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Amino acids are essential building blocks of life, and fluorinated derivatives have gained interest in chemistry andmedicine. Modern mass spectrometry has enabled the study of oligo- and polypeptides as isolated entities in the gas phase, but predominantly as singly or even multiply charged species. While laser desorption of neutral peptides into adiabatically expanding supersonic noble gas jets is possible, UV-VIS spectroscopy, electric or magnetic deflectometry as well as quantum interferometry would profit from the possibility to prepare thermally slow molecular beams. This has typically been precluded by the fragility of the peptide bond and the fact that a peptide would rather 'fry', i.e. denature and fragment than 'fly'. Here, we explore how tailored perfluoroalkyl functionalization can reduce the intermolecular binding and thus increase the volatility of peptides and compare it to previously explored methylation, acylation and amidation of peptides. We show that this strategy is essential and enables the formation of thermal beams of intact neutral tripeptides, whereas only fragments were observed for an extensively fluoroalkyl-decorated nonapeptide.

Background: Recent data imply young patients (age ≤50 years) undergoing small-bowel (SB) capsule endoscopy (CE) for iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) show higher diagnostic yield (DY) for sinister pathology. We aimed to investigate DY of CE in a large cohort of young IDA patients, and evaluate factors predicting significant SB pathology. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective, multicentre study (2010–2015) in consecutive, young patients (≤50 years) from 18 centres/12 countries, with negative bidirectional gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy undergoing SBCE for IDA. Exclusion criteria: previous/ongoing obscure-overt GI bleeding; age 50 years; comorbidities associated with IDA. Data retrieved: SBCE indications; prior investigations; medications; SBCE findings; final diagnosis. Clinical and laboratory data were analysed by multivariate logistic regression. Results: Data on 389 young IDA patients were retrieved. In total, 169 (43.4%) were excluded due to incomplete clinical data; data from 220 (122F/98M; mean age 40.5 ± 8.6 years) patients were analysed. Some 71 patients had at least one clinically significant SBCE finding (DY: 32.3%). They were divided into two groups: neoplastic pathology (10/220; 4.5%), and non-neoplastic but clinically significant pathology (61/220; 27.7%). The most common significant but non-neoplastic pathologies were angioectasias (22/61) and Crohn’s disease (15/61). On multivariate analysis, weight loss and lower mean corpuscular volume(MCV) were associated with significant SB pathology (OR: 3.87; 95%CI: 1.3–11.3; p = 0.01; and OR: 0.96; 95%CI: 0.92–0.99; p = 0.03; respectively). Our model also demonstrates association between use of antiplatelets and significant SB pathology, although due to the small number of patients, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn. Conclusion: In IDA patients ≤50 years with negative bidirectional GI endoscopy, overall DY of SBCE for clinically significant findings was 32.3%. Some 5% of our cohort was diagnosed with SB neoplasia; lower MCV or weight loss were associated with higher DY for SB pathology. © 2017, © Author(s) 2017.

There are limited data on the natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in children. We aimed to describe the disease characteristics and long-term outcomes of pediatric PSC. We retrospectively collected all pediatric PSC cases from 36 participating institutions and conducted a survival analysis from the date of PSC diagnosis to dates of diagnosis of portal hypertensive or biliary complications, cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation, or death. We analyzed patients grouped by disease phenotype and laboratory studies at diagnosis to identify objective predictors of long-term outcome. We identified 781 patients, median age 12 years, with 4,277 person-years of follow-up; 33% with autoimmune hepatitis, 76% with inflammatory bowel disease, and 13% with small duct PSC. Portal hypertensive and biliary complications developed in 38% and 25%, respectively, after 10 years of disease. Once these complications developed, median survival with native liver was 2.8 and 3.5 years, respectively. Cholangiocarcinoma occurred in 1%. Overall event-free survival was 70% at 5 years and 53% at 10 years. Patient groups with the most elevated total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis had the worst outcomes. In multivariate analysis PSC–inflammatory bowel disease and small duct phenotypes were associated with favorable prognosis (hazard ratios 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.9, and 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.96, respectively). Age, gender, and autoimmune hepatitis overlap did not impact long-term outcome. Conclusion: PSC has a chronic, progressive course in children, and nearly half of patients develop an adverse liver outcome after 10 years of disease; elevations in bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis can identify patients at highest risk; small duct PSC and PSC–inflammatory bowel disease are more favorable disease phenotypes. (Hepatology 2017;66:518–527). © 2017 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Specific clusters of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components impact differentially on arterial stiffness, indexed as pulse wave velocity (PWV). Of note, in several population-based studies participating in the MARE (Metabolic syndrome and Arteries REsearch) Consortium the occurrence of specific clusters of MetS differed markedly across Europe and the US. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether specific clusters of MetS are consistently associated with stiffer arteries in different populations. We studied 20,570 subjects from 9 cohorts representing 8 different European countries and the US participating in the MARE Consortium. MetS was defined in accordance with NCEP ATPIII criteria as the simultaneous alteration in >= 3 of the 5 components: abdominal obesity (W), high triglycerides (T), low HDL cholesterol (H), elevated blood pressure (B), and elevated fasting glucose (G). PWV measured in each cohort was "normalized" to account for different acquisition methods. MetS had an overall prevalence of 24.2% (4985 subjects). MetS accelerated the age-associated increase in PWV levels at any age, and similarly in men and women. MetS clusters TBW, GBW, and GTBW are consistently associated with significantly stiffer arteries to an extent similar or greater than observed in subjects with alteration in all the five MetS components - even after controlling for age, sex, smoking, cholesterol levels, and diabetes mellitus - in all the MARE cohorts. In conclusion, different component clusters of MetS showed varying associations with arterial stiffness (PWV). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved., NIH -National Institutes of Health

Delegates from the Tuberculosis Committee of the Portuguese Pulmonology Society, the Portuguese Rheumatology Society, the Portuguese Dermatology and Venereology Society and the Portuguese Gastroenterology Society, have revised and updated, in 2012, their guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis in patients that are candidates for therapy with biologic drugs. In order to identify perceived barriers to tuberculosis screening among patients candidate to anti-TNF treatment, we performed a cross-sectional survey including rheumatologists, gastroenterologists and dermatologists who prescribed anti-TNF agents, identified by the respective Scientific Societies, throughout Portugal. Ninety-five physicians (85 specialist and 10 trainees with more than 3 years of practice) participated in the survey, including 42 rheumatologists (response rate 28%), 32 dermatologists (12% response) and 21 gastroenterologists (4% response). No information was collected on non-respondents. This study showed that most of the participants were aware of tuberculosis risk and that they screened patients for tuberculosis following guidelines.

We have measured the damped motion of a trapped Bose–Einstein condensate, oscillating with respect to a thermal cloud. The cigar-shaped trapping potential provides enough transverse confinement that the dynamics of the system are intermediate between three-dimensional and one-dimensional. We find that the scaling of the damping rate with temperature is consistent with Landau theory, but that the damping rate for axial oscillations at a given temperature is consistently smaller than expected for a three-dimensional gas. We attribute this to the suppressed density of states for low-energy transverse excitations (essential excitations for axial Landau damping), which results from the quantization of the radial motion.

PubMed ID: 25112663, Aims: Estimated central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) and amplification (Brachial SBP-cSBP) are non-invasive measures potentially prognostic of cardiovascular (CV) disease. No worldwide, multiple-device reference values are available. We aimed to establish reference values for a worldwide general population standardizing between the different available methods of measurement. How these values were significantly altered by cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) was then investigated. Methods and results: Existing data from population surveys and clinical trials were combined, whether published or not. Reference values of cSBP and amplification were calculatedas percentiles for 'Normal' (no CVRFs) and 'Reference' (any CVRFs) populations. We included 45 436 subjects out of 82 930 that were gathered from 77 studies of 53 centres. Included subjects were apparently healthy, not treated for hypertension or dyslipidaemia, and free from overt CV disease and diabetes. Values of cSBP and amplification were stratified by brachial blood pressure categories and age decade in turn, both being stratifiedbysex. Amplification decreased with age and more so in males than in females. Sex was the most powerful factor associated with amplification with 6.6 mmHg (5.8-7.4) higher amplification in males than in females. Amplification was marginally but significantly influenced by CVRFs, with smoking and dyslipidaemia decreasing amplification, but increased with increasing levels of blood glucose. Conclusion: Typical values of cSBP and amplification in a healthy population and a population free of traditional CVRFs are now available according to age, sex, and brachial BP, providing values included from different devices with a wide geographical representation. Amplification is significantly influenced by CVRFs, but differently in men and women. © 2014 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.