Isolation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Intact Colon Fecal Samples of Swine1

Escherichia coli O157:H7 was recovered from colon fecal samples of pigs. Polymerase chain reaction confirmed two genotypes: isolates harboring the eaeA, stx1, and stx2 genes and isolates harboring the eaeA, stx1, and hly933 genes. We demonstrate that swine in the United States can harbor potentially pathogenic E. coli O157:H7

Effect of perchlorate and thiocyanate exposure on thyroid function of pregnant women from South-West England: a cohort study

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Differential MicroRNA Expression Levels in Cutaneous Acute Graft-versus Host Disease

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative treatment for numerous haematological malignancies. However, acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) is a major complication affecting 40-70% of all transplant patients, whereby the earliest and most frequent presentation is in the skin. MicroRNAs play a role in varied biological process and have been reported as potential biomarkers for aGvHD. More recently, microRNAs have received added attention as circulatory biomarkers that can be detected in biofluids. In the present study we performed global microRNA expression profiling using a discovery cohort of diagnostic cutaneous aGvHD biopsies (n=5, stage 1-3) and healthy volunteers (n=4), in order to identify a signature list of microRNAs that could be used as diagnostic biomarkers for cutaneous aGvHD. Candidate microRNAs (n=8) were then further investigated in a validation cohort of post-HSCT skin biopsies (n=17) for their association with aGvHD. Expression of miR-34a-5p (p<0.001), miR-34a-3p (p=0.013), miR-503-5p (p=0.021) and let-7c-5p (p=0.037) was elevated in cutaneous aGvHD and significantly associated with survival outcome (miR-34a-3p ROC AUC=0.93, p=0.003, Log Rank p=0.004; miR-503-5p ROC AUC=0.83 p=0.021, Log Rank p=0.003). There was no association with relapse. A statistical interaction between miR-34a-3p and miR-503-5p (p=0.016) was diagnostic for aGvHD. Expression levels of the miR-34a-5p protein target p53 were assessed in the epidermis of the skin, and an inverse correlation was identified (r2=0.44, p=0.039). Expression of the validated candidate microRNAs was also assessed at day 28 post-HSCT in the sera of transplant recipients, in order to investigate their potential as circulatory microRNA biomarkers. Expression of miR-503-5p (p=0.001), miR-34a-5p (p=0.005) and miR-34a-3p (p=0.004) were significantly elevated in the sera of patients who developed aGvHD vs. no-aGvHD (n=30) and miR-503-5p was associated with overall survival (ROC AUC=0.80, p=0.04, Log Rank p=0.041). In conclusion, this investigation reports that microRNA expression levels in clinical skin biopsies, obtained at the time of cutaneous aGvHD onset, show potential as diagnostic biomarkers for aGvHD and as predictive biomarkers for overall survival. Additionally, the same microRNAs can be detected in the circulation and show predictive association with post-HSCT outcomes

Cosmic CARNage II: the evolution of the galaxy stellar mass functionin observations and galaxy formation models

We present a comparison of the observed evolving galaxy stellar mass functions with the predictions of eight semi-analytic models and one halo occupation distribution model. While most models are able to fit the data at low redshift, some of them struggle to simultaneously fit observations at high redshift. We separate the galaxies into ‘passive’ and ‘star-forming’ classes and find that several of the models produce too many low-mass star-forming galaxies at high redshift compared to observations, in some cases by nearly a factor of 10 in the redshift range 2.5 < z < 3.0. We also find important differences in the implied mass of the dark matter haloes the galaxies inhabit, by comparing with halo masses inferred from observations. Galaxies at high redshift in the models are in lower mass haloes than suggested by observations, and the star formation efficiency in low-mass haloes is higher than observed. We conclude that many of the models require a physical prescription that acts to dissociate the growth of low-mass galaxies from the growth of their dark matter haloes at high redshift

Genome-wide association and HLA fine-mapping studies identify risk loci and genetic pathways underlying allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is the most common clinical presentation of allergy, affecting 400 million people worldwide, with increasing incidence in westernized countries1,2. To elucidate the genetic architecture and understand the underlying disease mechanisms, we carried out a meta-analysis of allergic rhinitis in 59,762 cases and 152,358 controls of European ancestry and identified a total of 41 risk loci for allergic rhinitis, including 20 loci not previously associated with allergic rhinitis, which were confirmed in a replication phase of 60,720 cases and 618,527 controls. Functional annotation implicated genes involved in various immune pathways, and fine mapping of the HLA region suggested amino acid variants important for antigen binding. We further performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses of allergic sensitization against inhalant allergens and nonallergic rhinitis, which suggested shared genetic mechanisms across rhinitis-related traits. Future studies of the identified loci and genes might identify novel targets for treatment and prevention of allergic rhinitis

Estrogen Receptor Beta rs1271572 Polymorphism and Invasive Ovarian Carcinoma Risk: Pooled Analysis within the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium

The association of ovarian carcinoma risk with the polymorphism rs1271572 in the estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) gene was examined in 4946 women with primary invasive ovarian carcinoma and 6582 controls in a pooled analysis of ten case-control studies within the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC). All participants were non-Hispanic white women. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for site and age. Women with the TT genotype were at increased risk of ovarian carcinoma compared to carriers of the G allele (OR = 1.10; 95%; CI: 1.01–1.21; p = 0.04); the OR was 1.09 (CI: 0.99–1.20; p = 0.07) after excluding data from the center (Hawaii) that nominated this SNP for OCAC genotyping A stronger association of rs1271572 TT versus GT/GG with risk was observed among women aged ≤50 years versus older women (OR = 1.35; CI: 1.12–1.62; p = 0.002; p for interaction = 0.02) that remained statistically significant after excluding Hawaii data (OR = 1.34; CI: 1.11–1.61; p = 0.009). No heterogeneity of the association was observed by study, menopausal status, gravidity, parity, use of contraceptive or menopausal hormones, tumor histological type, or stage at diagnosis. This pooled analysis suggests that rs1271572 might influence the risk of ovarian cancer, in particular among younger women

CD11c depletion severely disrupts Th2 induction and development in vivo

Although dendritic cells (DCs) are adept initiators of CD4+ T cell responses, their fundamental importance in this regard in Th2 settings remains to be demonstrated. We have used CD11c–diphtheria toxin (DTx) receptor mice to deplete CD11c+ cells during the priming stage of the CD4+ Th2 response against the parasitic helminth Schistosoma mansoni. DTx treatment significantly depleted CD11c+ DCs from all tissues tested, with 70–80% efficacy. Even this incomplete depletion resulted in dramatically impaired CD4+ T cell production of Th2 cytokines, altering the balance of the immune response and causing a shift toward IFN-γ production. In contrast, basophil depletion using Mar-1 antibody had no measurable effect on Th2 induction in this system. These data underline the vital role that CD11c+ antigen-presenting cells can play in orchestrating Th2 development against helminth infection in vivo, a response that is ordinarily balanced so as to prevent the potentially damaging production of inflammatory cytokines