Cost-effectiveness analysis of endoscopic eradication therapy for treatment of high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus

AIM: The aim was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) with combined endoscopic mucosal resection and radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of high-grade dysplasia (HGD) arising in patients with Barrett's esophagus compared with endoscopic surveillance alone in the UK. MATERIALS & METHODS: The cost-effectiveness model consisted of a decision tree and modified Markov model. A lifetime time horizon was adopted with the perspective of the UK healthcare system. RESULTS: The base case analysis estimates that EET for the treatment of HGD is cost-effective at a GB£20,000 cost-effectiveness threshold compared with providing surveillance alone for HGD patients (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio: GB£1272). CONCLUSION: EET is likely to be a cost-effective treatment strategy compared with surveillance alone in patients with HGD arising in Barrett's esophagus in the UK

Housekeeping genes for quantitative expression studies in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

Background During the last years the quantification of immune response under immunological challenges, e.g. parasitation, has been a major focus of research. In this context, the expression of immune response genes in teleost fish has been surveyed for scientific and commercial purposes. Despite the fact that it was shown in teleostei and other taxa that the gene for beta-actin is not the most stably expressed housekeeping gene (HKG), depending on the tissue and experimental treatment, the gene has been us Results To establish a reliable method for the measurement of immune gene expression in Gasterosteus aculeatus, sequences from the now available genome database and an EST library of the same species were used to select oligonucleotide primers for HKG, in order to perform quantitative reverse-transcription (RT) PCR. The expression stability of ten candidate reference genes was evaluated in three different tissues, and in five parasite treatment groups, using the three algorithms BestKeeper, geNorm and N Conclusion As they were the most stably expressed genes in all tissues examined, we suggest using the genes for the L13a ribosomal binding protein and ubiquitin as alternative or additional reference genes in expression analysis in Gasterosteus aculeatus.

Evidence of temperature-dependent effects on the estrogenic response of fish: implications with regard to climate change

The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright @ 2008 Elsevier BV.Chemical risk assessment is fraught with difficulty due to the problem of accounting for the effects of mixtures. In addition to the uncertainty arising from chemical-to-chemical interactions, it is possible that environmental variables, such as temperature, influence the biological response to chemical challenge, acting as confounding factors in the analysis of mixture effects. Here, we investigate the effects of temperature on the response of fish to a defined mixture of estrogenic chemicals. It was anticipated that the response to the mixture may be exacerbated at higher temperatures, due to an increase in the rate of physiological processing. This is a pertinent issue in view of global climate change. Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to the mixture in parallel exposure studies, which were carried out at different temperatures (20 and 30 degrees C). The estrogenic response was characterised using an established assay, involving the analysis of the egg yolk protein, vitellogenin (VTG). Patterns of VTG gene expression were also analysed using real-time QPCR. The results revealed that there was no effect of temperature on the magnitude of the VTG response after 2 weeks of chemical exposure. However, the analysis of mixture effects at two additional time points (24 h and 7 days) revealed that the response was induced more rapidly at the higher temperature. This trend was apparent from the analysis of effects both at the molecular and biochemical level. Whilst this indicates that climatic effects on water temperature are not a significant issue with regard to the long-term risk assessment of estrogenic chemicals, the relevance of short-term effects is, as yet, unclear. Furthermore, analysis of the patterns of VTG gene expression versus protein induction gives an insight into the physiological mechanisms responsible for temperature-dependent effects on the reproductive phenology of species such as roach. Hence, the data contribute to our understanding of the implications of global climate change for wild fish populations.This work was funded by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council NE/D00389X/1). Additional support was provided by a small research grant from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Magnetic vortex-like excitations on a sphere

We study magnetic vortex-like solutions lying on the spherical surface. The simplest cylindrically symmetric vortex presents two cores (instead of one, like in open surfaces) with same charge, so repealing each other. However, the net vorticity is computed to vanish in accordance with Gauss theorem. We also address the problem of a flat plane in which a conical, a pseudospherical and a hemispherical segments were incorporated. In this case, if we allow the vortex to move without appreciable deformation in this support, then it is attracted by the conical apex and by the pseudosphere as well, while it is repealed by the hemisphere. This suggests that such surfaces could be viewed as pinning and depinning geometries for those excitations. Spherical harmonics coreless solutions are discussed within some details.Comment: 15 pages, 8 .eps figures, typed in tex. Version accepted in Physics Letters A (2007), please see DOI

Textural considerations in painting

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1962 F5

Label-free cell cycle analysis for high-throughput imaging flow cytometry

Imaging flow cytometry combines the high-throughput capabilities of conventional flow cytometry with single-cell imaging. Here we demonstrate label-free prediction of DNA content and quantification of the mitotic cell cycle phases by applying supervised machine learning to morphological features extracted from brightfield and the typically ignored darkfield images of cells from an imaging flow cytometer. This method facilitates non-destructive monitoring of cells avoiding potentially confounding effects of fluorescent stains while maximizing available fluorescence channels. The method is effective in cell cycle analysis for mammalian cells, both fixed and live, and accurately assesses the impact of a cell cycle mitotic phase blocking agent. As the same method is effective in predicting the DNA content of fission yeast, it is likely to have a broad application to other cell types

A Comprehensive Approach to Identify Reliable Reference Gene Candidates to Investigate the Link between Alcoholism and Endocrinology in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Gender and hormonal differences are often correlated with alcohol dependence and related complications like addiction and breast cancer. Estrogen (E2) is an important sex hormone because it serves as a key protein involved in organism level signaling pathways. Alcoholism has been reported to affect estrogen receptor signaling; however, identifying the players involved in such multi-faceted syndrome is complex and requires an interdisciplinary approach. In many situations, preliminary investigations included a straight forward, yet informative biotechniques such as gene expression analyses using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). The validity of qRT-PCR-based conclusions is affected by the choice of reliable internal controls. With this in mind, we compiled a list of 15 commonly used housekeeping genes (HKGs) as potential reference gene candidates in rat biological models. A comprehensive comparison among 5 statistical approaches (geNorm, dCt method, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder) was performed to identify the minimal number as well the most stable reference genes required for reliable normalization in experimental rat groups that comprised sham operated (SO), ovariectomized rats in the absence (OVX) or presence of E2 (OVXE2). These rat groups were subdivided into subgroups that received alcohol in liquid diet or isocalroic control liquid diet for 12 weeks. Our results showed that U87, 5S rRNA, GAPDH, and U5a were the most reliable gene candidates for reference genes in heart and brain tissue. However, different gene stability ranking was specific for each tissue input combination. The present preliminary findings highlight the variability in reference gene rankings across different experimental conditions and analytic methods and constitute a fundamental step for gene expression assays

Single-cell RNA-seq reveals new types of human blood dendritic cells, monocytes, and progenitors

Dendritic cells (DCs) and monocytes play a central role in pathogen sensing, phagocytosis, and antigen presentation and consist of multiple specialized subtypes. However, their identities and interrelationships are not fully understood. Using unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of ~2400 cells, we identified six human DCs and four monocyte subtypes in human blood. Our study reveals a new DC subset that shares properties with plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) but potently activates T cells, thus redefining pDCs; a new subdivision within the CD1C+ subset of DCs; the relationship between blastic plasmacytoid DC neoplasia cells and healthy DCs; and circulating progenitor of conventional DCs (cDCs). Our revised taxonomy will enable more accurate functional and developmental analyses as well as immune monitoring in health and disease