The emergence of the H7N9 influenza virus in humans in Eastern China has raised concerns that a new influenza pandemic could occur. Here, we used a ferret model to evaluate the infectivity and ...transmissibility of A/Shanghai/2/2013 (SH2), a human H7N9 virus isolate. This virus replicated in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of the ferrets and was shed at high titers for 6 to 7 days, with ferrets showing relatively mild clinical signs. SH2 was efficiently transmitted between ferrets via direct contact, but less efficiently by airborne exposure. Pigs were productively infected by SH2 and shed virus for 6 days but were unable to transmit the virus to naïve pigs or ferrets. Under appropriate conditions, human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus may be possible.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Measurement of the evolution of both active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-formation in galaxies underpins our understanding of galaxy evolution over cosmic time. Radio continuum observations can ...provide key information on these two processes, in particular via the mechanical feedback produced by radio jets in AGN, and via an unbiased dust-independent measurement of star formation rates. In this paper, we determine radio luminosity functions at 325 MHz for a sample of AGN and star-forming galaxies by matching a 138 deg2 radio survey conducted with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, with optical imaging and redshifts from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. We find that the radio luminosity function at 325 MHz for star-forming galaxies closely follows that measured at 1.4 GHz. By fitting the AGN radio luminosity function out to z = 0.5 as a double power law, and parametrizing the evolution as Φ ∝ (1 + z)
k
, we find evolution parameters of k = 0.92 ± 0.95 assuming pure density evolution and k = 2.13 ± 1.96 assuming pure luminosity evolution. We find that the Low Excitation Radio Galaxies are the dominant population in space density at lower luminosities. Comparing our 325 MHz observations with radio continuum imaging at 1.4 GHz, we determine separate radio luminosity functions for steep- and flat-spectrum AGN, and show that the beamed population of flat-spectrum sources in our sample can be shifted in number density and luminosity to coincide with the unbeamed population of steep-spectrum sources, as is expected in the orientation-based unification of AGN.
New species of Phytophthora such as Phytophthora ramorum, P. kernoviae and P. quercina together with P. citricola are plant pathogens which impact on forest health, natural ecosystem stability and ...international trade. A real-time multiplex PCR approach based on TaqMan PCR was developed to simultaneously identify and detect these four Phytophthora species. Specific primers and probes labelled with FAM (P. ramorum), Yakima Yellow (P. kernoviae), Rox (P. citricola) and Cy5 (P. quercina) were designed in different regions of the ras-related protein (Ypt1) gene. A new set of Black Hole Quenchers (BHQ), which dissipate energy as heat rather than fluorescence, were utilized. The method proved to be highly specific in tests with target DNA from 72 Phytophthora isolates (35 species). For all pathogens, the detection limit was 100 fg of target DNA and was not improved utilizing a nested approach to provide a first round of amplification with Phytophthora spp.-specific primers. Cycle threshold (Ct) values were linearly correlated with the concentration of the target DNA (correlation coefficients ranged from 0.947 to 0.996) and were not affected by the presence of plant extracts, indicating the appropriateness of the method for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Two universal primers and a TaqMan probe were also developed to evaluate the quality and quantity of extracted DNA and to avoid false negatives. The reliability of the entire procedure was assessed using both artificially and naturally infected leaves of a range of plant species. The method, combined with a rapid procedure for DNA extraction, proved to be rapid, reliable, sensitive and cost effective as multiple pathogens were detected within the same plant extract by using different primer/probe combinations.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present the first direct and unbiased measurement of the evolution of the dust mass function of galaxies over the past 5 billion years of cosmic history using data from the Science Demonstration ...Phase of the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (Herschel-ATLAS). The sample consists of galaxies selected at 250
m which have reliable counterparts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at z < 0.5, and contains 1867 sources. Dust masses are calculated using both a single-temperature grey-body model for the spectral energy distribution and also a model with multiple temperature components. The dust temperature for either model shows no trend with redshift. Splitting the sample into bins of redshift reveals a strong evolution in the dust properties of the most massive galaxies. At z= 0.4-0.5, massive galaxies had dust masses about five times larger than in the local Universe. At the same time, the dust-to-stellar mass ratio was about three to four times larger, and the optical depth derived from fitting the UV-sub-mm data with an energy balance model was also higher. This increase in the dust content of massive galaxies at high redshift is difficult to explain using standard dust evolution models and requires a rapid gas consumption time-scale together with either a more top-heavy initial mass function (IMF), efficient mantle growth, less dust destruction or combinations of all three. This evolution in dust mass is likely to be associated with a change in overall interstellar medium mass, and points to an enhanced supply of fuel for star formation at earlier cosmic epochs.
Organometallic compounds based on bioactive ligand systems have shown promising antiproliferative properties. The use of 8-hydroxyquinoline and its derivatives as bioactive ligands resulted in ...organometallic complexes with potent anticancer activity, but they lack aqueous solubility for further development. We report here the preparation of a series of MII/III(cym/Cp*)Cl complexes (η6-p-cymene (cym): M = Ru, Os; η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*): M = Rh, Ir) with hydroxyquinoline-derived co-ligands and in a subsequent step the substitution of the chlorido ligands for amphiphilic 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphatricyclo-3.3.1.1decane (PTA). Solubility studies indicated that the introduced PTA ligand significantly improved the aqueous solubility of all complexes. The complexes were shown to be stable in aqueous and DMSO solution over a period of at least 3 d. As would be expected for such modification of complexes, the higher solubility resulted in significantly decreased cytotoxicity in cancer cells. The antiproliferative activity was still more pronounced than that of RAPTA-C Ru(cym)(PTA)Cl which, however, has been demonstrated to have antimetastatic and antiangiogenic properties in vivo.
The introduction of a PTA ligand into organometallic hydroxyquinoline complexes significantly increases their aqueous solubility, and gives high stability but reduces their cytotoxic activity to an extent found for the prototype PTA anticancer agent RAPTA-C. Display omitted
•Preparation of organometallic anticancer agents•Substitution of chlorido ligands with an amphiphilic phosphine leads to high aqueous solubility.•The complexes showed high stability in aqueous solution.•Introduction of the PTA ligand decreased the anticancer activity of the complexes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background
Previous studies have demonstrated an association between a diagnosis of cancer and the risk of suicide; however, they failed to account for psychiatric care before a cancer diagnosis, ...which may confound this relationship. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of a cancer diagnosis on the risk of suicide, accounting for prediagnosis psychiatric care utilization.
Methods
All adult residents of Ontario, Canada who were diagnosed with cancer (1 of prostate, breast, colorectal, melanoma, lung, bladder, endometrial, thyroid, kidney, or oral cancer) between 1997 and 2014 were identified. Noncancer controls were matched 4:1 based on sociodemographics, including a psychiatric utilization gradient (PUG) score (with 0 indicating none; 1, outpatient; 2, emergency department; and 3, hospital admission). A marginal, cause‐specific hazard model was used to assess the effect of cancer on the risk of suicidal death.
Results
Among 676,470 patients with cancer and 2,152,682 matched noncancer controls, there were 8.2 and 11.4 suicides per 1000 person‐years of follow‐up, respectively. Patients with cancer had an overall higher risk of suicidal death compared with matched patients without cancer (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.22‐1.48). This effect was pronounced in the first 50 months after cancer diagnosis (hazard ratio, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.42‐1.81); patients with cancer did not demonstrate an increased risk thereafter. Among individuals with a PUG score 0 or 1, those with cancer were significantly more likely to die of suicide compared with controls. There was no difference in suicide risk between patients with cancer and controls for those who had a PUG score of 2 or 3.
Conclusions
A cancer diagnosis is associated with increased risk of death from suicide compared with the general population even after accounting for precancer diagnosis psychiatric care utilization. The specific factors underlying the observed associations remain to be elucidated.
In this study of 676,470 patients diagnosed with cancer (1 of prostate, breast, colorectal, melanoma, lung, bladder, endometrial, thyroid, kidney, or oral cancer) in Ontario, Canada, who are hard matched to 2,152,682 noncancer controls, a cancer diagnosis is associated with a significant increase in the risk of suicidal death. These results are consistent after accounting for prediagnosis utilization of psychiatric care.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Among patients with cancer, prior research suggests that patients with mental illness may have reduced survival. The objective was to assess the impact of psychiatric utilisation (PU) prior to cancer ...diagnosis on survival outcomes.
All residents of Ontario diagnosed with one of the top 10 malignancies (1997-2014) were included. The primary exposure was psychiatric utilisation gradient (PUG) score in 5 years prior to cancer: 0: none, 1: outpatient, 2: emergency department, 3: hospital admission. A multivariable, cause-specific hazard model was used to assess the effect of PUG score on cancer-specific mortality (CSM), and a Cox proportional hazard model for effect on all-cause mortality (ACM).
A toal of 676,125 patients were included: 359,465 (53.2%) with PUG 0, 304,559 (45.0%) PUG 1, 7901 (1.2%) PUG 2, and 4200 (0.6%) PUG 3. Increasing PUG score was independently associated with worse CSM, with an effect gradient across the intensity of pre-diagnosis PU (vs PUG 0): PUG 1 h 1.05 (95% CI 1.04-1.06), PUG 2 h 1.36 (95% CI 1.30-1.42), and PUG 3 h 1.73 (95% CI 1.63-1.84). Increasing PUG score was also associated with worse ACM.
Pre-cancer diagnosis PU is independently associated with worse CSM and ACM following diagnosis among patients with solid organ malignancies.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Atmospheric oxidation of isoprene, the most abundantly emitted non-methane hydrocarbon, affects the abundances of ozone (O3), the hydroxyl radical (OH), nitrogen oxide radicals (NOx), carbon monoxide ...(CO), oxygenated and nitrated organic compounds, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). We analyze these effects in box models and in the global GEOS-Chem chemical transport model using the new reduced Caltech isoprene mechanism (RCIM) condensed from a recently developed explicit isoprene oxidation mechanism. We find many similarities with previous global models of isoprene chemistry along with a number of important differences. Proper accounting of the isomer distribution of peroxy radicals following the addition of OH and O2 to isoprene influences the subsequent distribution of products, decreasing in particular the yield of methacrolein and increasing the capacity of intramolecular hydrogen shifts to promptly regenerate OH. Hydrogen shift reactions throughout the mechanism lead to increased OH recycling, resulting in less depletion of OH under low-NO conditions than in previous mechanisms. Higher organonitrate yields and faster tertiary nitrate hydrolysis lead to more efficient NOx removal by isoprene and conversion to inorganic nitrate. Only 20 % of isoprene-derived organonitrates (excluding peroxyacyl nitrates) are chemically recycled to NOx. The global yield of formaldehyde from isoprene is 22 % per carbon and less sensitive to NO than in previous mechanisms. The global molar yield of glyoxal is 2 %, much lower than in previous mechanisms because of deposition and aerosol uptake of glyoxal precursors. Global production of isoprene SOA is about one-third from each of the following: isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX), organonitrates, and tetrafunctional compounds. We find a SOA yield from isoprene of 13 % per carbon, much higher than commonly assumed in models and likely offset by SOA chemical loss. We use the results of our simulations to further condense RCIM into a mini Caltech isoprene mechanism (Mini-CIM) for less expensive implementation in atmospheric models, with a total size (108 species, 345 reactions) comparable to currently used mechanisms.
Introduction
Preoperative coagulation screening for patients without bleeding disorders remains controversial. The combinatorial risk of INR, aPTT, and platelet count (PLT) abnormalities leading to ...bleeding requiring transfusion is not known in these patients. We examined the association between abnormal coagulation profile and the risk of transfusion following common elective surgery in patients without bleeding disorders.
Study Design and Methods
We utilized the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2004 to 2018 to identify patients without a history of bleeding disorders undergoing common 23 major elective procedures across 10 specialties. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between coagulation profile and bleeding requiring packed red blood cell transfusion intra−/post‐operatively.
Results
Of the 672,075 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 53.7% presented with normal coagulation profile preoperatively. Overall, 12.2% (n = 82,368) received transfusion. In the setting of normal aPTT/PLT, both Equivocal INR of 1.1–1.5 (aOR 1.41, 95% CI 1.38–1.44) and Abnormal INR of >1.5 (aOR 1.81, 95% CI 1.71–1.93) were significantly associated with an increased risk of transfusion. Equivocal (60–70) and Abnormal (>70) aPTT with normal INR/PLT did not demonstrate a comparable risk of transfusion. We observed a synergistic effect of combinatorial lab abnormalities on the risk of transfusion when both Abnormal INR/aPTT and Low PLT of <100,000 were present (aOR 5.18, 95% CI 3.04–8.84), compared to the effect of Abnormal INR/aPTT and normal/elevated PLT (aOR 1.90, 95% CI 1.48–2.45).
Discussion
The preoperative presence of abnormal findings in INR or PLT was significantly associated with the risk of bleeding requiring transfusion during intraoperative and postoperative periods.
See editorial on page 2155–2157, in this issue
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
We present the dust properties and star formation histories of local submillimetre-selected galaxies, classified by optical morphology. Most of the galaxies are late types and very few are early ...types. The early-type galaxies (ETGs) that are detected contain as much dust as typical spirals, and form a unique sample that has been blindly selected at submillimetre wavelengths. Additionally, we investigate the properties of the most passive, dusty spirals.
We morphologically classify 1087 galaxies detected in the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) Science Demonstration Phase data. Comparing to a control sample of optically selected galaxies, we find 5.5 per cent of luminous ETGs are detected in H-ATLAS. The H-ATLAS ETGs contain a significant mass of cold dust: the mean dust mass is 5.5 × 107 M⊙, with individual galaxies ranging from 9 × 105 to 4 × 108 M⊙. This is comparable to that of spiral galaxies in our sample, and is an order of magnitude more dust than that found for the control early-types, which have a median dust mass inferred from stacking of (0.8-4.0) × 106 M⊙ for a cold dust temperature of 25-15 K. The early-types detected in H-ATLAS tend to have bluer NUV − r colours, higher specific star formation rates and younger stellar populations than early-types which are optically selected, and may be transitioning from the blue cloud to the red sequence.
We also find that H-ATLAS and control early-types inhabit similar low-density environments. We investigate whether the observed dust in H-ATLAS early-types is from evolved stars, or has been acquired from external sources through interactions and mergers. We conclude that the dust in H-ATLAS and control ETGs cannot be solely from stellar sources, and a large contribution from dust formed in the interstellar medium or external sources is required. Alternatively, dust destruction may not be as efficient as predicted. We also explore the properties of the most passive spiral galaxies in our sample with specific star formation rate (SSFR) < 10−11 yr−1. We find these passive spirals have lower dust-to-stellar mass ratios, higher stellar masses and older stellar population ages than normal spirals. The passive spirals inhabit low-density environments similar to those of the normal spiral galaxies in our sample. This shows that the processes which turn spirals passive do not occur solely in the intermediate-density environments of group and cluster outskirts.
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