The great Atlantic belt.

Pelagic is abundant in the Sargasso Sea, but a recurrent great Atlantic belt (GASB) has been observed in satellite imagery since 2011, often extending from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. In June 2018, the 8850-kilometer GASB contained >20 million metric tons of biomass. The spatial distribution of the GASB is mostly driven by ocean circulation.

Ketogenic treatment reduces the percentage of a LHON heteroplasmic mutation and increases mtDNA amount of a LHON homoplasmic mutation.

Background: The vision loss in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy patients is due to mitochondrial DNA mutations. No treatment has shown a clear-cut benefit on a clinically meaningful end-point. However, clinical evidences suggest two therapeutic approaches: the reduction of the mutation load in heteroplasmic patients or the elevation of mitochondrial DNA amount in homoplasmic patients.

MONOZEB: Long-term observational study of eslicarbazepine acetate monotherapy.

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) when used as monotherapy for 1 year or more in routine clinical use in patients with focal seizures in epilepsy clinics in Spain.

Methods: This is a retrospective, observational, noninterventional study. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years, had focal seizures, and started on ESL ≥1 year before database closure.

Cut it out! Thoracic surgeon's approach to pulmonary mucormycosis and the role of surgical resection in survival.

Background: Mucormycosis portends a poor prognosis with mortality rates ranging from 50% to 70% in pulmonary mucormycosis (PM) and up to 95% in disseminated disease. However, detailed outcomes data have been lacking. It remains unknown how to identify patients who would benefit from surgical resection.

The stability of multitrophic communities under habitat loss.

Habitat loss (HL) affects species and their interactions, ultimately altering community dynamics. Yet, a challenge for community ecology is to understand how communities with multiple interaction types-hybrid communities-respond to HL prior to species extinctions. To this end, we develop a model to investigate the response of hybrid terrestrial communities to two types of HL: random and contiguous.

Parameters associated with efficacy of epidural steroid injections in the management of postherpetic neuralgia: the Mayo Clinic experience.

Thirty percent of patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) receiving conservative treatment report unsatisfactory pain relief. Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are commonly used as a therapeutic intervention in these patients. In this study, we aimed to determine if there are variables that predict the efficacy of ESI in patients with PHN.

Learning to Reconstruct Computed Tomography Images Directly From Sinogram Data Under A Variety of Data Acquisition Conditions.

Computed tomography (CT) is widely used in medical diagnosis and non-destructive detection. Image reconstruction in CT aims to accurately recover pixel values from measured line integrals, i.e.

Unusual photodermatosis with lichenoid eruption and apoptosis in a 33-year-old female.

We describe the clinical and dermoscopic features and histopathological findings in a case of a 33-year-old female patient with an adult-onset photodermatosis. This eruption was not typical of well-established photodermatoses due to its apoptotic keratinocytes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of these combined clinical and pathologic features.

Neurocognitive SuperAging in Older Adults Living With HIV: Demographic, Neuromedical and Everyday Functioning Correlates.

Objectives: Studies of neurocognitively elite older adults, termed SuperAgers, have identified clinical predictors and neurobiological indicators of resilience against age-related neurocognitive decline. Despite rising rates of older persons living with HIV (PLWH), SuperAging (SA) in PLWH remains undefined. We aimed to establish neuropsychological criteria for SA in PLWH and examined clinically relevant correlates of SA.

Oxidative phosphorylation inducers fight pathological angiogenesis.

Pathological mutations in subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, or inhibitors of this biochemical pathway, increase the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pathological angiogenesis. In many angiogenesis-related diseases, such as retinal, rheumatoid diseases, or cancer, OXPHOS dysfunction can be found. Thus, enhancing OXPHOS might be a promising therapeutic approach for pathologic angiogenesis.

Intrinsic activation of cell growth and differentiation in ex vivo cultured human hair follicles by a transient endogenous production of ROS.

The emerging variety of signalling roles for ROS in eukaryotic cells and tissues is currently a matter of intense research. Here we make use of ex vivo cultured single human hair follicles as an experimental model to demonstrate that a transient production of non-lethal endogenous ROS levels in these mini-organs promotes efficiently the entry into the growth phase (anagen). The stimulatory process implicates the specific activation of the hair follicle stem cell niche, encompassing the induction of stem cell differentiation markers (Ck15), overall cell proliferation and sustained growth of the tissue associated with expression of gen targets (Ccnd1) concomitant with the inhibition of Wnt signaling antagonists and repressors (Dkk1, Gsk3β) of Wnt signaling.

Test4HepC: Promoting Hepatitis C Testing to Baby Boomers Using Social Media.

Individuals born between 1945 and 1965 ("baby boomers") account for an estimated three quarters of all hepatitis C (HCV) infections in the United States. This article describes the evaluation of Test4HepC, a program that uses social media and a website to promote HCV testing to baby boomers in Los Angeles County, California. The first 16 months of Test4HepC were evaluated using an online survey (n = 302), qualitative interviews (n = 20), website and social media analytics, and records of free testing offered though the program.

Congenital toxoplasmosis in the United States: clinical and serologic findings in infants born to mothers treated during pregnancy.

We assessed clinical and serologic findings in 25 infants with congenital toxoplasmosis born to mothers treated during pregnancy in the United States. Results indicate a lower prevalence of eye findings and hydrocephalus in the group of infants born to treated mothers (62.5% and 38.

Modularity and predicted functions of the global sponge-microbiome network.

Defining the organisation of species interaction networks and unveiling the processes behind their assembly is fundamental to understanding patterns of biodiversity, community stability and ecosystem functioning. Marine sponges host complex communities of microorganisms that contribute to their health and survival, yet the mechanisms behind microbiome assembly are largely unknown. We present the global marine sponge-microbiome network and reveal a modular organisation in both community structure and function.

Petrocarbon evolution: Ramped pyrolysis/oxidation and isotopic studies of contaminated oil sediments from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hydrocarbons released during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill weathered due to exposure to oxygen, light, and microbes. During weathering, the hydrocarbons' reactivity and lability was altered, but it remained identifiable as "petrocarbon" due to its retention of the distinctive isotope signatures (14C and 13C) of petroleum. Relative to the initial estimates of the quantity of oil-residue deposited in Gulf sediments based on 2010-2011 data, the overall coverage and quantity of the fossil carbon on the seafloor has been attenuated.

Onset Patterns and Course of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Epidemiologic studies of myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have examined different aspects of this disease separately but few have explored them together. Describe ME/CFS onset and course in one United States-based cohort. One hundred and fifty subjects fitting Fukuda 1994 CFS criteria completed a detailed survey concerning the initial and subsequent stages of their illness.

Parvovirus B19-induced severe anemia in heart transplant recipients: Case report and review of the literature.

We report a case of a 64-year-old woman who developed transfusion-dependent anemia after cardiac transplantation, the etiology of which was unknown after initial comprehensive evaluation. At the suggestion of the Transplant Infectious Diseases consultant, microbial agents with red blood cell tropism pertinent to this patient such as Parvovirus B 19 (B19V) were investigated. The B19V viral load by PCR in peripheral blood was >100 000 000 copies/ml and after treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), her anemia resolved.

Implementation of a Strongyloides screening strategy in solid organ transplant donors and recipients.

Background: Strongyloides stercoralis infects 100 million people worldwide. Mortality rates in hyperinfection syndrome exceed 50%. Donor-derived Strongyloides infection has occurred after heart, kidney, kidney-pancreas and liver transplantation; yet, only 10% of the US organ procurement organizations currently screen donors for strongyloidiasis.

Premedication With Gabapentin Significantly Reduces the Risk of Postherpetic Neuralgia in Patients With Neuropathy.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation and a cause of considerable physical and psychosocial morbidity. No known treatment effectively prevents the development of PHN in patients with VZV reactivation. In this study, our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of premedication with gabapentin for reducing the risk of PHN in patients with diabetic and nondiabetic neuropathy.

New Quinolylnitrones for Stroke Therapy: Antioxidant and Neuroprotective ( Z)- N- tert-Butyl-1-(2-chloro-6-methoxyquinolin-3-yl)methanimine Oxide as a New Lead-Compound for Ischemic Stroke Treatment.

We describe herein the synthesis and neuroprotective capacity of an array of 31 compounds comprising quinolyloximes, quinolylhydrazones, quinolylimines, QNs, and related heterocyclic azolylnitrones. Neuronal cultures subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), as experimental model for ischemic conditions, were treated with our molecules at the onset of recovery period after OGD and showed that most of these QNs, but not the azo molecules, improved neuronal viability 24 h after recovery. Especially, QN ( Z)- N-tert-butyl-1-(2-chloro-6-methoxyquinolin-3-yl)methanimine oxide (23) was shown as a very potent neuroprotective agent.

Cyclodextrin triggers MCOLN1-dependent endo-lysosome secretion in Niemann-Pick type C cells.

In specialized cell types, lysosome-related organelles support regulated secretory pathways, whereas in nonspecialized cells, lysosomes can undergo fusion with the plasma membrane in response to a transient rise in cytosolic calcium. Recent evidence also indicates that lysosome secretion can be controlled transcriptionally and promote clearance in lysosome storage diseases. In addition, evidence is also accumulating that low concentrations of cyclodextrins reduce the cholesterol-storage phenotype in cells and animals with the cholesterol storage disease Niemann-Pick type C, via an unknown mechanism.

Infectious complications after heart transplantation in patients screened with gene expression profiling.

Background: The risk of infection after heart transplantation is highest within the first year and represents the leading cause of early mortality. In this cohort of patients enrolled in the Outcomes AlloMap Registry (OAR), we sought to describe infection episodes (IEp) resulting in hospitalization, in the early (<1 year) and late (≥1 year) post-transplant period and determine the impact of immunosuppression on incidence of infection.

Methods: The primary aim was to assess the incidence and nature of IEp.

β-Tubulinopathy caused by a mutation of the TUBB2B gene: magnetic resonance imaging findings of the brain.

Patients with mutations in tubulin-related genes usually present with brain malformations, intellectual disability, epilepsy, microcephaly and ocular abnormalities. In these patients the diagnosis can be suggested by neuroimaging findings. We report a 5-year-old patient with characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings including malformation of cortical development, fused basal ganglia, large head of the caudate nuclei, absent anterior limbs of the internal capsules, corpus callosum dysgenesis and dysplastic cerebellar vermis.