Urinary soluble HLA-DR is a potential biomarker for acute renal transplant rejection.

BACKGROUND.: Urine is a potentially rich source of biomarkers for monitoring kidney dysfunction. In this study, we have investigated the potential of soluble human leukocyte antigen (sHLA)-DR in the urine for noninvasive monitoring of renal transplant patients.

Under-filled blood collection tubes containing K2EDTA as anticoagulant are acceptable for automated complete blood counts, white blood cell differential, and reticulocyte count.

Current laboratory standards from Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and manufacturer's (Becton Dickinson) data indicate that under-filling K(2)EDTA blood collection tubes can result in erroneous hematology values. To accommodate under-filled tubes and reduce collection volumes while optimizing our automation, we explored the acceptable limit of under-filled tubes for hematology values. We collected 8.

Production of the Bsa lantibiotic by community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Lantibiotics are antimicrobial peptides that have been the focus of much attention in recent years with a view to clinical, veterinary, and food applications. Although many lantibiotics are produced by food-grade bacteria or bacteria generally regarded as safe, some lantibiotics are produced by pathogens and, rather than contributing to food safety and/or health, add to the virulence potential of the producing strains. Indeed, genome sequencing has revealed the presence of genes apparently encoding a lantibiotic, designated Bsa (bacteriocin of Staphylococcus aureus), among clinical isolates of S.

Monocytes/macrophages and/or neutrophils are the target of IL-10 in the LPS endotoxemia model.

IL-10 is a potent regulator of the innate and adaptive immune responses. Several cell types produce IL-10 and its receptor chains and these may regulate different immune responses. Here we report that inactivation of the IL-10 receptor (IL-10R1) gene in mice leads to an increased susceptibility to chemically induced colitis as in the classical IL-10-deficient mutant.

Anatomic segmentectomy for stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: comparison of video-assisted thoracic surgery versus open approach.

Objectives: Anatomic segmentectomy is increasingly being considered as a means of achieving an R0 resection for peripheral, small, stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. In the current study, we compare the results of video-assisted thoracic surgery (n = 104) versus open (n = 121) segmentectomy in the treatment of stage I non-small-cell lung cancer.

Methods: A total of 225 consecutive anatomic segmentectomies were performed for stage IA (n = 138) or IB (n = 87) non-small-cell lung cancer from 2002 to 2007.

Selective expression of the chemokine receptor XCR1 on cross-presenting dendritic cells determines cooperation with CD8+ T cells.

The expression of the chemokine receptor XCR1 and the function of its ligand XCL1 (otherwise referred to as ATAC, lymphotactin, or SCM-1) remained elusive to date. In the present report we demonstrated that XCR1 is exclusively expressed on murine CD8(+) dendritic cells (DCs) and showed that XCL1 is a potent and highly specific chemoattractant for this DC subset. CD8(+) T cells abundantly secreted XCL1 8-36 hr after antigen recognition on CD8(+) DCs in vivo, in a period in which stable T cell-DC interactions are known to occur.

Anterior minithoracotomy: a direct approach to the difficult hilum for upper lobectomy, pneumonectomy, and sleeve lobectomy.

Background: Central lung cancers with pulmonary hilar involvement can pose a technical challenge when a lateral thoracotomy is used. Proximal vascular control and pulmonary vascular dissection from this approach can be challenging and potentially dangerous. We describe the use of a Chamberlain anterior minithoracotomy as an alternative approach for safe and reliable access to the pulmonary hilum.

Prostate cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, treatment and survival in ethnic groups in South-East England.

Objectives: To use self-assigned ethnicity to examine patterns of incidence, stage, treatment and survival in patients with prostate cancer in South-east England.

Patients And Methods: Data on 36 961 men resident in South-east England and diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1998 and 2003 were extracted from the Thames Cancer Registry. Ethnicity information was obtained from the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset, and matched to the cancer records.

Cultural confusions show that facial expressions are not universal.

Central to all human interaction is the mutual understanding of emotions, achieved primarily by a set of biologically rooted social signals evolved for this purpose-facial expressions of emotion. Although facial expressions are widely considered to be the universal language of emotion, some negative facial expressions consistently elicit lower recognition levels among Eastern compared to Western groups (see [4] for a meta-analysis and [5, 6] for review). Here, focusing on the decoding of facial expression signals, we merge behavioral and computational analyses with novel spatiotemporal analyses of eye movements, showing that Eastern observers use a culture-specific decoding strategy that is inadequate to reliably distinguish universal facial expressions of "fear" and "disgust.

The epidemiology and survival of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma in South East England, 1970-2004.

Background: Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (EPSCC) is a rare cancer and few studies describe its epidemiology. Our objectives were to compare the incidence and survival of EPSCC in South East England with small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCLC), to determine the most common anatomical presenting sites for EPSCC and to compare survival in EPSCC by disease stage and site of diagnosis.

Methods: We used data from the Thames Cancer Registry database for South East England between 1970 and 2004 to determine the incidence, most common anatomical sites, and survival by site, and stage of EPSCC.

Subdiffusive motion in kinetically constrained models.

We discuss a kinetically constrained model in which real-valued local densities fluctuate in time, as introduced recently by Bertin, Bouchaud, and Lequeux. We show how the phenomenology of this model can be reproduced by an effective theory of mobility excitations propagating in a disordered environment. Both excitations and probe particles have subdiffusive motion, characterized by different exponents and operating on different time scales.

Inequalities in the incidence of cervical cancer in South East England 2001-2005: an investigation of population risk factors.

Background: The incidence of cervical cancer varies dramatically, both globally and within individual countries. The age-standardised incidence of cervical cancer was compared across primary care trusts (PCTs) in South East England, taking into account the prevalence of known behavioural risk factors, screening coverage and the deprivation of the area.

Methods: Data on 2,231 cases diagnosed between 2001 and 2005 were extracted from the Thames Cancer Registry, and data on risk factors and screening coverage were collated from publicly available sources.

Mode of action of dysgalacticin: a large heat-labile bacteriocin.

Objectives: The mode of action of dysgalacticin, a large (21.5 kDa), heat-labile bacteriocin that is active against the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, was investigated.

Methods: We used recombinant dysgalacticin to determine its mode of action against S.

Dynamic order-disorder in atomistic models of structural glass formers.

The glass transition is the freezing of a liquid into a solid state without evident structural order. Although glassy materials are well characterized experimentally, the existence of a phase transition into the glass state remains controversial. Here, we present numerical evidence for the existence of a novel first-order dynamical phase transition in atomistic models of structural glass formers.

Implantation of alloplastic material increases survival of mice subsequently exposed to polymicrobial sepsis.

Purpose: Major surgery can modulate the immune system and by this the clinical course of following complications. Effects of minor surgical treatments on the immune system and septic complications are poorly understood.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the effect of a minor surgical procedure--the implantation of an osmotic pump--on the outcome of experimental polymicrobial sepsis (colon ascendens stent-induced peritonitis, CASP) in mice.

Breast cancer incidence, stage, treatment and survival in ethnic groups in South East England.

Studies from the US have shown variations in breast cancer incidence, stage distribution, treatment and survival between ethnic groups. Data on 35 631 women diagnosed with breast cancer in South East England between 1998 and 2003 with self-assigned ethnicity information available were analysed. Results are reported for White, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Black African and Chinese women.

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy in rats yields less effect on indices of brain cell number and size than does postnatal exposure.

While there is evidence that human perinatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) can result in an increased risk of respiratory disorders and sudden infant death syndrome, evidence linking ETS exposure to neurodevelopmental handicaps is suggestive but less compelling. We previously noted that postnatal ETS exposure, rather than prenatal exposure, resulted in reduced concentration of hindbrain DNA and increased protein/DNA ratio when rat brain tissue was studied at 9 weeks postnatal age. We have now evaluated the effects of ETS exposure during pregnancy on brain development by assaying brain tissue at term.

Negative differential mobility of weakly driven particles in models of glass formers.

We study the response of probe particles to weak constant driving in kinetically constrained models of glassy systems, and show that the probe's response can be nonmonotonic and give rise to negative differential mobility: increasing the applied force can reduce the probe's drift velocity in the force direction. Other significant nonlinear effects are also demonstrated, such as the enhancement with increasing force of the probe's fluctuations away from the average path, a phenomenon known in other contexts as giant diffusivity. We show that these results can be explained analytically by a continuous-time random walk approximation where there is decoupling between persistence and exchange times for local displacements of the probe.

Culture shapes how we look at faces.

Background: Face processing, amongst many basic visual skills, is thought to be invariant across all humans. From as early as 1965, studies of eye movements have consistently revealed a systematic triangular sequence of fixations over the eyes and the mouth, suggesting that faces elicit a universal, biologically-determined information extraction pattern.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we monitored the eye movements of Western Caucasian and East Asian observers while they learned, recognized, and categorized by race Western Caucasian and East Asian faces.

CCR1 antagonists.

CCR1 (CC Chemokine receptor 1) is a widely studied G protein-coupled receptor target expressed on multiple types of leukocytes. It is implicated in initiating and exacerbating inflammatory conditions and thus is viewed as a good target for autoimmune and inflammatory therapeutic applications. Numerous CCR1 antagonists have been reported.

Bacterial contamination of ocular surface and needles in patients undergoing intravitreal injections.

Purpose: To evaluate potential sources of bacterial contamination during intravitreal (IVT) injection procedures.

Methods: Patients scheduled for IVT injection were asked to enroll in the study at the California Vitreoretinal Center (Menlo Park, CA) and the Vantage Eye Center (Salinas, CA) between October 2004 and April 2005. A total of 104 patients participated in the study, with a total of 118 IVT injection procedures performed on 107 eyes.

Induction of exosome release in primary B cells stimulated via CD40 and the IL-4 receptor.

Exosomes are lipid-bound nanovesicles formed by inward budding of the endosomal membrane and released following fusion of the endosomal limiting membrane with the plasma membrane. We show here that primary leukocytes do not release exosomes unless subjected to potent activation signals, such as cytokine or mitogen stimulation. In particular, high levels of exosomes were released when murine splenic B cells were stimulated via CD40 and the IL-4 receptor.

In vitro comparison of coronal microleakage between Resilon alone and gutta-percha with a glass-ionomer intraorifice barrier using a fluid filtration model.

The prevention and control of coronal microleakage is critical for successful endodontic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare coronal microleakage between Resilon alone and gutta-percha with a glass ionomer intraorifice barrier using a fluid filtration model. Thirty-four extracted human teeth were decoronated, prepared to a standardized length of 16 mm, and instrumented to a .

Histological subtype of lung cancer in relation to socio-economic deprivation in South East England.

Background: Previous studies have found differences in the histological subtypes of lung cancers affecting males and females. Our objective was to investigate trends in the incidence of histological subtypes of lung cancer in males and females in relation to socio-economic deprivation in South East England.

Methods: Data on 48,031 males and 30,454 females diagnosed with lung cancer between 1995 and 2004 were extracted from the Thames Cancer Registry database.