Transarterial ductal occlusion with the Amplatzer vascular plug in 31 dogs.

Background: Transarterial ductal occlusion with the Amplatzer vascular plug was first reported in dogs by Hogan et al in 2005.

Hypothesis: Use of the Amplatzer vascular plug is a safe, efficacious method of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occlusion.

Animals: Thirty-one client-owned dogs with PDA.

Functionally relevant microorganisms to enhanced biological phosphorus removal performance at full-scale wastewater treatment plants in the United States.

The abundance and relevance ofAccumulibacter phosphatis (presumed to be polyphosphate-accumulating organisms [PAOs]), Competibacter phosphatis (presumed to be glycogen-accumulating organisms [GAOs]), and tetrad-forming organisms (TFOs) to phosphorus removal performance at six full-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) wastewater treatment plants were investigated. Coexistence of various levels of candidate PAOs and GAOs were found at these facilities. Accumulibacter were found to be 5 to 20% of the total bacterial population, and Competibacter were 0 to 20% of the total bacteria population.

MicroRNAs can regulate human APP levels.

A number of studies have shown that increased APP levels, resulting from either a genomic locus duplication or alteration in APP regulatory sequences, can lead to development of early-onset dementias, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, understanding how APP levels are regulated could provide valuable insight into the genetic basis of AD and illuminate novel therapeutic avenues for AD. Here we test the hypothesis that APP protein levels can be regulated by miRNAs, evolutionarily conserved small noncoding RNA molecules that play an important role in regulating gene expression.

Regulation of the activity of Escherichia coli quinolinate synthase by reversible disulfide-bond formation.

Quinolinate synthase (NadA) catalyzes a unique condensation reaction between dihydroxyacetone phosphate and iminoaspartate, yielding inorganic phosphate, 2 mol of water, and quinolinic acid, a central intermediate in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and its derivatives. The enzyme from Escherichia coli contains a C (291)XXC (294)XXC (297) motif in its primary structure. Bioinformatics analysis indicates that only Cys297 serves as a ligand to a [4Fe-4S] cluster that is required for turnover.

Direct observation of the phenomenology of a solid thermal explosion using time-resolved proton radiography.

We present a new phenomenology for burn propagation inside a thermal explosion based on dynamic radiography. Radiographic images were obtained of an aluminum cased solid cylindrical sample of a plastic bonded formulation of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine. The phenomenology observed is ignition followed by cracking in the solid accompanied by the propagation of a radially symmetric front of increasing proton transmission.

Synthesis of high aspect ratio quantum-size CdS nanorods and their surface-dependent photoluminescence.

Colloidal CdS nanorods with diameters near 4 nm and narrow size distributions ( approximately +/-10%) were synthesized up to 300 nm long by a sequential reactant injection technique that utilizes phosophonic acids as capping ligands. The phosphonic acid strongly passivates the nonpolar CdS surfaces and sequential reactant injection provides controlled CdS formation kinetics to enable heterogeneous and facet-selective CdS deposition on the more reactive {002} surfaces. With this process, the nanorod length can be systematically increased by increasing reactant addition to extend nanorod growth.

Identification of miRNA changes in Alzheimer's disease brain and CSF yields putative biomarkers and insights into disease pathways.

MicroRNAs have essential functional roles in brain development and neuronal specification but their roles in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unknown. Using a sensitive qRT-PCR platform we identified regional and stage-specific deregulation of miRNA expression in AD patient brains. We used experimental validation in addition to literature to reveal how the deregulated brain microRNAs are biomarkers for known and novel pathways in AD pathogenesis related to amyloid processing, neurogenesis, insulin resistance, and innate immunity.

Structural characterization and temperature-dependent photoluminescence of linear CdTe/CdSe/CdTe heterostructure nanorods.

Linear CdTe|CdSe|CdTe heterostructure nanorods are synthesized by using a colloidal sequential reactant injection technique [Shieh et al., J. Phys.

Spatially directed assembly of a heterotetrameric Cre-Lox synapse restricts recombination specificity.

The pseudo-fourfold homotetrameric synapse formed by Cre protein and target DNA restricts site-specific recombination to sequences containing dyad-symmetric Cre-binding repeats. Mixtures of engineered altered-specificity Cre monomers can form heterotetramers that recombine nonidentical asymmetric sequences, allowing greater flexibility for target site selection in the genome of interest. However, the variety of tetramers allowed by random subunit association increases the chances of unintended reactivity at nontarget sites.

Archaea dominate the ammonia-oxidizing community in the rhizosphere of the freshwater macrophyte Littorella uniflora.

Archaeal and bacterial ammonia monooxygenase genes (amoA) had similar low relative abundances in freshwater sediment. In the rhizosphere of the submersed macrophyte Littorella uniflora, archaeal amoA was 500- to >8,000-fold enriched compared to bacterial amoA, suggesting that the enhanced nitrification activity observed in the rhizosphere was due to ammonia-oxidizing Archaea.

Cold neutron energy dependent production of ultracold neutrons in solid deuterium.

A measurement of the production of ultracold neutrons from velocity-selected cold neutrons on gaseous and solid deuterium targets is reported. The expected energy dependence for two-particle collisions with well defined neutron and Maxwell-Boltzmann distributed molecular velocities is found for the gas target. The solid target data agree in shape with the phonon density-of-states curve and provide strong evidence for the phonon model including multiphonon excitations.

Rosiglitazone increases dendritic spine density and rescues spine loss caused by apolipoprotein E4 in primary cortical neurons.

Convergent evidence has revealed an association between insulin resistance and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) agonist, rosiglitazone, an insulin sensitizer and mitochondrial activator, improves cognition in patients with early or mild-to-moderate AD. Apolipoprotein (apo) E4, a major genetic risk factor for AD, exerts neuropathological effects through multiple pathways, including impairment of dendritic spine structure and mitochondrial function. Here we show that rosiglitazone significantly increased dendritic spine density in a dose-dependent manner in cultured primary cortical rat neurons.

Visible light-induced charge retention and photocatalysis with hybrid CdSe-Au nanodumbbells.

Visible light photocatalysis is a promising route for harnessing of solar energy to perform useful chemical reactions and to convert light to chemical energy. Nanoscale photocatalytic systems used to date were based mostly on oxide semiconductors aided by metal deposition and were operational only under UV illumination. Additionally, the degree of control over particle size and shape was limited.

Therapeutic targeting of the alpha-secretase pathway to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and degenerative disorder pathophysiologically characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid peptides (A-beta) in the brain. A-beta is indicated to be the primary agent in the pathogenesis of AD. A-beta is generated from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) via two proteolytic enzymes, beta- and gamma-secretases.

P-TEFb is critical for the maturation of RNA polymerase II into productive elongation in vivo.

Positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) is the major metazoan RNA polymerase II (Pol II) carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) Ser2 kinase, and its activity is believed to promote productive elongation and coupled RNA processing. Here, we demonstrate that P-TEFb is critical for the transition of Pol II into a mature transcription elongation complex in vivo. Within 3 min following P-TEFb inhibition, most polymerases were restricted to within 150 bp of the transcription initiation site of the active Drosophila melanogaster Hsp70 gene, and live-cell imaging demonstrated that these polymerases were stably associated.

Percutaneous extraction of a knotted pulmonary artery catheter and an entrapped tined pacing lead in two dogs.

Catheters and pacing leads may become entrapped within the heart necessitating the use of creative measures for extraction while preventing damage to cardiac structures. This report describes the percutaneous extraction of a knotted pulmonary artery catheter and an entrapped tined pacing lead in two dogs. In both cases, a long transseptal sheath was advanced over the catheter or pacing lead and used to facilitate removal of the entrapped devices without causing damage to the heart.

Comparison of femtosecond laser and continuous wave UV sources for protein-nucleic acid crosslinking.

Crosslinking proteins to the nucleic acids they bind affords stable access to otherwise transient regulatory interactions. Photochemical crosslinking provides an attractive alternative to formaldehyde-based protocols, but irradiation with conventional UV sources typically yields inadequate product amounts. Crosslinking with pulsed UV lasers has been heralded as a revolutionary technique to increase photochemical yield, but this method had only been tested on a few protein-nucleic acid complexes.

Candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms from a genomewide association study of Alzheimer disease.

Objective: To identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with risk and age at onset of Alzheimer disease (AD) in a genomewide association study of 469 438 SNPs.

Design: Case-control study with replication.

Setting: Memory referral clinics in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Paired-end mapping reveals extensive structural variation in the human genome.

Structural variation of the genome involves kilobase- to megabase-sized deletions, duplications, insertions, inversions, and complex combinations of rearrangements. We introduce high-throughput and massive paired-end mapping (PEM), a large-scale genome-sequencing method to identify structural variants (SVs) approximately 3 kilobases (kb) or larger that combines the rescue and capture of paired ends of 3-kb fragments, massive 454 sequencing, and a computational approach to map DNA reads onto a reference genome. PEM was used to map SVs in an African and in a putatively European individual and identified shared and divergent SVs relative to the reference genome.

Invasive rodent eradication on islands.

Invasive mammals are the greatest threat to island biodiversity and invasive rodents are likely responsible for the greatest number of extinctions and ecosystem changes. Techniques for eradicating rodents from islands were developed over 2 decades ago. Since that time there has been a significant development and application of this conservation tool.

Mobile phone-based remote patient monitoring system for management of hypertension in diabetic patients.

Background: Rising concern over the poor level of blood-pressure (BP) control among hypertensive patients has prompted searches for novel ways of managing hypertension. The objectives of this study were to develop and pilot-test a home BP tele-management system that actively engages patients in the process of care.

Methods: Phase 1 involved a series of focus-group meetings with patients and primary care providers to guide the system's development.