Chronic Endometritis Revisited: A Review of the Pathology and Clinical Findings

Background: Chronic endometritis is a histopathologic diagnosis characterized by endometrial inflammation rich in plasma cells. Through examination of this disease, we hope to further elucidate the meaning of its diagnosis and whether or not it should be more carefully considered when examining specimens. Methods: A retrospective chart and slide review was conducted that focused on the collection of clinical data and the examination and description of previous tissue samples from endometrial biopsies. A total of 94 chronic endometritis cases and 99 controls were identified. All statistical analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.1. Results: Women with chronic endometritis were more likely to be within 41-50 year of age (39/95, 41.1%), with 65.3% of cases in the 31-40 and 41-50 age categories (23/95, 39/95). They were also more likely to be perimenopausal (42/92, P-value 0.0015) and multiparous (79.1%, P-value 0.1358). Additionally, hormone use was found to be significantly associated with endometritis (P-value 0.0299). No specific symptoms were found to correlate with chronic endometritis. Our study confirmed that the presence of lymphocytes (P-value \u3c0.0001), neutrophils (P-value 0.0029), and macrophages (P-value 0.0048) are associated with endometritis along with epithelial change/metaplasia (P-value 0.0595). Discussion: Our study has helped to better understand the demographics of endometritis and its clinical presentation; but as always, more studies are needed to further elucidate the implications of this disease for women

Nuclear resonant surface diffraction

Nuclear resonant x-ray diffraction in grazing incidence geometry is used to determine the lateral magnetic configuration in a one-dimensional lattice of ferromagnetic nanostripes. During magnetic reversal, strong nuclear superstructure diffraction peaks appear in addition to the electronic ones due to an antiferromagnetic order in the nanostripe lattice. We show that the analysis of the angular distribution of the resonantly diffracted x-rays together with the time-dependence of the coherently diffracted nuclear signal reveals surface spin structures with very high sensitivity. This novel scattering technique provides a unique access to laterally correlated spin configurations in magnetically ordered nanostructures and, in perspective, also to their dynamics

Spin precession mapping at ferromagnetic resonance via nuclear resonant scattering

We probe the spin dynamics in a thin magnetic film at ferromagnetic resonance by nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation at the 14.4 keV resonance of $^{57}$Fe. The precession of the magnetization leads to an apparent reduction of the magnetic hyperfine field acting at the $^{57}$Fe nuclei. The spin dynamics is described in a stochastic relaxation model adapted to the ferromagnetic resonance theory by Smit and Beljers to model the decay of the excited nuclear state. From the fits of the measured data the shape of the precession cone of the spins is determined. Our results open a new perspective to determine magnetization dynamics in layered structures with very high depth resolution by employing ultrathin isotopic probe layers

Претензионная работа по топливу для предприятий энергетики

Background and aims: CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) transcription factors are key regulators of homeostatic functions in the liver, and CRE binding is increased in hepatic inflammation. During chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, mutations or deletions in the pre-S region are frequently observed. These mutations can affect the pre-S2/S promoter controlling HBV envelope protein expression (hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)) and have been associated with worsened clinical outcome. We aimed to test if CREB activation impacts on HBsAg expression. Methods: The effect of the CREB inducer protein kinase A (PKA) was tested by coexpression with HBV wild-type vector in vitro. Luciferase reporter gene constructs were cloned to identify novel regulatory regions for the HBV pre-S2/S promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) gelshift and supershift experiments were conducted to confirm DNA transcription factor binding. Results: Coexpression of HBV and PKA resulted in HBV-S mRNA induction and enhanced small envelope protein expression. We identified a CREB binding motif in the transcribed part of the pre-S2 region, contributing to basal S promoter activity via binding of activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2). A second CREB motif closely linked to the S-ATG showed a similar binding pattern involving ATF2 and CREB1, without appearing essential for basal promoter activity. Moreover, a sequence in the pre-S2 region is responsible for further transcriptional induction via CREB activators such as PKA and forskolin. EMSA experiments indicate that CREB1 and ATF4 are involved in complex formation conferring PKA dependent promoter activation. Conclusions: Our data suggest a novel mechanism by which HBV may utilise CREB/PKA signal transduction pathways of hepatocytes to enhance its HBsAg expression during homeostasis and hepatic inflammation

Time-Resolved X-ray Microscopy of Spin-Torque-Induced Magnetic Vortex Gyration

Time-resolved X-ray microscopy is used to image the influence of alternating high-density currents on the magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic vortices. Spin-torque induced vortex gyration is observed in micrometer-sized permalloy squares. The phases of the gyration in structures with different chirality are compared to an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations, considering both alternating spinpolarized currents and the current's Oersted field. In our case the driving force due to spin-transfer torque is about 70% of the total excitation while the remainder originates from the current's Oersted field. This finding has implications to magnetic storage devices using spin-torque driven magnetization switching and domain-wall motion.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Tunable sub-luminal propagation of narrowband x-ray pulses

Group velocity control is demonstrated for x-ray photons of 14.4 keV energy via a direct measurement of the temporal delay imposed on spectrally narrow x-ray pulses. Sub-luminal light propagation is achieved by inducing a steep positive linear dispersion in the optical response of ${}^{57}$Fe M\"ossbauer nuclei embedded in a thin film planar x-ray cavity. The direct detection of the temporal pulse delay is enabled by generating frequency-tunable spectrally narrow x-ray pulses from broadband pulsed synchrotron radiation. Our theoretical model is in good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Tumor Heterogeneity as a Predictor of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is the standard of care for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the rectum, but it is currently unknown which patients have disease that will respond. This study tested the correlation between response to nCRT and intratumoral heterogeneity using next-generation sequencing assays. PATIENTS AND METHODS: DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy samples from a cohort of patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma (T3/4 or N1/2 disease) who received nCRT. High read-depth sequencing of \u3e 400 cancer-relevant genes was performed. Tumor mutations and variant allele frequencies were used to calculate mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH) scores as measures of intratumoral heterogeneity. Response to nCRT was pathologically scored after surgical resection. RESULTS: Biopsy samples from 21 patient tumors were analyzed. Eight patients had disease noted to have complete response, 2 moderate, 4 minimal, and 7 poor. Higher MATH scores correlated with poorer response to treatment, demonstrating significantly increased tumor heterogeneity compared to complete response (P = .039). CONCLUSION: The application of MATH scores as a measure of tumor heterogeneity may provide a useful biomarker for treatment response in locally advanced rectal cancer

Association between Obesity and Histological Tumor Budding in Patients with Nonmetastatic Colon Cancer

Importance: Obesity is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and a more aggressive disease course. Tumor budding (TB) is an important prognostic factor for CRC, but its association with obesity is unknown. Objective: To evaluate the association of TB with obesity and other prognostic factors in colon cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study involved a histological review of colon cancer specimens obtained during 7 years (January 2008 to December 2015) at the University of Kentucky Medical Center; data analysis was conducted from February 2020 to January 2021. Specimens came from 200 patients with stage I to III colon cancer; patients with stage 0, stage IV, or incomplete data were excluded. Main Outcomes and Measures: TB was defined as 1 to 4 malignant cells at the invasive edge of the tumor, independently assessed by 2 academic pathologists. The primary outcome was the association of TB with obesity (defined as body mass index [BMI] of 30 or greater). Secondary outcomes include the association of TB with clinical features (ie, age, race, sex, TNM stage, tumor location) and pathological features (ie, poorly differentiated tumor clusters [PDCs], Klintrup-Mäkinen inflammatory score, desmoplasia, infiltrative tumor border, tumor necrosis, and tumor-to-stroma ratio). Results: A total of 200 specimens were reviewed. The median (interquartile range) age of patients was 62 (55-72) years, 102 (51.0%) were women, and the mean (SD) BMI was 28.5 (8.4). A total of 57 specimens (28.5%) were from stage I tumors; 74 (37.0%), stage II; and 69 (34.5%), stage III. Of these, 97 (48.5%) had low-grade (\u3c 5 \u3e buds), 36 (18.0%) had intermediate-grade (5-9 buds), and 67 (33.5%) had high-grade (≥ 10 buds) TB. Multivariable analysis adjusting for clinical and histological factors demonstrated that higher TB grade was associated with obesity (odds ratio [OR], 4.25; 95% CI, 1.95-9.26), higher PDC grade (grade 2 vs 1: OR, 9.14; 95% CI, 3.49-23.93; grade 3 vs 1: OR, 5.10; 95% CI, 2.30-11.27), increased infiltrative tumor border (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04), cecal location (OR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.09-5.97), and higher stage (eg, stage III vs stage I for high-grade or intermediate-grade vs low-grade TB: OR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.00-8.49). Additionally, patients with a higher TB grade had worse overall survival (intermediate vs low TB: hazard ratio, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.11-4.35; log-rank P = .02; high vs low TB: hazard ratio, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.45-4.90; log-rank P \u3c .001). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, a novel association between high TB grade and obesity was found. The association could reflect a systemic condition (ie, obesity) locally influencing aggressive growth (ie, high TB) in colon cancer