Spread and partitioning of arsenic in soils from a mine waste site in Madrid province (Spain).

The formation of scorodite is an important mechanism for the natural attenuation of arsenic in a wide range of environments. It is dumped on site by metallurgical industries to minimize arsenic release. However, the long-term stability of these deposits is unclear.

Association of TV watching with sleep problems in a church-going population.

Sensory stimuli/inactivity may affect sleep. Sleep problems are associated with multiple health problems. We assessed TV habits in the Adventist Health Study-2 at baseline and sleep problems in the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study 1 to 4 years later.

Antivenomic characterization of two antivenoms against the venom of the taipan, Oxyuranus scutellatus, from Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Antivenoms manufactured by bioCSL Limited (Australia) and Instituto Clodomiro Picado (Costa Rica) against the venom of the taipan snakes (Oxyuranus scutellatus) from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), respectively, were compared using antivenomics, an analytical approach that combines proteomics with immunoaffinity chromatography. Both antivenoms recognized all venom proteins present in venom from PNG O. scutellatus, although a pattern of partial recognition was observed for some components.

Exploring potential virulence regulators in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis isolates of varying virulence through quantitative proteomics.

Few virulence factors have been identified for Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, the agent of paracoccidioidomycosis. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the protein composition of P. brasiliensis in the yeast phase using minimal and rich media to obtain a better understanding of its virulence and to gain new insights into pathogen adaptation strategies.

Paraffin treasures: do they last forever?

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues stored in Departments of Pathology have become valuable sources of material for both diagnostic and research purposes. Obtaining nucleic acids from this material may be challenging, especially after storage for several years. The present study was aimed at evaluating DNA degradation over time by comparing the quality of DNA obtained in 2002 with the quality of DNA obtained in 2010 from the same paraffin blocks.

Regional Groundwater Flow in the Louisville Aquifer.

The unconfined alluvial aquifer at Louisville, Kentucky, is an important source of water for domestic and industrial uses. It has been the object of several modeling studies in the past, particularly via the application of classical analytical solutions, and numerical solutions (finite differences and finite elements). A new modeling procedure of the Louisville aquifer is presented based on a modification of Adomian's Decomposition Method (ADM) to handle irregularly shaped boundaries.

Unbounded dynamics in dissipative flows: Rössler model.

Transient chaos and unbounded dynamics are two outstanding phenomena that dominate in chaotic systems with large regions of positive and negative divergences. Here, we investigate the mechanism that leads the unbounded dynamics to be the dominant behavior in a dissipative flow. We describe in detail the particular case of boundary crisis related to the generation of unbounded dynamics.

Macro- and micro-chaotic structures in the Hindmarsh-Rose model of bursting neurons.

We study a plethora of chaotic phenomena in the Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model with the use of several computational techniques including the bifurcation parameter continuation, spike-quantification, and evaluation of Lyapunov exponents in bi-parameter diagrams. Such an aggregated approach allows for detecting regions of simple and chaotic dynamics, and demarcating borderlines-exact bifurcation curves. We demonstrate how the organizing centers-points corresponding to codimension-two homoclinic bifurcations-along with fold and period-doubling bifurcation curves structure the biparametric plane, thus forming macro-chaotic regions of onion bulb shapes and revealing spike-adding cascades that generate micro-chaotic structures due to the hysteresis.

In situ evaluation of gemcitabine-DNA interaction using a DNA-electrochemical biosensor.

The electrochemical behaviour of the cytosine nucleoside analogue and anti-cancer drug gemcitabine (GEM) was investigated at glassy carbon electrode, using cyclic, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry, in different pH supporting electrolytes, and no electrochemical redox process was observed. The evaluation of the interaction between GEM and DNA in incubated solutions and using the DNA-electrochemical biosensor was studied. The DNA structural modifications and damage were electrochemically detected following the changes in the oxidation peaks of guanosine and adenosine residues and the occurrence of the free guanine residues electrochemical signal.

WHO-histological criteria for myeloproliferative neoplasms: reproducibility, diagnostic accuracy and correlation with gene mutations and clinical outcomes.

Bone marrow histology is included in the diagnostic criteria of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). However, some concerns have emerged about its reproducibility. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of histology and to assess its correlation with presence of mutations and clinical outcomes, two pathologists reviewed the bone marrow biopsies corresponding to 211 patients with MPN.

Dietary phthalate exposure in pregnant women and the impact of consumer practices.

Phthalates are ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are contaminants in food and contribute to significant dietary exposures. We examined associations between reported consumption of specific foods and beverages and first trimester urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in 656 pregnant women within a multicenter cohort study, The Infant Development and Environment Study (TIDES), using multivariate regression analysis. We also examined whether reported use of ecofriendly and chemical-free products was associated with lower phthalate biomarker levels in comparison to not following such practices.

Cdk5 phosphorylation of EFhd2 at S74 affects its calcium binding activity.

EFhd2 is a calcium binding protein, which is highly expressed in the central nervous system and associated with pathological forms of tau proteins in tauopathies. Previous phosphoproteomics studies and bioinformatics analysis suggest that EFhd2 may be phosphorylated. Here, we determine whether Cdk5, a hyperactivated kinase in tauopathies, phosphorylates EFhd2 and influence its known molecular activities.

Phthalates and diet: a review of the food monitoring and epidemiology data.

Phthalates are associated with a variety of health outcomes, but sources that may be targeted for exposure reduction messaging remain elusive. Diet is considered a significant exposure pathway for these compounds. Therefore, we sought to identify primary foods associated with increased exposure through a review of the food monitoring survey and epidemiological data.

Surgical site infection: an observer-blind, randomized trial comparing electrocautery and conventional scalpel.

Aim: To evaluate the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) based on the type of scalpel used for incisions in the skin and in subcutaneous tissues.

Methods: Observer-blind, randomized equivalence clinical trial with two arms (electrocautery versus conventional scalpel) which evaluated 133 women undergoing elective abdominal gynecologic oncology surgery. A simple randomization stratified by body mass index (BMI: 30 kg/m(2)) was carried out.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and high-sensitivity troponin in the evaluation of acute chest pain of uncertain etiology. A PITAGORAS substudy.

Introduction And Objectives: High-sensitivity troponin assays have improved the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome in patients presenting with chest pain and normal troponin levels as measured by conventional assays. Our aim was to investigate whether N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide provides additional information to troponin determination in these patients.

Methods: A total of 398 patients, included in the PITAGORAS study, presenting to the emergency department with chest pain and normal troponin levels as measured by conventional assay in 2 serial samples (on arrival and 6 h to 8h later) were studied.

Characteristics of patients with survival longer than 20 years following heart transplantation.

Introduction And Objectives: The number of heart-transplant recipients exceeding 20 years of follow-up is steadily increasing. However, little is known about their functional status, comorbidities, and mortality. Identifying the predictors of prolonged survival could guide the selection of candidates for the low number of available donors.

Innate lymphoid cells integrate stromal and immunological signals to enhance antibody production by splenic marginal zone B cells.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) regulate stromal cells, epithelial cells and cells of the immune system, but their effect on B cells remains unclear. Here we identified RORγt(+) ILCs near the marginal zone (MZ), a splenic compartment that contains innate-like B cells highly responsive to circulating T cell-independent (TI) antigens. Splenic ILCs established bidirectional crosstalk with MAdCAM-1(+) marginal reticular cells by providing tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) and lymphotoxin, and they stimulated MZ B cells via B cell-activation factor (BAFF), the ligand of the costimulatory receptor CD40 (CD40L) and the Notch ligand Delta-like 1 (DLL1).

Frontal fibrosing alopecia: a multicenter review of 355 patients.

Background: To our knowledge, there are no large multicenter studies concerning frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) that could give clues about its pathogenesis and best treatment.

Objective: We sought to describe the epidemiology, comorbidities, clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, and therapeutic choices in a large series of patients with FFA.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included patients given the diagnosis of FFA.

Familial benign frontotemporal deterioration with C9ORF72 hexanucleotide expansion.

Background: In recent years, a benign variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) has been recognized, with a particularly slow progression of cognitive deficits and scarce frontotemporal atrophy or hypoperfusion in neuroimaging studies. Patients with FTLD have been considered "phenocopies," with an underlying nondegenerative neurologic process.

Results: We report the first family with three affected members having benign FTLD associated with C9ORF72 gene hexanucleotide expansion.

Interaction of Bothrops jararaca venom metalloproteinases with protein inhibitors.

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) play important roles in the local and systemic hemorrhage observed upon envenomation. In a previous study on the structural elements important for the activities of HF3 (highly hemorrhagic, P-III-SVMP), bothropasin (hemorrhagic, P-III-SVMP) and BJ-PI (non-hemorrhagic, P-I-SVMP), from Bothrops jararaca, it was demonstrated that they differ in their proteolysis profile of plasma and extracellular matrix proteins. In this study, we evaluated the ability of proteins DM43 and α2-macroglobulin to interfere with the proteolytic activity of these SVMPs on fibrinogen and collagen VI and with their ability to induce hemorrhage.

Structure and immunogenicity of a peptide vaccine, including the complete HIV-1 gp41 2F5 epitope: implications for antibody recognition mechanism and immunogen design.

The membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of gp41 harbors the epitope recognized by the broadly neutralizing anti-HIV 2F5 antibody, a research focus in HIV-1 vaccine development. In this work, we analyze the structure and immunogenic properties of MPERp, a peptide vaccine that includes the following: (i) the complete sequence protected from proteolysis by the 2F5 paratope; (ii) downstream residues postulated to establish weak contacts with the CDR-H3 loop of the antibody, which are believed to be crucial for neutralization; and (iii) an aromatic rich anchor to the membrane interface. MPERp structures solved in dodecylphosphocholine micelles and 25% 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (v/v) confirmed folding of the complete 2F5 epitope within continuous kinked helices.

Distinction between asymptomatic monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis with cyclin D1 overexpression and mantle cell lymphoma: from molecular profiling to flow cytometry.

Purpose: According to current diagnostic criteria, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) encompasses the usual, aggressive variants and rare, nonnodal cases with monoclonal asymptomatic lymphocytosis, cyclin D1-positive (MALD1). We aimed to understand the biology behind this clinical heterogeneity and to identify markers for adequate identification of MALD1 cases.

Experimental Design: We compared 17 typical MCL cases with a homogeneous group of 13 untreated MALD1 cases (median follow-up, 71 months).

Docetaxel and dasatinib or placebo in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (READY): a randomised, double-blind phase 3 trial.

Background: Src kinase-mediated interactions between prostate cancer cells and osteoclasts might promote bone metastasis. Dasatinib inhibits tyrosine kinases, including Src kinases. Data suggests that dasatinib kinase inhibition leads to antitumour activity, affects osteoclasts, and has synergy with docetaxel, a first-line chemotherapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.