Expression of jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula) venom allergens: Post-translational processing of allergen gene products

N-terminal analyses of electrophoretically-separated allergenic polypeptides of the venom of the jumper ant M. pilosula showed that five out of the six allergenic polypeptides identified are homologous with the cloned major allergen Myr p I and may be derived from a single precursor polypeptide. The sixth polypeptide is homologous with a second cloned major allergen, Myr p II which is expressed as a single precursor polypeptide but exists in its native form as a disulphide bond-linked complex

Utilisation concomitante du nivolumab et d’immunosuppresseurs chez un patient greffé rénal

International audienceIntroduction: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for first and second line treatments of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer based on the results of several phase III trials. Patients with organ transplantation were excluded from these studies because checkpoint inhibitors could activate allo-reactive T cells leading to acute graft rejection.Case report: A 71-year-old Caucasian-male was diagnosed with stage IV pulmonary adenocarcinoma with multiple metastases, without molecular alteration and negative PD-L1 status. He had a left kidney transplant, and his immunosuppressive regimen consisted of sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. After failure of two therapeutic lines (carboplatin-paclitaxel and erlotinib) a multidisciplinary oncology meeting with the nephrologist started third line treatment with nivolumab 3mg/kg every 15 days, with no modification of the immunosuppressive treatment. The patient received a total of 14 injections of nivolumab with stable disease but treatment was discontinued due to acute rejection of the transplanted kidney 6 months later, without need for dialysis. The patient died of a chylothorax related to progression of the tumour 12 months after initiation of nivolumab.Conclusion: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a potential treatment for solid organ transplant patients despite the risk of graft rejection

Binary blazed reflection grating for UV/VIS/NIR/SWIR spectral range

We report on the design and fabrication of a reflection grating for hyperspectral applications operating in the range from 340 nm to 1040 nm wavelength. The blazed grating is based on an effective medium approach, where the desired functionality is realized using a binary surface relief structure. For each period, a gradient in size of the local grating features mimics an interface which adds a linear phase profile to the illuminating beam-thus introducing diffraction. The surface relief structure is composed of 2D structures-pillars with diameters from 200 nm to 350 nm to voids with diameters from 300nm to 120 nm. Overall, an entire number of ∼50 such features are arranged to establish an overall unit cell of the grating over a length of 30 μm. By purposeful design of size, shape and arrangement of the sub-wavelength features such gratings offer novel opportunities in tailoring the spectral response, i.e. particular broadband efficiency or the enhancement of the efficiency in specific sub-domains of the spectrum. We will present measured performance results of a grating covering a circular area of 80mm in diameter manufactured on a 4inch-wafer. Finally, we will give an outlook on how such structures can be applied to curved surfaces and even ultra-broadband operation

Five-Year Metabolic, Functional, and Safety Results of Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Transplanted With Allogenic Islets Within the Swiss-French GRAGIL Network

International audienceOBJECTIVE: To describe the 5-year outcomes of islet transplantation within the Swiss-French GRAGIL Network. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all subjects enrolled in the GRAGIL-1c and GRAGIL-2 islet transplantation trials. Parameters related to metabolic control, graft function, and safety outcomes were studied. RESULTS: Forty-four patients received islet transplantation (islet transplantation alone [ITA] 24 patients [54.5%], islet after kidney [IAK] transplantation 20 patients [45.5%]) between September 2003 and April 2010. Recipients received a total islet mass of 9,715.75 +/- 3,444.40 IEQ/kg. Thirty-four patients completed a 5-year follow-up, and 10 patients completed a 4-year follow-up. At 1, 4, and 5 years after islet transplantation, respectively, 83%, 67%, and 58% of the ITA recipients and 80%, 70%, and 60% of the IAK transplant recipients reached HbA1c under 7% (53 mmol/mol) and were free of severe hypoglycemia, while none of the ITA recipients and only 10% of the IAK transplant recipients met this composite criterion at the preinfusion stage. Thirty-three of 44 patients (75%) experienced insulin independence during the entire follow-up period, with a median duration of insulin independence of 19.25 months (interquartile range 2-58). Twenty-nine of 44 recipients (66%) exhibited at least one adverse event; 18 of 55 adverse events (33%) were possibly related to immunosuppression; and complications related to the islet infusion (n = 84) occurred in 10 recipients (11.9%). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort with a 5-year follow-up and in a multicenter network setting, islet transplantation was safe and efficient in restoring good and lasting glycemic control and preventing severe hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes

Extreme tolerance to cadmium and high resistance to copper, nickel and zinc in different Acidiphilium strains

Interaction of metals and microbes is widespread in nature, and causes diverse changes in the earth's biosphere including formation and solubilization of minerals (Ehrlich 1981; Poole and Gadd 1989). Several metals are essential for growth,metabolism and differentiation of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells whereas the majority of them are not known to have any indispensable biological functions (Gadd 1992). The growth requirement for essential heavy metals is normally very low, and at a few mmol l-' or lower concentrations many of these heavy metals, both essential and non-essential, show toxicity in a wide range of living systems (Fergusson 1990). However, natural tolerance to one or more of these metals occurs in many bacteria with sufficiently high frequencies even in the absence of frequent exposure to any obvious source of metals which may facilitate selection of resistant cells in a population (Silver and Misra 1988). As an example, we report here the extremely high natural tolerance to Cd, and resistance to Cu, Ni and Zn in some Acidiphilium strains which are Gram-negative, aerobic, mesophilic, acidophilic heterotrophs of acidic mine environment (Harrison 1981),and had been cultured in the laboratory for several years in simple medium devoid of any heavy metal