The nutritive and immunoprotective quality of human milk beyond 1 year postpartum: are lactation-duration-based donor exclusions justified?

Donor human milk is critical for the fragile preterm infant who does not have access to his or her mother's milk, improving survival rates and quality of survival and decreasing hospital stay. Despite the opening of donor milk banks around the world, shortages continue as demand for donor milk exceeds supply. One potential means of increasing supply is by reducing exclusion criteria that prohibit mothers from donating milk based on duration of lactation.

Picosecond to femtosecond pulses from high power self mode-locked ytterbium rod-type fiber laser.

We have designed an ytterbium rod-type fiber laser oscillator with tunable pulse duration. This system that delivers more than 10 W of average power is self mode-locked. It yields femtosecond to picosecond laser pulses at a repetition rate of 74 MHz.

Histopathologic evaluation of arterial wall response to 5 neurovascular mechanical thrombectomy devices in a swine model.

Background And Purpose: Five commercial devices are available for mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke. This study evaluated and compared the resultant arterial damage from these devices.

Materials And Methods: Wall damage after 4 wall-contact devices (the Merci retriever, Catch thromboembolectomy system, and Solitaire FR revascularization devices of 4 and 6 mm) and 1 aspiration device (the Penumbra System) was evaluated in the superficial femoral arteries of 20 male swine.

Large tunable image-charge effects in single-molecule junctions.

Metal/organic interfaces critically determine the characteristics of molecular electronic devices, because they influence the arrangement of the orbital levels that participate in charge transport. Studies on self-assembled monolayers show molecule-dependent energy-level shifts as well as transport-gap renormalization, two effects that suggest that electric-field polarization in the metal substrate induced by the formation of image charges plays a key role in the alignment of the molecular energy levels with respect to the metal's Fermi energy. Here, we provide direct experimental evidence for an electrode-induced gap renormalization in single-molecule junctions.

Posttranslational processing of human and mouse urocortin 2: characterization and bioactivity of gene products.

Mouse (m) and human (h) urocortin 2 (Ucn 2) were identified by molecular cloning strategies and the primary sequence of their mature forms postulated by analogy to closely related members of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuropeptide family. Because of the paucity of Ucn 2 proteins in native tissues, skin, muscle, and pancreatic cell lines were transduced with lentiviral constructs and secretion media were used to isolate and characterize Ucn 2 products and study processing. Primary structures were assigned using a combination of Edman degradation sequencing and mass spectrometry.

The effects of body temperature and mass on the postprandial metabolic responses of the African egg-eating snakes Dasypeltis scabra and Dasypeltis inornata.

African egg-eating snakes (Dasypeltis) feed only on freshly laid bird eggs which they perforate within their esophagus before swallowing the liquid contents and regurgitating the empty shell. Compared to a snake's typical intact meal, the liquid diet of Dasypeltis would expectedly generate a more moderate postprandial metabolic response and specific dynamic action (SDA). Free-ranging Dasypeltis feed over a range of ambient temperatures and thereby experience predicted temperature-dependent shifts in the duration and magnitude of their postprandial metabolic response.

Prenatal stress and affective disorders in a population birth cohort.

Objectives: Pregnant women exposed to an acute traumatic event are thought to produce offspring with an increased incidence of affective disorders. It is not known whether there are specific times in pregnancy which confer increased vulnerability, or if psychosocial stress alone can increase the incidence of affective disorders in offspring. We examined the relationship of the timing of an acute psychosocial threat during pregnancy to the incidence of affective disorders in offspring using data from a large birth cohort.

Liquid-liquid miscibility gaps in drug-water binary systems: crystal structure and thermodynamic properties of prilocaine and the temperature-composition phase diagram of the prilocaine-water system.

EMLA cream, a "eutectic mixture of local anesthetics", was developed in the early 1980s by Astra Pharmaceutical Production. The mixture of anesthetics containing lidocaine, prilocaine, and water is liquid at room temperature, which is partly due to the eutectic equilibrium between prilocaine and lidocaine at 293 K, as was clear from the start. However, the full thermodynamic background for the stability of the liquid and its emulsion-like appearance has never been elucidated.

Decreased iron burden in overweight C282Y homozygous women: Putative role of increased hepcidin production.

Unlabelled: An excess of visceral adipose tissue could be involved as a modulator of the penetrance of HFE hemochromatosis since fat mass is associated with overexpression of hepcidin and low transferrin saturation was found to be associated with being overweight in women. This study was aimed at assessing the relationship between body mass index (BMI), a surrogate marker of insulin resistance, and iron burden in HFE hemochromatosis. In all, 877 patients from a cohort of C282Y homozygotes were included in the study when BMI at diagnosis and amount of iron removed (AIR) by phlebotomy were available.

Atypical depression and alcohol misuse are related to the cardiovascular risk in the general population.

Objective: The aims of the present study were to assess the associations between mood, anxiety and substance use disorders, including their subtypes, and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs).

Method: Thorough physical investigations, biological measures and standardized interview techniques were used to assess 3716 subjects of an urban area, aged 35-66 years.

Results: Atypical depression was associated with increased prevalence of overweight, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.

Theoretical and experimental studies of (In,Ga)As/GaP quantum dots.

(In,Ga)As/GaP(001) quantum dots (QDs) are grown by molecular beam epitaxy and studied both theoretically and experimentally. The electronic band structure is simulated using a combination of k·p and tight-binding models. These calculations predict an indirect to direct crossover with the In content and the size of the QDs.

Specificity of Ocimum basilicum geraniol synthase modified by its expression in different heterologous systems.

Numerous aromatic plant species produce high levels of monoterpenols, using geranyl diphosphate (GPP) as a precursor. Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) geraniol synthase (GES) was used to evaluate the monoterpenol profiles arising from heterologous expressions in various plant models. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) calli were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefasciens and the plants were regenerated.

Genetics of cardiac electrical disease.

Few tragedies compare to the sudden death of a family member. Sadly, this may represent the first sign of a familial vulnerability to such events. One common cause is an inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndrome.

hERG K(+) channels: structure, function, and clinical significance.

The human ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG) encodes the pore-forming subunit of the rapid component of the delayed rectifier K(+) channel, Kv11.1, which are expressed in the heart, various brain regions, smooth muscle cells, endocrine cells, and a wide range of tumor cell lines. However, it is the role that Kv11.

Anticoagulation bridging around device surgery: compliance with guidelines.

Background: Current guidelines recommend bridging anticoagulation in patients undergoing cardiac rhythm device surgery with a "moderate to high risk" of thromboembolism. Patients at "low risk" are advised to stop oral anticoagulation without bridging to the procedure. This study examines real world adherence to accepted guidelines and the clinical sequelae of nonadherence.

Prevalence, risk factors and molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in residents of long-term care facilities in Luxembourg, 2010.

A prevalence survey of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was performed in 2010 in 19 long-term care facilities in Luxembourg. Of the 954 participating residents, 69 (7·2%) were colonized by MRSA. Previous history of MRSA [odds ratio (OR) 7·20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3·19-16·27], quinolone therapy in the previous year (OR 2·27, 95% CI 1·17-4·41) and ≥24 h care administered per week (OR 4·29, 95% CI 1·18-15·56) were independent risk factors for MRSA colonization.

Impact of lowering confirmatory test cutoff value in pre-enlistment urine cannabinoids screening: about five years' experience in the French Gendarmerie.

The guidelines for screening of urinary cannabinoids require that all specimens testing positive should be confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at a confirmatory test cutoff value of 15 ng/mL of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH). To assess the impact of lowering the confirmatory test cutoff value on the diagnostic sensitivity and efficiency of a cannabinoid testing program, the results of 986 confirmation analyses of positive screening tests, conducted in the framework of medical fitness examinations prior to enlistment in the French Gendarmerie between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009, were retrospectively studied. If the confirmatory test cutoff value of THCCOOH is set at 5 ng/mL instead of 15 ng/mL as recommended by guidelines, the number of confirmed results increases by 25.

Tau protein phosphatases in Alzheimer's disease: the leading role of PP2A.

Tau phosphorylation is regulated by a balance between tau kinase and phosphatase activities. Disruption of this equilibrium was suggested to be at the origin of abnormal tau phosphorylation and thereby that might contributes to tau aggregation. Thus, understanding the regulation modes of tau dephosphorylation is of high interest in determining the possible causes at the origin of the formation of tau aggregates and to elaborate protection strategies to cope with these lesions in AD.

The genetics of cardiac disease associated with sudden cardiac death: a paper from the 2011 William Beaumont Hospital Symposium on molecular pathology.

Sudden cardiac death due to ventricular arrhythmia most commonly occurs in the setting of coronary artery disease. However, a number of inherited syndromes have now been identified that carry a significant risk of sudden cardiac death and that are disproportionately represented in the young. Arrhythmia in such conditions may result from genetically mediated structural heart disease (eg, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy) or from altered function of cardiac ion channels in the absence of overt structural disease (eg, Brugada syndrome and long QT syndrome).

On Advanced Estimation Techniques for Exoplanet Detection and Characterization Using Ground-based Coronagraphs.

The direct imaging of planets around nearby stars is exceedingly difficult. Only about 14 exoplanets have been imaged to date that have masses less than 13 times that of Jupiter. The next generation of planet-finding coronagraphs, including VLT-SPHERE, the Gemini Planet Imager, Palomar P1640, and Subaru HiCIAO have predicted contrast performance of roughly a thousand times less than would be needed to detect Earth-like planets.

Tau protein kinases: involvement in Alzheimer's disease.

Tau phosphorylation is regulated by a balance between tau kinase and phosphatase activities. Disruption of this equilibrium was suggested to be at the origin of abnormal tau phosphorylation and thereby might contribute to tau aggregation. Thus, understanding the regulation modes of tau phosphorylation is of high interest in determining the possible causes at the origin of the formation of tau aggregates in order to elaborate protection strategies to cope with these lesions in Alzheimer's disease.

Global DNA methylation levels in white blood cell DNA from sisters discordant for breast cancer from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry.

Lower global DNA methylation is associated with genomic instability and it is one of the epigenetic mechanisms relevant to carcinogenesis. Emerging evidence for several cancers suggests that lower overall levels of global DNA methylation in blood are associated with different cancer types, although less is known about breast cancer. We examined global DNA methylation levels using a sibling design in 273 sisters affected with breast cancer and 335 unaffected sisters from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry.

Ring expansion of cyclic β-amino alcohols induced by diethylaminosulfur trifluoride: synthesis of cyclic amines with a tertiary fluorine at C3.

As the replacement of a hydrogen atom by a fluorine atom in a compound can have an important impact on its biological properties, the development of methods allowing the introduction of a fluorine atom is of great importance. The scope and limitations of the ring expansion of cyclic 2-hydroxymethyl amines induced by diethylaminosulfur trifluoride (DAST) to produce cyclic β-fluoro amines was studied as well as the enantioselectivity of the process.

Repetitive element DNA methylation levels in white blood cell DNA from sisters discordant for breast cancer from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry.

Global decreases in DNA methylation, particularly in repetitive elements, have been associated with genomic instability and human cancer. Emerging, though limited, data suggest that in white blood cell (WBC) DNA levels of methylation, overall or in repetitive elements, may be associated with cancer risk. We measured methylation levels of three repetitive elements [Satellite 2 (Sat2)], long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) and Alu) by MethyLight, and LINE-1 by pyrosequencing in a total of 282 breast cancer cases and 347 unaffected sisters from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR) using DNA from both granulocytes and total WBC.