Nephropathic cystinosis associated with cardiomyopathy: A 27-year clinical follow-up

BACKGROUND: Nephropathic cystinosis is an autosomal recessive disease resulting from intracellular accumulation of cystine leading to multiple organ failure. CASE REPORT: We describe the clinical course of a patient managed from the age of six until his death at the age of 33 years. He underwent multiple surgery, including two renal transplants, developed transplant renal artery stenosis that was managed medically, and progressive heart failure at the age of 33 years. His death from a ruptured pseudoaneurysm associated with a restrictive cardiomyopathy is noteworthy. A limited cardiac autopsy revealed the presence of cystine crystals in interstitial cardiac histiocytes and one myocardial cell, along with 1000-fold higher tissue cystine content of the left ventricular myocardium compared to patients without cystinosis, suggesting the possibility of direct cystine mediated metabolic injury

Spectral Decomposition of Broad-Line AGNs and Host Galaxies

Using an eigenspectrum decomposition technique, we separate the host galaxy from the broad line active galactic nucleus (AGN) in a set of 4666 spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), from redshifts near zero up to about 0.75. The decomposition technique uses separate sets of galaxy and quasar eigenspectra to efficiently and reliably separate the AGN and host spectroscopic components. The technique accurately reproduces the host galaxy spectrum, its contributing fraction, and its classification. We show how the accuracy of the decomposition depends upon S/N, host galaxy fraction, and the galaxy class. Based on the eigencoefficients, the sample of SDSS broad-line AGN host galaxies spans a wide range of spectral types, but the distribution differs significantly from inactive galaxies. In particular, post-starburst activity appears to be much more common among AGN host galaxies. The luminosities of the hosts are much higher than expected for normal early-type galaxies, and their colors become increasingly bluer than early-type galaxies with increasing host luminosity. Most of the AGNs with detected hosts are emitting at between 1% and 10% of their estimated Eddington luminosities, but the sensitivity of the technique usually does not extend to the Eddington limit. There are mild correlations among the AGN and host galaxy eigencoefficients, possibly indicating a link between recent star formation and the onset of AGN activity. The catalog of spectral reconstruction parameters is available as an electronic table.Comment: 18 pages; accepted for publication in A

Effect of maternal panic disorder on mother-child interaction and relation to child anxiety and child self-efficacy

To determine whether mothers with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia interacted differently with their children than normal control mothers, 86 mothers and their adolescents (aged between 13 and 23 years) were observed during a structured play situation. Maternal as well as adolescent anxiety status was assessed according to a structured diagnostic interview. Results showed that mothers with panic disorder/agoraphobia showed more verbal control, were more criticizing and less sensitive during mother-child interaction than mothers without current mental disorders. Moreover, more conflicts were observed between mother and child dyadic interactions when the mother suffered from panic disorder. The comparison of parenting behaviors among anxious and non-anxious children did not reveal any significant differences. These findings support an association between parental over-control and rejection and maternal but not child anxiety and suggest that particularly mother anxiety status is an important determinant of parenting behavior. Finally, an association was found between children’s perceived self-efficacy, parental control and child anxiety symptoms

Predicted reciprocal serum creatinine at age 10 years as a measure of renal function in children with nephropathic cystinosis treated with oral cysteamine

The predicted reciprocal creatinine at age 10 years (PRC 10 ), a parameter of renal function based upon the linear relationship between reciprocal serum creatinine and age, incorporates age, serum creatinine, and rate of renal deterioration into a single term. PRC 10 measurements were employed to assess renal function in children with nephropathic cystinosis treated with oral cysteamine, a cystine-depleting agent. In 71 children receiving oral cysteamine for at least 1 year, PRC 10 decreased linearly with initial serum creatinine concentration. This indicated that, although established renal damage in cystinosis was irreversible, early intervention with cysteamine therapy could favorably alter the rate of glomerular deterioration. In other analyses, mean PRC 10 was shown to increase with duration of cysteamine therapy and extent of leukocyte cystine depletion. The predicted reciprocal creatinine value at a certain age can be useful in analyzing the effects of therapeutic intervention in a disease with a relatively uniform rate of renal deterioration.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47828/1/467_2004_Article_BF00858823.pd

Antipsychotics and Torsadogenic Risk: Signals Emerging from the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System Database

Background: Drug-induced torsades de pointes (TdP) and related clinical entities represent a current regulatory and clinical burden. Objective: As part of the FP7 ARITMO (Arrhythmogenic Potential of Drugs) project, we explored the publicly available US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database to detect signals of torsadogenicity for antipsychotics (APs). Methods: Four groups of events in decreasing order of drug-attributable risk were identified: (1) TdP, (2) QT-interval abnormalities, (3) ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia, and (4) sudden cardiac death. The reporting odds ratio (ROR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) was calculated through a cumulative analysis from group 1 to 4. For groups 1+2, ROR was adjusted for age, gender, and concomitant drugs (e.g., antiarrhythmics) and stratified for AZCERT drugs, lists I and II (http://www.azcert.org, as of June 2011). A potential signal of torsadogenicity was defined if a drug met all the following criteria: (a) four or more cases in group 1+2; (b) significant ROR in group 1+2 that persists through the cumulative approach; (c) significant adjusted ROR for group 1+2 in the stratum without AZCERT drugs; (d) not included in AZCERT lists (as of June 2011). Results: Over the 7-year period, 37 APs were reported in 4,794 cases of arrhythmia: 140 (group 1), 883 (group 2), 1,651 (group 3), and 2,120 (group 4). Based on our criteria, the following potential signals of torsadogenicity were found: amisulpride (25 cases; adjusted ROR in the stratum without AZCERT drugs = 43.94, 95 % CI 22.82-84.60), cyamemazine (11; 15.48, 6.87-34.91), and olanzapine (189; 7.74, 6.45-9.30). Conclusions: This pharmacovigilance analysis on the FAERS found 3 potential signals of torsadogenicity for drugs previously unknown for this risk

Convergence properties of η→3π\eta\to 3\pi decays in chiral perturbation theory

Theoretical efforts to describe and explain the $\eta\to 3\pi$ decays reach far back in time. Even today, the convergence of the decay widths and some of the Dalitz plot parameters seems problematic in low energy QCD. In the framework of resummed CHPT, we explore the question of compatibility of experimental data with a reasonable convergence of a carefully defined chiral series, where NNLO remainders are assumed to be small. By treating the uncertainties in the higher orders statistically, we numerically generate a large set of theoretical predictions, which are then confronted with experimental information. In the case of the decay widths, the experimental values can be reconstructed for a reasonable range of the free parameters and thus no tension is observed, in spite of what some of the traditional calculations suggest. The Dalitz plot parameters $a$ and $d$ can be described very well too. When the parameters $b$ and $\alpha$ are concerned, we find a mild tension for the whole range of the free parameters, at less than 2$\sigma$ C.L. This can be interpreted in two ways - either some of the higher order corrections are indeed unexpectedly large or there is a specific configuration of the remainders, which is, however, not completely improbable. Also, the distribution of the theoretical uncertainties is found to be significantly non-gaussian, so the consistency cannot be simply judged by the 1$\sigma$ error bars.Comment: 57 pages, 5 figure

Suv4-20h Histone Methyltransferases Promote Neuroectodermal Differentiation by Silencing the Pluripotency-Associated Oct-25 Gene

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histones exert fundamental roles in regulating gene expression. During development, groups of PTMs are constrained by unknown mechanisms into combinatorial patterns, which facilitate transitions from uncommitted embryonic cells into differentiated somatic cell lineages. Repressive histone modifications such as H3K9me3 or H3K27me3 have been investigated in detail, but the role of H4K20me3 in development is currently unknown. Here we show that Xenopus laevis Suv4-20h1 and h2 histone methyltransferases (HMTases) are essential for induction and differentiation of the neuroectoderm. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of the two HMTases leads to a selective and specific downregulation of genes controlling neural induction, thereby effectively blocking differentiation of the neuroectoderm. Global transcriptome analysis supports the notion that these effects arise from the transcriptional deregulation of specific genes rather than widespread, pleiotropic effects. Interestingly, morphant embryos fail to repress the Oct4-related Xenopus gene Oct-25. We validate Oct-25 as a direct target of xSu4-20h enzyme mediated gene repression, showing by chromatin immunoprecipitaton that it is decorated with the H4K20me3 mark downstream of the promoter in normal, but not in double-morphant, embryos. Since knockdown of Oct-25 protein significantly rescues the neural differentiation defect in xSuv4-20h double-morphant embryos, we conclude that the epistatic relationship between Suv4-20h enzymes and Oct-25 controls the transit from pluripotent to differentiation-competent neural cells. Consistent with these results in Xenopus, murine Suv4-20h1/h2 double-knockout embryonic stem (DKO ES) cells exhibit increased Oct4 protein levels before and during EB formation, and reveal a compromised and biased capacity for in vitro differentiation, when compared to normal ES cells. Together, these results suggest a regulatory mechanism, conserved between amphibians and mammals, in which H4K20me3-dependent restriction of specific POU-V genes directs cell fate decisions, when embryonic cells exit the pluripotent state

Cystinosis: practical tools for diagnosis and treatment

Cystinosis is the major cause of inherited Fanconi syndrome, and should be suspected in young children with failure to thrive and signs of renal proximal tubular damage. The diagnosis can be missed in infants, because not all signs of renal Fanconi syndrome are present during the first months of life. In older patients cystinosis can mimic idiopathic nephrotic syndrome due to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. Measuring elevated white blood cell cystine content is the corner stone for the diagnosis. The diagnosis is confirmed by molecular analysis of the cystinosin gene. Corneal cystine crystals are invariably present in all patients with cystinosis after the age of 1 year. Treatment with the cystine depleting drug cysteamine should be initiated as soon as possible and continued lifelong to prolong renal function survival and protect extra-renal organs. This educational feature provides practical tools for the diagnosis and treatment of cystinosis

Exoplanets and SETI

The discovery of exoplanets has both focused and expanded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The consideration of Earth as an exoplanet, the knowledge of the orbital parameters of individual exoplanets, and our new understanding of the prevalence of exoplanets throughout the galaxy have all altered the search strategies of communication SETI efforts, by inspiring new "Schelling points" (i.e. optimal search strategies for beacons). Future efforts to characterize individual planets photometrically and spectroscopically, with imaging and via transit, will also allow for searches for a variety of technosignatures on their surfaces, in their atmospheres, and in orbit around them. In the near-term, searches for new planetary systems might even turn up free-floating megastructures.Comment: 9 page invited review. v2 adds some references and v3 has other minor additions and modification