Isolation and characterization of tetranucleotide repeat polymorphic microsatellite loci in Larus saundersi (Aves, Laridae)

Nine polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated, using tetranucleotide repeat oligonucleotide probes from an enriched DNA library of the globally "vulnerable" Saunders's gull (Larus saundersi), collected from the Yancheng coastal wetland, one of the three remaining breeding sites in China. Six breast muscle tissues and 16 blood samples from 22 gulls and eight eggshell membrane tissues were collected for this analysis. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 15, with a mean of 8.9. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.58 to 0.89 and 0.58 to 0.9, with means of 0.77 and 0.81, respectively. No significant linkage disequilibrium and no divergence from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were detected among these loci. Based on Micro-Checker tests, no null alleles are present at any of the loci. The microsatellite loci described here will be valuable for exploring population genetic structure and for other relevant genetic studies of Saunders's gull.

Reliability analysis of the resting state can sensitively and specifically identify the presence of Parkinson disease

Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by a number of motor and behavioral abnormalities that could be considered deficits of a "no task" or "resting" state, including resting motor findings and defects in emerging from a resting state (e.g., resting tremor, elevated resting tone, abulia, akinesia, apathy). PET imaging, and recently, the MRI technique of continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) have shown evidence of changes in metabolic patterns in individuals with PD. The purpose of this study was to learn if the presence of PD could be "predicted" based on resting fluctuations of the BOLD signal. Participants were 15 healthy controls, 14 subjects with PD, and 1 subject who presented as a control but later developed PD. The amplitude of the low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was used as an index of brain activity level in the resting state. Participants with PD using this index showed a reliable decrease in activity in a number of regions, including the supplementary motor cortex, the mesial prefrontal cortex, the right middle frontal gyrus, and the left cerebellum (lobule VII/VIII) as well as increased activity in the right cerebellum (lobule IV/V). Using a cross validation approach we term "Reliability Mapping of Regional Differences" (RMRD) to analyze our sample, we were able to reliably distinguish participants with PD from controls with 92% sensitivity and 87% specificity. Our "pre-diagnostic" subject segregated in our analysis with the PD group. These results suggest that resting fMRI should be considered for development as a biomarker and analytical tool for evaluation of PD.

Search for three-jet resonances in pp collisions at square root(s)=7 TeV

A search for three-jet hadronic resonance production in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV has been conducted by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35  pb(-1). Events with high jet multiplicity and a large scalar sum of jet transverse momenta are analyzed using a signature-based approach. The number of expected standard model background events is found to be in good agreement with the observed events. Limits on the cross section times branching ratio are set in a model of gluino pair production with an R-parity-violating decay to three quarks, and the data rule out such particles within the mass range of 200 to 280  GeV/c2.

Observation of χ(c1) decays into vector meson pairs φφ, ωω, and ωφ

Using (106±4)×10⁻⁶ ψ(3686) events accumulated with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII e⁺e⁻ collider, we present the first measurement of decays of χ(c1) to vector meson pairs φφ, ωω, and ωφ. The branching fractions are measured to be (4.4±0.3±0.5)×10⁻⁴, (6.0±0.3±0.7)×10⁻⁴, and (2.2±0.6±0.2)×10⁻⁵, for χ(c1)→φφ, ωω, and ωφ, respectively, which indicates that the hadron helicity selection rule is significantly violated in χ(cJ) decays. In addition, the measurement of χ(cJ)→ωφ provides the first indication of the rate of doubly OZI-suppressed χ(cJ) decay. Finally, we present improved measurements for the branching fractions of χ(c0) and χ(c2) to vector meson pairs.

Measurement of the t-channel single top quark production cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Electroweak production of the top quark is measured for the first time in pp collisions at √=7  TeV, using a data set collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36  pb⁻¹. With an event selection optimized for t-channel production, two complementary analyses are performed. The first one exploits the special angular properties of the signal, together with background estimates from the data. The second approach uses a multivariate analysis technique to probe the compatibility with signal topology expected from electroweak top-quark production. The combined measurement of the cross section is 83.6±29.8(stat+syst)±3.3(lumi)  pb, consistent with the standard model expectation.

In vitro and in vivo proliferation, differentiation and migration of cardiac endothelial progenitor cells (SCA1+/CD31+ side-population cells)

BACKGROUND

Side-population (SP) cells are a select population identified by a capacity to efflux Hoechst dye and are enriched for stem/progenitor cell activity. Previous studies suggested that cardiac SP (CSP) cells could be divided into SCA1(+)/CD31(-) and SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells. SCA1(+)/CD31(-) CSP cells have been shown to be cardiac stem/progenitor cells. However, SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells have not been fully characterized.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to characterize SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells in the adult mouse heart, and investigate their abilities to proliferate, differentiate, vascularize and migrate in vitro and in vivo.

RESULTS

Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), RT-PCR, and assays of cell proliferation, differentiation and migration, and a murine model of myocardial infarction (MI), we showed that SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells express stem cell and endothelial-specific genes, and reside in the blood vessels. These cells were able to proliferate, differentiate, migrate and vascularize in vitro and in vivo. After MI, SDF-1α and CXCR4 were up-regulated in the damaged myocardium and on SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells, respectively. Our results further showed that SDF-1α induced migration of these cells in vitro. Importantly, we found that SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells could migrate into the ischemic region from the non-ischemic area within the myocardium and form a vascular tube-like structure after MI.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the gene expression profile, localization of SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells, and their ability to proliferate, differentiate, migrate and vascularize in vitro and in vivo, we postulate that SCA1(+)/CD31(+) CSP cells may represent endothelial progenitor cells in the mouse heart.

Indications of suppression of excited Υ states in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV

A comparison of the relative yields of Υ resonances in the μ(+)μ(-) decay channel in Pb-Pb and pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV is performed with data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Using muons of transverse momentum above 4  GeV/c and pseudorapidity below 2.4, the double ratio of the Υ(2S) and Υ(3S) excited states to the Υ(1S) ground state in Pb-Pb and pp collisions, [Υ(2S+3S)/Υ(1S)](Pb-Pb)/[Υ(2S+3S)/Υ(1S)](pp), is found to be 0.31(-0.15)(+0.19)(stat)±0.03(syst). The probability to obtain the measured value, or lower, if the true double ratio is unity, is calculated to be less than 1%.

Enhanced erythropoietin heterogeneity in a CHO culture is caused by proteolytic degradation and can be eliminated by a high glutamine level

The molecular heterogeneity of recombinant humanerythropoietin (EPO) increased during the course of abatch culture of transfected Chinese hamster ovary(CHO) cells grown in serum-free medium. This wasshown by both an increased molecular weight and pIrange of the isolated EPO at the end of the culture. However, analysis of the N-glycan structures of themolecule by fluorophore-assisted carbohydrateelectrophoresis (FACE) and HPLC anion exchangechromatography indicated a consistent pattern ofglycosylation. Seven glycoforms were identified, thepredominant structure being a fully sialylatedtetra-antennary glycan. The degree of sialylationwas maintained throughout the culture. Analysis ofthe secreted EPO indicated a time-dependent increasein the molecular weight band width of the peptideconsistent with proteolytic degradation. A highglutamine concentration (16-20 mM) in the culturedecreased the apparent degradation of the EPO.

Sequence variation and genetic diversity in the giant panda

About 336-444 bp mitochondrial D-loop region and tRNA gene were sequenced for 40 individuals of the giant panda which were collected from Mabian, Meigu, Yuexi, Baoxing, Pingwu, Qingchuan, Nanping and Baishuijiang, respectively. 9 haplotypes were found in 21 founders. The results showed that the giant panda has low genetic variations, and that there is no notable genetic isolation among geographical populations. The ancestor of the living giant panda population perhaps appeared in the late Pleistocene, and unfortunately, might have suffered bottleneck attacks. Afterwards, its genetic diversity seemed to recover to some extent.

Apathy, depression, and motor symptoms have distinct and separable resting activity patterns in idiopathic Parkinson disease

Apathy and depression are heterogeneous syndromes with symptoms that overlap clinically. This clinical overlap leads to problems with classification and diagnosis in clinical populations. No functional imaging study has attempted to separate brain regions altered in apathy from those altered in depression in a clinical population. Parkinson disease (PD) is a disorder in which apathy and depression co-exist in a single population. We evaluate the relationship between apathy, depression, and motor severity of disease in PD, focusing on the relationship between these factors and the amplitude of the low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the resting state. We first evaluated if the resting ALFF signal is a reliable measure for our clinical question. For this, we develop and introduce a cross validation approach we term the "Regional Mapping of Reliable Differences" (RMRD) method to evaluate reliability of regions of interest deemed "significant" by standard voxel-wise techniques. Using this approach, we show that the apathy score in this sample is best predicted by ALFF signal in the left supplementary motor cortex, the right orbitofrontal cortex, and the right middle frontal cortex, whereas depression score is best predicted by ALFF signal in the right subgenual cingulate. Disease severity was best predicted by ALFF signal in the right putamen. A number of additional regions are also statistically (but not reliably) correlated with our neuropsychological measures and disease severity. Our results support the use of resting fMRI as a means to evaluate neuropsychiatric states and motor disease progression in Parkinson disease, and the clinical and epidemiologic observation that apathy and depression are distinct pathological entities. Our finding that "significance" and "reliability" are dissociated properties of regions of interest identified as significant using standard voxel-wise techniques suggests that including reliability analyses may add useful scientific information in neurobehavioral research.

Measurement of the polarization of W bosons with large transverse momenta in W + jets events at the LHC

A first measurement of the polarization of W bosons with large transverse momenta in pp collisions is presented. The measurement is based on 36 pb⁻¹ of data recorded at √s = 7 TeV by the CMS detector at the LHC. The left-handed, right-handed, and longitudinal polarization fractions (f(L), f(R), and f₀, respectively) of W bosons with transverse momenta larger than 50 GeV are determined by using decays to both electrons and muons. The muon final state yields the most precise measurement: (f(L) - f(R))⁻ = 0.240 ± 0.036(stat) ± 0.031(syst) and f₀⁻ = 0.183 ± 0.087(stat) ± 0.123(syst) for negatively charged W bosons and (f(L) - f(R))⁺ = 0.310 ± 0.036(stat) ± 0.017(syst) and f₀⁺ = 0.171 ± 0.085(stat) ± 0.099(syst) for positively charged W bosons. This establishes, for the first time, that W bosons produced in pp collisions with large transverse momenta are predominantly left-handed, as expected in the standard model.

MiR-200b and miR-15b regulate chemotherapy-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human tongue cancer cells by targeting BMI1

Chemotherapy has been reported to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumor cells, which is a critical step in the process of metastasis leading to cancer spreading and treatment failure. However, the underlying mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced EMT remain unclear, and the involvement of microRNAs (miRNA) in this process is poorly understood. To address these questions, we established stable chemotherapy-resistant tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cell lines CAL27-res and SCC25-res by exposing the parental CAL27 and SCC25 lines to escalating concentrations of cisplatin for 6 months. CAL27-res and SCC25-res cells displayed mesenchymal features with enhanced invasiveness and motility. MiRNA microarray illustrated that miR-200b and miR-15b were the most significantly downregulated microRNAs in CAL27-res cells. Ectopic expression of miR-200b and miR-15b with miRNA mimics effectively reversed the phenotype of EMT in CAL27-res and SCC25-res cells, and sensitized them to chemotherapy, but inhibition of miR-200b and miR-15b in the sensitive lines with anti-sense oligonucleotides induced EMT and conferred chemoresistance. Retrieving the expression of B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1), a target for miR-200b and miR-15b, in the presence of the miRNA mimics by transfecting CAL27-res cells with pcDNA3.1-BMI1-carrying mutated seed sequences of miR-200b or miR-15b at its 3'-UTR recapitulated chemotherapy-induced EMT. In vivo, enforced miR-200b or miR-15b expression suppressed metastasis of TSCC xenografts established by CAL27-res cells. Clinically, reduced miR-200b or miR-15b expression was associated with chemotherapeutic resistance in TSCCs and poor patient survival. Our data suggest that reduced expression of miR-200b and miR-15b underscores the mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced EMT in TSCC, and may serve as therapeutic targets to reverse chemotherapy resistance in tongue cancers.

Anti-complement component C5 mAb synergizes with CTLA4Ig to inhibit alloreactive T cells and prolong cardiac allograft survival in mice

While activation of serum complement mediates antibody-initiated vascular allograft injury, increasing evidence indicates that complement also functions as a modulator of alloreactive T cells. We tested whether blockade of complement activation at the C5 convertase step affects T cell-mediated cardiac allograft rejection in mice. The anti-C5 mAb BB5.1, which prevents the formation of C5a and C5b, synergized with subtherapeutic doses of CTLA4Ig to significantly prolong the survival of C57BL/6 heart grafts that were transplanted into naive BALB/c recipients. Anti-C5 mAb treatment limited the induction of donor-specific IFNγ-producing T cell alloimmunity without inducing Th2 or Th17 immunity in vivo and inhibited primed T cells from responding to donor antigens in secondary mixed lymphocyte responses. Additional administration of anti-C5 mAb to the donor prior to graft recovery further prolonged graft survival and concomitantly reduced both the in vivo trafficking of primed T cells into the transplanted allograft and decreased expression of T cell chemoattractant chemokines within the graft. Together these results support the novel concept that C5 blockade can inhibit T cell-mediated allograft rejection through multiple mechanisms, and suggest that C5 blockade may constitute a viable strategy to prevent and/or treat T cell-mediated allograft rejection in humans.

Does kV-MV dual-energy computed tomography have an advantage in determining proton stopping power ratios in patients?

Conventional kilovoltage (kV) x-ray-based dual-energy CT (DECT) imaging using two different x-ray energy spectra is sensitive to image noise and beam hardening effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the theoretical advantage of the DECT method for determining proton stopping power ratios (SPRs) using a combination of kV and megavoltage (MV) x-ray energies. We investigated three representative x-ray energy pairs: 100 and 140 kVp comprised the kV-kV pair, 100 kVp and 1 MV comprised the kV-MV pair, and two 1 MV x-ray beams-one with and one without external filtration-comprised the MV-MV pair. The SPRs of 34 human tissues were determined using the DECT method with these three x-ray energy pairs. Small perturbations were introduced into the CT numbers and x-ray spectra used for the DECT calculation to simulate the effects of random noise and beam hardening. An error propagation analysis was performed on the DECT calculation algorithm to investigate the propagation of CT number uncertainty to final SPR estimation and to suggest the best x-ray energy combination. We found that the DECT method using each of the three beam pairs achieved similar accuracy in determining the SPRs of human tissues in ideal conditions. However, when CT number uncertainties and artifacts such as imaging noise and beam hardening effects were considered, the kV-MV DECT improved the accuracy of SPR estimation substantially over the kV-kV or MV-MV DECT methods. Furthermore, our error propagation analysis showed that the combination of 100 kVp and 1 MV beams was close to the optimal selection when using the DECT method to determine SPRs. Overall, the kV-MV combination makes the DECT method more robust in resolving the effective atomic numbers for biological tissues than the traditional kV-kV DECT method.

Measurement of the B0 production cross section in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

Measurements of the differential production cross sections dσ/dpTB and dσ/dyB for B0 mesons produced in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV are presented. The data set used was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 40 pb-1. The production cross section is measured from B0 meson decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/ψKS0, with the subsequent decays J/ψ → μ + μ - and KS0 → π+}π-. The total cross section for pTB>5 GeV and |yB|<2.2 is measured to be 33.2 ± 2.5 ± 3.5 μb, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

Detrimental effect of fast neutrons on cultured immature rat hippocampal cells: relative biological effectiveness of in vitro cell death indices

This in vitro study compared the detrimental effect and relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of high-linear energy transfer (LET) fast neutrons on rat immature hippocampal cultured cells with those of low-LET γ rays. Immature hippocampal cells were exposed to fast neutrons or γ rays. Cytotoxicity and cell viability were analyzed using a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-release assay and a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, respectively. The cytotoxicity and cell viability with fast neutrons or γ rays varied in a dose-dependent pattern. In the LDH release and MTT assay indices, the RBEs of fast neutrons were approximately 2.35 and 2.42, respectively. Fast neutrons markedly induced apoptotic changes in immature hippocampal cells with increased expression of active caspase-3 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Increased cytotoxicity and decreased cell viability in immature hippocampal cells were seen in a dose-dependent pattern after fast-neutron and γ irradiation. Fast neutrons have a higher RBE for cell death indices than γ rays.

The risk of Parkinson disease associated with urate in a community-based cohort of older adults

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Studies suggest an inverse association between urate concentration and the risk of Parkinson disease (PD). We investigated this in the Cardiovascular Health Study in an elderly community-based cohort of adults.

METHODS

The association of baseline urate (µmol/l) and incident PD over 14 years was assessed with locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) regression from which categories of low (<300 µmol/l), middle (300-500 µmol/l), and high (>500 µmol/l) urate ranges were derived. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the risk of PD for each urate range. Linear and quadratic terms were tested when modeling the association between urate and the risk of PD.

RESULTS

Women had significantly lower urate concentrations than did men [316.8 µmol/l (SD 88.0) vs. 367.4 µmol/l (SD 87.7), p < 0.0001] and in women no associations between urate and PD risk were observed. In men, LOESS curves suggested a U-shaped or threshold effect between urate and PD risk. With the middle range as reference, the risk of developing PD was significantly increased for urate <300 µmol/l (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.03-2.78) but not for urate >500 µmol/l (OR 1.55, 95% CI 0.72-3.32) in men. A negative linear term was significant for urate <500 µmol/l, and across the entire range a convex quadratic term was significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest a more complex relationship than previously reported between urate levels and the risk of PD in men. Low urate concentrations were associated with a higher PD risk and high urate concentrations were not associated with a further decrease in PD risk.

Search for neutral minimal supersymmetric standard model Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A search for neutral minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) Higgs bosons in pp collisions at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The results are based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36  pb(-1) recorded by the CMS experiment. The search uses decays of the Higgs bosons to tau pairs. No excess is observed in the tau-pair invariant-mass spectrum. The resulting upper limits on the Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to tau pairs, as a function of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson mass, yield stringent new bounds in the MSSM parameter space.

The tumor-suppressor gene ARHI (DIRAS3) suppresses ovarian cancer cell migration through inhibition of the Stat3 and FAK/Rho signaling pathways

Ovarian cancers migrate and metastasize over the surface of the peritoneal cavity. Consequently, dysregulation of mechanisms that limit cell migration may be particularly important in the pathogenesis of the disease. ARHI is an imprinted tumor-suppressor gene that is downregulated in >60% of ovarian cancers, and its loss is associated with decreased progression-free survival. ARHI encodes a 26-kDa GTPase with homology to Ras. In contrast to Ras, ARHI inhibits cell growth, but whether it also regulates cell motility has not been studied previously. Here we report that re-expression of ARHI decreases the motility of IL-6- and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated SKOv3 and Hey ovarian cancer cells, inhibiting both chemotaxis and haptotaxis. ARHI binds to and sequesters Stat3 in the cytoplasm, preventing its translocation to the nucleus and localization in focal adhesion complexes. Stat3 siRNA or the JAK2 inhibitor AG490 produced similar inhibition of motility. However, the combination of ARHI expression with Stat3 knockdown or inhibition produced greatest inhibition in ovarian cancer cell migration, consistent with Stat3-dependent and Stat3-independent mechanisms. Consistent with two distinct signaling pathways, knockdown of Stat3 selectively inhibited IL-6-stimulated migration, whereas knockdown of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) preferentially inhibited EGF-stimulated migration. In EGF-stimulated ovarian cancer cells, re-expression of ARHI inhibited FAK(Y397) and Src(Y416) phosphorylation, disrupted focal adhesions, and blocked FAK-mediated RhoA signaling, resulting in decreased levels of GTP-RhoA. Re-expression of ARHI also disrupted the formation of actin stress fibers in a FAK- and RhoA-dependent manner. Thus, ARHI has a critical and previously uncharacterized role in the regulation of ovarian cancer cell migration, exerting inhibitory effects on two distinct signaling pathways.