Mitral regurgitation: when to intervene?

Although mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common valvular heart disease, it should be regarded as a complex multifactorial disease that involves     

On the Surface Plasmon Resonance Modes of Metal Nanoparticle Chains and Arrays

A method for estimating the surface plasmon resonance modes of metal nanoparticle chains and arrays within a multilayered medium is proposed. In this fully retarded point-dipole method, an inhomogeneous background is replaced with a homogeneous one, based on an effective refractive index approximation. The proposed method includes the effects of retardation, radiative damping, and dynamic depolarization due to the finite size of the nanoparticles. The use of diagonal terms of dyadic Green’s functions and different polarizability coefficients along the semi-axes of ellipsoidal nanoparticles provides a complete set of both longitudinal and transverse resonance modes. Numerical results are compared with experimental results found in the literature.     

A Turkish family with Nance-Horan syndrome due to a novel mutation

Nance-Horan Syndrome (NHS) is a rare X-linked syndrome characterized by congenital cataract which leads to profound vision loss, characteristic dysmorphic features and specific dental anomalies. Microcornea, microphthalmia and mild or moderate mental retardation may accompany these features. Heterozygous females often manifest similarly but with less severe features than affected males. We describe two brothers who have the NHS phenotype and their carrier mother who had microcornea but not cataract. We identified a previously unreported frameshift mutation (c.558insA) in exon 1 of the NHS gene in these patients and their mother which is predicted to result in the incorporation of 11 aberrant amino acids prior to a stop codon (p.E186Efs11X). We also discussed genotype–phenotype correlation according to relevant literature.     

Surgical and Molecular Evaluation of Pediatric Hydatid Cyst Cases in Eastern Turkey

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus is a major public health problem worldwide, including Turkey. The aim of the current study was to identify the strains and to estimate the potential risk factors of E. granulosus in operated pediatric cases in eastern Turkey. Ten pediatric patients (7 boys and 3 girls) living in rural areas, with ages ranging from 3 to 15 years old and various clinical histories, were included in this study. Eight patients had only liver hydatid cyst, while 1 patient had liver and lung hydatid cyst and the other liver, lung, and spleen, together. There were 2 ruptured liver cysts. After surgery, during follow-up, no increase was observed in hemagglutination levels, there were no mortalities, and there was no evidence of recurrence at 2 years post operation in all patients. Molecular analysis was performed on hydatid cyst samples obtained from the 10 pediatric cases. According to mt-12S rRNA PCR results, all cases were found to be G1/G3 cluster of E. granulosus sensu stricto.     

Conjunctival melanoma copy number alterations and correlation with mutation status,tumor features,and clinical outcome

Relatively little is known about the genetic aberrations of conjunctival melanomas (CoM) and their correlation with clinical and histomorphological features as well as prognosis. The aim of this large collaborative multicenter study was to determine potential key biomarkers for metastatic risk and any druggable targets for high metastatic risk CoM. Using Affymetrix single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping arrays on 59 CoM, we detected frequent amplifications on chromosome (chr) 6p and deletions on 7q, and characterized mutation‐specific copy number alterations. Deletions on chr 10q11.21‐26.2, a region harboring the tumor suppressor genes, PDCD4, SUFU, NEURL1, PTEN, RASSF4, DMBT1, and C10orf90 and C10orf99, significantly correlated with metastasis (Fisher's exact, p ≤ 0.04), lymphatic invasion (Fisher's exact, p ≤ 0.02), increasing tumor thickness (Mann–Whitney, p ≤ 0.02), and BRAF mutation (Fisher's exact, p ≤ 0.05). This enhanced insight into CoM biology is a step toward identifying patients at risk of metastasis and potential therapeutic targets for systemic disease.     

Prediction of viral filtration performance of monoclonal antibodies based on biophysical properties of feed

Controlling viral contamination is an important issue in the process development of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced from mammalian cell lines. Virus filtration (VF) has been demonstrated to be a robust and effective clearance step which can provide ≥4 logs of reduction via size exclusion. The minimization of VF area by increasing flux and filter loading is critical to achieving cost targets as VFs are single use and often represent up to 10% of total purification costs. The research presented in this publication describes a development strategy focused on biophysical attributes of product streams that are directly applicable to VF process performance. This article summarizes a case study where biophysical tools (high‐pressure size exclusion chromatography, dynamic light scattering, and absolute size exclusion chromatography) were applied to a specific MAb program to illustrate how changes in feed composition (pH, sodium chloride concentration, and buffer salt type) can change biophysical properties which correlate with VF performance. The approach was subsequently refined and expanded over the course of development of three MAbs where performance metrics (i.e., loading and flux) were evaluated for two specific virus filters (Viresolve Pro and Planova 20N) during both unspiked control runs and virus clearance experiments. The analyses of feed attributes can be applied to a decision tree to guide the recommendation of a VF filter and operating conditions for use in future MAb program development. The understanding of the biophysical properties of the feed can be correlated to virus filter performance to significantly reduce the mass of product, time, and costs associated with virus filter step development. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 31:765–774, 2015     

On the Nature of Recombinants Formed during Transformation in Hemophilus influenzae

During the process of transformation in Hemophilus influenzae integration of donor DNA, i.e. the formation of recombinant DNA, involves the incorporation of single-stranded DNA. Evidence was obtained from cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation of DNA from donor-recipient complexes that integration was accompanied by the formation of hybrid DNA with a density intermediate with respect to heavy, ²H, ¹⁵N, donor and light, ¹H, ⁴N recipient DNA. On denaturation the position of the heavy donor DNA moved closer to, but not all the way toward, the density position of the original donor DNA. In addition to supporting the idea of single-stranded incorporation, this evidence suggested that the integrated donor DNA was covalently linked to light recipient DNA. The DNA was taken up in the double-stranded form and no detectable amounts of denatured DNA could be found during the transformation process. However, during the process of integration an amount of donor atoms, equivalent to the amount of hybrid DNA formed, appeared in recipient DNA, and indicated that while one strand of DNA was integrated the other was broken down and resynthesized. The density of the hybrid DNA, as well as rebanding of denatured hybrid, indicated that the size of the integrated piece of DNA was large, approximately 6 x 10⁶ daltons.     

Caffeoylquinic Acids,Cytotoxic, Antioxidant,Acetylcholinesterase and Tyrosinase Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Six Inula Species from Bulgaria

Chlorogenic (5‐CQA), 1,5‐, 3,5‐, 4,5‐ and 3,4‐dicaffeoylquinic (DCQA) acids were identified and quantified in the methanol extracts of Inula oculus‐christi L., I. bifrons L., I. aschersoniana Janka var. aschersoniana, I. ensifolia L., I. conyza (Griess .) DC. and I. germanica L. by HPLC analysis. The amount of 5‐CQA varied from 5.48 to 28.44 mg/g DE and the highest content was detected in I. ensifolia. 1,5‐DCQA (4.05–55.25 mg/g DE) was the most abundant dicaffeoyl ester of quinic acid followed by 3,5‐DCQA, 4,5‐DCQA and 3,4‐DCQA. The extract of I. ensifolia showed the highest total phenolic content (119.92±0.95 mg GAE/g DE) and exhibited the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity (69.41±0.55 %). I. bifrons extract was found to be the most active sample against ABTS^.+ (TEAC 0.257±0.012 mg/mL) and the best tyrosinase inhibitor. The studied extracts demonstrated a low inhibitory effect towards acetylcholinesterase and possessed low cytotoxicity in concentration range from 10 to 300 μg/mL toward non‐cancer (MDCK II) and cancer (A 549) cells.