients even with unfocused, spatially uniform illumination to generate a thermoelectric voltage. We show that such structures are tunable and are capable of wavelength-specific detection, with an input power responsivity of up to 38 V W^(–1), referenced to incident illumination, and bandwidth of nearly 3 kHz. This is obtained by combining resonant absorption and thermoelectric junctions within a single suspended membrane nanostructure, yielding a bandgap-independent photodetection mechanism. We report results for both bismuth telluride/antimony telluride and chromel/alumel structures as examples of a potentially broader class of resonant nanophotonic thermoelectric materials for optoelectronic applications such as non-bandgap-limited hyperspectral and broadband photodetectors

Characterization of constricted fruit (ctf) Mutant Uncovers a Role for AtMYB117/LOF1 in Ovule and Fruit Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Pistil and fruit morphogenesis is the result of a complex gene network that is not yet fully understood. A search for novel genes is needed to make a more comprehensive model of pistil and fruit development. Screening for mutants with alterations in fruit morphology generated by an activation tagging strategy resulted in the isolation of the ctf (constricted fruit) mutant. It is characterized by a) small and wrinkled fruits, with an enlarged replum, an amorphous structure of the septum and an irregular distribution of ovules and seeds; b) ectopic carpelloid structures in sepals bearing ovule-like structures and c) dwarf plants with curled rosette leaves. The overexpressed gene in ctf was AtMYB117, also named LOF1 (LATERAL ORGAN FUSION1). AtMYB117/LOF1 transcripts were localized in boundary regions of the vegetative shoot apical meristem and leaf primordia and in a group of cells in the adaxial base of petioles and bracts. Transcripts were also detected in the boundaries between each of the four floral whorls and during pistil development in the inner of the medial ridges, the placenta, the base of the ovule primordia, the epidermis of the developing septum and the outer cell layers of the ovule funiculi. Analysis of changes of expression of pistil-related genes in the ctf mutant showed an enhancement of SHATTERPROOF1 (SHP1) and SHP2 expression. All these results suggest that AtMYB117/LOF1 is recruited by a variety of developmental programs for the establishment of boundary regions, including the development of floral organs and the initiation of ovule outgrowth

Oral Anticoagulants in the Oldest Old with Recent Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) versus vitamin-K-antagonists (VKA) after recent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) aged ≥85 years. METHODS: Individual patient data analysis from 7 prospective stroke cohorts. We compared DOAC versus VKA treatment among patients with AF and recent stroke (<3 months) aged ≥85 versus <85 years. Primary outcome was the composite of recurrent stroke, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and all-cause death. We used simple, adjusted and weighted Cox regression to account for confounders. We calculated the net benefit of DOAC versus VKA by balancing stroke reduction against the weighted ICH risk. RESULTS: In total, 5,984 of 6,267 (95.5%) patients were eligible for analysis. Of those, 1,380 (23%) were aged ≥85 years and 3,688 (62%) received a DOAC. During 6,874 patient-years follow-up, the impact of anticoagulant type (DOAC versus VKA) on the hazard for the composite outcome did not differ between patients aged ≥85 (HR≥85y =0.65, 95%-CI [0.52, 0.81]) and <85 years (HR<85y =0.79, 95%-CI [0.66, 0.95]) in simple (pinteraction =0.129), adjusted (pinteraction =0.094) or weighted (pinteraction =0.512) models. Analyses on recurrent stroke, ICH and death separately were consistent with the primary analysis, as were sensitivity analyses using age dichotomized at 90 years and as a continuous variable. DOAC had a similar net clinical benefit in patients aged ≥85 (+1.73 to +2.66) and <85 years (+1.90 to +3.36 events/100 patient-years for ICH-weights 1.5 to 3.1). INTERPRETATION: The favorable profile of DOAC over VKA in patients with AF and recent stroke was maintained in the oldest old

Non-invasive imaging in the diagnosis of acute viral myocarditis

Autopsy series of consecutive cases have demonstrated an incidence of myocarditis at approximately 1–10%; on the contrary, myocarditis is seriously underdiagnosed clinically. In a traditional view, the gold standard has been myocardial biopsy. However, it is generally specific but invasive and less sensitive, mostly because of the focal nature of the disease. Thus, non-invasive approaches to detect myocarditis are necessary. The traditional diagnostic tools are electrocardiography, laboratory values, especially troponin T or I, creatine kinase and echocardiography. For a long period, nuclear technique with indium-111 antimyosin antibody has been used as a diagnostic approach. In the last years, the use of this technique has declined because of radiation exposure and 48-h delay in obtaining imaging after injection to prevent blood pool effect. Thus, a non-invasive diagnostic approach without radiation and online image availability has been awaited. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging has these promising characteristics. With this technique, it is possible to analyse inflammation, oedema and necrosis in addition to functional parameters such as left ventricular function, regional wall motion and dimensions. Thus, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging has emerged as the most important imaging tool in the diagnostic procedure and the review focus on this field. But there are also advances in echocardiography and computer tomography, which are described in detail

Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1P1) is expressed by lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and endothelium and modulated during inflammatory bowel disease

The sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1P1) agonist ozanimod ameliorates ulcerative colitis, yet its mechanism of action is unknown. Here, we examine the cell subsets that express S1P1 in intestine using S1P1-eGFP mice, the regulation of S1P1 expression in lymphocytes after administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), after colitis induced by transfer of CD4+CD45RBhi cells, and by crossing a mouse with TNF-driven ileitis with S1P1-eGFP mice. We then assayed the expression of enzymes that regulate intestinal S1P levels, and the effect of FTY720 on lymphocyte behavior and S1P1 expression. We found that not only T and B cells express S1P1, but also dendritic (DC) and endothelial cells. Furthermore, chronic but not acute inflammatory signals increased S1P1 expression, while the enzymes that control tissue S1P levels in mice and humans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were uniformly dysregulated, favoring synthesis over degradation. Finally, we observed that FTY720 reduced T-cell velocity and induced S1P1 degradation and retention of Naïve but not effector T cells. Our data demonstrate that chronic inflammation modulates S1P1 expression and tissue S1P levels and suggests that the anti-inflammatory properties of S1PR agonists might not be solely due to their lymphopenic effects, but also due to potential effects on DC migration and vascular barrier function

Functional Group and Substructure Searching as a Tool in Metabolomics

BACKGROUND: A direct link between the names and structures of compounds and the functional groups contained within them is important, not only because biochemists frequently rely on literature that uses a free-text format to describe functional groups, but also because metabolic models depend upon the connections between enzymes and substrates being known and appropriately stored in databases. METHODOLOGY: We have developed a database named "Biochemical Substructure Search Catalogue" (BiSSCat), which contains 489 functional groups, >200,000 compounds and >1,000,000 different computationally constructed substructures, to allow identification of chemical compounds of biological interest. CONCLUSIONS: This database and its associated web-based search program (http://bisscat.org/) can be used to find compounds containing selected combinations of substructures and functional groups. It can be used to determine possible additional substrates for known enzymes and for putative enzymes found in genome projects. Its applications to enzyme inhibitor design are also discussed

A Research Agenda for Helminth Diseases of Humans: Modelling for Control and Elimination

Mathematical modelling of helminth infections has the potential to inform policy and guide research for the control and elimination of human helminthiases. However, this potential, unlike in other parasitic and infectious diseases, has yet to be realised. To place contemporary efforts in a historical context, a summary of the development of mathematical models for helminthiases is presented. These efforts are discussed according to the role that models can play in furthering our understanding of parasite population biology and transmission dynamics, and the effect on such dynamics of control interventions, as well as in enabling estimation of directly unobservable parameters, exploration of transmission breakpoints, and investigation of evolutionary outcomes of control. The Disease Reference Group on Helminth Infections (DRG4), established in 2009 by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), was given the mandate to review helminthiases research and identify research priorities and gaps. A research and development agenda for helminthiasis modelling is proposed based on identified gaps that need to be addressed for models to become useful decision tools that can support research and control operations effectively. This agenda includes the use of models to estimate the impact of large-scale interventions on infection incidence; the design of sampling protocols for the monitoring and evaluation of integrated control programmes; the modelling of co-infections; the investigation of the dynamical relationship between infection and morbidity indicators; the improvement of analytical methods for the quantification of anthelmintic efficacy and resistance; the determination of programme endpoints; the linking of dynamical helminth models with helminth geostatistical mapping; and the investigation of the impact of climate change on human helminthiases. It is concluded that modelling should be embedded in helminth research, and in the planning, evaluation, and surveillance of interventions from the outset. Modellers should be essential members of interdisciplinary teams, propitiating a continuous dialogue with end users and stakeholders to reflect public health needs in the terrain, discuss the scope and limitations of models, and update biological assumptions and model outputs regularly. It is highlighted that to reach these goals, a collaborative framework must be developed for the collation, annotation, and sharing of databases from large-scale anthelmintic control programmes, and that helminth modellers should join efforts to tackle key questions in helminth epidemiology and control through the sharing of such databases, and by using diverse, yet complementary, modelling approaches