CD3- Leukocytes Present in the Human Uterus During Early Placentation: Phenotypic and Morphologic Characterization of the CD56++ Population

In this study, the CD3- LGL/NK cells present in the pregnant human uterus have been characterized. Phenotypic and morphologic analyses of decidual LGL revealed many similarities to the minor CD56bright+, CD16- subset in peripheral blood, but there were some important differences. The relative surface density of CD56+ is greatly increased on decidual LGL to 22 x that found on the majority of CD56 peripheral blood NK cells. The CD56bright cells in decidua show LGL morphology, whereas in peripheral blood, they are .mainly agranular. Proliferation of CD56+ cells occurs predominantly during the nonpregnant secretory (luteal) phase, indicating these CD56+ uterine LGL do not migrate as terminally differentiated cells. The appearance of CD56 cells was examined at the ultrastructural level using immunoelectron microscopy. Cells with phenotypic characteristics of decidual LGL occur in a higher percentage (1.11%) in the peripheral blood of women of reproductive age than in men (0.66%). On the basis of these results, it is proposed that the CD56bright+ uterine leukocytes represent a distinctive, hormonally regulated subset possibly adapted to control human placentation

Identification of polymorphisms and balancing selection in the male infertility candidate gene, ornithine decarboxylase antizyme 3

Abstract Background The antizyme family is a group of small proteins that play a role in cell growth and division by regulating the biosynthesis of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, spermine). Antizymes regulate polyamine levels primarily through binding ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), an enzyme key to polyamine production, and targeting ODC for destruction by the 26S proteosome. Ornithine decarboxylase antizyme 3 (OAZ3) is a testis-specific antizyme paralog and the only antizyme expressed in the mid to late stages of spermatogenesis. Methods To see if mutations in the OAZ3 gene are responsible for some cases of male infertility, we sequenced and evaluated the genomic DNA of 192 infertile men, 48 men of known paternity, and 34 African aborigines from the Mbuti tribe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The coding sequence of OAZ3 was further screened for polymorphisms by SSCP analysis in the infertile group and an additional 250 general population controls. Identified polymorphisms in the OAZ3 gene were further subjected to a haplotype analysis using PHASE 2.02 and Arlequin 2.0 software programs. Results A total of 23 polymorphisms were identified in the promoter, exons or intronic regions of OAZ3. The majority of these fell within a region of less than two kilobases. Two of the polymorphisms, -239 A/G in the promoter and 4280 C/T, a missense polymorphism in exon 5, may show evidence of association with male infertility. Haplotype analysis identified 15 different haplotypes, which can be separated into two divergent clusters. Conclusion Mutations in the OAZ3 gene are not a common cause of male infertility. However, the presence of the two divergent haplotypes at high frequencies in all three of our subsamples (infertile, control, African) suggests that they have been maintained in the genome by balancing selection, which was supported by a test of Tajima's D statistic. Evidence for natural selection in this region implies that these haplotypes may be associated with a trait other than infertility. This trait may be related to another function of OAZ3 or a region in tight linkage disequilibrium to the gene.</p

Comparing research investment to United Kingdom institutions and published outputs for tuberculosis, HIV and malaria: A systematic analysis across 1997-2013

Background: The "Unfinished Agenda" of infectious diseases is of great importance to policymakers and research funding agencies that require ongoing research evidence on their effective management. Journal publications help effectively share and disseminate research results to inform policy and practice. We assess research investments to United Kingdom institutions in HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and analyse these by numbers of publications and citations and by disease and type of science. Methods: Information on infection-related research investments awarded to United Kingdom institutions across 1997-2010 were sourced from funding agencies and individually categorised by disease and type of science. Publications were sourced from the Scopus database via keyword searches and filtered to include only publications relating to human disease and containing a United Kingdom-based first and/or last author. Data were matched by disease and type of science categories. Investment (United Kingdom pounds) and publications were compared to generate an 'investment per publication' metric; similarly, an 'investment per citation' metric was also developed as a measure of the usefulness of research. Results: Total research investment for all three diseases was £1.4 billion, and was greatest for HIV (£651.4 million), followed by malaria (£518.7 million) and tuberculosis (£239.1 million). There were 17,271 included publications, with 9,322 for HIV, 4,451 for malaria, and 3,498 for tuberculosis. HIV publications received the most citations (254,949), followed by malaria (148,559) and tuberculosis (100,244). According to UK pound per publication, tuberculosis (£50,691) appeared the most productive for investment, compared to HIV (£61,971) and malaria (£94,483). By type of science, public health research was most productive for HIV (£27,296) and tuberculosis (£22,273), while phase I-III trials were most productive for malaria (£60,491). According to UK pound per citation, tuberculosis (£1,797) was the most productive area for investment, compared to HIV (£2,265) and malaria (£2,834). Public health research was the most productive type of science for HIV (£2,265) and tuberculosis (£1,797), whereas phase I-III trials were most productive for malaria (£1,713). Conclusions: When comparing total publications and citations with research investment to United Kingdom institutions, tuberculosis research appears to perform best in terms of efficiency. There were more public health-related publications and citations for HIV and tuberculosis than other types of science. These findings demonstrate the diversity of research funding and outputs, and provide new evidence to inform research investment strategies for policymakers, funders, academic institutions, and healthcare organizations.Infectious Disease Research Networ

CD3- leukocytes present in the human uterus during early placentation: phenotypic and morphologic characterization of the CD56++ population.

In this study, the CD3- LGL/NK cells present in the pregnant human uterus have been characterized. Phenotypic and morphologic analyses of decidual LGL revealed many similarities to the minor CD56bright+, CD16- subset in peripheral blood, but there were some important differences. The relative surface density of CD56+ is greatly increased on decidual LGL to 22x that found on the majority of CD56+ peripheral blood NK cells. The CD56bright+ cells in decidua show LGL morphology, whereas in peripheral blood, they are mainly agranular. Proliferation of CD56+ cells occurs predominantly during the nonpregnant secretory (luteal) phase, indicating these CD56+ uterine LGL do not migrate as terminally differentiated cells. The appearance of CD56+ cells was examined at the ultrastructural level using immunoelectron microscopy. Cells with phenotypic characteristics of decidual LGL occur in a higher percentage (1.11%) in the peripheral blood of women of reproductive age than in men (0.66%). On the basis of these results, it is proposed that the CD56bright+ uterine leukocytes represent a distinctive, hormonally regulated subset possibly adapted to control human placentation.Peer Reviewe

Adverse events profile of PrePex a non-surgical device for adult male circumcision in a Ugandan urban setting

Background: Safe Male Circumcision is a proven approach for partial HIV prevention. Several sub Saharan African countries have plans to reach a prevalence of 80% of their adult males circumcised by 2015. These targets require out of ordinary organization, demand creation, timely execution and perhaps the use of SMC devices. Objective: To profile Adverse Events rate and acceptance of PrePex, a non surgical device for adult male circumcision. Methods: A prospective study, conducted at International Hospital Kampala, Uganda, between August and October 2012. Ethical approval was obtained from Uganda National Council of Science and Technology. Results: Of 1,040 men received to undergo SMC, 678 opted for PrePex, 36 were excluded at an initial physical examination screening. 642 were enrolled and consented, and another 17 were excluded before device placement. 625 underwent the procedure. Average age was 24 years (67). Twelve moderate AEs occurred among 10 participants 12/625, (1.9%). These were all reversible. Five had device displacement, one had an everted foreskin; five had bleeding after the device was removed and one had voiding difficulties. The majority (279 out of 300) of men interviewed complained of some pain within the week of placement. Mean pain score at device placement (using visual analogue scale) was 0.5, at device removal 4.5 and within 2 min of removal the pain score was 1.4. Over 70% of the devices were placed and removed by non-physician clinicians. Presented with a choice, 60% of men chose PrePex over surgical SMC. Close to 90% would recommend the device to their friends. Odour from the necrotic skin was a concern. Removals done 1–2 days earlier than day 7 were beneficial and conferred no extra risk. Conclusion: AEs of a moderate or severe nature associated with PrePex were low and reversible. PrePex is feasible for mass safe male circumcision scaling up

Lake Kivu expedition : geophysics, hydrography, sedimentology (preliminary report)

In March 1971, seven members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were engaged in a multidisciplinary study of Lake Kivu. This expedition represents part of a long-range program concerned with the structural and hydrographical settings of the East African Rift Lakes and their relationships to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Rifts. The program started in May 1963 with a geophysical study on Lake Malawi (von Herzen and Vacquier, 1967). Several expeditions of our Institution into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area in 1964, 1965 and 1966 (Degens and Ross, 1969) provided detailed geological information on the "northern" extension of the East African Rift. And finally our study of last year on Lake Tanganyika c1osed a major gap in the program; it allowed us to out1ine a model on the evolution of a rift which starts with (i) bulging of the earth's crust, (ii) block-faulting, (iii) volcanism and hydrothermal activity, and which has its final stage in (iv) sea floor spreading (Degens et al. 1971). In the case of Lake Tanganyika, only the second stage of this evolution series has been reached, i.e. block-faulting. In contrast, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden had already evolved to active sea floor spreading, almost 25 million years ago. Somewhere along the line between Lake Tanganyika and the Gulf of Aden must lie the "missing link" of this evolution series. Lake Kivu, almost 100 miles to the north of Lake Tanganyika is situated at the highest point of the Rift Valley and is surrounded by active volcanoes and geothermal springs. As recently as 1944, lava flows reached the lake shore. This lake was therefore, a natural choice to test our hypothesis on the origin and development of rifts. Furthermore, the occurrence of large quantities of dissolved gases, e.g., CO2 and methane, represented an interesting geochemical phenomenon worthwhile to investigate.Supported by the National Science Foundation with Grants GA 19262, GB 20956, and GU 3927; grants from the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society PRF#1943A2; and by private research funds of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Towards discovery of gravitationally lensed explosive transients: the brightest galaxies in massive galaxy clusters from Planck-SZ2

We combine the Planck-SZ2 galaxy cluster catalogue with near-infrared photometry of galaxies from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey to identify candidate brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in 306 massive clusters in the Southern skies at redshifts of $z>0.1$. We find that 91% of these clusters have at least one candidate BCG within the 95% confidence interval on the cluster centers quoted by the Planck collaboration, providing reassurance that our analyses are statistically compatible, and find 92% to be reasonable candidates following a manual inspection. We make our catalog publicly available to assist colleagues interested in multi-wavelength studies of cluster cores, and the search for gravitationally lensed explosive transients in upcoming surveys including the Legacy Survey of Space and Time by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.Comment: Published in RNAAS in March 2023. 3 pages, 1 figur