Front Matter

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Unofficial Name-List of the Urban Residents of the Belorussian Lake District in the Areal Aspect

The article reveals areal features of the unofficial name-list of the urban residents of Belorussian Lake District in three ethnical and cultural parts: Belorussian-Lithuanian-Latvian border zone, central parts of Vitebsk region, and Byelorussian-Russian border zone. The study is based on the author’s classification of unofficial anthroponyms. The mapping method of describing intralinguistically motivated unofficial personal names has been used for the first time. Personal name-forms of different operating frequency are characterised in actual, inert zone and the zone of the unit coverage, which emphasises complex nominative priorities in the land area under study. Refs 14. Figs 3. Tables 2.Работа поддержана грантом БРФФИ № Г14М-103 договор от 23.05.2014 г. Тема: «Неофициальный ономастикон в социосфере Витебского региона». Номер госрегистрации: 20142540 от 10.10.2014

Nanoscale antiadhesion properties of sophorolipid-coated surfaces against pathogenic bacteria

A current challenge in nanomedicine is to develop innovative strategies to fight infections caused by multiresistant bacterial pathogens. A striking example is antiadhesion therapy, which represents an attractive alternative to antibiotics to prevent and treat biofilm-associated infections on medical devices. By means of single-cell force nanoscopy, we demonstrate that sophorolipid (SL) biosurfactants feature unusually strong antiadhesion properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, two nosocomial pathogens involved in catheter-related infections, which represent a major public health problem worldwide. We find that the nanoscale adhesion forces of single bacteria are much weaker on SL monolayers than on abiotic alkanethiol monolayers. The remarkable antifouling efficacy of SL-surfaces is likely to involve repulsive hydration forces associated with sophorose headgroups. We also show that, owing to their surfactant properties, soluble SLs block bacterial adhesion forces towards abiotic surfaces. Collectively, our single-cell experiments demonstrate that sophorolipids exhibit strong and versatile antiadhesion properties, making them promising candidates to design anti-infective biomaterials

Pêche hivernale : comparaison de l’efficacité de différentes méthodes pour la capture du doré et de la perchaude

Depuis le 1er avril 2017, il est interdit d’utiliser et de posséder des poissons appâts vivants en saison hivernale. Par conséquent, plusieurs adeptes de la pêche sur la glace doivent adapter leur pratique. Afin de répondre à leurs interrogations, une étude a été réalisée à l’hiver 2018. Le projet avait pour but de cibler les meilleures méthodes de pêche autres que celle des poissons appâts vivants pour la capture du doré et de la perchaude en saison hivernale. Pour ce faire, une série d’expériences a été menée sur trois plans d’eau du sud-ouest de la province de Québec, soit le lac Saint-Pierre, le lac Saint-Louis et le lac Champlain (baie Missisquoi). Pour deux techniques de pêche, la brimbale et la dandinette, différents appâts naturels et leurres artificiels autorisés dans ces plans d’eau et disponibles dans le commerce au détail ont été comparés dans le but d’évaluer le succès de pêche. De façon complémentaire, la survie à la remise à l’eau a été évaluée chez les dorés capturés au lac Saint-Pierre et comparée entre les méthodes de pêche utilisées. À la brimbale, plus de la moitié des dorés ont été capturés à l’aide du poisson appât mort congelé sans traitement particulier. À la dandinette, pour la pêche au doré, le poisson nageur à action verticale et la cuillère, tous deux munis d’un appât naturel, ont été les catégories de leurres les plus efficaces. Pour la pêche à la perchaude, l’efficacité des leurres testés différait entre les deux plans d’eau visités pour les deux techniques de pêche. Au lac Champlain, les brimbales appâtées avec des vers rouges ont été les plus efficaces, récoltant 40 % des captures, alors qu’au lac Saint-Louis, les poissons appâts congelés sans traitement ont été les plus attractifs avec 32 % des captures. À la dandinette, la nymphe des glaces munie d’un asticot a été la plus efficace au lac Champlain tandis que la cuillère munie d’un appât naturel a été meilleure au lac Saint-Louis. Ces résultats opposés s’expliqueraient par le fait qu’il y a une plus grande proportion de perchaudes de grande taille au lac Saint-Louis qu’au lac Champlain, et que ces dernières ont une alimentation davantage piscivore. À la dandinette, la majorité des catégories de leurres artificiels testés ont bénéficié, à des degrés différents, de l’ajout d’un appât naturel en termes de succès de pêche. C’est la cuillère qui a profité le plus de cet ajout, et ce, pour la capture du doré et de la perchaude. La survie des dorés remis à l’eau a été, quant à elle, très élevée (95,3 %) en période hivernale, et ce, peu importe la taille des poissons, la technique de capture et le type de leurre utilisé. Les résultats obtenus dans le cadre de cette étude confirment l’efficacité de plusieurs méthodes de pêche en saison hivernale pour la capture du doré et de la perchaude

Coronary stent artifact reduction with an edge-enhancing reconstruction kernel : a prospective cross-sectional study with 256-slice CT

Purpose Metallic artifacts can result in an artificial thickening of the coronary stent wall which can significantly impair computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with coronary stents. The objective of this study is to assess in vivo visualization of coronary stent wall and lumen with an edge-enhancing CT reconstruction kernel, as compared to a standard kernel. Methods This is a prospective cross-sectional study involving the assessment of 71 coronary stents (24 patients), with blinded observers. After 256-slice CT angiography, image reconstruction was done with medium-smooth and edge-enhancing kernels. Stent wall thickness was measured with both orthogonal and circumference methods, averaging thickness from diameter and circumference measurements, respectively. Image quality was assessed quantitatively using objective parameters (noise, signal to noise (SNR) and contrast to noise (CNR) ratios), as well as visually using a 5-point Likert scale. Results Stent wall thickness was decreased with the edge-enhancing kernel in comparison to the standard kernel, either with the orthogonal (0.97 ± 0.02 versus 1.09 ± 0.03 mm, respectively; p<0.001) or the circumference method (1.13 ± 0.02 versus 1.21 ± 0.02 mm, respectively; p = 0.001). The edge-enhancing kernel generated less overestimation from nominal thickness compared to the standard kernel, both with the orthogonal (0.89 ± 0.19 versus 1.00 ± 0.26 mm, respectively; p<0.001) and the circumference (1.06 ± 0.26 versus 1.13 ± 0.31 mm, respectively; p = 0.005) methods. The edge-enhancing kernel was associated with lower SNR and CNR, as well as higher background noise (all p < 0.001), in comparison to the medium-smooth kernel. Stent visual scores were higher with the edge-enhancing kernel (p<0.001). Conclusion In vivo 256-slice CT assessment of coronary stents shows that the edge-enhancing CT reconstruction kernel generates thinner stent walls, less overestimation from nominal thickness, and better image quality scores than the standard kernel

Health Industries in the Twentieth Century. Introduction

This article is the introduction to the special issue' Health Industries in the Twentieth Century'. It offers a broad literature review of scholarly works about the history of health and medicine, and stresses the opportunities for business historians to tackle the field of healthcare

Efficacy and tolerability of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody, CMA-676, Mylotarg(®)) in children with relapsed/refractory myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) is a cytotoxic anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody that has given promising preliminary results in adult myeloid CD33+ AML. We conducted a retrospective multicenter study of 12 children treated with GO on a compassionate basis (median age 5.5 y). Three patients (2 MDS/AML, 1 JMML) were refractory to first-line treatment, 8 patients with de novo AML were in refractory first relapse, and one patient with de novo AML was in 2(nd )relapse after stem cell transplantation (SCT). CD33 expression exceeded 20% in all cases. METHODS: GO was administered alone, at a unit dose of 3–9 mg/m(2), once (3 patients), twice (3 patients), three (5 patients) or five times (1 patient). Mean follow-up was 128 days (8–585 d). RESULTS: There were three complete responses (25%) leading to further curative treatment (SCT). Treatment failed in the other nine patients, and only one patient was alive at the end of follow-up. NCI-CTC grade III/IV adverse events comprised hematological toxicity (n = 12), hypertransaminasemia (n = 2), allergy and hyperbilirubinemia (1 case each). There was only one major adverse event (grade IV allergy). No case of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome occurred. CONCLUSION: These results warrant a prospective trial of GO in a larger population of children with AML

Investigation of NRXN1 deletions: Clinical and molecular characterization

Deletions at 2p16.3 involving exons of NRXN1 are associated with susceptibility for autism and schizophrenia, and similar deletions have been identified in individuals with developmental delay and dysmorphic features. We have identified 34 probands with exonic NRXN1 deletions following referral for clinical microarray‐based comparative genomic hybridization. To more firmly establish the full phenotypic spectrum associated with exonic NRXN1 deletions, we report the clinical features of 27 individuals with NRXN1 deletions, who represent 23 of these 34 families. The frequency of exonic NRXN1 deletions among our postnatally diagnosed patients (0.11%) is significantly higher than the frequency among reported controls (0.02%; P  = 6.08 × 10 −7 ), supporting a role for these deletions in the development of abnormal phenotypes. Generally, most individuals with NRXN1 exonic deletions have developmental delay (particularly speech), abnormal behaviors, and mild dysmorphic features. In our cohort, autism spectrum disorders were diagnosed in 43% (10/23), and 16% (4/25) had epilepsy. The presence of NRXN1 deletions in normal parents and siblings suggests reduced penetrance and/or variable expressivity, which may be influenced by genetic, environmental, and/or stochastic factors. The pathogenicity of these deletions may also be affected by the location of the deletion within the gene. Counseling should appropriately represent this spectrum of possibilities when discussing recurrence risks or expectations for a child found to have a deletion in NRXN1 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97220/1/35780_ftp.pd

The state of research into children with cancer across Europe : new policies for a new decade

Overcoming childhood cancers is critically dependent on the state of research. Understanding how, with whom and what the research community is doing with childhood cancers is essential for ensuring the evidence-based policies at national and European level to support children, their families and researchers. As part of the European Union funded EUROCANCERCOMS project to study and integrate cancer communications across Europe, we have carried out new research into the state of research in childhood cancers. We are very grateful for all the support we have received from colleagues in the European paediatric oncology community, and in particular from Edel Fitzgerald and Samira Essiaf from the SIOP Europe office. This report and the evidence-based policies that arise from it come at a important junction for Europe and its Member States. They provide a timely reminder that research into childhood cancers is critical and needs sustainable long-term support.peer-reviewe