Rare-cell enrichment by a rapid, label-free, ultrasonic isopycnic technique for medical diagnostics

One significant challenge in medical diagnostics lies in the development of label-free methods to separate different cells within complex biological samples. Here we demonstrate a generic, low-power ultrasonic separation technique, able to enrich different cell types based upon their physical properties. For malaria, we differentiate between infected and non-infected red blood cells in a fingerprick-sized drop of blood. We are able to achieve an enrichment of circulating cells infected by the ring stage of the parasite over nonparasitized red blood cells by between two and three orders of magnitude in less than 3 seconds (enabling detection at parasitemia levels as low as 0.0005 %). In a second example, we also show that our methods can be used to enrich different cell types, concentrating Trypanosoma in blood at very low levels of infection, on disposable, low-cost chips

(Un) Resolved contradictions in the Late Pleistocene glacial chronology of the Southern Carpathians - new samples and recalculated cosmogenic radionuclide age estimates

Application of cosmogenic nuclides in the study of Quaternary glaciations has increased rapidly during the last decade owing to the previous absence of direct dating methods of glacial landforms and sediments. Although several hundred publications have already been released on exposure age dating of glacial landforms worldwide, very few studies targeted the Carpathians so far (Kuhlemann et al, 2013a; Makos et al., 2014; Reuther et al, 2004, 2007; Rinterknecht et al. 2012).There are many unresolved or contradictory issues regarding the glacial chronology of the Romanian Carpathians. Recently, some attempts have been made to develop an improved temporal framework for the glaciations of the region using cosmogenic 10Be dating (Reuther et al. 2004, 2007, Kuhlemann et al. 2013a). However, these studies made the picture even more confusing because the local last glacial maximum, for instance, apparently occurred in asynchronous timing compared to each other and also to other dated glacial events in Europe (Hughes et al, 2013).This situation is even more interesting if we take into account that the local glacial maximum tends to agree with the global LGM derived from the Eastern Balkans (Kuhlemann et al. 2013b), while the penultimate glaciation seems to significantly overtake the LGM advance over the Western Balkans (Hughes et al. 2011).The primary candidate reasons to resolve these discrepancies are methodological, e.g. insufficient number of samples (one sample/landform) ignoring geological scatter of the data and the application of different half-lives, production rates and scaling schemes during the calculation of exposure ages. Systematic methodological uncertainties in computing exposure ages from measured nuclide concentrations have a significant impact on the conclusions concerning correlations of exposure-dated glacier chronologies with millennial scale climate changes (Balco, 2011). The changes in glacial timing generated by only using the most recent constants for the exposure age calculations has not been considered in the most recent review on the timing of the LGM (Hughes et al., 2013).Main objective of our study is to utilize the potential offered by the cosmogenic in situ produced 10Be dating to disentangle the contradictions in the available Southern Carpathian Late Pleistocene glacial chronology (Kuhlemann et al, 2013a; Reuther et al, 2004, 2007). We recalculate 10Be data published by Reuther et al. (2007) in accordance with the new half-life and production rate of 10Be. Besides, a new sample set has been collected to establish a precise chronological framework supported by in-situ exposure dating of several additional moraine generations

A randomised trial of subcutaneous intermittent interleukin-2 without antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients: the UK-Vanguard Study

Objective: The objective of the trial was to evaluate in a pilot setting the safety and efficacy of interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy when used without concomitant antiretroviral therapy as a treatment for HIV infection. Design and Setting: This was a multicentre randomised three-arm trial conducted between September 1998 and March 2001 at three clinical centres in the United Kingdom. Participants: Participants were 36 antiretroviral treatment naive HIV-1-infected patients with baseline CD4 T lymphocyte counts of at least 350 cells/mm(3). Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to receive IL-2 at 15 million international units (MIU) per day ( 12 participants) or 9 MIU/day ( 12 participants) or no treatment ( 12 participants). IL-2 was administered by twice-daily subcutaneous injections for five consecutive days every 8 wk. Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was the change from baseline CD4 T lymphocyte count at 24 wk. Safety and plasma HIV RNA levels were also monitored every 4 wk through 24 wk. The two IL-2 dose groups were combined for the primary analysis. Results: Area under curve (AUC) for change in the mean CD4 T lymphocyte count through 24 wk was 129 cells/mm(3) for those assigned IL-2 ( both dose groups combined) and 13 cells/mm(3) for control participants (95% CI for difference, 51.3 - 181.2 cells/mm(3); p = 0.0009). Compared to the control group, significant increases in CD4 cell count were observed for both IL-2 dose groups: 104.2/mm(3) ( p = 0.008) and 128.4 cells/mm(3) ( p = 0.002) for the 4.5 and 7.5 MIU dose groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the IL-2 (0.13 log(10) copies/ ml) and control (0.09 log(10) copies/ml) groups for AUC of change in plasma HIV RNA over the 24-wk period of follow- up ( 95% CI for difference, - 0.17 to 0.26; p = 0.70). Grade 4 and dose-limiting side effects were in keeping with those previously reported for IL-2 therapy. Conclusions: In participants with HIV infection and baseline CD4 T lymphocyte counts of at least 350 cells/mm(3), intermittent subcutaneous IL-2 without concomitant antiretroviral therapy was well tolerated and produced significant increases in CD4 T lymphocyte counts and did not adversely affect plasma HIV RNA levels

Klezmer Elements in Paul Schoenfield’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano: A Violinist’s Perspective

Paul Schoenfield’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano draws extensively on the traditional Klezmer music of the Ashkenazi Jewish people of Eastern Europe. The blending of three very different instruments, as well as the Klezmer elements, unusual for the classically trained musicians, creat difficulties, as well as opportunities, for the composer and for the performers alike. Music is often considered a language. As with any language, in order to be fluent, one must understand the cultural aspects that shape that language and the people who speak it. The way the performers present a piece greatly influences the way it is received. Understanding the culture that shaped Klezmer music leads to a meaningful and effective performance of this Trio. Klezmer music is, like any folk music, mostly an oral tradition. This oral tradition is often daunting for most classical musicians, trained to read music. Therefore, one must look into the details that give Klezmer music its specific sound and style. This document provides an extensive look at the Klezmer elements in Paul Schoenfield’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano, from the perspective of a classically trained violinist

Considerations regarding the evolution of extreme temperatures in the Banat Plain in the last six decades

During cold winter nights we often hear the question "where is the global warming, should it not be warmer?". Low temperatures that can still be recorded in the Banat Plain during winter or media reports of cold waves affecting various regions worldwide seem to the common man to be in total contradiction with the concerns of the scientific community about global warming. With this article we are trying to follow the evolution of some meteorological parameters that can affect the population in one way or another, namely number of tropical days, number of winter days, number of tropical nights, number of frosty nights, absolute maximum and minimum temperatures. Thus, the data obtained from the three national meteorological services (Romanian, Hungarian, and Serbian) operating on the territory of the Banat Plain were grouped in a common database and analyzed both in Excel and with the help of the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, obtaining a series of conclusions on the evolution of the abovementioned parameters, as well as on the way how the increase in the risk of high temperatures is compensated (or not) by the decrease in the risk of low temperatures

Temporal Relationship of Increased Palaeodischarges and Late Glacial Deglaciation Phases on the Catchment of River Maros/Mureş, Central Europe

River Maros/Mureş has one of the largest alluvial fans in the Carpathian Basin. On the surface of the fan several very wide, braided channels can be identified, resembling increased discharges during the Late Glacial. In our study we investigated the activity period of the largest channel of them, formed under a bankfull discharge three times higher than present day values. Previous investigations dated the formation of the palaeochannel to the very end of the Pleistocene by dating a point bar series upstream of the selected site. Our aim was to obtain further data on the activity period of the channel and to investigate temporal relationships between maximum palaeodischarges, deglaciation phases on the upland catchment and climatic amelioration during the Late Pleistocene. The age of sediment samples was determined by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The investigation of the luminescence properties of the quartz extracts also enabled the assessment of sediment delivery dynamics in comparison to other palaeochannels on the alluvial fan. OSL age results suggest that the activity of the channel is roughly coincident with, but slightly older than the previously determined ages, meaning that the main channel forming period started at 13.50±0.94 ka and must have ended by 8.64±0.82 ka. This period cannot directly be related to the major phases of glacier retreat on the upland catchments, and in terms of other high discharge channels only the activity of one overlaps with a major deglaciation phase at ~17-18 ka. Based on these, high palaeodischarges can be rather related to increased Late Glacial runoff, resulted by increasing precipitation and scarce vegetation cover on the catchment. Meanwhile, the quartz luminescence sensitivity of the investigated channel refers to fast sediment delivery from upland subcatchments. Therefore, the retreat of glaciers could affect alluvial processes on the lowland by increasing sediment availability, which contributed to the development of large braided palaeochannels