Computational study of crystallography, defects, ion migra-2 tion and dopants in almandine garnet

Almandine garnet has received considerable amounts of interest due to its application in manufacturing and engineering processes. Defect processes, Fe-ion diffusion pathways, and promising dopants on the Al, Fe, and Si sites are examined using classical pair potential simulations in almandine garnet. The cation antisite (Al–Si) defect cluster is the most favourable defect, highlighting the cation disorder in this material. A three-dimensional long-range Fe-ion diffusion pathway with an activation energy of 0.44 eV suggests that the ionic conductivity in this material is high. The most favourable isovalent dopants on the Fe, Al, and Si sites were found to be the Mn, Ga, and Ge, respectively. Subvalent doping of Ga on the Si site is a favourable process to increase the Fe content in this material

Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 gene expression positivity determined by silver in situ hybridization/immunohistochemistry methods and associated factors in a cohort of Sri Lankan patients with gastric adenocarcinoma : a prospective study

Objective: Positive human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) expression and its predictive clinicopathological features remain unclear in Sri Lankan gastric cancer (GC) patients. Here, we aimed to determine GC HER2 status predictors by analyzing associations between clinicopathological features and HER2 expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and silver in situ hybridization (SISH). Methods: During this 4-year prospective study, clinicopathological data were collected from participants in the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. HER2 IHC and SISH were performed using commercial reagents. Using chi-square tests, associations of HER2-IHC/SISH with clinicopathological features were analyzed. Results: Overall, 145 GC patients were included, 69 had gastrectomies and 76 had biopsies. Positive HER2 expression by IHC was associated with age 5/high-power field, with additional perineural invasion and lymphovascular invasion in resections. These features, excluding lymphovascular invasion but including male sex, were associated with HER2 expression by SISH. Conclusions: Age <60 years, high nuclear grade, tumor necrosis, and perineural invasion are associated factors of HER2 status. These could be used to triage GC patients for HER2 status testing in limited resource settings where IHC/SISH analysis is costly

Impact of Vaccination and Pathogen Exposure Dosage on Shedding Kinetics of Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) in Rainbow Trout

Vaccine efficacy in preventing clinical disease has been well characterized. However, vaccine impacts on transmission under diversefied conditions, such as variable pathogen exposure dosages, are not fully understood. We evaluated the impacts of vaccination on disease-induced host mortality and shedding of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Fish, in up to three different genetic lines, were exposed to different dosages of IHNV to simulate field variability. Mortality and viral shedding of each individual fish were quantified over the course of infection. As the exposure dosage increased, mortality, number offish shedding virus,daily virus quantity shed, and total amount of virus shed also increased. Vaccination significantly reduced mortality but had a much smaller impact on shedding, such that vaccinated fish still shed significant amounts of virus, particularly at higher viral exposure dosages. These studies demonstrate that the consideration of pathogen exposure dosage and transmission are critical for robust inference of vaccine efficacy

Proteomics of Buccal Cavity Mucus in Female Tilapia Fish (Oreochromis spp.): A Comparison between Parental and Non-Parental Fish

Mouthbrooding is an elaborate form of parental care displayed by many teleost species. While the direct benefits of mouthbrooding such as protection and transportation of offsprings are known, it is unclear if mouthbrooding offers additional benefits to embryos during incubation. In addition, mouthbrooding could incur negative costs on parental fish, due to limited feeding opportunities. Parental tilapia fish (Oreochromis spp.) display an elaborated form of parental care by incubating newly hatched embryos in oral buccal cavity until the complete adsorption of yolk sac. In order to understand the functional aspects of mouthbrooding, we undertake a proteomics approach to compare oral mucus sampled from mouthbrooders and non-mouthbrooders, respectively. Majority of the identified proteins have also been previously identified in other biological fluids or mucus-rich organs in different organisms. We also showed the upregulation of 22 proteins and down regulation of 3 proteins in mucus collected from mouthbrooders. Anterior gradient protein, hemoglobin beta-A chain and alpha-2 globin levels were lower in mouthbrooder samples. Mouthbrooder oral mucus collectively showed increase levels of proteins related to cytoskeletal properties, glycolytic pathway and mediation of oxidative stress. Overall the findings suggest cellular stress response, probably to support production of mucus during mouthbrooding phase