Correlations between traits related to the ability to exploit soil resources (vertically) and traits related to the ability to exploit light (horizontally).

<p>Correlations between traits related to the ability to exploit soil resources (vertically) and traits related to the ability to exploit light (horizontally).</p

Anti-MDA5 Antibodies in a Large Mediterranean Population of Adults with Dermatomyositis

A new myositis-specific autoantibody directed against melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (anti-MDA5) has been described in patients with dermatomyositis (DM). We report the clinical characteristics of patients with anti-MDA5 in a large Mediterranean cohort of DM patients from a single center, and analyze the feasibility of detecting this autoantibody in patient sera using new assays with commercially available recombinant MDA5. The study included 117 white adult patients with DM, 15 (13%) of them classified as clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM). Clinical manifestations were analyzed, with special focus on interstitial lung disease and its severity. Determination of anti-MDA5 antibodies was performed by a new ELISA and immunoblot technique. In sera, from 14 (12%) DM patients (8 CADM), MDA5 was recognized by ELISA, and confirmed by immunoblot. Eight of the 14 anti-MDA5-positive patients (57.14%) presented rapidly-progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) versus 3 of 103 anti-MDA5-negative patients (2.91%) (P < 0.05; OR: 44.4, 95% CI 9.3-212). The cumulative survival rate was significantly lower in anti-MDA5-positive patients than in the remainder of the series (P < 0.05). Patients with anti-MDA5-associated ILD presented significantly lower 70-month cumulative survival than antisynthetase-associated ILD patients. Among the cutaneous manifestations, only panniculitis was significantly associated with the presence of anti-MDA5 antibodies (P < 0.05; OR: 3.85, 95% CI 1.11-13.27). These findings support the reliability of using commercially available recombinant MDA5 for detecting anti-MDA5 antibodies and confirm the association of these antibodies with RP-ILD in a large series of Mediterranean patients with DM

Reelin regulates the development and synaptogenesis of the layer-specific entorhino-hippocampal connections

Here we examine the role of Reelin, an extracellular protein involved in neuronal migration, in the formation of hippocampal connections. Both at prenatal and postnatal stages, the general laminar and topographic distribution of entorhinal projections is preserved in the hippocampus of reeler mutant mice, in the absence of Reelin. However, developing and adult entorhinal afferents show severe alterations, including increased numbers of misrouted fibers and the formation of abnormal patches of termination from the medial and lateral entorhinal cortices. At perinatal stages, single entorhinal axons in reeler mice are grouped into thick bundles, and they have decreased axonal branching and decreased extension of axon collaterals. We also show that the number of entorhino-hippocampal synapses is lower in reeler mice than in control animals during development. Studies performed in mixed entorhino-hippocampal co-cultures combining slices from reeler and wild-type mice indicate that these abnormalities are caused by the lack of Reelin in the target hippocampus. These findings imply that Reelin fulfills a modulatory role during the formation of layer-specific and topographic connections in the hippocampus. They also suggest that Reelin promotes maturation of single fibers and synaptogenesis by entorhinal afferents

Base-Catalysed Intramolecular Hydroamination of Vinyl Sulfides

Small amounts of n-butyllithium catalyse the highly efficient hydroamination of a large variety of vinyl sulfides. This novel methodology offers an easy access to a wide range of nitrogen heterocycles, including simple pyrrolidines and piperidines, as well as more complex bicyclic compounds. Subsequent transformations of the sulfur group led to the formation of functionalised alkaloid-like substructures. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009

APPMAR 1.0: a Python application for downloading and analyzing of WAVEWATCH III® wave and wind data

This work presents APPMAR 1.0, an application written in the Python programming language that downloads, processes, and analyzes wind and wave data. This application is composed of a graphical user interface (GUI) that contains two main modules: the first module downloads data from WAVEWATCH III® (WW3) production hindcasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the second module applies statistical mathematics for processing and analyzing wave and wind data. This application provides useful graphical results that describe mean and extreme wave and wind climate. APPMAR generates plots of exceedance probability, joint probability distribution, wave direction, Weibull distribution, and storm frequency analysis. Currently, APPMAR only downloads and analyzes wave and wind data from WW3 hindcasts, but it is under development to other datasets and marine climate parameters. This application has been tested in the Magdalena River mouth, Colombia, and Cancún, México, where observational wave and wind data are scarce