Absolute quantitation of DNA methylation of 28 candidate genes in prostate cancer using pyrosequencing

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Aberrant DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis and its mapping is likely to provide biomarkers for improved diagnostic and risk assessment in prostate cancer (PCa). We quantified and compared absolute methylation levels among 28 candidate genes in 48 PCa and 29 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) samples using the pyrosequencing (PSQ) method to identify genes with diagnostic and prognostic potential. RARB, HIN1, BCL2, GSTP1, CCND2, EGFR5, APC, RASSF1A, MDR1, NKX2-5, CDH13, DPYS, PTGS2, EDNRB, MAL, PDLIM4, HLAa, ESR1 and TIG1 were highly methylated in PCa compared to BPH (p < 0.001), while SERPINB5, CDH1, TWIST1, DAPK1, THRB, MCAM, SLIT2, CDKN2a and SFN were not. RARB methylation above 21% completely distinguished PCa from BPH. Separation based on methylation level of SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 distinguished low and high Gleason score cancers, e.g. SFN and SERPINB5 together correctly classified 81% and 77% of high and low Gleason score cancers respectively. Several genes including CDH1 previously reported as methylation markers in PCa were not confirmed in our study. Increasing age was positively associated with gene methylation (p < 0.0001). Accurate quantitative measurement of gene methylation in PCa appears promising and further validation of genes like RARB, HIN1, BCL2, APC and GSTP1 is warranted for diagnostic potential and SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 for prognostic potential

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961-2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of -6°C and -4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961-2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991-2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Electric double-layer capacitance between an ionic liquid and few-layer graphene

Ionic-liquid gates have a high carrier density due to their atomically thin electric double layer (EDL) and extremely large geometrical capacitance C-g. However, a high carrier density in graphene has not been achieved even with ionic-liquid gates because the EDL capacitance C-EDL between the ionic liquid and graphene involves the series connection of C-g and the quantum capacitance C-q, which is proportional to the density of states. We investigated the variables that determine C-EDL at the molecular level by varying the number of graphene layers n and thereby optimising C-q. The C-EDL value is governed by C-q at n, 4, and by C-g at n > 4. This transition with n indicates a composite nature for C-EDL. Our finding clarifies a universal principle that determines capacitance on a microscopic scale, and provides nanotechnological perspectives on charge accumulation and energy storage using an ultimately thin capacitor

Spin-Dependent Transport in Fe/GaAs(100)/Fe Vertical Spin-Valves

The integration of magnetic materials with semiconductors will lead to the development of the next spintronics devices such as spin field effect transistor (SFET), which is capable of both data storage and processing. While the fabrication and transport studies of lateral SFET have attracted greatly attentions, there are only few studies of vertical devices, which may offer the opportunity for the future three-dimensional integration. Here, we provide evidence of two-terminal electrical spin injection and detection in Fe/GaAs/Fe vertical spin-valves (SVs) with the GaAs layer of 50 nanometers thick and top and bottom Fe electrodes deposited by molecular beam epitaxy. The spin-valve effect, which corresponds to the individual switching of the top and bottom Fe layers, is bias dependent and observed up to 20 K. We propose that the strongly bias-and temperature-dependent MR is associated with spin transport at the interfacial Fe/GaAs Schottky contacts and in the GaAs membranes, where balance between the barrier profiles as well as the dwell time to spin lifetime ratio are crucial factors for determining the device operations. The demonstration of the fabrication and spin injection in the vertical SV with a semiconductor interlayer is expected to open a new avenue in exploring the SFET

Inertio-elastic focusing of bioparticles in microchannels at high throughput

Controlled manipulation of particles from very large volumes of fluid at high throughput is critical for many biomedical, environmental and industrial applications. One promising approach is to use microfluidic technologies that rely on fluid inertia or elasticity to drive lateral migration of particles to stable equilibrium positions in a microchannel. Here, we report on a hydrodynamic approach that enables deterministic focusing of beads, mammalian cells and anisotropic hydrogel particles in a microchannel at extremely high flow rates. We show that on addition of micromolar concentrations of hyaluronic acid, the resulting fluid viscoelasticity can be used to control the focal position of particles at Reynolds numbers up to Re≈10,000 with corresponding flow rates and particle velocities up to 50 ml min[superscript −1] and 130 m s[superscript −1]. This study explores a previously unattained regime of inertio-elastic fluid flow and demonstrates bioparticle focusing at flow rates that are the highest yet achieved.National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (P41 BioMicroElectroMechanical Systems Resource Center)National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (P41 EB002503)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipUnited States. Army Research Office (Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies Grant W911NF-09-0001

Nitric oxide synthases in infants and children with pulmonary hypertension and congenital heart disease

Nitric oxide is an important regulator of vascular tone in the pulmonary circulation. Surgical correction of congenital heart disease limits pulmonary hypertension to a brief period. The study has measured expression of endothelial (eNOS), inducible (iNOS), and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the lungs from biopsies of infants with pulmonary hypertension secondary to cardiac abnormalities (n = 26), compared to a control group who did not have pulmonary or cardiac disease (n = 8). eNOS, iNOS and nNOS were identified by immunohistochemistry and quantified in specific cell types. Significant increases of eNOS and iNOS staining were found in pulmonary vascular endothelial cells of patients with congenital heart disease compared to control infants. These changes were confined to endothelial cells and not present in other cell types. Patients who strongly expressed eNOS also had strong expression of iNOS. Upregulation of eNOS and iNOS occurs at an early stage of pulmonary hypertension, and may be a compensatory mechanism limiting the rise in pulmonary artery pressure

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by 7427 Australian women with cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort: A cross-sectional study

© 2016 Fisher et al. Background: To assess the prevalence of cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort and to detail the pattern of complementary and alternative (CAM) use adopted by women for the treatment of these symptoms. Methods: Data from the 2012 national Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health (ALSWH) cross-sectional survey of 7427 women aged 34-39 years were analysed to estimate the prevalence of endometriosis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), irregular or heavy periods and severe dysmenorrhoea and to examine the association between their symptoms and their visits to CAM practitioners as well as their use of CAM therapies and products in the previous 12 months. Results: The prevalence of endometriosis was 3.7 % and of the perimenstrual symptoms assessed, PMS was most prevalent at 41.2 % whilst irregular bleeding (22.2 %), heavy periods (29.8 %) and severe period pain (24.1 %) were reported at lower levels. Women with endometriosis were more likely than non-sufferers to have consulted with a massage therapist or acupuncturist and to have used vitamins/minerals, yoga/meditation or Chinese medicines (p < 0.05). PMS sufferers were more likely to consult with an osteopath, massage therapist, naturopath/herbalist or alternative health practitioner and to have used all forms of CAM therapies except Chinese medicines than women who had infrequent PMS (all p < 0.05). Women with irregular periods did not have different patterns of CAM use from non-sufferers and those with heavy periods did not favour any form of CAM but were less likely to visit a massage therapist or use yoga/meditation than non-sufferers (p < 0.05). For women with severe dysmenorrhoea there was no difference in their visits to CAM practitioners compared to non-sufferers but they were more likely to use aromatherapy oils (p < 0.05) and for more frequent dysmenorrhoea also herbal medicines, Chinese medicines and other alternative therapies compared to non-sufferers (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort amongst women in this age group. Women were using CAM differentially when they had specific symptoms of cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort. The use of CAM needs to be properly assessed to ensure their safe, effective use and to ascertain their significance as a treatment option enabling women with menstrual problems and their care providers to improve their quality of life

Steric sea level variability (1993-2010) in an ensemble of ocean reanalyses and objective analyses

Quantifying the effect of the seawater density changes on sea level variability is of crucial importance for climate change studies, as the sea level cumulative rise can be regarded as both an important climate change indicator and a possible danger for human activities in coastal areas. In this work, as part of the Ocean Reanalysis Intercomparison Project, the global and regional steric sea level changes are estimated and compared from an ensemble of 16 ocean reanalyses and 4 objective analyses. These estimates are initially compared with a satellite-derived (altimetry minus gravimetry) dataset for a short period (2003–2010). The ensemble mean exhibits a significant high correlation at both global and regional scale, and the ensemble of ocean reanalyses outperforms that of objective analyses, in particular in the Southern Ocean. The reanalysis ensemble mean thus represents a valuable tool for further analyses, although large uncertainties remain for the inter-annual trends. Within the extended intercomparison period that spans the altimetry era (1993–2010), we find that the ensemble of reanalyses and objective analyses are in good agreement, and both detect a trend of the global steric sea level of 1.0 and 1.1 ± 0.05 mm/year, respectively. However, the spread among the products of the halosteric component trend exceeds the mean trend itself, questioning the reliability of its estimate. This is related to the scarcity of salinity observations before the Argo era. Furthermore, the impact of deep ocean layers is non-negligible on the steric sea level variability (22 and 12 % for the layers below 700 and 1500 m of depth, respectively), although the small deep ocean trends are not significant with respect to the products spread