Evaluation of an in-house molecular HIV-1 test to assess mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission in Angola (the APEHC cohort)

Poster presented at the 17th Annual International Meeting of the Institute of Human Virology. Baltimore, 27-30 September 2015"Mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) rate has decreased sharply in recent years in most of the sub-Saharan Africa, however 220,000 children acquired HIV-1 in 2014. PCR detection of proviral DNA is the most sensitive method for early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV-1 infection. Commercial kits are available but they have poor sensitivity with divergent non-B subtypes and high costs (≈30€ per test) which limit their use in resource-limited settings. The HIV-1 epidemic in Angola is driven by highly divergent strains of all group M subtypes, except B, as well as multiple recombinant forms (CRFs and URFs) making EID a challenge in this setting. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a qualitative, inexpensive and sensitive “inhouse” HIV-1 EID assay on heel prick dried blood spots (DBS) from infants of the Hospital da Divina Providência (HDP) in Luanda, Angola and determine the current HIV-1 MTCT rate in the Angolan PErinatal HIV Cohort (APEHC)."Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - Portugal ; European Unio

Chelator free gallium-68 radiolabelling of silica coated iron oxide nanorods via surface interactions

The commercial availability of combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/positron emission tomography (PET) scanners for clinical use has increased demand for easily prepared agents which offer signal or contrast in both modalities. Herein we describe a new class of silica coated iron–oxide nanorods (NRs) coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and/or a tetraazamacrocyclic chelator (DO3A). Studies of the coated NRs validate their composition and confirm their properties as in vivo T₂ MRI contrast agents. Radiolabelling studies with the positron emitting radioisotope gallium-68 (t1/2 = 68 min) demonstrate that, in the presence of the silica coating, the macrocyclic chelator was not required for preparation of highly stable radiometal-NR constructs. In vivo PET-CT and MR imaging studies show the expected high liver uptake of gallium-68 radiolabelled nanorods with no significant release of gallium-68 metal ions, validating our innovation to provide a novel simple method for labelling of iron oxide NRs with a radiometal in the absence of a chelating unit that can be used for high sensitivity liver imaging

Stereoisomeric semiconducting radical cation salts of chiral bis(2-hydroxypropylthio)ethylenedithioTTF with tetrafluoroborate anions

The new chiral TTF-based donor molecule bis(2-hydroxypropylthio)ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene has produced enantiopure R,R and S,S radical cation salts with the tetrafluoroborate anion as well as the nearly isostructural meso/racemate mixture. The enantiopure R,R or S,S salts are both 1:1 semiconducting salts with activation energies of 0.19–0.24 eV, both crystallising in the orthorhombic space group C2221. The semiconducting salt containing both meso and racemic donor cations has a very similar crystal structure but crystallising in the monoclinic space group C2/c (β = 91.39°) with similar S⋯S interactions but a smaller activation energy of 0.15–0.17 eV. This is in contrast to previous families of this type where the disordered racemate has a larger activation energy than its enantiopure salts

Subclinical Inflammation and Diabetic Polyneuropathy: MONICA/KORA Survey F3 (Augsburg, Germany)

Subclinical inflammation represents a risk factor of type 2 diabetes and several diabetes complications, but data on diabetic neuropathies are scarce. Therefore, we investigated whether circulating concentrations of acute-phase proteins, cytokines, and chemokines differ among diabetic patients with or without diabetic polyneuropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - We measured 10 markers of subclinical inflammation in 227 type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic polyneuropathy who participated in the population-based MONICA/KORA Survey F3 (2004-2005; Augsburg, Germany). Diabetic polyneuropathy was diagnosed using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI). RESULTS - After adjustment for multiple confounders, high levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin (IL)-6 were most consistently associated with diabetic polyneuropathy, high MNSI score, and specific neuropathic deficits, whereas some inverse associations were seen for IL-18. CONCLUSIONS - This study shows that subclinical inflammation is associated with diabetic polyneuropathy and neuropathic impairments. This association appears rather specific because only certain immune mediators and impairments are involved

Acoustic and optical variations during rapid downward motion episodes in the deep north-western Mediterranean Sea

An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) was moored at the deep-sea site of the ANTARES neutrino telescope near Toulon, France, thus providing a unique opportunity to compare high-resolution acoustic and optical observations between 70 and 170 m above the sea bed at 2475 m. The ADCP measured downward vertical currents of magnitudes up to 0.03 m s-1 in late winter and early spring 2006. In the same period, observations were made of enhanced levels of acoustic reflection, interpreted as suspended particles including zooplankton, by a factor of about 10 and of horizontal currents reaching 0.35 m s-1. These observations coincided with high light levels detected by the telescope, interpreted as increased bioluminescence. During winter 2006 deep dense-water formation occurred in the Ligurian subbasin, thus providing a possible explanation for these observations. However, the 10-20 days quasi-periodic episodes of high levels of acoustic reflection, light and large vertical currents continuing into the summer are not direct evidence of this process. It is hypothesized that the main process allowing for suspended material to be moved vertically later in the year is local advection, linked with topographic boundary current instabilities along the rim of the 'Northern Current'.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Nonreferral of possible soft tissue sarcomas in adults: a dangerous omission in policy

Introduction. The aim of this study is to compare outcomes in three groups of STS patients treated in our specialist centre: patients referred immediately after an inadequate initial treatment, patients referred after a local recurrence, and patients referred directly, prior to any treatment. Patients and methods. We reviewed all our nonmetastatic extremity-STS patients with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. We compared three patient groups: those referred directly to our centre (group A), those referred after an inadequate initial excision (group B), and patients with local recurrence (group C). Results. The study included 174 patients. Disease-free survival was 73%, 76%, and 28% in groups A, B, and C, respectively (P < .001). Depth, size, and histologic grade influenced the outcome in groups A and B, but not in C. Conclusion. Initial wide surgical treatment is the main factor that determines local control, being even more important than the known intrinsic prognostic factors of tumour size, depth, and histologic grade. The influence on outcome of initial wide local excision (WLE), which is made possible by referral to a specialist centre, is paramount

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Myoglobinopathy is an adult-onset autosomal dominant myopathy with characteristic sarcoplasmic inclusions

Myoglobin, encoded by MB, is a small cytoplasmic globular hemoprotein highly expressed in cardiac myocytes and oxidative skeletal myofibers. Myoglobin binds O-2, facilitates its intracellular transport and serves as a controller of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. Here, we identify a recurrent c.292C>T ( p.His98Tyr) substitution in MB in fourteen members of six European families suffering from an autosomal dominant progressive myopathy with highly characteristic sarcoplasmic inclusions in skeletal and cardiac muscle. Myoglobinopathy manifests in adulthood with proximal and axial weakness that progresses to involve distal muscles and causes respiratory and cardiac failure. Biochemical characterization reveals that the mutant myoglobin has altered O-2 binding, exhibits a faster heme dissociation rate and has a lower reduction potential compared to wild-type myoglobin. Preliminary studies show that mutant myoglobin may result in elevated superoxide levels at the cellular level. These data define a recognizable muscle disease associated with MB mutation.Peer reviewe