The role of aquaporin-1 in idiopathic and drug-induced intracranial hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a common disorder affecting mainly healthy, young, overweight women. The pathogenesis of this condition is unknown, but it has been shown to follow treatment with several compounds including corticosteroids and vitamin A derivatives. This paper will offer a novel hypothesis and insight on the pathogenesis of drug induced intracranial hypertension following a review and analysis of the literature. Both corticosteroids and vitamin A derivatives have been shown to upregulate the expression of aquaporin 1, a water channel protein. Aquaporin 1 is widely distributed in the human brain and is associated with water secretion into the subarachnoid space. Aquaporin 1 was also shown to participate in the regulation of weight. Agents used for treating idiopathic intracranial hypertension reduce aquaporin 1 expression. Based on these observations, we propose that aquaporin 1 has a pathogenetic role in drug induced idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Over expression of this gene causes increased intracranial pressure, and downregulation reduces pressure and alleviates the symptomatology and complications of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.     

Advances in prophylactic cancer vaccine research

Prophylactic vaccination against human cancer provides a unique opportunity to prevent human suffering for individuals at risk for tumor development. Appropriate vaccines may pose slightly different requirements than vaccines intended for therapeutic use. Prophylactic vaccines will need to prevent tumors far into the future, emphasizing the need to establish solid tumor-specific immunologic memory. Another important issue associated with prophylactic cancer vaccines is the identification of appropriate populations for vaccination. Individuals at risk may include those exposed to oncogenic viruses, those with occupational exposure to tumor promoting agents, and individuals with a family history of cancer. This paper addresses the specific challenges posed to the exciting field of prophylactic cancer vaccine research.     

Predictability of IL-28B-polymorphism on protease-inhibitor-based triple-therapy in chronic HCV-genotype-1 patients: A meta-analysis

AIM: To investigate the predictability of interleukin-28 B single nucleotide polymorphism rs12979860 with respect to sustained virological response(SVR) in chronically hepatitis C virus(HCV) genotype-1 patients treated with a protease-inhibitor and pegylated interferon-α(Peg-INF-α) based triple-therapy. METHODS: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Web of Knowledge for studies regarding the interleukin 28B(IL-28B)-genotype and protease-inhibitor based triple-therapy. Ten studies with 2707 patients were included into this meta-analysis. We used regression methods in order to investigate determinants of SVR.RESULTS: IL-28B-CC-genotype patients achieved higher SVR rates(odds 5.34, 95%CI: 3.81-7.49) than IL-28B-non-CC-genotype patients(1.88, 95%CI: 1.43-2.48) receiving triple-therapy. The line of therapy(treatment-nave or-experienced for Peg-INF-α) did not affect the predictive value of IL-28B(P = 0.1). IL-28BCC-genotype patients treated with protease inhibitorbased triple-therapy consisting of Boceprevir, Simeprevir, Telaprevir or Vaniprevir showed odds of 3.38, 14.66, 7.84 and 2.91, respectively. The odds for CC genotype patients treated with Faldaprevir cannot be quantified, as only a single study with a 100% SVR rate was available.CONCLUSION: IL-28B-SNP predicts the outcome for chronic HCV genotype-1 patients receiving protease inhibitor-based triple-therapy. The predictive value varies between the different protease inhibitors.     

关于检验质量理论几个基本概念的思考和建议

检验结果的准确度（性）与可靠性是同一概念的两种说法，“精密度”是准确度的基础部分，而不应当说可靠包括了准确和精密两个方面。“精密度”概念在检验医学上的内涵与其在《汉语词典》中的词义有很大出入，且precision与accuracy这两个英文单词也有词义交叉。科学与文化从来就不割裂，故而作者建议在这个概念上停止使用“精密度”这一名词，改用稳定性（度）和（或）重复性之名。定义“正确度”这一概念来表示均值与真值的接近程度不合适，何况“偏倚”这个概念已能说明相关问题。严谨的表述应当为，室内质量控制反映检验结果的稳定性，室间质量评价则评估检验结果的准确性。由此建议，将室问质量评价又称作准确性验证．室内质量控制也可另称作稳定性监控。     

Effects of Terrorist Charges and Threatening Conduct on Mock Jurors’ Decisions

Terror management theory posits that fear of death influences judgments in criminal cases. A between-subjects study examined the influence of mortality and terrorism salience in the context of life-threatening versus non-threatening criminal conduct on mock jurors’ emotions and judgments of convictions by 485 jury-eligible Australian citizens. Mortality salience did not impact upon mock jurors’ judgments, indicating that exposure to a criminal trial mitigated the effect. The participants reported more negative emotions with a suspect charged with a terrorism than non-terrorism crime, independently of criminal conduct. Mock jurors were more likely to convict a suspected terrorist (66.4%) than a defendant charged with murder when the criminal conduct entailed throwing a paint bomb (54.0%). When the actus reus was life-threatening, they were more likely to convict a defendant charged with intent to murder (81.5%) than with a terrorist crime (69.7%). The findings indicated that jurors can be influenced by numerous factors at court, including fear of death.     

Application of Acoustic Bessel Beams for Handling of Hollow Porous Spheres

Acoustic manipulation of porous spherical shells, widely used as drug delivery carriers and magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, is investigated analytically. The technique used for this purpose is based on the application of high-order Bessel beams as a single-beam acoustic manipulation device, by which particles lying on the axis of the beam can be pulled toward the beam source. The exerted acoustic radiation force is calculated using the standard partial-wave series method, and the wave propagation within the porous media is modeled using Biot's theory of poro-elasticity. Numerical simulations are performed for porous aluminum and silica shells of different thickness and porosity. Results indicate that manipulation of low-porosity shells is possible using Bessel beams with large conical angles, over a number of broadband frequency ranges, whereas manipulation of highly porous shells can occur over both narrowband and broadband frequency domains.