Serum proteomic test in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer treated in first line with standard chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

VeriStrat is a blood-based proteomic test with predictive and prognostic significance in second-line treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This trial was designed to investigate the role of VeriStrat in first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC with standard chemotherapy. Here we present the results for 76 non-squamous patients treated with a combination of carboplatin or cisplatin with pemetrexed.

METHODS

The test-assigned classifications of VeriStrat Good or VeriStrat Poor to samples collected at baseline. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end points included overall survival (OS) and objective response. Exploratory analyses of end points separately in carboplatin/pemetrexed and cisplatin/pemetrexed subgroups were also conducted.

RESULTS

Patients classified as VeriStrat Good had longer PFS and OS than VeriStrat Poor: 6.5 vs 1.6 months and 10.8 vs 3.4 months, respectively; the corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) were 0.36 (P<0.0001) and 0.26 (P<0.0001); they were also more likely to achieve objective response. Prognostic significance of VeriStrat was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Significant differences in OS and PFS between Veristrat classifications were also found when treatment subgroups were analysed separately.

CONCLUSIONS

The trial demonstrated clinical utility of VeriStrat as a prognostic test for standard first-line chemotherapy of non-squamous advanced NSCLC.

Isolation and structural and electronic characterization of salts of the decamethylferrocene dication

Ferrocene and its decamethyl derivative [Cp*2Fe] are the most common standards for nonaqueous electrochemical investigations because of their well-defined and only mildly solvent-dependent reversible Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox couple. Higher oxidation states have only rarely been studied. We report the isolation and crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization of surprisingly stable Fe(IV) salts of the [Cp*2Fe](2+) dication, produced by oxidation of [Cp*2Fe] with AsF5, SbF5, or ReF6 in neat sulfur dioxide as well as [XeF](Sb2F11) in neat hydrogen fluoride. The Sb2F11(-) salt exhibits a metallocene with the expected mutually parallel arrangements of the Cp* rings, whereas the As2F11(-), AsF6(-), SbF6(-), and ReF6(-) salts manifest tilt angles ranging from 4° to 17°. Both (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and superconducting quantum interference device magnetization studies reveal identical d-orbital splitting with an S = 1, (3)E ground state based on the 3d electronic configuration e2g (3)a1g (1) of all [Cp*2Fe](2+) salts.

Solar Coronal Jets: Observations, Theory, and Modeling

Chromospheric and coronal jets represent important manifestations of ubiquitous solar transients, which may be the source of significant mass and energy input to the upper solar atmosphere and the solar wind. While the energy involved in a jet-like event is smaller than that of "nominal" solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), jets share many common properties with these major phenomena, in particular, the explosive magnetically driven dynamics. Studies of jets could, therefore, provide critical insight for understanding the larger, more complex drivers of the solar activity. On the other side of the size-spectrum, the study of jets could also supply important clues on the physics of transients close or at the limit of the current spatial resolution such as spicules. Furthermore, jet phenomena may hint to basic process for heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind; consequently their study gives us the opportunity to attack a broad range of solar-heliospheric problems.

B vitamin treatments modify the risk of myocardial infarction associated with a MTHFD1 polymorphism in patients with stable angina pectoris

BACKGROUND

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD1) catalyzes three sequential reactions that metabolize derivatives of tetrahydrofolate (THF) in folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. Impaired MTHFD1 flux has been linked to disturbed lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. However, limited information is available on its relation to the development of atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We explored the association between a MTHFD1 polymorphism (rs1076991 C > T) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and potential effect modifications by folic acid/B12 and/or vitamin B6 treatment in suspected stable angina pectoris patients (n = 2381) participating in the randomized Western Norway B Vitamin Intervention Trial (WENBIT). During the median follow-up of 4.9 years 204 participants (8.6%) suffered an AMI. After adjusting for established CVD risk factors, the MTHFD1 polymorphism was significantly associated with AMI (HR: 1.49; 95% CI, 1.23-1.81). A similar association was observed among patients allocated to treatment with vitamin B6 alone (HR: 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01-2.31), and an even stronger relationship was seen in patients treated with both vitamin B6 and folic acid/B12 (HR: 2.35; 95% CI, 1.55-3.57). However, no risk association between the MTHFD1 polymorphism and AMI was seen in patients treated with placebo (HR: 1.29; 95% CI, 0.86-1.93) or folic acid/B12 (1.17; 95% CI, 0.83-1.65).

CONCLUSION

A common and functional MTHFD1 polymorphism is associated with increased risk of AMI, although the risk seems to be dependent on specific B vitamin treatment. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the possible mechanisms, also in order to explore potential effect modifications by nutritional factors.

Cirrus cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals from eMAS during SEAC4RS using bi-spectral reflectance measurements within the 1.88 μm water vapor absorption band

Previous bi-spectral imager retrievals of cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective particle radius (CER) based on the Nakajima and King (1990) approach, such as those of the operational MODIS cloud optical property retrieval product (MOD06), have typically paired a non-absorbing visible or near-infrared wavelength, sensitive to COT, with an absorbing shortwave or midwave infrared wavelength sensitive to CER. However, in practice it is only necessary to select two spectral channels that exhibit a strong contrast in cloud particle absorption. Here it is shown, using eMAS observations obtained during NASA's SEAC⁴RS field campaign, that selecting two absorbing wavelength channels within the broader 1.88 μm water vapor absorption band, namely the 1.83 and 1.93 μm channels that have sufficient differences in ice crystal single scattering albedo, can yield COT and CER retrievals for thin to moderately thick single-layer cirrus that are reasonably consistent with other solar and IR imager-based and lidar-based retrievals. A distinct advantage of this channel selection for cirrus cloud retrievals is that the below-cloud water vapor absorption minimizes the surface contribution to measured cloudy TOA reflectance, in particular compared to the solar window channels used in heritage retrievals such as MOD06. This reduces retrieval uncertainty resulting from errors in the surface reflectance assumption, as well as reduces the frequency of retrieval failures for thin cirrus clouds.

Unique anisotropic optical properties of a highly stable metal–organic framework based on trinuclear iron(iii) secondary building units linked by tetracarboxylic linkers with an anthracene core

A highly stable metal–organic framework, [{Fe₃(ACTBA)₂}X·6DEF]_n (1; X = monoanion), is reported.

Technical note: Genetic principal component models for multitrait single-step genomic evaluation

A reparameterization of the multivariate linear mixed model in genetic evaluation to principal components is described. This yields an equivalent model with a sparser coefficient matrix in the mixed model equations and, thus, reduced computational requirements to solve them. It is especially advantageous for analyses incorporating genomic relationship information with many nonzero elements in the inverse of the relationship matrix. Moreover, the framework lends itself directly to dimension reduction and, thus, further computational savings by omitting genetic principal components with negligible eigenvalues. The potential impact on computational demands is illustrated for an application to single-step genomic evaluation of Australian sheep.

Low-valent iron: an Fe(I) ate compound as a building block for a linear trinuclear Fe cluster

A low-valent trinuclear iron complex with an unusual linear Fe(I)-Fe(II)-Fe(I) unit is presented. It is accessed in a rational approach using a salt metathesis reaction between a new anionic Fe(I) containing heterocycle and FeCl2. Its electronic structure was studied by single crystal XRD analysis, EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetic susceptibility measurements.

Estimating sampling error of evolutionary statistics based on genetic covariance matrices using maximum likelihood

We explore the estimation of uncertainty in evolutionary parameters using a recently devised approach for resampling entire additive genetic variance-covariance matrices (G). Large-sample theory shows that maximum-likelihood estimates (including restricted maximum likelihood, REML) asymptotically have a multivariate normal distribution, with covariance matrix derived from the inverse of the information matrix, and mean equal to the estimated G. This suggests that sampling estimates of G from this distribution can be used to assess the variability of estimates of G, and of functions of G. We refer to this as the REML-MVN method. This has been implemented in the mixed-model program WOMBAT. Estimates of sampling variances from REML-MVN were compared to those from the parametric bootstrap and from a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach (implemented in the R package MCMCglmm). We apply each approach to evolvability statistics previously estimated for a large, 20-dimensional data set for Drosophila wings. REML-MVN and MCMC sampling variances are close to those estimated with the parametric bootstrap. Both slightly underestimate the error in the best-estimated aspects of the G matrix. REML analysis supports the previous conclusion that the G matrix for this population is full rank. REML-MVN is computationally very efficient, making it an attractive alternative to both data resampling and MCMC approaches to assessing confidence in parameters of evolutionary interest.

Quantitative affinity purification mass spectrometry: a versatile technology to study protein-protein interactions

While the genomic revolution has dramatically accelerated the discovery of disease-associated genes, the functional characterization of the corresponding proteins lags behind. Most proteins fulfill their tasks in complexes with other proteins, and analysis of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) can therefore provide insights into protein function. Several methods can be used to generate large-scale protein interaction networks. However, most of these approaches are not quantitative and therefore cannot reveal how perturbations affect the network. Here, we illustrate how a clever combination of quantitative mass spectrometry with different biochemical methods provides a rich toolkit to study different aspects of PPIs including topology, subunit stoichiometry, and dynamic behavior.

Loss of apoptosis-inducing factor critically affects MIA40 function

Mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) influences the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system and can be recruited as a mediator of cell death. Pathogenic mutations in the AIFM1 gene cause severe human diseases. Clinical manifestations include inherited peripheral neuropathies, prenatal cerebral abnormalities and progressive mitochondrial encephalomyopathies. In humans, rodents and invertebrates, AIF deficiency results in loss of respiratory complexes and, therefore, impaired OXPHOS. The molecular mechanisms underlying AIF-induced mitochondrial dysfunction remain elusive. Here we show that AIF physically interacts with the oxidoreductase CHCHD4/MIA40. In patient-derived fibroblasts as well as in tissues and glia cells from Harlequin (Hq) mutant mice, AIF deficiency correlates with decreased MIA40 protein levels, without affecting mRNA transcription. Importantly, MIA40 overexpression counteracts loss of respiratory subunits in Hq cells. Together, our findings suggest that MIA40 reduction contributes to the effects of AIF deficiency on OXPHOS, as it may impact on the correct assembly and maintenance of the respiratory subunits. This may be relevant for the development of new therapeutic approaches for AIF-related mitochondrial disorders.

Plasma dimethylglycine, nicotine exposure and risk of low bone mineral density and hip fracture: the Hordaland Health Study

In the large community-based Hordaland Health Study, low plasma dimethylglycine was associated with low bone mineral density in both middle-aged and elderly subjects and to an increased risk of subsequent hip fracture among the elderly. These associations seemed to be particularly strong among subjects exposed to nicotine.

INTRODUCTION

Dimethylglycine (DMG) is a product of the choline oxidation pathway and formed from betaine during the folate-independent remethylation of homocysteine (Hcy) to methionine. Elevated plasma DMG levels are associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and inflammation, which in turn are related to osteoporosis. High plasma total Hcy and low plasma choline are associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and hip fractures, but the role of plasma DMG in bone health is unknown.

METHODS

We studied the associations of plasma DMG with BMD among 5315 participants (46-49 and 71-74 years old) and with hip fracture among 3310 participants (71-74 years old) enrolled in the Hordaland Health Study.

RESULTS

In age and sex-adjusted logistic regression models, subjects in the lowest versus highest DMG tertile were more likely to have low BMD (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43-1.99). The association was stronger in participants exposed compared to those unexposed to nicotine (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.73-3.07 and OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.16-1.75, respectively, p interaction = 0.008). In the older cohort, Cox regression analyses adjusted for sex showed that low plasma DMG was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture (hazard ratio [HR] 1.70, 95% CI 1.28-2.26). A trend toward an even higher risk was found among women exposed to nicotine (HR 3.41, 95% CI 1.40-8.28).

CONCLUSION

Low plasma DMG was associated with low BMD and increased risk of hip fractures. A potential effect modification by nicotine exposure merits particular attention.

Multiple ionization and fragmentation dynamics of molecular iodine studied in IR-XUV pump-probe experiments

The ionization and fragmentation dynamics of iodine molecules (I(2)) are traced using very intense (∼10(14) W cm(-2)) ultra-short (∼60 fs) light pulses with 87 eV photons of the Free-electron LASer at Hamburg (FLASH) in combination with a synchronized femtosecond optical laser. Within a pump-probe scheme the IR pulse initiates a molecular fragmentation and then, after an adjustable time delay, the system is exposed to an intense FEL pulse. This way we follow the creation of highly-charged molecular fragments as a function of time, and probe the dynamics of multi-photon absorption during the transition from a molecule to individual atoms.