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The restoration of CD4+ T cells, especially T-helper type 17 (Th17) cells, remains incomplete in the gut mucosa of most human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals despite sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART). Herein, we report an increase in the absolute number of CXCR3+ T cells in the duodenal mucosa during ART. The frequencies of Th1 and CXCR3+ CD8+ T cells were increased and negatively correlated with CCL20 and CCL25 expression in the mucosa. In ex vivo analyses, we showed that interferon γ, the main cytokine produced by Th1 and effector CD8+ T cells, downregulates the expression of CCL20 and CCL25 by small intestine enterocytes, while it increases the expression of CXCL9/10/11, the ligands of CXCR3. Interleukin 18, a pro-Th1 cytokine produced by enterocytes, also contributes to the downregulation of CCL20 expression and increases interferon γ production by Th1 cells. This could perpetuate an amplification loop for CXCR3-driven Th1 and effector CD8+ T cells recruitment to the gut, while impairing Th17 cells homing through the CCR6-CCL20 axis in treated HIV-1-infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyembryony is a trait widely distributed in nature which occurs in different plant species including maize. This trait has been studied at the genetic level with various molecular markers. In the present study we analyzed two monoembryonic and polyembryonic maize groups, derived from the F2population of a cross between plants from a high polyembryonic brachytic (BAP) population and a monoembryonic commercial variety (PUMA). Polymorphism was analyzed among and between these two F2maize groups with AFLPs (amplified fragment length polymorphisms). A total of 16 polymorphic bands were obtained, which were recorded as binary code (1 for band presence and 0 for absence). The data were analyzed using the InfoGen software. Contingency of AFLP against polyembryony was determined using the Chi square association. The results suggest a low genetic diversity between the F2groups. This result was corroborated with the Chi square test which indicated that two markers (13 and 15) may be related to polyembryony. The present study is the first report using segregating populations to identify more than one locus associated with PE in maize by marker techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant tumours of the vulvar soft tissue are very uncommon. When localized in the Bartholin’s gland area these tumours can be mistaken for benign lesions, leading to a delayed diagnosis. A 52-year-old woman presenting with a vulvar nodule, which was diagnosed as a Bartholin’s gland cyst and was referred to the hospital for surgical excision of the lesion. Pathologist report informed of a 6 cm diameter leiomyosarcoma of the vulva with compromised resection margins; extension studies did not suggest any additional lesions and radical hemivulvectomy with ipsilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy was performed. The patient subsequently received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Twelve months later, a local recurrence was diagnosed and was removed surgically. After 4 years of follow-up the patient remains disease free. Any vulvar lesion with unusual characteristics or insidious evolution in labia majora or Bartholin’s glands area should be carefully and promptly studied. This is particularly important in order to perform an effective surgical treatment in cases of leiomyosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of two compatible micro-organisms, Trichoderma harzianum and Streptomyces rochei, both antagonistic to the pathogen Phytophthora capsici, was used to control root rot in pepper. The population of the pathogen in soil was reduced by 75% as a result. Vegetative growth of the mycelium of P. capsici was inhibited in vitro on the second day after P. capsici and T. harzianum were placed on the opposite sides of the same Petri plate. Trichoderma harzianum was capable of not only arresting the spread of the pathogen from a distance, but also after invading the whole surface of the pathogen colony, sporulating over it. Scanning electron microscopy showed the hyphae of P. capsici surrounded by those of T. harzianum, their subsequent disintegration, and the eventual suppression of the pathogen's growth. Streptomyces rochei produced a zone of inhibition, from which was obtained a compound with antioomycete property secreted by the bacteria. When purified by high-pressure liquid chromatography, this compound was identified as 1-propanone, 1-(4-chlorophenyl), which seems to be one of the principal compounds involved in the antagonism. A formulation was prepared that maintained the compound's capacity to inhibit growth of the pathogen for up to 2 years when stored at room temperature in the laboratory on a mixture of plantation soil and vermiculite. The two antagonists, added as a compound formulation, were effective at pH from 3.5 to 5.6 at 23–30°C. The optimal dose of the antagonists in the compound formulation was 3.5 × 108 spores/ml of T. harzianum and 1.0 × 109 FCU/ml of S. rochei. This is the first report of a compound biocontrol formulation of these two antagonists with a potential to control root rot caused by P. capsici. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The prognosis of status epilepticus (SE) depends on the time between onset and the diagnosis and start of treatment. Our aim was to design a scale with predictive value for pre‐hospital diagnosis of SE. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 292 patients who attended the emergency department for an epileptic seizure. A total of 49 patients fulfilled the criteria for SE. We recorded the patients' history and clinical features. Variables independently associated with SE were combined to design a clinical scale. The performance of the scale was evaluated in a validation dataset of 197 patients. Results: A total of 50.3% of the patients were male and the mean age was 55.9 years. The following features were more prevalent in patients with SE: abnormal speech (79.6% vs. 18.9%, P < 0.001), eye deviation (69.4% vs. 14.0%, P < 0.001), automatism (22.4% vs. 6.3%, P < 0.001), hemiparesis (24.5% vs. 10.9%, P = 0.011), state of stupor/coma (46.9% vs. 4.2%, P < 0.001) and number of pre‐hospital seizures, i.e. two (34.7% vs. 4.5%, P < 0.001) or more than two (51.0% vs. 0.4%, P < 0.001). Based on these findings, we designed a scale that scored 1 point each for presence of abnormal speech, eye deviation, automatism and two seizures, and 2 points for more than two seizures. The predictive capacity of the scale for identifying SE in the validation dataset was 98.7% (95% confidence interval, 97.3%–100%) and 85.4% of patients with a score >1 had SE. Conclusions: A score >1 on the ADAN scale is a robust predictor of the diagnosis of SE in patients who experience an epileptic seizure. This scale may be a useful tool for clinical use and warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disturbance in hospitalized children, with a reported incidence of 15–30%, but its overall incidence and severity are not well known. The objective of our study was to determine the incidence, severity, and associated risk factors of community- and hospital-acquired hyponatremia on a general pediatric ward. Data of 5550 children admitted from June 2012 to December 2019 on plasma sodium and discharge diagnosis were analyzed by logistic regression model. Clinically relevant diagnostic groups were created. Hyponatremia was classified as mild, moderate, and severe. The incidence of community- and hospital-acquired hyponatremia was 15.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Most of the cases were mild (90.8%) to moderate (8.6%), with only two cases of severe community-acquired hyponatremia. There were no clinical complications in any of the hyponatremic children. Age and diagnosis at discharge were principal factors significantly correlated with hyponatremia. Community-acquired hyponatremia is more common than hospital-acquired hyponatremia in clinical practice. Severe cases of both types are rare. Children from 2 to 11 years of age presenting with infections, cardiovascular disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders are at risk of developing hyponatremia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infinity is not an easy concept. A number of difficulties that people cope with when dealing with problems related to infinity include its abstract nature, understanding infinity as an ongoing, never ending process, understanding infinity as a set of an infinite number of elements and appreciating well-known paradoxes. Infinity can be understood in several ways with often incompatible meanings, and can involve value judgments or assumptions that are neither explicit nor desired. To usher in its definition, we distinguish several aspects, teleological, artistic (Escher); some definitive, some potential, and others actual. This article also deals with some still unresolved aspects of the concept of infinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infinity is not an easy concept. A number of difficulties that people cope with when dealing with problems related to infinity include its abstract nature: understanding of infinity as a never-ending process, understanding infinity as a set of an infinite number of elements, and understanding some well-known paradoxes. Infinity can be understood in a number of ways, some of which are incompatible, and can involve value judgments or assumptions that are neither explicit nor desired. In its definition, we distinguish several aspects, teleological, artistic (Escher 2000), some essential, some potential, and others actual. Cantor's work on set theory is linked to infinity and has implications for belief in God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-resolution far-infrared spectrometer GREAT is now routinely operated onboard the NASA/DLR airborne observatory SOFIA. The instrument runs simultaneously two receivers in scienceselected frequency windows between 1.25 and 4.7 THz. Because the instrument has seen major upgrades during the last years we will briefly review the present instrument configurations and performances. The extension of GREAT to mid-size heterodyne arrays is under way. The commissioning of our low-frequency array, operating 2 ? 7 HEB mixers at 1.9 THz in two polarizations in a hexagonal configuration, was successfully concluded in 2015, and will be available for community projects during SOFIA's cycle 4. A second (high-frequency) array with 7 pixels aiming at the frequency of the [OI] fine-structure line at 4.7 THz is under construction, with commissioning planned for late 2016. In more than 60 successful science flights, most of them performing community projects, a wide variety of astrophysical questions has been addressed, with particular interest in velocity-resolved spectroscopy of the most important ISM cooling lines accessible to GREAT, namely the [CII] and [OI] atomic fine-structure and the mid-J CO rotational transitions. On the example of a few selected science cases the performance of the instrument will be illustrated, and the science opportunities with the instrument in its current and near-future configurations will be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depletion of CD4+ T cells from the gut occurs rapidly during acute HIV-1 infection. This has been linked to systemic inflammation and disease progression as a result of translocation of microbial products from the gut lumen into the bloodstream. Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) substantially restores CD4+ T cell numbers in peripheral blood, but the gut compartment remains largely depleted of such cells for poorly understood reasons. Here, we show that a lack of recruitment of CD4+ T cells to the gut could be involved in the incomplete mucosal immune reconstitution of cART-treated HIV-infected individuals. We investigated the trafficking of CD4+ T cells expressing the gut-homing receptors CCR9 and integrin α4β7 and found that many of these T cells remained in the circulation rather than repopulating the mucosa of the small intestine. This is likely because expression of the CCR9 ligand CCL25 was lower in the small intestine of HIV-infected individuals. The defective gut homing of CCR9+β7+ CD4+ T cells - a population that we found included most gut-homing Th17 cells, which have a critical role in mucosal immune defense - correlated with high plasma concentrations of markers of mucosal damage, microbial translocation, and systemic T cell activation. Our results thus describe alterations in CD4+ T cell homing to the gut that could prevent efficient mucosal immune reconstitution in HIV-infected individuals despite effective cART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To evaluate whether ki-67 labelling index (LI) has independent prognostic value for survival of patients with bladder urothelial tumours graded according to the 2004 World Health Organisation classification. Methods: Ki-67 LI was evaluated in 164 cases using the grid counting method. Non-invasive (stage Ta) tumours were: papilloma (n = 5), papillary urothelial neoplasia of low malignant potential (PUNLMP; n = 26), and low (LG; n = 34) or high grade (HG; n = 15) papillary urothelial carcinoma. Early invasive (stage T1) tumours were: LG (n = 58) and HG (n = 26) carcinoma. Statistical analysis included Fisher and χ² tests, and mean comparisons by ANOVA and t test. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed according to the Kaplan-Meier method with log rank test and Cox's proportional hazard method. Results: Mean ki-67 LI increased from papilloma to PUNIMP, LG, and HG in stage Ta (p<0.0001) and from LG to HG in stage T1 (p = 0.013) tumours. High tumour proliferation (>13%) was related to greater tumour size (p=0.036), recurrence (p=0.036), progression (p=0.035), survival (p=0.054), and high p53 accumulation (p = 0.015). Ki-67 LI and tumour size were independent predictors of disease free survival (DFS), but only ki-67 LI was related to progression free survival (PFS). Cancer specific overall survival (OS) was related to ki-67 LI, tumour size, and p27kip1 downregulation. Ki-67 LI was the main independent predictor of DFS (p=0.0005), PFS (p=0.0162), and cancer specific OS (p=00195). Conclusion: Tumour proliferation measured by Ki-67 LI is related to tumour recurrence, stage progression, and is an independent predictor of DFS, PFS, and cancer specific OS in TaT1 bladder urothelial cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with a first unprovoked epileptic seizure are often seen in emergency services. Electroencephalography (EEG) is indicated for diagnosing epilepsy, but the optimal time to perform this test has not been defined. This study aimed to determine the time interval following a seizure within which EEG has the greatest diagnostic yield. We conducted a retrospective study of all adult patients with a first unprovoked seizure who had undergone emergency EEG (July 2014–December 2019). Data collection included demographics, seizure type, time interval to EEG study, EEG pattern identified, and the prescription after emergency assessment. An optimal cut-off point for time to EEG was obtained, and an adjusted regression model was performed to establish associations with the presence of epileptiform abnormalities. A total of 170 patients were included (mean age: 50.7 years, 40.6% women). Epileptiform discharges were identified in 34.1% of recordings, nonepileptiform abnormalities in 46.5%, and normal findings in 19.4%. A lower latency from seizure to EEG was associated with a higher probability of finding epileptiform discharges (median: 12.7 in the epileptiform EEGs vs. 20 h in the nonepileptiform EEGs, p < 0.001). The time interval associated with the highest probability of detecting an epileptiform EEG pattern was within the first 16 h after seizure onset: 52.1% of recordings performed before the 16-h cut-off showed these abnormal patterns compared with 20.2% performed after (p < 0.001). These findings were not related to the presence of an epileptogenic lesion in neuroimaging or to other clinical variables. The finding of epileptiform abnormalities was followed by a greater prescription of antiseizure drugs (96.4% vs. 66% in nonepileptiform patterns, p < 0.001). The diagnostic yield of EEG following a first unprovoked epileptic seizure is highest when this test is performed within the first 16 h after onset of the event. • Detection of epileptiform discharges increases when EEG is performed promptly. • The optimal cut-off was found to be 16 h after onset of the seizure. • Epileptiform pattern was found in 52.1% of recordings performed within 16 h. • Electroencephalography epileptiform pattern leads to greater prescription of antiseizure therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]