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Objective: The genetic background of HLA-B*27 in spondyloarthritis is known, and the search for another gene with similar role is ongoing. We wanted to investigate clinical presentations of HLA-B*44 patients in rheumatology practice. Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study of 303 HLA-B*44 adult patients from the outpatient rheumatology clinic from 5/2018-5/2024. Clinical phenotype, confirmed or excluded rheumatic diagnosis, therapy used, and data on HLA A, B, and DR alleles inherited with B*44 were analyzed. Results: A female predominance of 2.79:1 was noted. A total of 150 [49.5%] patients were referred due to peripheral joint pain, 77 [25.4%] due to combined spine and peripheral joint pain or spine alone (57 [18.8%]). A total of 19 [6.3%] patients had no symptoms of the musculoskeletal system. Statistically significant peripheral joint affection was proved in females but not in males (p = 0.04). A total of 121 [40%] patients from B*44 group had established rheumatic disease, with the rest being excluded or under observation. The most common working diagnoses were polyarthritis (32 [10.5%]) and mono-oligoarthritis (14 [4.6%]). A second allele in addition to HLA B*44 showed a similar frequency to the general population. Patients with HLA B*44/44 and B*27/44 genotypes were at the most risk for having definitive rheumatic disease (>60%). Conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were used in 38.6% of patients, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used in 31.6% of patients, biologic DMARDs were used in 8.9% of patients, and corticosteroids were used in 7.3% of patients. Conclusions: The most common presentation in HLA-B*44 patients is peripheral joint affection. Most patients with HLA-B*27/44 and B*44/44 genotypes had definitive rheumatic disease. B*44 homozygosity or B*27/44 might be risk factors for arthritis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deliver quality care, social and healthcare professionals should be competent both in their own professional work and interprofessionally. The aim of this integrative review was to describe interprofessional teamwork and the required competencies for teamwork in specialized palliative care. Totally 14 studies published between 2003 and 2020 were included in the review. Interprofessional teamwork was described from the patients and professionals' perspective. The required interprofessional competencies were described as teamwork knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. Interprofessional teamwork is one of the essential factors in providing holistic and ethically sustainable care to palliative patients. The way how professionals confront death and dying effects the whole team; this suggests that support practices are important in palliative care settings. Ascertaining the interprofessional competence in palliative care will produce better collaborative practices and increase the care outcomes. The findings can be used as a framework when developing interventions to promote clinical and educational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Individuals with multiple islet autoantibodies are at increased risk for clinical type 1 diabetes and may proceed gradually from stage to stage complicating the recruitment to secondary prevention studies. We evaluated multiple islet autoantibody positive subjects before randomisation for a clinical trial 1 month apart for beta-cell function, glucose metabolism and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). We hypothesized that the number and type of islet autoantibodies in combination with different measures of glucose metabolism including fasting glucose, HbA1c, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), intra venous glucose tolerance test (IvGTT) and CGM allows for more precise staging of autoimmune type 1 diabetes than the number of islet autoantibodies alone. Methods Subjects (n = 57) at 2–50 years of age, positive for two or more islet autoantibodies were assessed by fasting plasma insulin, glucose, HbA1c as well as First Phase Insulin Response (FPIR) in IvGTT, followed 1 month later by OGTT, and 1 week of CGM (n = 24). Results Autoantibodies against GAD65 (GADA; n = 52), ZnT8 (ZnT8A; n = 40), IA-2 (IA-2A; n = 38) and insulin (IAA; n = 28) were present in 9 different combinations of 2–4 autoantibodies. Fasting glucose and HbA1c did not differ between the two visits. The estimate of the linear relationship between log2-transformed FPIR as the outcome and log2-transformed area under the OGTT glucose curve (AUC) as the predictor, adjusting for age and sex was − 1.88 (− 2.71, − 1.05) p = 3.49 × 10–5. The direction of the estimates for all glucose metabolism measures was positive except for FPIR, which was negative. FPIR was associated with higher blood glucose. Both the median and the spread of the CGM glucose data were significantly associated with higher glucose values based on OGTT, higher HbA1c, and lower FPIR. There was no association between glucose metabolism, autoantibody number and type except that there was an indication that the presence of at least one of ZnT8(Q/R/W) A was associated with a lower log2-transformed FPIR (− 0.80 (− 1.58, − 0.02), p = 0.046). Conclusions The sole use of two or more islet autoantibodies as inclusion criterion for Stage 1 diabetes in prevention trials is unsatisfactory. Staging type 1 diabetes needs to take the heterogeneity in beta-cell function and glucose metabolism into account. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02605148 , November 16, 2015

Introduction: Bioceramic root canal sealers are the newest generation of root canal sealers. Τhere are contradictory results in the literature about their antimicrobial activity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of four root canal sealers against Enterococcus faecalis. Materials and Methods: Four root canal sealers were used in order to examine antibacterial efficacy: TotalFill, BioRoot Root Canal Sealer, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) Fillapex, and AH Plus. The bacterial suspension was placed on a freshly mixed sealer, one or 3 days set sealer in vertically held microtiter plates. After incubation of 2, 5, 20, and 60 min in 100% humidity at 37 C, Trypticase Soy Broth was added to each well and mixed. Then, bacterial suspension from each well was transferred, serially diluted, and placed on Mitis salivarius agar plates. After incubation, colony-forming units were counted. All experiments were performed in triplicate. The outcomes of antimicrobial properties of tested materials were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Results: All bioceramic root canal sealers showed significantly better efficacy than the control group and epoxy resin sealer (P < 0.05). TotalFill presented the highest efficacy comparable with BioRoot RCS (P > 0.05), followed with MTA Fillapex (P < 0.05). Also, freshly mixed sealers showed comparable efficacy as sealers set for 3 days (P > 0.05), but better than sealers set for 1 day (P < 0.05). All sealers exhibited the highest efficacy after 20 min of contact time, independently of materials that were freshly mixed or set for 1 or 3 days. Conclusion: Bioceramic sealers have greater antimicrobial activity than commercially used epoxy resin sealer. These sealers exhibited the strongest efficacy at 20 min of contact time, independently of their setting condition.

Radio wave absorption in the ionosphere is a function of electron density, collision frequency, radio wave polarisation, magnetic field and radio wave frequency. Several studies have used multi-frequency measurements of cosmic radio noise absorption to determine electron density profiles. Using the framework of statistical inverse problems, we investigated if an electron density altitude profile can be determined by using multi-frequency, dual-polarisation measurements. It was found that the altitude profile cannot be uniquely determined from a “complete” measurement of radio wave absorption for all frequencies and two polarisation modes. This implies that accurate electron density profile measurements cannot be ascertained using multi-frequency riometer data alone and that the reconstruction requires a strong additional a priori assumption of the electron density profile, such as a parameterised model for the ionisation source. Nevertheless, the spectral index of the absorption could be used to determine if there is a significant component of hard precipitation that ionises the lower part of the D region, but it is not possible to infer the altitude distribution uniquely with this technique alone.

Abstract The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11‐year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec−1), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales.

An effervescent powder-assisted floating organic solvent-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was introduced for determination of 13 organochlorine pesticides in water samples. In this method, a less toxic low-density organic solvent was used as extraction solvent. The extraction solvent was dispersed in to the aqueous sample via CO2 bubbles, in-situ generated up on addition of water to a falcon tube containing the mixture of effervescent powder precursors as well as the extraction solvent. Various experimental parameters such as effervescent and its weight fractions, extraction solvent type and its volume, the total mass of effervescent precursors, and the effect of salt were investigated and the optimal conditions were established. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method exhibited good linearity for all target pesticides with the coefficient of determinations varying from 0.9981 to 0.9997. The limits of detection and quantification were within the range of 0.03–0.24 and 0.26–0.75 μg/L, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions which were expressed in terms of the relative standard deviation ranged from 0.33 to 4.47 and 0.51–5.52%, respectively. The enrichment factors and recoveries ranged from 24 to 293 and 76–116%, respectively. The proposed method could be used simple, cheap, fast, and environmentally friendly alternative for analysis of organochlorine pesticides from environmental water and other similar matrices.

The view of the human brain as a complex network has led to considerable advances in understanding the brain’s network organization during rest and task, in both health and disease. Here, we propose that examining brain networks within the task aftereffect model, in which we compare resting-state networks immediately before and after a cognitive engagement task, may enhance differentiation between those with normal cognition and those with increased risk for cognitive decline. We validated this model by comparing the pre- and post-task resting-state functional network organization of neurologically intact elderly and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) derived from electroencephalography recordings. We have demonstrated that a cognitive task among MCI patients induced, compared to healthy controls, a significantly higher increment in global network integration with an increased number of vertices taking a more central role within the network from the pre- to post-task resting state. Such modified network organization may aid cognitive performance by increasing the flow of information through the most central vertices among MCI patients who seem to require more communication and recruitment across brain areas to maintain or improve task performance. This could indicate that MCI patients are engaged in compensatory activation, especially as both groups did not differ in their task performance. In addition, no significant group differences were observed in network topology during the pre-task resting state. Our findings thus emphasize that the task aftereffect model is relevant for enhancing the identification of network topology abnormalities related to cognitive decline, and also for improving our understanding of inherent differences in brain network organization for MCI patients, and could therefore represent a valid marker of cortical capacity and/or cortical health.

Abstract Apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE4) has been shown to associate with increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 mortality in some previous genetic studies, but information on the role of APOE4 on the underlying pathology and parallel clinical manifestations is scarce. Here we studied the genetic association between APOE and COVID-19 in Finnish biobank, autopsy and prospective clinical cohort datasets. In line with previous work, our data on 2611 cases showed that APOE4 carriership associates with severe COVID-19 in intensive care patients compared with non-infected population controls after matching for age, sex and cardiovascular disease status. Histopathological examination of brain autopsy material of 21 COVID-19 cases provided evidence that perivascular microhaemorrhages are more prevalent in APOE4 carriers. Finally, our analysis of post-COVID fatigue in a prospective clinical cohort of 156 subjects revealed that APOE4 carriership independently associates with higher mental fatigue compared to non-carriers at six months after initial illness. In conclusion, the present data on Finns suggests that APOE4 is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 and post-COVID mental fatigue and provides the first indication that some of this effect could be mediated via increased cerebrovascular damage. Further studies in larger cohorts and animal models are warranted.

Meteor observations provide information about Solar System constituents and their influx onto Earth, their interaction processes in the atmosphere, as well as the neutral dynamics of the upper atmosphere. This study presents optical, radar, and infrasound measurements of a daytime fireball that occurred on 4 December 2020 at 13:30 UTC over Northeast Sweden. The fireball was recorded with two video cameras, allowing a trajectory determination to be made. The orbital parameters are compatible with the Northern Taurid meteor shower. The dynamic mass estimate based on the optical trajectory was found to be 0.6–1.7 kg, but this estimate can greatly vary from the true entry mass significantly due to the assumptions made. The meteor trail plasma was observed with an ionosonde as a sporadic E-like ionogram trace that lasted for 30 min. Infrasound emissions were detected at two sites, having propagation times consistent with a source location at an altitude of 80–90 km. Two VHF specular meteor radars observed a 6 minute long non-specular range spread trail echo as well as a faint head echo. Combined interferometric range-Doppler analysis of the meteor trail echoes at the two radars, allowed estimation of the mesospheric horizontal wind altitude profile, as well as tracking of the gradual deformation of the trail over time due to a prevailing neutral wind shear. This combined analysis indicates that the radar measurements of long-lived non-specular range-spread meteor trails produced by larger meteoroids can be used to measure the meteor radiant by observing the line traveled by the meteor. Furthermore, a multistatic meteor radar observation of these types of events can be used to estimate mesospheric neutral wind altitude profiles.

Recent simulation studies have provided evidence that a pulsating aurora (PsA) associated with high-energy electron precipitation is having a clear local impact on ozone chemistry in the polar middle mesosphere. However, it is not clear if the PsA is frequent enough to cause longer-term effects of measurable magnitude. There is also an open question of the relative contribution of PsA-related energetic electron precipitation (PsA EEP) to the total atmospheric forcing by solar energetic particle precipitation (EPP). Here we investigate the PsA-EEP impact on stratospheric and mesospheric odd hydrogen, odd nitrogen, and ozone concentrations. We make use of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model and recent understanding on PsA frequency, latitudinal and magnetic local time extent, and energy-flux spectra. Analysing an 18-month time period covering all seasons, we particularly look at PsA-EEP impacts at two polar observation stations located at opposite hemispheres: Tromsø in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Halley Research Station in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). We find that PsA EEP can have a measurable impact on ozone concentration above 30 km altitude, with ozone depletion by up to 8 % seen in winter periods due to PsA-EEP-driven NOx enhancement. We also find that direct mesospheric NOx production by high-energy electrons (E> 100 keV) accounts for about half of the PsA-EEP-driven upper stratospheric ozone depletion. A larger PsA-EEP impact is seen in the SH where the background dynamical variability is weaker than in the NH. Clearly indicated from our results, consideration of polar vortex dynamics is required to understand PsA-EEP impacts seen at ground observation stations, especially in the NH. We conclude that PsA-EEP has the potential to make an important contribution to the total EPP forcing; thus, it should be considered in atmospheric and climate simulations.

Ground-based remote sensing of atmospheric parameters is often limited to single station observations by vertical profiles at a certain geographic location. This is a limiting factor for investigating gravity wave dynamics as the spatial information is often missing, e.g., horizontal wavelength, propagation direction or intrinsic frequency. In this study, we present a new retrieval algorithm for multistatic meteor radar networks to obtain tomographic 3-D wind fields within a pre-defined domain area. The algorithm is part of the Agile Software for Gravity wAve Regional Dynamics (ASGARD) and called 3D-Var, and based on the optimal estimation technique and Bayesian statistics. The performance of the 3D-Var retrieval is demonstrated using two meteor radar networks: the Nordic Meteor Radar Cluster and the Chilean Observation Network De Meteor Radars (CONDOR). The optimal estimation implementation provide statistically sound solutions and diagnostics from the averaging kernels and measurement response. We present initial scientific results such as body forces of breaking gravity waves leading to two counter-rotating vortices and horizontal wavelength spectra indicating a transition between the rotational k−3 and divergent k-5/3 mode at scales of 80–120 km. In addition, we performed a keogram analysis over extended periods to reflect the latitudinal and temporal impact of a minor sudden stratospheric warming in December 2019. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the 3D-Var algorithm to perform large-scale retrievals to derive meteorological wind maps covering a latitude region from Svalbard, north of the European Arctic mainland, to central Norway.

Abstract Objectives Natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the head and neck region is poorly understood, and their impact on collective HPV‐specific immunity is not known. Materials and methods In this study, we have performed a systematic analysis of HPV16‐specific cell‐mediated immunity (CMI) in 21 women with known oral and genital HPV DNA status and HPV serology (Ab) based on 6‐year follow‐up data. These women being a subgroup from the Finnish Family HPV Study were recalled for blood sampling to be tested for their CMI‐responses to HPV16 E2, E6, and E7 peptides. Results The results showed that HPV16 E2‐specific lymphocyte proliferation was more prevalent in women who tested HPV16 DNA negative in oral mucosa and were either HPV16 seropositive or negative than in HPV16 DNA+/Ab+ women (p = 0.046 and p = 0.035). In addition, the HPV16 DNA−/Ab− women most often displayed E6‐specific proliferation (p = 0.020). Proportional cytokine profiles indicated that oral HPV16‐negative women were characterized by prominent IFN‐γ and IL‐5 secretion not found in women with persisting oral HPV16 (p = 0.014 and p = 0.040, respectively). Conclusions Our results indicate that the naturally arising immune response induced by oral HPV infections displays a mixed Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine profile while women with persisting oral HPV16 might have an impaired HPV16‐specific CMI, shifted partly toward a Th2 profile, similarly as seen earlier among patients with high‐grade genital HPV lesions. Thus, the lack of HPV 16 E2 and E6 specific T memory cells and Th2 cytokines might also predispose women for persistent oral HPV16 infection which might be related to the risk of cancer.

Mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MINEN) are rare tumors that consist of at least 30% of both neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine components. The data concerning the pathogenesis of MINEN suggest a monoclonal origin. We describe a spontaneously immortalized cell line derived from gastric MINEN called GNEN-1. Primary tumor consisted of components of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The GNEN-1 cell line was initiated from metastatic tumor cells of peritoneal fluid and expresses a purely neuroendocrine phenotype . The GNEN-1 cell line grows as monolayers and has retained the neuroendocrine phenotype with positivity for chromogranin A in immunohistochemistry. Electron microscopy showed cytoplasmic dense core granules and axon hillocks. The karyotype revealed alterations typical of both adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma such as trisomy 7 and 8. GNEN-1 cells were also positive for stanniocalcin-1, a marker of poor prognosis in gastric carcinomas. Expression of several markers related to neuroendocrine tumors was found. There have been only a few studies on the pathogenesis of MINEN and management of the disease due to the rarity of this tumor type. Here we describe for the first time an immortalized cell line derived from mixed gastric NEN. The GNEN-1 line offers a to ol for future research on gastric NEN.

Long-term and continuous observations of mesospheric–lower thermospheric winds are rare, but they are important to investigate climatological changes at these altitudes on timescales of several years, covering a solar cycle and longer. Such long time series are a natural heritage of the mesosphere–lower thermosphere climate, and they are valuable to compare climate models or long-term runs of general circulation models (GCMs). Here we present a climatological comparison of wind observations from six meteor radars at two conjugate latitudes to validate the corresponding mean winds and atmospheric diurnal and semidiurnal tides from three GCMs, namely the Ground-to-Topside Model of Atmosphere and Ionosphere for Aeronomy (GAIA), the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model Extension (Specified Dynamics) (WACCM-X(SD)), and the Upper Atmosphere ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic (UA-ICON) model. Our results indicate that there are interhemispheric differences in the seasonal characteristics of the diurnal and semidiurnal tide. There are also some differences in the mean wind climatologies of the models and the observations. Our results indicate that GAIA shows reasonable agreement with the meteor radar observations during the winter season, whereas WACCM-X(SD) shows better agreement with the radars for the hemispheric zonal summer wind reversal, which is more consistent with the meteor radar observations. The free-running UA-ICON tends to show similar winds and tides compared to WACCM-X(SD).

Objective Although sexual problems are common, they are rarely brought up in appointments with general practitioners (GPs). We aimed to assess the barriers that hinder GPs from bringing up sexual health issues and to evaluate the need for education on sexual medicine. Design A web-based questionnaire was used. Setting Four fields were included: A) the self-reported competence in discussing sexual health and treating patients with these issues, B) the barriers to bringing up patients’ sexual health problems, C) the source of education on sexual medicine and D) the need for education on sexual medicine. Subjects A random sample of 1000 GPs in Finland (a response rate of 43.5%, n = 402). Main outcome measures GPs’ self-assessed competence in discussing and treating sexual health issues, related barriers to bringing up the topic and the reported need for education. Results The main reasons reported for not bringing up sexual health issues were shortness of the appointment time (85.6%), a lack of knowledge (83.6%) and a lack of experience with sexual medicine (81.8%). The male GPs reported better competence in discussing the issues and treating male patients, whereas the female GPs reported better competence in discussing the issues with female patients. No differences emerged between genders regarding treating female patients. Nearly 90% of the GPs expressed needing more education about sexual medicine. Conclusions Although the GPs reported good competence in discussing sexual health issues with their patients, several barriers to bringing up sexual health issues emerged. Continuing education was desired and could lessen these barriers.Key points Only a few studies have evaluated the competence of general practitioners (GPs) in addressing sexual health issues with their patients. In our study, the GPs reported a high competence in discussing patients’ sexual health issues regardless of the patient’s gender. However, several barriers to bringing up sexual health issues in appointments emerged. A majority of the GPs expressed a need for continuing education about sexual medicine.

Abstract Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km. However, the maximum energy of precipitated electrons and its impacts on the atmosphere are unknown. Herein, we report unique observations by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar showing electron precipitations ranging from a few hundred keV to a few MeV during a PsA associated with a weak geomagnetic storm. Simultaneously, the Arase spacecraft has observed intense whistler-mode chorus waves at the conjugate location along magnetic field lines. A computer simulation based on the EISCAT observations shows immediate catalytic ozone depletion at the mesospheric altitudes. Since PsA occurs frequently, often in daily basis, and extends its impact over large MLT areas, we anticipate that the PsA possesses a significant forcing to the mesospheric ozone chemistry in high latitudes through high energy electron precipitations. Therefore, the generation of PsA results in the depletion of mesospheric ozone through high-energy electron precipitations caused by whistler-mode chorus waves, which are similar to the well-known effect due to solar energetic protons triggered by solar flares.

Abstract Background Annelids are a diverse group of segmented worms within Spiralia, whose embryos exhibit spiral cleavage and a variety of larval forms. While most modern embryological studies focus on species with unequal spiral cleavage nested in Pleistoannelida (Sedentaria + Errantia), a few recent studies looked into Owenia fusiformis, a member of the sister group to all remaining annelids and thus a key lineage to understand annelid and spiralian evolution and development. However, the timing of early cleavage and detailed morphogenetic events leading to the formation of the idiosyncratic mitraria larva of O. fusiformis remain largely unexplored. Results Owenia fusiformis undergoes equal spiral cleavage where the first quartet of animal micromeres are slightly larger than the vegetal macromeres. Cleavage results in a coeloblastula approximately 5 h post-fertilization (hpf) at 19 °C. Gastrulation occurs via invagination and completes 4 h later, with putative mesodermal precursors and the chaetoblasts appearing 10 hpf at the dorso-posterior side. Soon after, at 11 hpf, the apical tuft emerges, followed by the first neurons (as revealed by the expression of elav1 and synaptotagmin-1) in the apical organ and the prototroch by 13 hpf. Muscles connecting the chaetal sac to various larval tissues develop around 18 hpf and by the time the mitraria is fully formed at 22 hpf, there are FMRFamide+ neurons in the apical organ and prototroch, the latter forming a prototrochal ring. As the mitraria feeds, it grows in size and the prototroch expands through active proliferation. The larva becomes competent after ~ 3 weeks post-fertilization at 15 °C, when a conspicuous juvenile rudiment has formed ventrally. Conclusions Owenia fusiformis embryogenesis is similar to that of other equal spiral cleaving annelids, supporting that equal cleavage is associated with the formation of a coeloblastula, gastrulation via invagination, and a feeding trochophore-like larva in Annelida. The nervous system of the mitraria larva forms earlier and is more elaborated than previously recognized and develops from anterior to posterior, which is likely an ancestral condition to Annelida. Altogether, our study identifies the major developmental events during O. fusiformis ontogeny, defining a conceptual framework for future investigations.

Meteor phenomena cause ionized plasmas that can be roughly divided into two distinctly different regimes: a dense and transient plasma region co-moving with the ablating meteoroid and a trail of diffusing plasma left in the atmosphere and moving with the neutral wind. Interferometric radar systems are used to observe the meteor trails and determine their positions and drift velocities. Depending on the spatial configuration of the receiving antennas and their individual gain patterns, the voltage response can be the same for several different plane wave directions of arrival (DOAs), thereby making it impossible to determine the correct direction. A low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can create the same effect probabilistically even if the system contains no theoretical ambiguities. Such is the case for the standard meteor trail echo data products of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory SKiYMET all-sky interferometric meteor radar. Meteor trails drift slowly enough in the atmosphere and allow for temporal integration, while meteor head echo targets move too fast. Temporal integration is a common method to increase the SNR of radar signals. For meteor head echoes, we instead propose to use direct Monte Carlo (DMC) simulations to validate DOA measurements. We have implemented two separate temporal integration methods and applied them to 2222 events measured by the Sodankylä meteor radar to simultaneously test the usefulness of such DMC simulations on cases where temporal integration is possible, validate the temporal integration methods, and resolve the ambiguous SKiYMET data products. The two methods are the temporal integration of the signal spatial correlations and matched-filter integration of the individual radar channel signals. The results are compared to Bayesian inference using the DMC simulations and the standard SkiYMET data products. In the examined data set, ∼ 13 % of the events were indicated as ambiguous. Out of these, ∼ 13 % contained anomalous signals. In ∼ 95 % of all ambiguous cases with a nominal signal, the three methods found one and the same output DOA, which was also listed as one of the ambiguous possibilities in the SkiYMET analysis. In all unambiguous cases, the results from all methods concurred.

Using the context of international study tour groups, this study examined the personal and professional transformation that occurred among host faculty and staff at The University of Montana-Missoula as a result of their interactions with traveling academics from other countries. Data were collected from participant responses (n = 27) using a mixed-methods design, utilizing a quantitative survey while simultaneously embedding qualitative questions. Quantitative responses to the survey were analyzed with descriptive statistics to generate key findings. Thematic coding strategies were applied to the qualitative responses in order to inform and help further explain the quantitative data, thereby providing greater clarity in addressing the research questions that framed this study. Findings from the analyses provided evidence that participants experienced increased inspiration and desire for self-improvement, self-discovery, and ultimately transformation. Given the reported findings, it behooves institutions of higher education to actively seek out intercultural experiences by hosting international study tour groups.

Abstract Background Aberrant microbiota composition has been linked to disease development at numerous anatomical sites. Microbiota changes in reaction to viral infections, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), have been investigated almost exclusively in the female reproductive tract. However, HPV infection may also affect male health by reducing semen quality and fertility. The aim of this study was to investigate whether present HPV DNA is associated with detectable changes in semen bacterial microbiota composition and diversity. Methods This study relied on stored semen samples from 31 fertile healthy men who participated in the Finnish family HPV Study during the years 1998–2001. DNA was extracted from semen with PCR template preparation kit. HPV was genotyped using Luminex-based Multimetrix® assay. Microbiota was analyzed from the V3-V4 region of 16S rDNA gene following sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq platform. All statistical analyses were performed with Calypso software version 8.84. Results HPV DNA was detected in 19.4% (6/31) of the semen samples. HPV status in the semen did not impact the α-diversity estimations, as measured by Chao1 and Shannon indices, nor ß-diversity. Nevertheless, HPV-positive semen samples exhibited differences in the taxonomic composition of the bacterial microbiota including higher abundances of Moraxellaceae (p = 0.028), Streptococcus (p = 0.0058) and Peptostreptococcus (p = 0.012) compared to HPV-negative semen samples. Conclusion HPV infection is associated with altered bacterial microbiota composition in semen, and this might have in impact to male health in general. As of present, it is unclear whether these changes result from HPV infection or whether altered bacterial microbiota increases susceptibility to HPV infection. More research is needed on viral-bacterial interactions in the male reproductive system.

Abstract We describe a novel approach for quantification and colocalization of immunofluorescence (IF) signals of multiple markers on high-resolution panoramic images of serial histological sections utilizing standard staining techniques and readily available software for image processing and analysis. Human gingiva samples stained with primary antibodies against the common leukocyte antigen CD45 and factors related to heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans (HS GAG) were used. Expression domains and spatial gradients of IF signals were quantified by histograms and 2D plot profiles, respectively. The importance of histomorphometric profiling of tissue samples and IF signal thresholding is elaborated. This approach to quantification of IF staining utilizes pixel (px) counts and comparison of px grey value (GV) or luminance. No cell counting is applied either to determine the cellular content of a given histological section nor the number of cells positive to the primary antibody of interest. There is no selection of multiple Regions-Of-Interest (ROIs) since the entire histological section is quantified. Although the standard IF staining protocol is applied, the data output enables colocalization of multiple markers (up to 30) from a given histological sample. This can serve as an alternative for colocalization of IF staining of multiple primary antibodies based on repeating cycles of staining of the same histological section since those techniques require non standard staining protocols and sophisticated equipment that can be out of reach for small laboratories in academic settings. Combined with the data from ontological bases, this approach to quantification of IF enables creation of in silico virtual disease models.

Abstract The primary cilium is well-preserved in human differentiated thyroid cancers such as papillary and follicular carcinoma. Specific thyroid cancers such as Hürthle cell carcinoma, oncocytic variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and PTC with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis show reduced biogenesis of primary cilia; these cancers are often associated the abnormalities in mitochondrial function. Here, we examined the association between primary cilia and the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway. Tg-Cre;Ift88 flox/flox mice (in which thyroid follicles lacked primary cilia) showed irregularly dilated follicles and increased apoptosis of thyrocytes. Defective ciliogenesis caused by deleting the IFT88 and KIF3A genes from thyroid cancer cell lines increased VDAC1 oligomerization following VDAC1 overexpression, thereby facilitating upregulation of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Furthermore, VDAC1 localized with the basal bodies of primary cilia in thyroid cancer cells. These results demonstrate that loss-of-function of primary cilia results in apoptogenic stimuli, which are responsible for mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic cell death in differentiated thyroid cancers. Therefore, regulating primary ciliogenesis might be a therapeutic approach to targeting differentiated thyroid cancers.