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The Mahakam delta is a mixed, fluvial and wave dominated delta located in the eastern part of the island of Borneo (the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia). The distribution of benthic fauna in this delta system is influenced by the combined or antagonistic action of three main parameters: fluvial input of fresh water and sediment, tide, and a strong regional north to south drift current. A model of the present-day faunal distribution has been established taking into account the perturbations induced by the tide and by the regional drift current. This model has been extrapolated into the recent past through the study of shallow cores that permit the reconstruction of late Holocene deltaic regression patterns.

Thirteen time-stratigraphic associations of the nannofossil Discoaster have been defined and used in the Miocene Kutei Basin of eastern Borneo to establish a regional stratigraphic framework. The methodology used is discussed and the fossils employed are figured and annotated. Their aid in resolving the timing, stages and details of delta construction is presented graphically.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death in patients with gynecologic cancers. Due to late diagnosis and resistance to chemotherapy, the 5‐year survival rate in patients with OC is below 40%. We observed that UCA1, a lncRNA previously reported to play an oncogenic role in several malignancies, is overexpressed in the chemoresistant OC cell line OAW42‐R compared to their chemotherapy‐sensitive counterpart OAW42. Additionally, UCA1 overexpression was related to poor prognosis in two independent patient cohorts. Currently, the molecular mechanisms through which UCA1 acts in OC are poorly understood. We demonstrated that downregulation of the short isoform of UCA1 sensitized OC cells to cisplatin and that UCA1 acted as competing endogenous RNA to miR‐27a‐5p. Upon UCA1 downregulation, miR‐27a‐5p downregulated its direct target UBE2N leading to the upregulation of BIM, a proapoptotic protein of the Bcl2 family. The upregulation of BIM is the event responsible for the sensitization of OC cells to cisplatin. In order to model response to therapy in patients with OC, we used several patient‐derived organoid cultures, a model faithfully mimicking patient's response to therapy. Inhibition of UBE2N sensitized patient‐derived organoids to platinum salts. In conclusion, response to treatment in patients with OC is regulated by the UCA1/miR‐27a‐5p/UBE2N axis, where UBE2N inhibition could potentially represent a novel therapeutic strategy to counter chemoresistance in OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the past few years, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have been added to the standard of care for cancer patients, mainly for those exhibiting specific genomic alterations in the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. Until now, patients who are eligible to receive PARPi have been identified using next-generation sequencing (NGS) of gene panels. However, NGS analyses do have some limitations, with a subset of patients with negative NGS-based results can exhibit a clinical benefit, responding positively to PARPi, despite the failure to detect dynamic and predictive biomarkers such as mutated BRCA1/2 genes. Furthermore, the sequencing of initial tumour does not allow to detect reversions or secondary mutations that can restore proficient HR and lead to PARPi resistance. Therefore, it is crucial to better identify patients who are likely to benefit from PARPi treatment. In this context, tumour models such as patient-derived xenografts or tumour-derived organoids could help to guide clinicians in their decision making as these models accurately mimic phenotypic and genetic tumour heterogeneity, and could reflect treatment response in an integrative manner. In this Perspective article, we provide an overview of the currently available NGS-based tests that enable the identification of patients who might benefit from PARPi, and outline breakthroughs and discoveries to expand this selection using 3D functional assays. Combining NGS with functional assays could facilitate the efficient identification of patients, thereby improving patient survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Hypoglycaemia is a poor prognostic indicator in severe malaria. Intravenous infusions are rarely feasible in rural areas. The efficacy of sublingual sugar (SLS) was assessed in a pilot randomized controlled trial among hypoglycaemic children with severe malaria in Mali. Methods Of 151 patients with presumed severe malaria, 23 children with blood glucose concentrations < 60 mg/dl (< 3.3 mmol/l) were assigned randomly to receive either intravenous 10% glucose (IVG; n = 9) or sublingual sugar (SLS; n = 14). In SLS, a teaspoon of sugar, moistened with a few drops of water, was gently placed under the tongue every 20 minutes. The child was put in the recovery position. Blood glucose concentration (BGC) was measured every 5–10 minutes for the first hour. All children were treated for malaria with intramuscular artemether. The primary outcome measure was treatment response, defined as reaching a BGC of >= 3.3 mmol/l (60 mg/dl) within 40 minutes after admission. Secondary outcome measures were early treatment response at 20 minutes, relapse (early and late), maximal BGC gain (CGmax), and treatment delay. Results There was no significant difference between the groups in the primary outcome measure. Treatment response occurred in 71% and 67% for SLS and IVG, respectively. Among the responders, relapses occurred in 30% on SLS at 40 minutes and in 17% on IVG at 20 minutes. There was one fatality in each group. Treatment failures in the SLS group were related to children with clenched teeth or swallowing the sugar, whereas in the IVG group, they were due to unavoidable delays in beginning an infusion (median time 17.5 min (range 3–40). Among SLS, the BGC increase was rapid among the nine patients who really kept the sugar sublingually. All but one increased their BGC by 10 minutes with a mean gain of 44 mg/dl (95%CI: 20.5–63.4). Conclusion Sublingual sugar appears to be a child-friendly, well-tolerated and effective promising method of raising blood glucose in severely ill children. More frequent repeated doses are needed to prevent relapse. Children should be monitored for early swallowing which leads to delayed absorption, and in this case another dose of sugar should be given. Sublingual sugar could be proposed as an immediate "first aid" measure while awaiting intravenous glucose. In many cases it may avert the need for intravenous glucose.

A photo essay which documents the traditional Malian or African remedy through the application of ointment for eye infection is presented.

Reports that the behavior of lanthanide and Th4+ calix[4]arene complexes in anhydrous acetonitrile depends on the location of the coordinating substituents. Nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion curves and relaxivity titrations; Involvement of coordinating groups on the wide rim in the formation of labile oligomers.

Abstract Objective. Our goal was to compare results of referral and control cytology and associate colposcopic images with histological biopsy and endocervical curettage (ECC). Material and Methods. A retrospective review of 1,144 cases of colposcopy was undertaken from December 1991 to July 1997. Kappa statistics were applied to referral and control Papanicolaou (Pap) smears during the first colposcopy with histological evaluation, and the chi-square test was used to analyze statistically for age, acetowhite epithelium, and punctation or mosaicism. Results. Referral Pap smears agreed poorly with those of controls and with histological findings. The age of patients at satisfactory colposcopy (defined as visualized squamocolumnar junction; 32 years (range, 14–84) differed from that of patients at unsatisfactory colposcopy (44 years; range, 18–81) (Pearson coefficient = 203.4; p < .0001). Patients in whom cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1) and CIN2/CIN3 were diagnosed were younger, at 30 years (range, 14–58) and 31 years (range, 18–66), respectively, as compared to patients in whom findings were negative (34 years; range, 16–66) or in whom metaplasia was found (33 years; range, 16–63) (Pearson coefficient = 30.26; p = .003). Dense acetowhite epithelium (grade 2) predicted CIN in 159 of 200 cases (79.5%), as compared to light acetowhite epithelium (grade 1) in 102 of 154 cases (66.2%) (Pearson coefficient = 17.96; p = .0001). If punctation or mosaicism did not predict CIN as opposed to negative histology ( p = .82), when CIN1 and CIN2/CIN3 histological findings were divided into two groups, prediction of CIN from punctation or grade 2 mosaicism was made in 32 of 47 cases (68.1%), as compared to 41 of 62 cases (66.1%) from grade 1 findings (Pearson coefficient = 10.67; p = .005). Performed ECCs were found to be positive for CIN in 59 of 641 patients (9.2%), including 37 (5.8%) CIN1 and 22 (3.4%) CIN2 and CIN3... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to predict positive-negative pathology in association with operative indications in laser and loop conizations.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study comprises two groups of women, the first group composed of 74 loop conizations, the second of 78 laser cones. Positive endocervical curettage, unsatisfactory colposcopy with no visible lesion or junction, discrepant cytology and biopsy, suspicion of invasion, or a glandular lesion were considered as indications for cones. All cones were performed under local intramucous anesthesia, and 15 mm of endocervical mucosa was removed.Results: Loop and laser cone outcomes were comparable for age, parity, and pathology with negative or positive margins. Endocervical curettage of lesions of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 and 3 (CIN2 and CIN3) predicted both higher cone pathology (p =.048) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, as evidenced by preoperative cytology (p =.000). Among 32 negative-margins cases, 2 (6.3%) had CIN persistence as compared to 6 patients (24%) of 25 positive margins.Conclusions: Laser and loop cones yield similar pathological results, and special care should be used for CIN1 endocervical curettage and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion cytology with conization indication, in regard to the high possibility of negative cone pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better understand the defense strategy of grape berries (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir) as they mature, the activities of the defense-related proteins, chitinase (CHV, EC 3.2.1.14) and β-1,3-glucanase (laminarinase, EC 3.2.1.39) were first estimated in berries at different maturation stages. Chitinase levels rose proportionally to the berry reducing sugar content, an indicator of the berry ripening degree, up to values 10 times higher than the ones seen in resting grapevine leaves. This rise in activity was due to the accumulation of two isoforms, CHV 5 and CHV 11. One more chitinase isoform, CHV 12, appeared in senescent berries. Conversely, no glucanase activity could be detected in berries at any maturation stage. Accumulation of chitinases and (β-1,3-glucanases could be stimulated by wounding the berry peduncle. Adding salicylic acid to the wounded berries only potentiated the wounding effect on the berry chitinase activity. The most active chitinase isoform, CHV 5, was purified to homogeneity. It represented about 40% of the total extractable protein content of a ripe berry. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 31 kDa. The peptide sequencing of four of its tryptic fragments revealed strong homologies to several class IV chitinases. Finally, it was shown to inhibit the germination of conidia of Botrytis cinerea by 50% at a concentration of 7.5 µg ml-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]