Excessive expression of miR-27 impairs Treg-mediated immunological tolerance.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are tightly regulated in the immune system, and aberrant expression of miRs often results in hematopoietic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Previously, it was suggested that elevated levels of miR-27 in T cells isolated from patients with multiple sclerosis facilitate disease progression by inhibiting Th2 immunity and promoting pathogenic Th1 responses. Here we have demonstrated that, although mice with T cell-specific overexpression of miR-27 harbor dysregulated Th1 responses and develop autoimmune pathology, these disease phenotypes are not driven by miR-27 in effector T cells in a cell-autonomous manner.

Precise optical surface profilometry using innovative chromatic differential confocal microscopy.

A broadband differential confocal method that exploits novel double-slit chromatic confocal microscopy was developed for one-shot microscopic 3D surface measurement. In situ automated optical inspection to generate microscopic surface profiles has become extremely important for ensuring strict geometric compliance in precision manufacturing. An innovative optical configuration was developed to generate a pair of orthogonally polarized incident light beams, and a pair of the conjugate light beams was detected using two slits of different widths at the corresponding conjugate imaging locations of the incident beams.

DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitor Promotes Human CD4CD25FOXP3 Regulatory T Lymphocyte Induction under Suboptimal TCR Stimulation.

The "master transcription factor" FOXP3 regulates the differentiation, homeostasis, and suppressor function of CD4 regulatory T (Treg) cells, which are critical in maintaining immune tolerance. Epigenetic regulation of FOXP3 expression has been demonstrated to be important to Treg cell development, but the induction of human Treg cells through epigenetic modification has not been clearly described. We report that the combination of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-Aza) and suboptimal T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation promoted CD4CD25FOXP3 T cell induction from human CD4CD25 T cells.

Can the Risks of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak After Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery Be Predicted?

Objective: Identifying predictive factors of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak after translabyrinthine approach (TLA) for vestibular schwannoma.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary care center.

Validation of genotype cluster investigations for Mycobacterium tuberculosis: application results for 44 clusters from four heterogeneous United States jurisdictions.

Background: Tracking the dissemination of specific Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains using genotyped Mtb isolates from tuberculosis patients is a routine public health practice in the United States. The present study proposes a standardized cluster investigation method to identify epidemiologic-linked patients in Mtb genotype clusters. The study also attempts to determine the proportion of epidemiologic-linked patients the proposed method would identify beyond the outcome of the conventional contact investigation.

Differential positive TSPOT assay responses to ESAT-6 and CFP-10 in health care workers.

Background: The TSPOT.TB (TSPOT) diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis infection is based on a cell-mediated response to the Mycobacteria tuberculosis antigens, ESAT-6 and/or CFP-10, producing an "interferon-gamma footprint". We investigated the within-sample and within-subject variability of positive TSPOT assays due to the individual assay antigens' reactivity.

Comparing TSPOT assay results between an Elispot reader and manual counts.

Background: The interferon gamma release assay, TSPOT.TB (TSPOT) can be read by several methodologies, including an Elispot reader or manually by technician. We compared the results from these two counting methods.

Relationship between FDG-PET and different types of sinonasal malignancies.

Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of a FDG-PET scan may be different according to the histology. The SUV and SUV ratio may reflect the tumor's aggressive behavior.

Objectives: To describe the characteristics of PET/CT scans, including the maximum standard uptake values (SUV), at initial diagnosis according to six main types of sinonasal malignancies: sinonasal adenocarcinoma (SNAC), sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC), adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), sinonasal malignant melanoma (SMM), olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB), and sinonasal neuroendocrine carcinoma (SNEC).

Disparate rates of acute rejection and donor-specific antibodies among high-immunologic risk renal transplant subgroups receiving antithymocyte globulin induction.

Lymphocyte-depleting induction lowers acute rejection (AR) rates among high-immunologic risk (HIR) renal transplant recipients, including African Americans (AAs), retransplants, and the sensitized. It is unclear whether different HIR subgroups experience similarly low rates of AR. We aimed to describe the incidence of AR and de novo donor-specific antibody (dnDSA) among HIR recipients categorized by age, race, or donor type.

The olfactory fascia: an evo-devo concept of the fibrocartilaginous nose.

Purpose: Evo-devo is the science that studies the link between evolution of species and embryological development. This concept helps to understand the complex anatomy of the human nose. The evo-devo theory suggests the persistence in the adult of an anatomical entity, the olfactory fascia, that unites the cartilages of the nose to the olfactory mucosa.

CD4 down regulation and raft dissociation by the non-depleting YTS177 antibody hinder murine T helper cell activities.

Non-depleting YTS177 anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) has been reported to lead to antigen-specific immunotolerance in allograft transplantation and autoimmune diabetes, as well as possibly to inhibition of allergic inflammation in mice. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying hyporesponsive T cell responses induced by YTS177 MoAb remain elusive. Herein, we demonstrate that the YTS177 MoAb increases the levels of anergy factors p27(kip1) and Cbl-b, inhibits IL-2 production, and impairs calcium mobilization in activated T cells in vitro.

Evaluation of residual symptoms: A method to assess surgical outcomes for nasal polyposis.

Background: The assessment of residual symptoms after endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyposis (NP) could be an accurate way to evaluate surgical outcomes.

Objective: To assess the residual symptoms and their severity at 6 weeks and 7 months after radical ethmoidectomy for NP.

Methods: Sixty-five patients who had surgery for NP were included in this prospective study.

Prevalence and first genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in beef calves in Vietnam.

Little information is available on the epidemiology of Giardia duodenalis in beef cattle from Vietnam. This study was performed to determine the prevalence and genotypes/assemblages of G. duodenalis in native beef calves younger than 6 months in the region.

miR-23∼27∼24 clusters control effector T cell differentiation and function.

Coordinated repression of gene expression by evolutionarily conserved microRNA (miRNA) clusters and paralogs ensures that miRNAs efficiently exert their biological impact. Combining both loss- and gain-of-function genetic approaches, we show that the miR-23∼27∼24 clusters regulate multiple aspects of T cell biology, particularly helper T (Th) 2 immunity. Low expression of this miRNA family confers proper effector T cell function at both physiological and pathological settings.

In-hospital use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with heart failure in academic centers in the United States.

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are considered potentially harmful for patients with heart failure.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of in-hospital NSAID use, their type, associated diagnosis and impact in clinical outcomes among patients with a diagnosis of heart failure.

Methods: The University Health System Consortium Database was used to identify all first hospitalizations with an International Classification of Diseases-9 discharge diagnosis code of systolic heart failure as the primary diagnosis between January 1, 2011, and December 31st 2014.

The evolutionary dynamics of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in south-central Vietnam reveals multiple clades evolving from Chinese and Cambodian viruses.

In Vietnam, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), such as that caused by H5N1 viruses, is the most highly contagious infectious disease that has been affecting domestic poultry in recent years. Vietnam might be an evolutionary hotspot and a potential source of globally pandemic strains. However, few studies have reported viruses circulating in the south-central region of Vietnam.

Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Histomonas meleagridis in Chickens in Vietnam.

This study was performed to investigate the prevalence and to characterize the genetic diversity of Histomonas meleagridis isolates in chickens in southern Vietnam. A total of 194 chickens, randomly selected from 18 backyard and 18 commercial flocks, were screened for H. meleagridis infection using both macroscopic diagnosis and an 18S rRNA gene-based PCR method.

A Generalizable Platform for the Photoactivation of Cell Surface Receptors.

Polarized signal transduction from cell surface receptors plays a central role in the development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms, and it also contributes to cellular dysfunction in many disease states. Understanding the molecular and cellular bases of polarized signaling requires experimental methods that provide precise spatiotemporal control of receptor activation. However, we currently lack strategies for inducing both sustained and spatially constrained signal transduction.

Dietary Assessment on a Mobile Phone Using Image Processing and Pattern Recognition Techniques: Algorithm Design and System Prototyping.

Dietary assessment, while traditionally based on pen-and-paper, is rapidly moving towards automatic approaches. This study describes an Australian automatic food record method and its prototype for dietary assessment via the use of a mobile phone and techniques of image processing and pattern recognition. Common visual features including scale invariant feature transformation (SIFT), local binary patterns (LBP), and colour are used for describing food images.

Facial pain/headache before and after surgery in patients with nasal polyposis.

Conclusion: Endoscopic surgery improved facial pain/headache and physical-psychosocial impacts in patients with nasal polyposis. However, one fifth of patients still experienced residual pain after surgery, requiring neurologic counseling to look for the non-sinonasal cause of their symptoms.

Objective: Considering the limited amount of literature on facial pain/headache in patients with nasal polyposis, this prospective study assesses facial pain/headache and its impacts on the quality-of-life (QoL) before and after endoscopic surgery.

Diurnal temperature variations affect development of a herbivorous arthropod pest and its predators.

The impact of daily temperature variations on arthropod life history remains woefully understudied compared to the large body of research that has been carried out on the effects of constant temperatures. However, diurnal varying temperature regimes more commonly represent the environment in which most organisms thrive. Such varying temperature regimes have been demonstrated to substantially affect development and reproduction of ectothermic organisms, generally in accordance with Jensen's inequality.

Supplemental food for Amblyseius swirskii in the control of thrips: feeding friend or foe?

Background: In integrated pest management systems in greenhouse crops, the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii is becoming increasingly important as a biological control agent of various pests, especially thrips and whiteflies. An emerging strategy to promote the predator's establishment and retention in the crop consists in providing food supplements. However, when faced with omnivorous pests, such as the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, food supplements need to be applied with extreme care, in order not to boost population growth of the pest.

Can surgeons predict the olfactory outcomes after endoscopic surgery for nasal polyposis?

Objectives/hypothesis: The aim of this study is to identify predictors for olfactory outcomes in patients with nasal polyposis (NP) after surgery on the ethmoidal labyrinths, either with or without resection of the polyps of the olfactory cleft (OC).

Study Design: Prospective study.

Methods: Ninety-six patients endoscopically operated on for NP were enrolled in this study.

IFNγ signaling endows DCs with the capacity to control type I inflammation during parasitic infection through promoting T-bet+ regulatory T cells.

IFNγ signaling drives dendritic cells (DCs) to promote type I T cell (Th1) immunity. Here, we show that activation of DCs by IFNγ is equally crucial for the differentiation of a population of T-bet+ regulatory T (Treg) cells specialized to inhibit Th1 immune responses. Conditional deletion of IFNγ receptor in DCs but not in Treg cells resulted in a severe defect in this specific Treg cell subset, leading to exacerbated immune pathology during parasitic infections.