Radiogenomic Analysis to Predict Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with NSCLC

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp21/1243/thumbnail.jp

Long-term weight loss effects on all cause mortality in overweight/obese populations

This systematic review assesses the long-term effectiveness of weight loss on all cause mortality in overweight/obese people. Medline, Embase and Cinahl were searched (1966–2005). Cohort studies and trials on participants with Body Mass Index ¡Ý25 kg/m2, with weight change and mortality with ¡Ý 2 years follow-up were included finally identifying 11 papers based on 8 studies. There may be gender differences in the benefits for all cause mortality. The impact of weight loss in men on mortality was not clear with some studies indicating weight loss to be detrimental, while a recent cohort study showed benefits, if it were a personal decision. Other studies with no gender separation had similarly mixed results. However, one study indicated that overweight/obese women with obesity related illness, who lost weight intentionally within one year, had significantly reduced mortality rates of 19% -25%. In contrast, studies of overweight/obese diabetics irrespective of gender, showed significant benefit of intentional weight loss on mortality in a metaanalysis, HR=0.75(0.67- 0.83). There is some evidence that intentional weight loss has long-term benefits on all cause mortality for women and more so for diabetics. Long-term effects especially for men are not clear and need further investigation.National Health Service (NHS) R&D Health Technology Assessment Board

''Buellia'' lindingeri and Rinodina hallii (Physciaceae), two closely related species

A comparative study of the morphology, anatomy and chemistry of Buellia lindingeri and Rinodina hallii clearly shows that these taxa are very closely related but not conspecific. The unique epihymenia distinguishes them from most species of both Buellia and Rinodina but, as they are more closely related to Rinodina, Buellia lindingeri is transferred to that genus

Learning and business in college next

To describe some of the forces and effects that the current university has to go through becomes a blueprint of new maps. Landscape that shows discomfort as well as the uprising of political and economic rationalities. It matters to explain the vocation of future in an institution of superior education each time more enterprised and committed with the learning experience. Mutations, weirdness and overpositions give shape to the place of formation and practice in university life and autoregulation of management.Describir algunas de las fuerzas y de los efectos que atraviesan la universidad actual supone el bosquejo de una nueva cartografía. Paisaje que muestra tanto un malestar como la emergencia de ciertas racionalidades políticas y económicas. Interesa explicar la vocación de futuro de una institución de educación superior cada vez más empresarizada y comprometida con el aprendizaje. Mutaciones, enrarecimientos y superposiciones conforman ahora el lugar de la formación y de las prácticas de autorregulación de la gestión y de la vida universitaria

Tuberculosis in Dr Granville's mummy: a molecular re-examination of the earliest known Egyptian mummy to be scientifically examined and given a medical diagnosis

‘Dr Granville's mummy’ was described to the Royal Society of London in 1825 and was the first ancient Egyptian mummy to be subjected to a scientific autopsy. The remains are those of a woman, Irtyersenu, aged about 50, from the necropolis of Thebes and dated to about 600 BC. Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783–1872), an eminent physician and obstetrician, described many organs still in situ and attributed the cause of death to a tumour of the ovary. However, subsequent histological investigations indicate that the tumour is a benign cystadenoma. Histology of the lungs demonstrated a potentially fatal pulmonary exudate and earlier studies attempted to associate this with particular disease conditions. Palaeopathology and ancient DNA analyses show that tuberculosis was widespread in ancient Egypt, so a systematic search for tuberculosis was made, using specific DNA and lipid biomarker analyses. Clear evidence for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was obtained in lung tissue and gall bladder samples, based on nested PCR of the IS6110 locus. Lung and femurs were positive for specific M. tuberculosis complex cell-wall mycolic acids, demonstrated by high-performance liquid chromatography of pyrenebutyric acid–pentafluorobenzyl mycolates. Therefore, tuberculosis is likely to have been the major cause of death of Irtyersenu

NINscope, a versatile miniscope for multi-region circuit investigations

Miniaturized fluorescence microscopes (miniscopes) have been instrumental to monitor neural signals during unrestrained behavior and their open-source versions have made them affordable. Often, the footprint and weight of open-source miniscopes is sacrificed for added functionality. Here, we present NINscope: a light-weight miniscope with a small footprint that integrates a high-sensitivity image sensor, an inertial measurement unit and an LED driver for an external optogenetic probe. We use it to perform the first concurrent cellular resolution recordings from cerebellum and cerebral cortex in unrestrained mice, demonstrate its optogenetic stimulation capabilities to examine cerebello-cerebral or cortico-striatal connectivity, and replicate findings of action encoding in dorsal striatum. In combination with cross-platform acquisition and control software, our miniscope is a versatile addition to the expanding tool chest of open-source miniscopes that will increase access to multi-region circuit investigations during unrestrained behavior

Lecanora sorediomarginata, a new epiphytic lichen species discovered along the Portuguese coast

Lecanora sorediomarginata Rodrigues, Terron & Elix sp. nov., described as new to science from Portugal, is characterized morphologically by a crustose whitish-grey to greenish thallus developing soralia from small, marginal warts and chemically by the presence of 3,5-dichloro-2'-O-methylnorstenosporic acid [major], 3,5-dichloro-2'-O-methylanziaic acid [minor], 3,5-dichloro-2'-O-methylnordivaricatic acid [minor], 5-chloro-2'-O-methylanziaic acid [trace], atranorin [minor], chloroatranorin [minor], and usnic acid [trace]. It is chemically similar to L. lividocinerea, to which it shows phylogenetic affinities based on ITS rDNA sequence analysis, and to L. sulphurella. Lecanora sorediomarginata is epiphytic on Pious pinaster and P. pinea, in pine forests on sand dunes along the Portuguese coast

A nested-PCR with an Internal Amplification Control for the detection and differentiation of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae: An examination of cats in Trinidad

BACKGROUND: Bartonella species are bacterial blood parasites of animals capable of causing disease in both animals and man. Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD) in humans is caused mainly by Bartonella henselae and is acquired from the cat, which serves as a reservoir for the bacteria. A second species, B. clarridgeiae is also implicated in the disease. Diagnosis of Bartonellosis by culture requires a week or more of incubation on enriched media containing blood, and recovery is often complicated by faster growing contaminating bacteria and fungi. PCR has been explored as an alternative to culture for both the detection and species identification of Bartonella, however sensitivity problems have been reported and false negative reactions due to blood inhibitors have not generally been addressed in test design. METHODS: A novel, nested-PCR was designed for the detection of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae based on the strategy of targeting species-specific size differences in the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic regions. An Internal Amplification Control was used for detecting PCR inhibition. The nested-PCR was utilized in a study on 103 blood samples from pet and stray cats in Trinidad. RESULTS: None of the samples were positive by primary PCR, but the Nested-PCR detected Bartonella in 32/103 (31%) cats where 16 were infected with only B. henselae, 13 with only B. clarridgeiae and 3 with both species. Of 22 stray cats housed at an animal shelter, 13 (59%) were positive for either or both species, supporting the reported increased incidence of Bartonella among feral cats. CONCLUSION: The usefulness of a single PCR for the detection of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae in the blood of cats is questionable. A nested-PCR offers increased sensitivity over a primary PCR and should be evaluated with currently used methods for the routine detection and speciation of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae. In Trinidad, B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae are the predominant species in cats and infection appears highest with stray cats, however B. clarridgeiae may be present at levels similar to that of B. henselae in the pet population

The varved succession of Crawford Lake, Milton, Ontario, Canada as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series

An annually laminated succession in Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada is proposed as the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene as a series/epoch with a base dated at 1950 CE. Varve couplets of organic matter capped by calcite precipitated each summer in alkaline surface waters reflect environmental change at global to local scales. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles and nitrogen isotopes record an increase in fossil fuel combustion in the early 1950s, coinciding with fallout from nuclear and thermonuclear testing—239+240Pu and 14C:12C, the latter more than compensating for the effects of old carbon in this dolomitic basin. Rapid industrial expansion in the North American Great Lakes region led to enhanced leaching of terrigenous elements by acid precipitation during the Great Acceleration, and calcite precipitation was reduced, producing thin calcite laminae around the GSSP that is marked by a sharp decline in elm pollen (Dutch Elm disease). The lack of bioturbation in well-oxygenated bottom waters, supported by the absence of fossil pigments from obligately anaerobic purple sulfur bacteria, is attributed to elevated salinities and high alkalinity below the chemocline. This aerobic depositional environment, unusual in a meromictic lake, inhibits the mobilization of 239Pu, the proposed primary stratigraphic guide for the Anthropocene