Epidemiological and clinical implications of asymptomatic malaria and schistosomiasis co-infections in a rural community in western Kenya.

Background: Malaria and schistosomiasis present considerable disease burden in tropical and sub-tropical areas and severity is worsened by co-infections in areas where both diseases are endemic. Although pathogenesis of these infections separately is well studied, there is limited information on the pathogenic disease mechanisms and clinical disease outcomes in co-infections. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of malaria and schistosomiasis co-infections, and the hematologic and blood chemistry abnormalities in asymptomatic adults in a rural fishing community in western Kenya.

Surface-Enhanced Resonance Hyper-Raman Scattering Elucidates the Molecular Orientation of Rhodamine 6G on Silver Colloids.

Herein, we utilize surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering (SEHRS) under resonance conditions to probe the adsorbate geometry of rhodamine 6G (R6G) on silver colloids. Our results show resonance SEHRS is highly sensitive to molecular orientation due to non-Condon effects, which do not appear in its linear counterpart surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Comparisons between simulated and measured SEHRS spectra reveal R6G adsorbs mostly perpendicular to the nanoparticle surface along the ethylamine groups with the xanthene ring oriented edgewise.

Sepsis Prevalence and Outcome on the General Wards and Emergency Departments in Wales: Results of a Multi-Centre, Observational, Point Prevalence Study.

Data on sepsis prevalence on the general wards is lacking on the UK and in the developed world. We conducted a multicentre, prospective, observational study of the prevalence of patients with sepsis or severe sepsis on the general wards and Emergency Departments (ED) in Wales. During the 24-hour study period all patients with NEWS≥3 were screened for presence of 2 or more SIRS criteria.

Developing a digital data collection platform to measure the prevalence of sepsis in Wales.

Objective: To develop a secure, efficient, and easy-to-use data collection platform to measure the prevalence of sepsis in Wales over 24 hours.

Materials And Methods: Open Data Kit was used on Android devices with Google App Engine and a digital data collection form.

Results: A total of 184 students participated in the study using 59 devices across 16 hospitals, 1198 datasets were submitted, and 97% of participants found the Open Data Kit form easy to use.

Surface-Enhanced Spectroscopy for Higher-Order Light Scattering: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study of Second Hyper-Raman Scattering.

Motivated to explore the ultimate limits of surface-enhanced nonlinear spectroscopies, we report on the first observation of molecular second hyper-Raman scattering with the aid of surface enhancement and provide a new theoretical framework for first-principles calculations of the second hyper-Raman effect. Second hyper-Raman enhancement factors, determined to be a minimum of 10(5) times stronger than those in Raman scattering, demonstrate a clear trend toward larger enhancements for nonlinear phenomena, and the nearly quantitative agreement between simulation and experiment provides a unique spectroscopic window into higher-order molecular responses.

PAT4 levels control amino-acid sensitivity of rapamycin-resistant mTORC1 from the Golgi and affect clinical outcome in colorectal cancer.

Tumour cells can use strategies that make them resistant to nutrient deprivation to outcompete their neighbours. A key integrator of the cell's responses to starvation and other stresses is amino-acid-dependent mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Activation of mTORC1 on late endosomes and lysosomes is facilitated by amino-acid transporters within the solute-linked carrier 36 (SLC36) and SLC38 families.

The European antibody network's practical guide to finding and validating suitable antibodies for research.

Antibodies are widely exploited as research/diagnostic tools and therapeutics. Despite providing exciting research opportunities, the multitude of available antibodies also offers a bewildering array of choice. Importantly, not all companies comply with the highest standards, and thus many reagents fail basic validation tests.

Methylation analysis of histone H4K12ac-associated promoters in sperm of healthy donors and subfertile patients.

Background: Histone to protamine exchange and the hyperacetylation of the remaining histones are hallmarks of spermiogenesis. Acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 12 (H4K12ac) was observed prior to full decondensation of sperm chromatin after fertilization suggesting an important role for the regulation of gene expression in early embryogenesis. Similarly, DNA methylation may contribute to gene silencing of several developmentally important genes.

Blood vessel invasion and other variables as predictors of long-term survival in Japanese and British patients with primary invasive breast cancer.

This study was undertaken to investigate the associations of blood vessel invasion (BVI), lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) or other variables and long-term survival in 173 Japanese and 184 British patients with primary invasive breast cancer, and whether they are associated with survival differences between Japanese and British patients. BVI was detected by objective methods, using both factor VIII-related antigen (F-VIII) staining and elastica van Gieson (E v G) staining. BVI was classified into three subtypes.

Combination of letrozole, metronomic cyclophosphamide and sorafenib is well-tolerated and shows activity in patients with primary breast cancer.

Purpose: To assess whether the combination of letrozole, metronomic cyclophosphamide and sorafenib (LCS) is well tolerated and shows activity in primary breast cancer (BC).

Methods: Thirteen oestrogen receptor-positive, postmenopausal, T2-4, N0-1 BC patients received the LCS combination for 6 months. In these patients we examined the pharmacokinetics of sorafenib and cyclophosphamide, toxicity of the regimen, the clinical response to therapy and changes in the levels of biologically relevant biomarkers.

A nonlinear approach to surface-enhanced sensing in the short-wave infrared.

The surface-enhanced hyper-Raman scattering (SEHRS) of three analyte molecules has been obtained with excitation wavelengths at 1.55 and 1.8 μm.

Hypoxia regulates FGFR3 expression via HIF-1α and miR-100 and contributes to cell survival in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Background: Non-muscle invasive (NMI) bladder cancer is characterised by increased expression and activating mutations of FGFR3. We have previously investigated the role of microRNAs in bladder cancer and have shown that FGFR3 is a target of miR-100. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia on miR-100 and FGFR3 expression, and the link between miR-100 and FGFR3 in hypoxia.

Immunohistological recognition of cyclin D1 expression by non-lymphoid cells among lymphoid neoplastic cells.

Cyclin D1 immunostaining of non-neoplastic cells has been a source of diagnostic confusion especially in lymphoproliferative lesions. This study has reviewed these in two hundred and thirty-one haematopathological samples stained for cyclin D1. Most cases were formalin-fixed except for a few bone marrow trephines, which were B-5 fixed, and EDTA decalcified.

Diagnostic utility of aP2/FABP4 expression in soft tissue tumours.

Adipocyte P2 (aP2), also known as fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), is a fatty acid-binding protein found in the cytoplasm of cells of adipocyte differentiation. In this study, we examined a large number of soft tissue tumours with a commercial polyclonal anti-aP2/FABP4 antibody and a newly developed mouse monoclonal antibody raised against this protein to determine the diagnostic utility of aP2/FABP4 as a marker of tumours of adipose differentiation. A mouse monoclonal antibody, clone 175d, was raised against a mixture of synthetic peptides corresponding to the amino acid sequence of residues 10-28 and 121-132 of the human aP2/FABP4 protein.