Mouse Natural Killer (NK) Cells Express the Nerve Growth Factor Receptor TrkA, which Is Dynamically Regulated

Background: Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin crucial for the development and survival of neurons. It also acts on cells of the immune system which express the NGF receptors TrkA and p75 NTR and can be produced by them. However, mouse NK cells have not yet been studied in this context. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used cell culture, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and ELISA assays to investigate the expression of NGF receptors by NK cells and their secretion of NGF. We show that resting NK cells express TrkA and that the expression is different on NK cell subpopulations defined by the relative presence of CD27 and CD11b. Expression of TrkA is dramatically increased in IL-2-activated NK cells. The p75 NTR is expressed only on a very low percentage of NK cells. Functionally, NGF moderately inhibits NK cell degranulation, but does not influence proliferation or cytokine production. NK cells do not produce NGF. Conclusions/Significance: We demonstrate for the first time that mouse NK cells express the NGF receptor TrkA and tha

CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFECT CENTRES IN SEMICONDUCTORS BY ADVANCED ENDOR TECHNIQUES

The advanced magnetic resonance techniques and their application to the studies of defects in semiconductors will be reviewed. Transient and stationary ENDOR, opticalły detected ENDOR and doubłe ENDOR variations will be briefly discussed while special attention will be given to the Field-Stepped-ENDOR technique. The successful application of the advanced ENDOR techniques for the structure determination of complex defects will be illustrated by the examples concerning the boron-vacancy complex and thermal donors in silicon and the gallium vacancy in gallium phosphide

Validation of the Dutch version of the health education impact questionnaire (HEIQ) and comparison of the Dutch translation with the English, German and French HEIQ

BACKGROUND: The Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) evaluates the effectiveness of health education and self-management programs provided to people dealing with a wide range of conditions. Aim of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate the Dutch translation of the heiQ and to compare the results with the English, German and French translations. METHODS: A systematic translation process was undertaken. Psychometric properties were studied among patients with arthritis, atopic dermatitis, food allergy and asthma (n = 286). Factorial validity using confirmatory factor analysis, item difficulty (D), item remainder correlation and composite reliability were conducted. Stability was tested using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: Items were well understood and only minor language adjustments were required. Confirmatory fit indices were >0.95 and item difficulty was D ≥ 0.65 for all items in scales showing acceptable fit indices, except for the reversed Emotional distress scale. Composite reliability ranged between 0.67 and 0.85. Test-retest reliability (n = 93) ICC varied between 0.61 and 0.84. Comparisons with other translations showed comparable fit indices. A lower ICC on Self-monitoring and insight scale was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Dutch translation of the heiQ was found to be well understood and user friendly by patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Atopic Dermatitis, Food allergy and asthma and to have robust psychometric properties for evaluating the impact of health education and self-management programs. Given the wide applications of the heiQ and the comparability of the Dutch results with the English, German and French version, the heiQ is a practical and useful questionnaire to evaluate the impact of self-management support programs in different countries and populations with different diseases

Charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers for pulse shape discrimination techniques with silicon detectors

New charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers coupled to silicon detectors and devoted to studies in nuclear structure and dynamics have been developed and tested. For the first time shapes of current pulses from light charged particles and carbon ions are presented. Capabilities for pulse shape discrimination techniques are demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Nucl. Inst. Meth.

Secular Trends in Nosocomial Bloodstream Infections: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Increase the Total Burden of Infection

In this international study, we demonstrate that increasing rates of nosocomial bloodstream infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria do not replace infections caused by antibiotic-susceptible bacteria, but occur in addition to these infections, thereby increasing the total burden of diseas

Rapid detection of SMARCB1 sequence variation using high resolution melting

Background : Rhabdoid tumors are rare cancers of early childhood arising in the kidney, central nervous system and other organs. The majority are caused by somatic inactivating mutations or deletions affecting the tumor suppressor locus SMARCB1 [OMIM 601607]. Germ-line SMARCB1 inactivation has been reported in association with rhabdoid tumor, epitheloid sarcoma and familial schwannomatosis, underscoring the importance of accurate mutation screening to ascertain recurrence and transmission risks. We describe a rapid and sensitive diagnostic screening method, using high resolution melting (HRM), for detecting sequence variations in SMARCB1. Methods : Amplicons, encompassing the nine coding exons of SMARCB1, flanking splice site sequences and the 5\u27 and 3\u27 UTR, were screened by both HRM and direct DNA sequencing to establish the reliability of HRM as a primary mutation screening tool. Reaction conditions were optimized with commercially available HRM mixes. Results : The false negative rate for detecting sequence variants by HRM in our sample series was zero. Nine amplicons out of a total of 140 (6.4%) showed variant melt profiles that were subsequently shown to be false positive. Overall nine distinct pathogenic SMARCB1 mutations were identified in a total of 19 possible rhabdoid tumors. Two tumors had two distinct mutations and two harbored SMARCB1 deletion. Other mutations were nonsense or frame-shifts. The detection sensitivity of the HRM screening method was influenced by both sequence context and specific nucleotide change and varied from 1: 4 to 1:1000 (variant to wild-type DNA). A novel method involving digital HRM, followed by re-sequencing, was used to confirm mutations in tumor specimens containing associated normal tissue. Conclusions : This is the first report describing SMARCB1 mutation screening using HRM. HRM is a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive screening technology that is likely to be widely adopted in diagnostic laboratories to facilitate whole gene mutation screening