The Assassin Bug \u3ci\u3eZelus Luridus\u3c/i\u3e (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) in Michigan\u27s Upper Peninsula

(excerpt) On 17 July 1992, an assassin bug (Zelus luridus Stal) was flushed from the stomach of a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) collected in West Long Lake of the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center, Gogebic County, Michigan

Human epicardial adipose tissue expresses a pathogenic profile of adipocytokines in patients with cardiovascular disease

Introduction: Inflammation contributes to cardiovascular disease and is exacerbated with increased adiposity, particularly omental adiposity; however, the role of epicardial fat is poorly understood. Methods: For these studies the expression of inflammatory markers was assessed in epicardial fat biopsies from coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients using quantitative RT-PCR. Further, the effects of chronic medications, including statins, as well as peri-operative glucose, insulin and potassium infusion, on gene expression were also assessed. Circulating resistin, CRP, adiponectin and leptin levels were determined to assess inflammation. Results: The expression of adiponectin, resistin and other adipocytokine mRNAs were comparable to that in omental fat. Epicardial CD45 expression was significantly higher than control depots (p < 0.01) indicating significant infiltration of macrophages. Statin treated patients showed significantly lower epicardial expression of IL-6 mRNA, in comparison with the control abdominal depots (p < 0.001). The serum profile of CABG patients showed significantly higher levels of both CRP (control: 1.28 ± 1.57 μg/mL vs CABG: 9.11 ± 15.7 μg/mL; p < 0.001) and resistin (control: 10.53 ± 0.81 ng/mL vs CABG: 16.8 ± 1.69 ng/mL; p < 0.01) and significantly lower levels of adiponectin (control: 29.1 ± 14.8 μg/mL vs CABG: 11.9 ± 6.0 μg/mL; p < 0.05) when compared to BMI matched controls. Conclusion: Epicardial and omental fat exhibit a broadly comparable pathogenic mRNA profile, this may arise in part from macrophage infiltration into the epicardial fat. This study highlights that chronic inflammation occurs locally as well as systemically potentially contributing further to the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease

Simulated structure and imaging of NTCDI on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 : a combined STM, NC-AFM and DFT study

The adsorption of naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimide (NTCDI) on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 is investigated through a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We show that NTCDI adopts multiple planar adsorption geometries on the Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 surface which can be imaged with intramolecular bond resolution using NC-AFM. DFT calculations reveal adsorption is dominated by covalent bond formation between the molecular oxygen atoms and the surface silicon adatoms. The chemisorption of the molecule is found to induce subtle distortions to the molecular structure, which are observed in NC-AFM images

Better together: Integrating biomedical informatics and healthcare IT operations to create a learning health system during the COVID-19 pandemic

The growing availability of multi-scale biomedical data sources that can be used to enable research and improve healthcare delivery has brought about what can be described as a healthcare data age. This new era is defined by the explosive growth in bio-molecular, clinical, and population-level data that can be readily accessed by researchers, clinicians, and decision-makers, and utilized for systems-level approaches to hypothesis generation and testing as well as operational decision-making. However, taking full advantage of these unprecedented opportunities presents an opportunity to revisit the alignment between traditionally academic biomedical informatics (BMI) and operational healthcare information technology (HIT) personnel and activities in academic health systems. While the history of the academic field of BMI includes active engagement in the delivery of operational HIT platforms, in many contemporary settings these efforts have grown distinct. Recent experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated greater coordination of BMI and HIT activities that have allowed organizations to respond to pandemic-related changes more effectively, with demonstrable and positive impact as a result. In this position paper, we discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with driving alignment between BMI and HIT, as viewed from the perspective of a learning healthcare system. In doing so, we hope to illustrate the benefits of coordination between BMI and HIT in terms of the quality, safety, and outcomes of care provided to patients and populations, demonstrating that these two groups can be better together

Medida da concentração plasmática do fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular em pacientes com câncer prostático: relação com estado clinico, gleason score, volume prostático e PSA sérico

OBJETIVO: Analisar os níveis circulantes do fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular em pacientes com câncer prostático comparados com uma população de indivíduos eutróficos. MÉTODOS: Vinte e seis indivíduos eutróficos e oitenta pacientes com câncer de próstata foram analisados nesse estudo. A coleta sangüínea foi realizada da mesma maneira em todos os pacientes e o plasma foi extraído para a determinação dos níveis do fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular, utilizando-se o método quantitativo ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). RESULTADOS: Os níveis de fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular plasmático encontraram-se significativamente elevados nos pacientes com doença metastática quando comparados com pacientes com doença localizada e com indivíduos sadios. Pacientes com PSA sérico maior que 20 ng/ml apresentaram níveis maiores de fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular plasmático quando comparados com pacientes com PSA menor que 20 ng/ml. Houve uma tendência dos pacientes com escore de Gleason de 8 a 10 apresentarem níveis maiores do fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular plasmático em relação a pacientes com escores de Gleason menores que 8. Não houve relação entre fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular plasmático e estado clínico, ou entre fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular e volume prostático em pacientes com câncer de próstata localizado. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados indicam que pacientes com câncer de próstata metastático apresentam níveis significativamente mais elevados de fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular plasmático quando comparados com pacientes com câncer localizado e com indivíduos normais.PURPOSE: This study focused on circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with prostate cancer compared to a normal population. METHODS: We analyzed 26 normal individuals and 80 patients with prostate cancer. Blood was drawn from all subjects, and plasma was extracted to determine the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor using a quantitative immunoassay technique (ELISA-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). RESULTS: The median plasma level of vascular endothelial growth factor was significantly elevated in patients with metastatic disease compared to patients with localized disease and with healthy controls. Patients with serum prostate-specific antigen >; 20 ng/mL had significantly higher levels of plasma vascular endothelial growth factor than patients with serum prostate-specific antigen < 20 ng/mL. There was a trend for patients with a Gleason score of 8 to 10 to have higher levels of plasma vascular endothelial growth factor when compared to patients with lower Gleason scores. No relationship was found between plasma vascular endothelial growth factor and clinical staging, or between plasma vascular endothelial growth factor and prostate volume, in patients with localized prostate cancer. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that patients with metastatic prostate cancer have higher plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels than patients with localized disease or in healthy controls

The Roles of Large Top Predators in Coastal Ecosystems: New Insights from Long Term Ecological Research

During recent human history, human activities such as overhunting and habitat destruction have severely impacted many large top predator populations around the world. Studies from a variety of ecosystems show that loss or diminishment of top predator populations can have serious consequences for population and community dynamics and ecosystem stability. However, there are relatively few studies of the roles of large top predators in coastal ecosystems, so that we do not yet completely understand what could happen to coastal areas if large top predators are extirpated or significantly reduced in number. This lack of knowledge is surprising given that coastal areas around the globe are highly valued and densely populated by humans, and thus coastal large top predator populations frequently come into conflict with coastal human populations. This paper reviews what is known about the ecological roles of large top predators in coastal systems and presents a synthesis of recent work from three coastal eastern US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites where long-term studies reveal what appear to be common themes relating to the roles of large top predators in coastal systems. We discuss three specific themes: (1) large top predators acting as mobile links between disparate habitats, (2) large top predators potentially affecting nutrient and biogeochemical dynamics through localized behaviors, and (3) individual specialization of large top predator behaviors. We also discuss how research within the LTER network has led to enhanced understanding of the ecological roles of coastal large top predators. Highlighting this work is intended to encourage further investigation of the roles of large top predators across diverse coastal aquatic habitats and to better inform researchers and ecosystem managers about the importance of large top predators for coastal ecosystem health and stability

Influence of Oligomerization State on the Structural Properties of Invasion Plasmid Antigen B (IpaB) from Shigella flexneri in the Presence and Absence of Phospholipid Membranes

Shigella flexneri causes bacillary dysentery, an important cause of mortality among children in the developing world. Shigella secretes effector proteins via its type III secretion system (T3SS) to promote bacterial uptake into human colonic epithelial cells. The T3SS basal body spans the bacterial cell envelope anchoring a surface-exposed needle. A pentamer of invasion plasmid antigen D (IpaD) lies at the nascent needle tip and IpaB is recruited into the needle tip complex upon exposure to bile salts. From here, IpaB forms a translocon pore in the host cell membrane. Although the mechanism by which IpaB inserts into the membrane is unknown, it was recently shown that recombinant IpaB can exist as either a monomer or tetramer. Both of these forms of IpaB associate with membranes, however, only the tetramer forms pores in liposomes. To reveal differences between these membrane-binding events, Cys mutations were introduced throughout IpaB, allowing site-specific fluorescence labeling. Fluorescence quenching was used to determine the influence of oligomerization and/or membrane association on the accessibility of different IpaB regions to small solutes. The data show that the hydrophobic region of tetrameric IpaB is more accessible to solvent relative to the monomer. The hydrophobic region appears to promote membrane interaction for both forms of IpaB, however, more of the hydrophobic region is protected from solvent for the tetramer after membrane association. Limited proteolysis demonstrated that changes in IpaB’s oligomeric state may determine the manner by which it associates with phospholipid membranes and the subsequent outcome of this association

Shock Breakout in Core-Collapse Supernovae and its Neutrino Signature

(Abridged) We present results from dynamical models of core-collapse supernovae in one spatial dimension, employing a newly-developed Boltzmann neutrino radiation transport algorithm, coupled to Lagrangean hydrodynamics and a consistent high-density nuclear equation of state. We focus on shock breakout and its neutrino signature and follow the dynamical evolution of the cores of 11 M_sun, 15 M_sun, and 20 M_sun progenitors through collapse and the first 250 milliseconds after bounce. We examine the effects on the emergent neutrino spectra, light curves, and mix of species of artificial opacity changes, the number of energy groups, the weak magnetism/recoil corrections, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, neutrino-electron scattering, and the compressibility of nuclear matter. Furthermore, we present the first high-resolution look at the angular distribution of the neutrino radiation field both in the semi-transparent regime and at large radii and explore the accuracy with which our tangent-ray method tracks the free propagation of a pulse of radiation in a near vacuum. Finally, we fold the emergent neutrino spectra with the efficiencies and detection processes for a selection of modern underground neutrino observatories and argue that the prompt electron-neutrino breakout burst from the next galactic supernova is in principle observable and usefully diagnostic of fundamental collapse/supernova behavior. Though we are not in this study focusing on the supernova mechanism per se, our simulations support the theoretical conclusion (already reached by others) that spherical (1D) supernovae do not explode when good physics and transport methods are employed.Comment: 16 emulateapj pages, plus 24 postscript figures, accepted to The Astrophysical Journal; text revised; neutrino oscillation section expanded; Fig. 22 correcte