Multistate latching MEMS variable optical attenuator

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Distribution of preoperative and postoperative astigmatism in a large population of patients undergoing cataract surgery in the UK

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence and severity of preoperative and postoperative astigmatism in patients with cataract in the UK. SETTING: Data from 8 UK National Health Service ophthalmology clinics using MediSoft electronic medical records (EMRs). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Eyes from patients aged ≥65 years undergoing cataract surgery were analysed. For all eyes, preoperative (corneal) astigmatism was evaluated using the most recent keratometry measure within 2 years prior to surgery. For eyes receiving standard monofocal intraocular lens (IOLs), postoperative refractive astigmatism was evaluated using the most recent refraction measure within 2-12 months postsurgery. A power vector analysis compared changes in the astigmatic 2-dimensional vector (J0, J45) before and after surgery, for the subgroup of eyes with both preoperative and postoperative astigmatism measurements. Visual acuity was also assessed preoperatively and postoperatively. RESULTS: Eligible eyes included in the analysis were 110 468. Of these, 78% (n=85 650) had preoperative (corneal) astigmatism ≥0.5 dioptres (D), 42% (n=46 003) ≥1.0 D, 21% (n=22 899) ≥1.5 D and 11% (n=11 651) ≥2.0 D. After surgery, the refraction cylinder was available for 39 744 (36%) eyes receiving standard monofocal IOLs, of which 90% (n=35 907) had postoperative astigmatism ≥0.5 D and 58% (n=22 886) ≥1.0 D. Visual acuity tended to worsen postoperatively with increased astigmatism (ρ=-0.44, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant burden of preoperative astigmatism in the UK cataract population. The available refraction data indicate that this burden is not reduced after surgery with implantation of standard monofocal IOLs. Measures should be taken to improve visual outcomes of patients with astigmatic cataract by simultaneously correcting astigmatism during cataract surgery

Hsp90 orchestrates transcriptional regulation by Hsf1 and cell wall remodelling by MAPK signalling during thermal adaptation in a pathogenic yeast

Acknowledgments We thank Rebecca Shapiro for creating CaLC1819, CaLC1855 and CaLC1875, Gillian Milne for help with EM, Aaron Mitchell for generously providing the transposon insertion mutant library, Jesus Pla for generously providing the hog1 hst7 mutant, and Cathy Collins for technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Anthropometric measures in relation to Basal Cell Carcinoma: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: The relationship between anthropometric indices and risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is largely unknown. We aimed to examine the association between anthropometric measures and development of BCC and to demonstrate whether adherence to World Health Organisation guidelines for body mass index, waist circumference, and waist/hip ratio was associated with risk of BCC, independent of sun exposure. METHODS: Study participants were participants in a community-based skin cancer prevention trial in Nambour, a town in southeast Queensland (latitude 26°S). In 1992, height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences were measured for all 1621 participants and weight was remeasured at the end of the trial in 1996. Prevalence proportion ratios were calculated using a log-binomial model to estimate the risk of BCC prior to or prevalent in 1992, while Poisson regression with robust error variances was used to estimate the relative risk of BCC during the follow-up period. RESULTS: At baseline, 94 participants had a current BCC, and 202 had a history of BCC. During the 5-year follow-up period, 179 participants developed one or more new BCCs. We found no significant association between any of the anthropometric measures or indices and risk of BCC after controlling for potential confounding factors including sun exposure. There was a suggestion that short-term weight gain may increase the risk of developing BCC for women only. CONCLUSION: Adherence to World Health Organisation guidelines for body mass index, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio is not significantly associated with occurrence of basal cell carcinomas of the skin

Characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles in langmuir-blodgett films

In this work we have synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles, using either a sol–gel base catalysed process in the interior of CTAB reversed micelles (TiO2 CTAB sol), or the neutralization of a TiO2/H2SO4 solution in the interior of AOT reversed micelles. From the absorption and emission data of the TiO2 nanoparticles it is possible to conclude that in the sol–gel route there remains alkoxide groups in the structure, originating transitions lower than the energy gap of TiO2 semiconductor. These transitions disappear in the neutralization procedure, where the alkoxide groups are absent in the structure. We have assigned the observed indirect and direct optical transitions according to the anatase band structure. TiO2 Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were prepared either by direct deposition of titanium isopropoxide or by deposition of the TiO2 CTAB sol. These films showed photoluminescence, which was attributed to band-gap emission and to surface recombination of defect states

Behavioral Consequences of NMDA Antagonist-Induced Neuroapoptosis in the Infant Mouse Brain

Background: Exposure to NMDA glutamate antagonists during the brain growth spurt period causes widespread neuroapoptosis in the rodent brain. This period in rodents occurs during the first two weeks after birth, and corresponds to the third trimester of pregnancy and several years after birth in humans. The developing human brain may be exposed to NMDA antagonists through drug-abusing mothers or through anesthesia. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the long-term neurobehavioral effects of mice exposed to a single dose of the NMDA antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP), or saline, on postnatal day 2 (P2) or P7, or on both P2 and P7. PCP treatment on P2 + P7 caused more severe cognitive impairments than either single treatment. Histological examination of acute neuroapoptosis resulting from exposure to PCP indicated that the regional pattern of degeneration induced by PCP in P2 pups was different from that in P7 pups. The extent of damage when evaluated quantitatively on P7 was greater for pups previously treated on P2 compared to pups treated only on P7. Conclusions: These findings signify that PCP induces different patterns of neuroapoptosis depending on the developmental age at the time of exposure, and that exposure at two separate developmental ages causes more severe neuropathologica

Bayesian lasso binary quantile regression

In this paper, a Bayesian hierarchical model for variable selection and estimation in the context of binary quantile regression is proposed. Existing approaches to variable selection in a binary classification context are sensitive to outliers, heteroskedasticity or other anomalies of the latent response. The method proposed in this study overcomes these problems in an attractive and straightforward way. A Laplace likelihood and Laplace priors for the regression parameters are proposed and estimated with Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo. The resulting model is equivalent to the frequentist lasso procedure. A conceptional result is that by doing so, the binary regression model is moved from a Gaussian to a full Laplacian framework without sacrificing much computational efficiency. In addition, an efficient Gibbs sampler to estimate the model parameters is proposed that is superior to the Metropolis algorithm that is used in previous studies on Bayesian binary quantile regression. Both the simulation studies and the real data analysis indicate that the proposed method performs well in comparison to the other methods. Moreover, as the base model is binary quantile regression, a much more detailed insight in the effects of the covariates is provided by the approach. An implementation of the lasso procedure for binary quantile regression models is available in the R-package bayesQR

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Infection Promotes Immune Evasion by Preventing NKG2D-Ligand Surface Expression

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has recently gained attention for its oncolytic ability in cancer treatment. Initially, we hypothesized that VSV infection could increase immune recognition of cancer cells through induction of the immune stimulatory NKG2D-ligands. Here we show that VSV infection leads to a robust induction of MICA mRNA expression, however the subsequent surface expression is potently hindered. Thus, VSV lines up with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and adenovirus, which actively subvert the immune system by negatively affecting NKG2D-ligand surface expression. VSV infection caused an active suppression of NKG2D-ligand surface expression, affecting both endogenous and histone deacetylase (HDAC)-inhibitor induced MICA, MICB and ULBP-2 expression. The classical immune escape mechanism of VSV (i.e., the M protein blockade of nucleocytoplasmic mRNA transport) was not involved, as the VSV mutant strain, VSVΔM51, which possess a defective M protein, prevented MICA surface expression similarly to wild-type VSV. The VSV mediated down modulation of NKG2D-ligand expression did not involve apoptosis. Constitutive expression of MICA bypassed the escape mechanism, suggesting that VSV affect NKG2D-ligand expression at an early post-transcriptional level. Our results show that VSV possess an escape mechanism, which could affect the immune recognition of VSV infected cancer cells. This may also have implications for immune recognition of cancer cells after combined treatment with VSV and chemotherapeutic drugs

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Quantile regression with group lasso for classification

Applications of regression models for binary response are very common and models specific to these problems are widely used. Quantile regression for binary response data has recently attracted attention and regularized quantile regression methods have been proposed for high dimensional problems. When the predictors have a natural group structure, such as in the case of categorical predictors converted into dummy variables, then a group lasso penalty is used in regularized methods. In this paper, we present a Bayesian Gibbs sampling procedure to estimate the parameters of a quantile regression model under a group lasso penalty for classification problems with a binary response. Simulated and real data show a good performance of the proposed method in comparison to mean-based approaches and to quantile-based approaches which do not exploit the group structure of the predictors