Pathobiological Implications of MUC16 Expression in Pancreatic Cancer

MUC16 (CA125) belongs to a family of high-molecular weight O-glycosylated proteins known as mucins. While MUC16 is well known as a biomarker in ovarian cancer, its expression pattern in pancreatic cancer (PC), the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States, remains unknown. The aim of our study was to analyze the expression of MUC16 during the initiation, progression and metastasis of PC for possible implication in PC diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. In this study, a microarray containing tissues from healthy and PC patients was used to investigate the differential protein expression of MUC16 in PC. MUC16 mRNA levels were also measured by RT-PCR in the normal human pancreatic, pancreatitis, and PC tissues. To investigate its expression pattern during PC metastasis, tissue samples from the primary pancreatic tumor and metastases (from the same patient) in the lymph nodes, liver, lung and omentum from Stage IV PC patients were analyzed. To determine its association in the initiation of PC, tissues from PC patients containing pre-neoplastic lesions of varying grades were stained for MUC16. Finally, MUC16 expression was analyzed in 18 human PC cell lines. MUC16 is not expressed in the normal pancreatic ducts and is strongly upregulated in PC and detected in pancreatitis tissue. It is first detected in the high-grade pre-neoplastic lesions preceding invasive adenocarcinoma, suggesting that its upregulation is a late event during the initiation of this disease. MUC16 expression appears to be stronger in metastatic lesions when compared to the primary tumor, suggesting a role in PC metastasis. We have also identified PC cell lines that express MUC16, which can be used in future studies to elucidate its functional role in PC. Altogether, our results reveal that MUC16 expression is significantly increased in PC and could play a potential role in the progression of this disease

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Investigation of the midgut structure and ultrastructure in Cimex lectularius and Cimex pipistrelli (Hemiptera, Cimicidae)

Cimicidae are temporary ectoparasites, which means that they cannot obtain food continuously. Both Cimex species examined here, Cimex lectularius (Linnaeus 1758) and Cimex pipistrelli (Jenyns 1839), can feed on a non-natal host, C. lectularius from humans on bats, C. pipistrelli on humans, but never naturally. The midgut of C. lectularius and C. pipistrelli is composed of three distinct regions—the anterior midgut (AMG), which has a sack-like shape, the long tube-shaped middle midgut (MMG), and the posterior midgut (PMG). The different ultrastructures of the AMG, MMG, and PMG in both of the species examined suggest that these regions must fulfill different functions in the digestive system. Ultrastructural analysis showed that the AMG fulfills the role of storing food and synthesizing and secreting enzymes, while the MMG is the main organ for the synthesis of enzymes, secretion, and the storage of the reserve material. Additionally, both regions, the AMG and MMG, are involved in water absorption in the digestive system of both Cimex species. The PMG is the part of the midgut in which spherites accumulate. The results of our studies confirm the suggestion of former authors that the structure of the digestive tract of insects is not attributed solely to diet but to the basic adaptation of an ancestor

Listeria monocytogenes in Milk Products

peer-reviewedMilk and milk products are frequently identified as vectors for transmission of Listeria monocytogenes. Milk can be contaminated at farm level either by indirect external contamination from the farm environment or less frequently by direct contamination of the milk from infection in the animal. Pasteurisation of milk will kill L. monocytogenes, but post-pasteurisation contamination, consumption of unpasteurised milk and manufacture of unpasteurised milk products can lead to milk being the cause of outbreaks of listeriosis. Therefore, there is a concern that L. monocytogenes in milk could lead to a public health risk. To protect against this risk, there is a need for awareness surrounding the issues, hygienic practices to reduce the risk and adequate sampling and analysis to verify that the risk is controlled. This review will highlight the issues surrounding L. monocytogenes in milk and milk products, including possible control measures. It will therefore create awareness about L. monocytogenes, contributing to protection of public health

Management of intra-abdominal infections : recommendations by the WSES 2016 consensus conference

This paper reports on the consensus conference on the management of intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) which was held on July 23, 2016, in Dublin, Ireland, as a part of the annual World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) meeting. This document covers all aspects of the management of IAIs. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation recommendation is used, and this document represents the executive summary of the consensus conference findings.Peer reviewe

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world

\ua9 The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research. The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

To eat or not to eat? The diet of the endangered iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) in a human- dominated landscape in central Portugal

Livestock predation by large carnivores and their persecution by local communities are major conservation concerns. In order to prevent speculations and reduce conflicts, it is crucial to get detailed and accurate data on predators’ dietary ecology, which is particularly important in human dominated landscapes where livestock densities are high. This is the case of the endangered Iberian wolf in Portugal, an endemic subspecies of the Iberian Peninsula, which has seen its population distribution and abundance decline throughout the 20th century. Accordingly, the diet of the Iberian wolf was analyzed, using scat analysis, in a humanized landscape in central Portugal. From 2011 to 2014, a total of 295 wolf scats were collected from transects distributed throughout the study area, prospected on a monthly basis. Scat analysis indicated a high dependence of Iberian wolf on livestock. Domestic goat predominated the diet (62% of the scats), followed by cow (20%) and sheep (13%); the only wild ungulate present in the scat analysis was the wild boar (4% of the scats). Our results show that even though livestock constitute most part of wolves diet, different livestock species may represent different predation opportunities. We conclude that the high levels of livestock consumption may be a result of low diversity and density of wild ungulates that settles livestock as the only abundant prey for wolves. Our findings help on the understanding of the Iberian wolf feeding ecology and have implications for conflict management strategies. Finally, management implications are discussed and solutions are recommended

ATHENA detector proposal - a totally hermetic electron nucleus apparatus proposed for IP6 at the Electron-Ion Collider

ATHENA has been designed as a general purpose detector capable of delivering the full scientific scope of the Electron-Ion Collider. Careful technology choices provide fine tracking and momentum resolution, high performance electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry, hadron identification over a wide kinematic range, and near-complete hermeticity.This article describes the detector design and its expected performance in the most relevant physics channels. It includes an evaluation of detector technology choices, the technical challenges to realizing the detector and the R&D required to meet those challenges

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta