Geosmithia associated with bark beetles and woodborers in the western USA: taxonomic diversity and vector specificity.

Fungi in the genus Geosmithia (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) are frequent associates of bark beetles and woodborers that colonize hardwood and coniferous trees. One species, Geosmithia morbida, is an economically damaging invasive species. The authors surveyed the Geosmithia species of California and Colorado, USA, to (i) provide baseline data on taxonomy of Geosmithia and beetle vector specificity across the western USA; (ii) investigate the subcortical beetle fauna for alternative vectors of the invasive G.

Hypersensitivity to Carboplatin in Children with Malignancy.

Carboplatin-based regimens have proven efficacy in children with cancer. However, the development of hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) may have a negative impact on treatment intensity and patients' outcome. The aim of this review is to summarize the incidence and the clinical features of HSRs occurring in children with cancer treated with carboplatin and their impact on treatment efficacy.

Rechallenge to Carboplatin in Children with Low Grade Glioma and Carboplatin Hypersensitivity Reactions.

Carboplatin based regimens have demonstrated activity in pediatric patients with low grade gliomas (LGG). However, carboplatin hypersensitivity reactions (CHRs) may be a major problem leading to premature cessation of an effective therapy. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence, characteristics and management of CHR.

CPAP Treatment Adherence in Women with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has numerous negative health-related consequences. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is generally considered the treatment of choice for OSA, but rates of nonadherence are high. It is believed that OSA is more prevalent among men; therefore understanding how OSA presents among women is limited and treatment adherence has received little research attention.

The challenge of identifying family medicine patients with obstructive sleep apnea: addressing the question of gender inequality.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the sleep characteristics, metabolic syndrome disease and likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea in a sample of older, family medicine patients previously unsuspected for sleep apnea.

Methods: A total of 295 participants, minimum age 45, 58.7% women, were recruited from two family medicine clinics.

Enhanced Spatially Resolved Proteomics Using On-Tissue Hydrogel-Mediated Protein Digestion.

The identification of proteins from tissue specimens is a challenging area of biological research. Many current techniques for identification forfeit some level of spatial information during the sample preparation process. Recently, hydrogel technologies have been developed that perform spatially localized protein extraction and digestion prior to downstream proteomic analysis.

Augmentation of Heroin Seeking Following Chronic Food Restriction in the Rat: Differential Role for Dopamine Transmission in the Nucleus Accumbens Shell and Core.

Caloric restriction during drug abstinence increases the risk for relapse in addicts. In rats, chronic food restriction during a period of withdrawal following heroin self-administration augments heroin seeking. The mechanisms underlying this effect are largely unknown.

Oncogenic events rather than antigen selection pressure may be the main driving forces for relapse in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

Little is known on the phylogenetic relationship between diagnostic and relapse clones of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We applied high throughput sequencing (HTS) of the VDJ locus of Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGHV) on 14 DLBCL patients with serial samples, including tumor biopsies and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Phylogenetic data were consolidated with targeted sequencing and cytogenetics.

Effective tumour necrosis factor-blocking therapy reduces reactive oxygen metabolite level in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To assess circulating levels of derived reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), before and during antitumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α therapy.

Methods: Patients with active RA and failed previous treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs received subcutaneous anti-TNF-α for 52 weeks. Circulating hydrogen peroxide was quantified as a marker of oxidative stress at baseline and at 24 and 52 weeks.

BRAF and MEK inhibitors in pediatric glioma: new therapeutic strategies, new toxicities.

BRAF mutation was initially reported in metastatic melanomas, and more recently in a variety of human cancers. BRAF acts as a down-stream effector of growth factor signaling leading to cell cycle progression, proliferation and survival. Development of selective inhibitors of BRAF has improved the survival of patients with melanoma and offers potential new therapeutic strategy in children with BRAF-mutant glioma.

Poly(ethylene oxide) Functionalized Graphene Nanoribbons with Excellent Solution Processability.

Structurally well-defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have attracted great interest as next-generation semiconductor materials. The functionalization of GNRs with polymeric side chains, which can widely broaden GNR-related studies on physiochemical properties and potential applications, has remained unexplored. Here, we demonstrate the bottom-up solution synthesis of defect-free GNRs grafted with flexible poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains.

Heterostructures through Divergent Edge Reconstruction in Nitrogen-Doped Segmented Graphene Nanoribbons.

Atomically precise engineering of defined segments within individual graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) represents a key enabling technology for the development of advanced functional device architectures. Here, the bottom-up synthesis of chevron GNRs decorated with reactive functional groups derived from 9-methyl-9H-carbazole is reported. Scanning tunneling and non-contact atomic force microscopy reveal that a thermal activation of GNRs induces the rearrangement of the electron-rich carbazole into an electron-deficient phenanthridine.

Refreshing Sleep and Sleep Continuity Determine Perceived Sleep Quality.

Sleep quality is a construct often measured, employed as an outcome criterion for therapeutic success, but never defined. In two studies we examined appraised good and poor sleep quality in three groups: a control group, individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, and those with insomnia disorder. In Study 1 we used qualitative methodology to examine good and poor sleep quality in 121 individuals.

Host-induced aneuploidy and phenotypic diversification in the Sudden Oak Death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.

Background: Aneuploidy can result in significant phenotypic changes, which can sometimes be selectively advantageous. For example, aneuploidy confers resistance to antifungal drugs in human pathogenic fungi. Aneuploidy has also been observed in invasive fungal and oomycete plant pathogens in the field.

Effects of individual, community, and landscape drivers on the dynamics of a wildland forest epidemic.

The challenges posed by observing host-pathogen-environment interactions across large geographic extents and over meaningful time scales limit our ability to understand and manage wildland epidemics. We conducted a landscape-scale, longitudinal study designed to analyze the dynamics of sudden oak death (an emerging forest disease caused by Phytophthora ramorum) across hierarchical levels of ecological interactions, from individual hosts up to the community and across the broader landscape. From 2004 to 2011, we annually assessed disease status of 732 coast live oak, 271 black oak, and 122 canyon live oak trees in 202 plots across a 275-km2 landscape in central California.

Wildfire and forest disease interaction lead to greater loss of soil nutrients and carbon.

Fire and forest disease have significant ecological impacts, but the interactions of these two disturbances are rarely studied. We measured soil C, N, Ca, P, and pH in forests of the Big Sur region of California impacted by the exotic pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, cause of sudden oak death, and the 2008 Basin wildfire complex. In Big Sur, overstory tree mortality following P.

Modeling when, where, and how to manage a forest epidemic, motivated by sudden oak death in California.

Sudden oak death, caused by Phytophthora ramorum, has killed millions of oak and tanoak in California since its first detection in 1995. Despite some localized small-scale management, there has been no large-scale attempt to slow the spread of the pathogen in California. Here we use a stochastic spatially explicit model parameterized using data on the spread of P.

Next-generation technologies for spatial proteomics: Integrating ultra-high speed MALDI-TOF and high mass resolution MALDI FTICR imaging mass spectrometry for protein analysis.

MALDI imaging mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool enabling the visualization of biomolecules in tissue. However, there are unique challenges associated with protein imaging experiments including the need for higher spatial resolution capabilities, improved image acquisition rates, and better molecular specificity. Here we demonstrate the capabilities of ultra-high speed MALDI-TOF and high mass resolution MALDI FTICR IMS platforms as they relate to these challenges.

Influence of TNF-α inhibition on oxidative stress of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The aim of this study was to assess circulating levels of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) as a marker of oxidative stress in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients during an anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) treatment. We enrolled 40 patients with RA (36 females; age 53 ± 13 yrs) treated with different subcutaneously administered TNF-α inhibitors. The oxidative status was determined on the basis of plasma samples taken before, at 24 and 52 weeks of the anti-TNF-α treatment.

Management of Hyperleukocytosis.

Hyperleukocytosis has a high morbidity index. The involvement of the respiratory or central nervous system and the metabolic derangements accompanying tumor lysis are responsible for early mortality. Standard care for acute hyperleukocytosis must include cytoreduction, proper supportive care, and prevention of tumor lysis.

Nerve growth factor improves visual loss in childhood optic gliomas: a randomized, double-blind, phase II clinical trial.

Paediatric optic pathway gliomas are low-grade brain tumours characterized by slow progression and invalidating visual loss. Presently there is no strategy to prevent visual loss in this kind of tumour. This study evaluated the effects of nerve growth factor administration in protecting visual function in patients with optic pathway glioma-related visual impairment.

The ability of mannitol to decrease cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in children: real or not?

Purpose: Platinum compounds are very effective drugs for the treatment of childhood malignancies, and their use has contributed to an increase in the long-term survival of children with cancer. Unfortunately, the risk of severe disabling effects such as nephrotoxicity is well known among children receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Methods: The main pharmacodynamics and clinical characteristics of cisplatin nephrotoxicity are described in order to explore the real ability of mannitol to prevent cisplatin-related nephrotoxicity.

Muscle Injuries: A Brief Guide to Classification and Management.

Muscle injuries are frequent in athletes. Despite their high incidence, advances in clinical diagnostic criteria and imaging, their optimal management and rehabilitation strategies are still debated in literature. Furthermore, reinjury rate is high after a muscle lesion, and an improper treatment or an early return to sports can increase the rate of reinjury and complications.

Molecular Biology in Pediatric High-Grade Glioma: Impact on Prognosis and Treatment.

High-grade gliomas are the main cause of death in children with brain tumours. Despite recent advances in cancer therapy, their prognosis remains poor and the treatment is still challenging. To date, surgery followed by radiotherapy and temozolomide is the standard therapy.

Manifestations of Insomnia in Sleep Apnea: Implications for Screening and Treatment.

The aims of this study were to examine the presence, type, and severity of insomnia complaints in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients and to assess the utility of the Sleep Symptom Checklist (SSC) for case identification in primary care. Participants were 88 OSA patients, 57 cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) patients, and 14 healthy controls (Ctrl). Each completed a sleep questionnaire as well as the SSC, which includes insomnia, daytime functioning, psychological, and sleep disorder subscales.