AIMS: Due to the strong influence of the gut microbiota on fish health, dominant bacterial species in the gut are strong candidates for probiotics. This study aimed to characterize the gut microbiota ...of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and bluegill Lepomis macrochirus to provide a baseline for future probiotic studies. METHODS AND RESULTS: The gut microbiota of five pooled individuals from each fish species was identified using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. Microbiota differed significantly between fish species in terms of bacterial species evenness. However, all gut communities analysed were dominated by the phylum Fusobacteria, specifically the species Cetobacterium somerae. Relatively high abundances of the human pathogens Plesiomonas shigelloides and Fusobacterium mortiferum, as well as members of the genus Aeromonas, suggest these species are normal inhabitants of the gut. CONCLUSIONS: The overwhelming dominance of the genus Cetobacterium in all species warrants further investigation into its role in the fish gut microbiota. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study provides the first characterization of the gut microbiota of three economically significant fishes and establishes a baseline for future probiotic trials.
Background
Transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) for rectal cancer has emerged as an alternative to the traditional abdominal approach. However, concerns have been raised about local ...recurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate local recurrence after TaTME. Secondary aims included postoperative mortality, anastomotic leak and stoma rates.
Methods
Data on all patients who underwent TaTME were recorded and compared with those from national cohorts in the Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Registry (NCCR) and the Norwegian Registry for Gastrointestinal Surgery (NoRGast). Kaplan–Meier estimates were used to compare local recurrence.
Results
In Norway, 157 patients underwent TaTME for rectal cancer between October 2014 and October 2018. Three of seven hospitals abandoned TaTME after a total of five procedures. The local recurrence rate was 12 of 157 (7·6 per cent); eight local recurrences were multifocal or extensive. The estimated local recurrence rate at 2·4 years was 11·6 (95 per cent c.i. 6·6 to 19·9) per cent after TaTME compared with 2·4 (1·4 to 4·3) per cent in the NCCR (P < 0·001). The adjusted hazard ratio was 6·71 (95 per cent c.i. 2·94 to 15·32). Anastomotic leaks resulting in reoperation occurred in 8·4 per cent of patients in the TaTME cohort compared with 4·5 per cent in NoRGast (P = 0·047). Fifty‐six patients (35·7 per cent) had a stoma at latest follow‐up; 39 (24·8 per cent) were permanent.
Conclusion
Anastomotic leak rates after TaTME were higher than national rates; local recurrence rates and growth patterns were unfavourable.
Antecedentes
La resección total del mesorrecto transanal (transanal total mesorectal excision, TaTME) para el cáncer de recto se ha propuesto como una alternativa al abordaje abdominal tradicional. Sin embargo, la recidiva local (local recurrence, LR) después de este procedimiento es motivo de preocupación. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la LR en pacientes operados mediante TaTME. Los objetivos secundarios incluyeron la mortalidad postoperatoria, las fugas anastomóticas y el porcentaje de estomas.
Métodos
Se registraron los datos de todos los pacientes operados mediante TaTME y se compararon con las cohortes nacionales del Registro Noruego de Cáncer Colorrectal (Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Registry, NCCR) y del Registro Noruego de Cirugía Gastrointestinal (Norwegian Registry for Gastrointestinal Surgery, NoRGast) utilizando estimaciones de Kaplan‐Meier y la prueba de log‐rank para comparar curvas de LR.
Resultados
En Noruega, 157 pacientes se sometieron a TaTME por cáncer de recto entre octubre de 2014 y octubre de 2018. Tres de siete hospitales abandonaron el TaTME después de un total de cinco procedimientos. La LR observada fue 12/157 (7,6%), siendo ocho de ellas multifocales o extensas. La tasa estimada de LR a 2,4 años fue de 11,6 % (i.c. del 95% 6,6 a 19,9) versus 2,4 % (1,4 a 4,3) en el NCCR (log rank P < 0,001). El cociente de riesgos instantáneos (hazard ratio, HR) ajustado fue 6,7 (i.c. del 95% 2,9 a 15,3). Las fugas anastomóticas que precisaron una reintervención después de TaTME ocurrieron en un 8,4% versus 4,5% en el registro NoRGast (P = 0,047). Cincuenta y seis pacientes (35,7%) tenían un estoma en el último seguimiento; 39 (24,8%) eran permanentes.
Conclusión
Las tasas de fuga anastomótica tras una TaTME fueron más altas que los datos nacionales con tasas de LR y patrones de crecimiento desfavorables.
The local recurrence rate after transanal total mesorectal excision was high. The adjusted estimated hazard ratio compared with the national cohort after 2·4 years was 6·71. The anastomotic leak rate and the rate of permanent stomas were unfavourable.
Worrying results
The Van Allen radiation belts contain ultrarelativistic electrons trapped in Earth's magnetic field. Since their discovery in 1958, a fundamental unanswered question has been how electrons can be ...accelerated to such high energies. Two classes of processes have been proposed: transport and acceleration of electrons from a source population located outside the radiation belts (radial acceleration) or acceleration of lower-energy electrons to relativistic energies in situ in the heart of the radiation belts (local acceleration). We report measurements from NASA's Van Allen Radiation Belt Storm Probes that clearly distinguish between the two types of acceleration. The observed radial profiles of phase space density are characteristic of local acceleration in the heart of the radiation belts and are inconsistent with a predominantly radial acceleration process.
Enabled by the comprehensive measurements from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS), Helium Oxygen Proton Electron mass spectrometer (HOPE), and Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition ...Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments onboard Van Allen Probes in the heart of the radiation belt, the relative contributions of ions with different energies and species to the ring current energy density and their dependence on the phases of geomagnetic storms are quantified. The results show that lower energy (<50 keV) protons enhance much more often and also decay much faster than higher‐energy protons. During the storm main phase, ions with energies <50 keV contribute more significantly to the ring current than those with higher energies; while the higher‐energy protons dominate during the recovery phase and quiet times. The enhancements of higher‐energy proton fluxes as well as energy content generally occur later than those of lower energy protons, which could be due to the inward radial diffusion. For the 29 March 2013 storm we investigated in detail that the contribution from O+ is ~25% of the ring current energy content during the main phase and the majority of that comes from <50 keV O+. This indicates that even during moderate geomagnetic storms the ionosphere is still an important contributor to the ring current ions. Using the Dessler‐Parker‐Sckopke relation, the contributions of ring current particles to the magnetic field depression during this geomagnetic storm are also calculated. The results show that the measured ring current ions contribute about half of the Dst depression.
Key Points
<50 keV ions contribute more to the ring current than those of higher energies at storm main phase
Flux increase of >50 keV protons usually occurs at recovery phase (could be due to radial diffusion)
Even during moderate storms <50 keV O+ still contributes significantly to the ring current energy
We present new results on up to sixth-order cumulants of net baryon-number fluctuations at small values of the baryon chemical potential, μ B , obtained in lattice QCD calculations with physical ...values of light and strange quark masses. Representing the Taylor expansions of higher-order cumulants in terms of the ratio of the two lowest-order cumulants, ... , allows for a parameter-free comparison with data on net proton-number cumulants obtained by the STAR Collaboration in the Beam Energy Scan at RHIC. We show that recent high-statistics data on skewness and kurtosis ratios of net proton-number distributions, obtained at a beam energy ... , agree well with lattice QCD results on cumulants of net baryon-number fluctuations close to the pseudocritical temperature, Tpc (μB) , for the chiral transition in QCD. We also present first results from a next-to-leading-order expansion of fifth- and sixth-order cumulants on the line of the pseudocritical temperatures.(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve hard renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes. This is possibly explained by the fact that SGLT2i normalize the measured glomerular filtration rate ...(mGFR) by increasing renal vascular resistance, as was shown in young people with type 1 diabetes and glomerular hyperfiltration. Therefore, we compared the renal hemodynamic effects of dapagliflozin with gliclazide in type 2 diabetes. The mGFR and effective renal plasma flow were assessed using inulin and para-aminohippurate clearances in the fasted state, during clamped euglycemia (5 mmol/L) and during clamped hyperglycemia (15 mmol/L). Filtration fraction and renal vascular resistance were calculated. Additionally, factors known to modulate renal hemodynamics were measured. In 44 people with type 2 diabetes on metformin monotherapy (Hemoglobin A1c 7.4%, mGFR 113 mL/min), dapagliflozin versus gliclazide reduced mGFR by 5, 10, and 12 mL/min in the consecutive phases while both agents similarly improved Hemoglobin A1c (-0.48% vs -0.65%). Dapagliflozin also reduced filtration fraction without increasing renal vascular resistance, and increased urinary adenosine and prostaglandin concentrations. Gliclazide did not consistently alter renal hemodynamic parameters. Thus, beyond glucose control, SGLT2i reduce mGFR and filtration fraction in type 2 diabetes. The fact that renal vascular resistance was not increased by dapagliflozin suggests that this is due to post-glomerular vasodilation rather than pre-glomerular vasoconstriction.
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A significant proportion of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx (OP-SCC) are related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and p16 overexpression. This subgroup proves better prognosis and ...survival but no evidence exists on the correlation between HPV and p16 overexpression based on diagnostic measures and definition of p16 overexpression. We evaluated means of p16 and HPV diagnostics, and quantified overexpression of p16 in HPV-positive and -negative OP-SCCs by mode of immunohistochemical staining of carcinoma cells.
PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from 1980 until October 2012. We applied the following inclusion criteria: a minimum of 20 cases of site-specific OP-SCCs, and HPV and p16 results present. Studies were categorised into three groups based on their definition of p16 overexpression: verbal definition, nuclear and cytoplasmatic staining between 5 and 69%, and ≥70% staining.
We identified 39 studies with available outcome data (n=3926): 22 studies (n=1980) used PCR, 6 studies (n=688) used ISH, and 11 studies (n=1258) used both PCR and ISH for HPV diagnostics. The methods showed similar HPV-positive results. Overall, 52.5% of the cases (n=2062) were HPV positive. As to p16 overexpression, 17 studies (n=1684) used a minimum of 5-69% staining, and 7 studies (n=764) used ≥70% staining. Fifteen studies (n=1478) referred to a verbal definition. Studies showed high heterogeneity in diagnostics of HPV and definition of p16. The correlation between HPV positivity and p16 overexpression proved best numerically in the group applying ≥70% staining for p16 overexpression. The group with verbal definitions had a significantly lower false-positive rate, but along with the group applying 5-69% staining showed a worse sensitivity compared with ≥70% staining.
There are substantial differences in how studies diagnose HPV and define p16 overexpression. Numerically, p16 staining is better to predict the presence of HPV (i.e. larger sensitivity), when the cutoff is set at ≥70% of cytoplasmatic and nuclear staining.
We present results for pseudo-critical temperatures of QCD chiral crossovers at zero and non-zero values of baryon (B), strangeness (S), electric charge (Q), and isospin (I) chemical potentials ...μX=B,Q,S,I. The results were obtained using lattice QCD calculations carried out with two degenerate up and down dynamical quarks and a dynamical strange quark, with quark masses corresponding to physical values of pion and kaon masses in the continuum limit. By parameterizing pseudo-critical temperatures as Tc(μX)=Tc(0)1−κ2X(μX/Tc(0))2−κ4X(μX/Tc(0))4, we determined κ2X and κ4X from Taylor expansions of chiral observables in μX. We obtained a precise result for Tc(0)=(156.5±1.5) MeV. For analogous thermal conditions at the chemical freeze-out of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, i.e., μS(T,μB) and μQ(T,μB) fixed from strangeness-neutrality and isospin-imbalance, we found κ2B=0.012(4) and κ4B=0.000(4). For μB≲300 MeV, the chemical freeze-out takes place in the vicinity of the QCD phase boundary, which coincides with the lines of constant energy density of 0.42(6)GeV/fm3 and constant entropy density of 3.7(5)fm−3.
The study investigated the distribution of silver after 28 days repeated oral administration of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver acetate (AgAc) to rats. Oral administration is a relevant route ...of exposure because of the use of silver nanoparticles in products related to food and food contact materials.
AgNPs were synthesized with a size distribution of 14 ± 4 nm in diameter (90% of the nanoparticle volume) and stabilized in aqueous suspension by the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The AgNPs remained stable throughout the duration of the 28-day oral toxicity study in rats. The organ distribution pattern of silver following administration of AgNPs and AgAc was similar. However the absolute silver concentrations in tissues were lower following oral exposure to AgNPs. This was in agreement with an indication of a higher fecal excretion following administration of AgNPs. Besides the intestinal system, the largest silver concentrations were detected in the liver and kidneys. Silver was also found in the lungs and brain. Autometallographic (AMG) staining revealed a similar cellular localization of silver in ileum, liver, and kidney tissue in rats exposed to AgNPs or AgAc. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanosized granules were detected in the ileum of animals exposed to AgNPs or AgAc and were mainly located in the basal lamina of the ileal epithelium and in lysosomes of macrophages within the lamina propria. Using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy it was shown that the granules in lysosomes consisted of silver, selenium, and sulfur for both AgNP and AgAc exposed rats. The diameter of the deposited granules was in the same size range as that of the administered AgNPs. No silver granules were detected by TEM in the liver.
The results of the present study demonstrate that the organ distribution of silver was similar when AgNPs or AgAc were administered orally to rats. The presence of silver granules containing selenium and sulfur in the intestinal wall of rats exposed to either of the silver forms suggests a common mechanism of their formation. Additional studies however, are needed to gain further insight into the underlying mechanisms of the granule formation, and to clarify whether AgNPs dissolve in the gastrointestinal system and/or become absorbed and translocate as intact nanoparticles to organs and tissues.
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