Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) having both t(14;18) and 8q24 translocations is rare. We evaluated the clinical characteristics and prognoses of patients with DLBCL carrying both t(14;18) and ...8q24 translocations. A total of 1972 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated in the Adult Lymphoma Treatment Study Group (ALTSG) from 1998 to 2007. Nineteen cases of de novo DLBCL with the dual translocation were identified. The dual translocation was observed in 19 of 394 patients with DLBCL (10 males and 9 females, with a median age of 61 years). The dual translocation was observed significantly more frequently among patients with high lactate dehydrogenase levels, B symptoms, bone marrow involvement and advanced stage. Immunophenotyping was performed and showed DLBCL with a germinal center type in the majority of cases. Progression-free survival and overall survival rates were significantly lower in patients with the dual translocation than in those with other translocation. DLBCL patients with concurrent t(14;18) and 8q24 translocations have very poor prognosis. Even if patients had a complete response to chemotherapy, they subsequently suffered early relapse. In this study, only a few patients received rituximab, and its usefulness could not be assessed. Future studies with larger numbers of patients are required.
Summary
Background
Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is generally characterized by local Th2 inflammation and is categorized into two subtypes in Japan: eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis ...(similar to chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in western countries) and non‐eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (characterized by Th1‐dominant inflammation).
Objective
To investigate local IgE production and class switch recombination to IgE in these two subtypes of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.
Methods
The identity of IgE‐positive cells was determined using double‐immunofluorescent staining for IgE and cell‐type‐specific molecular markers. To investigate the local class switch recombination to IgE and IgE synthesis in the mucosa, we performed real‐time polymerase chain reaction to examine the mRNA expression of Th2 cytokines and class‐switch‐related molecules, including IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐13, ε germline gene transcripts, IgE mature transcript, IgG mature transcript, RAG1, RAG2 and activation‐induced cytidine deaminase in eosinophilic polyps, non‐eosinophilic polyps and controls.
Results
The concentrations of total IgE and number of IgE‐positive cells were significantly higher in the eosinophilic polyps compared with control and non‐eosinophilic polyps. IgE‐positive cells were predominantly mast cells in eosinophilic polyps and significantly correlated with the number of FcεR1‐positive cells in the subepithelial layer. IL‐5 and IL‐13 mRNA and ε germline gene transcripts expression levels were significantly higher in eosinophilic polyps compared with control and non‐eosinophilic polyps. In contrast, the number of plasma cells and the expression of IgG mature transcripts were increased in non‐eosinophilic polyps compared with eosinophilic polyps. RAG2 mRNA was significantly increased in both eosinophilic and non‐eosinophilic polyps compared with control mucosa.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance
The current study suggests local class switching to IgE, production of IgE and IgE localization to the surface of mast cells in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis in the Japanese population. The difference in the IgE‐related profiles between eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis and non‐eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis suggests heterogeneity in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.
Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins play central roles in regulating higher order chromosome dynamics from bacteria to humans. As judged by electron microscopy, the SMC homodimer ...from Bacillus subtilis (BsSMC) is composed of two antiparallel, coiled‐coil arms with a flexible hinge. Site‐directed cross‐linking experiments show here that dimerization of BsSMC is mediated by a hinge–hinge interaction between self‐folded monomers. This architecture is conserved in the eukaryotic SMC2–SMC4 heterodimer. Analysis of different deletion mutants of BsSMC unexpectedly reveals that the major DNA‐binding activity does not reside in the catalytic ATPase domains located at the ends of a dimer. Instead, point mutations in the hinge domain that disturb dimerization of BsSMC drastically reduce its ability to interact with DNA. Proper hinge function is essential for BsSMC to recognize distinct DNA topology, and mutant proteins with altered hinge angles cross‐link double‐stranded DNA in a nucleotide‐dependent manner. We propose that the hinge domain of SMC proteins is not a simple dimerization site, but rather it acts as an essential determinant of dynamic SMC–DNA interactions.
A Schrödinger-type equation for a heavy quarkonium in terms of the dynamical quark mass is obtained in a quasi-particle approach by Llanes-Estrada and Cotanch. To observe the relationship between the ...obtained equation and the constituent quark (potential) model equation, we treat the dynamical quark mass by a constant parameter
M
and expand the equation in 1/
M
up to order (1/
M
). The equation reduces to that of the traditional nonrelativistic constituent quark model when a nonlocal interaction is neglected. We investigate the nonrelativistic model where the dynamical quark mass
M
in the Schrödinger-type equation is treated as a free parameter and call it the quasi-quark (QQ) model. To elucidate the role of the nonlocal interaction and to observe the reliability of the QQ model, we studied the charmonium
S
-wave states.
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•DNA barcoding revealed three “species” of photosynthetic sea slugs comprised a total of 20 candidate species.•Mitochondrial lineages were largely congruent with the distribution of ...nuclear histone III alleles.•Morphological and reproductive characters distinguished 14 of 20 sampled lineages as confirmed candidate species.•Unrecognized species complicate efforts in drug discovery, biological control, and studies of early-stage endosymbiosis.•Minimum inter-specific divergence was 6–8% at COI, requiring taxon-specific thresholds for effective species delimitation.
DNA barcoding can highlight taxa in which conventional taxonomy underestimates species richness, identifying mitochondrial lineages that may correspond to unrecognized species. However, key assumptions of barcoding remain untested for many groups of soft-bodied marine invertebrates with poorly resolved taxonomy. Here, we applied an integrative approach for species delimitation to herbivorous sea slugs in clade Sacoglossa, in which unrecognized diversity may complicate studies of drug discovery, plastid endosymbiosis, and biological control. Using the mitochondrial barcoding COI gene and the nuclear histone 3 gene, we tested the hypothesis that three widely distributed “species” each comprised a complex of independently evolving lineages. Morphological and reproductive characters were then used to evaluate whether each lineage was distinguishable as a candidate species. The “circumtropical” Elysia ornata comprised a Caribbean species and four Indo-Pacific candidate species that are potential sources of kahalalides, anti-cancer compounds. The “monotypic” and highly photosynthetic Plakobranchus ocellatus, used for over 60years to study chloroplast symbiosis, comprised 10 candidate species. Finally, six candidate species were distinguished in the Elysia tomentosa complex, including potential biological control agents for invasive green algae (Caulerpa spp.). We show that a candidate species approach developed for vertebrates effectively categorizes cryptic diversity in marine invertebrates, and that integrating threshold COI distances with non-molecular character data can delimit species even when common assumptions of DNA barcoding are violated.
Atomistics of friction Hirano, M.
Surface science reports,
03/2006, Letnik:
60, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
When two solid bodies contact and slide against each other, a frictional phenomenon occurs. There have been two models for the origin of the friction forces: the surface roughness model and ...Tomlinson’s model. The surface roughness model explains the origin of the static friction force; contacting solid surfaces are so rough that surface asperities are mechanically locked against the gravitational force. From an atomistic point of view, Tomlinson explained a mechanism of the energy dissipation for the origin of the dynamic friction force. The atomistic mechanisms are described for the origin of the static and the dynamic friction forces, based on the theoretical conclusion that Tomlinson’s mechanism is unlikely to occur in realistic frictional systems. The mechanism for the origin of the static friction force resembles the mechanical locking mechanism in a surface roughness model. The origin of the dynamic friction force is formulated as a problem of how the given translational kinetic energy dissipates into the internal relative motions of constituent atoms of bodies during sliding. From studying the available phase space volume of the translational motion becomes negligibly small for a large system size, compared with that of the internal motions, it is concluded that the energy dissipation occurs irreversibly from the translational motion to the internal motions. The comparison of the atomistic mechanisms with the surface roughness model and Tomlinson’s model is discussed. A phenomenon of superlubricity, where two solid bodies move relatively with no resistance, is discussed.
We examined the mitogenomes of a large global collection of human malaria parasites to explore how and when Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax entered the Americas. We found evidence of a significant ...contribution of African and South Asian lineages to present-day New World malaria parasites with additional P. vivax lineages appearing to originate from Melanesia that were putatively carried by the Australasian peoples who contributed genes to Native Americans. Importantly, mitochondrial lineages of the P. vivax-like species P. simium are shared by platyrrhine monkeys and humans in the Atlantic Forest ecosystem, but not across the Amazon, which most likely resulted from one or a few recent human-to-monkey transfers. While enslaved Africans were likely the main carriers of P. falciparum mitochondrial lineages into the Americas after the conquest, additional parasites carried by Australasian peoples in pre-Columbian times may have contributed to the extensive diversity of extant local populations of P. vivax.
One of the most challenging issues among experts is how to improve motor skills that have already been highly trained. Recent studies have proposed importance of both genetic predisposition and ...accumulated amount of practice for standing at the top of fields of sports and performing arts. In contrast to the two factors, what is unexplored is how one practices impacts on experts' expertise. Here, we show that training of active somatosensory function (active haptic training) enhances precise force control in the keystrokes and somatosensory functions specifically of expert pianists, but not of untrained individuals. By contrast, training that merely repeats the task with provision of error feedback, which is a typical training method, failed to improve the force control in the experts, but not in the untrained. These findings provide evidence that the limit of highly trained motor skills could be overcome by optimizing training methods.
Silica-based highly nonlinear fibers (HNLFs) have been utilized as platforms for various applications, including fiber lasers, optical amplifiers, and optical signal processings. For the practical ...applications, nonlinearity enhancement without degrading the attenuation and tailoring the chromatic dispersions remain the key issues. Herein, we initially discuss the design of chromatic dispersions of HNLFs for desired applications. Then the fabrication results, including HNLFs with a longitudinally uniform zero-dispersion wavelength or with optimized higher order dispersion, are presented. Furthermore, using evolved HNLFs, we demonstrate a unique four-wave-mixing-based wavelength conversion. In addition, suppression of the stimulated Brillouin scattering, a critical issue for high-power applications, is discussed. We fabricate Al 2 O 3 -doped HNLF that has lower Brillouin gain by 6.1 dB as compared with that of conventional GeO 2 -doped HNLF.
Enhanced stress responsiveness has been implicated as a potential mechanism contributing to the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and should be reflected in altered function of the ...hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Both of these systems can modulate mucosal immune function. The aims of this study were: (i) to characterize the basal circadian rhythm of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in IBS vs healthy controls; (ii) to compare stimulated ACTH, cortisol and noradrenaline responses to a pelvic visceral stressor (sigmoidoscopy) in IBS and controls; and (iii) to correlate neuroendocrine responses with colonic mucosal cytokine expression and symptoms in IBS. Two separate studies were conducted in women. In Study 1, basal cortisol levels were analysed in 41 IBS and 25 controls using 24‐h collections of plasma ACTH and cortisol (q10 min sampling). In Study 2, 10 IBS patients with diarrhoea (IBS‐D) and 10 controls underwent sigmoidoscopy with measurements of stimulated neuroendocrine responses and cytokine mRNA expression in colonic tissue. Basal ACTH levels were significantly blunted (P < 0.05), while basal and stimulated plasma cortisol levels were higher in patients. Basal cortisol levels prior to an experimental visceral stressor positively correlated with anxiety symptoms (P < 0.004), but not IBS symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome patients with diarrhoea had significantly decreased mRNA expression of mucosal cytokines interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐6 in the sigmoid colon vs controls (P < 0.05). Although dysregulations in stress‐responsive systems such as the HPA axis and mucosal immune function are demonstrated in IBS, they do not appear to have a primary role in modulating IBS severity and abdominal pain.
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