Bensondonaldson1070

A photocurrent density of 40.30 ± 9.26 μA/cm2 was measured on devices using liquid electrolytes supplemented with a phosphonated viologen to facilitate charge transfer. Our results suggest that a new family of graphene-based thin-film photovoltaic devices can be manufactured from rationally tagged LHC proteins and opens the possibility to further explore fundamental processes of energy transfer for biological components interfaced with synthetic materials.We would like to thank all those listed below for taking the time to review for Gene Therapy in 2019-your generosity is much appreciated and we hope your association with the journal continues in the future.Optic neuropathy is a major cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, and no effective treatment is currently available. Secondary degeneration is believed to be the major contributor to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death, the endpoint of optic neuropathy. Partial optic nerve transection (pONT) is an established model of optic neuropathy. Although the mechanisms of primary and secondary degeneration have been delineated in this model, until now how this is influenced by therapy is not well-understood. In this article, we describe a clinically translatable topical, neuroprotective treatment (recombinant human nerve growth factor, rh-NGF) predominantly targeting secondary degeneration in a pONT rat model. Topical application of rh-NGF twice daily for 3 weeks significantly improves RGC survival as shown by reduced RGC apoptosis in vivo and increased RGC population in the inferior retina, which is predominantly affected in this model by secondary degeneration. Topical rh-NGF also promotes greater axonal survival and inhibits astrocyte activity in the optic nerve. Collectively, these results suggest that topical rh-NGF exhibits neuroprotective effects on retinal neurons via influencing secondary degeneration process. As topical rh-NGF is already involved in early clinical trials, this highlights its potential in multiple indications in patients, including those affected by glaucomatous optic neuropathy.In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the clinical significance of soluble immune checkpoint protein levels as predictors of patient outcomes or therapeutic responses has yet to be defined. This study profiled the baseline levels of sixteen soluble checkpoint proteins and their changes following sorafenib treatment for HCC. Plasma samples were obtained from 53 patients with advanced HCC at baseline, week 1, 2 and 4 of sorafenib treatment and tested the concentrations of 16 soluble checkpoint proteins using multiplexed fluorescent bead-based immunoassays. Multivariate analysis showed high sBTLA levels at baseline were an independent predictor of poor overall survival (p = 0.038). BTLA was highly expressed in T cells and macrophages in peritumoral areas. At week 2, sCD27 levels were decreased compared to baseline. By contrast, the concentrations of most inhibitory proteins, including sBTLA, sLAG-3, sCTLA-4, sPD-1, sCD80, sCD86 and sPD-L1, had significantly increased. The fold-changes of soluble checkpoint receptors and their ligands, including sCTLA-4 with sCD80/sCD86, sPD-1 with sPD-L1; and the fold-changes of sCTLA-4 with sBTLA or sPD-1 were positively correlated. sBTLA may be a good biomarker for predicting overall survival in HCC patients. Sorafenib treatment in patients with advanced HCC revealed dynamic changes of soluble checkpoint protein levels.Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction (GP) are extensively employed to accelerate genetic gain and identify QTL in plant breeding. In this study, 1,317 spring barley and 1,325 winter wheat breeding lines from a commercial breeding program were genotyped with the Illumina 9 K barley or 15 K wheat SNP-chip, and phenotyped in multiple years and locations. For GWAS, in spring barley, a QTL on chr. 4H associated with powdery mildew and ramularia resistance were found. There were several SNPs on chr. 4H showing genome-wide significance with yield traits. In winter wheat, GWAS identified two SNPs on chr. 6A, and one SNP on chr. 1B, significantly associated with quality trait moisture, as well as one SNP located on chr. 5B associated with starch content in the seeds. The significant SNPs identified by multiple trait GWAS were generally the same as those found in single trait GWAS. GWAS including genotype-location information in the model identified significant SNPs in each tested location, which were not found previously when including all locations in the GWAS. For GP, in spring barley, GP using the Bayesian Power Lasso model had higher accuracy than ridge regression BLUP in powdery mildew and yield traits, whereas the prediction accuracies were similar using Bayesian Power Lasso model and rrBLUP for yield traits in winter wheat.In this study we used meteorological parameters and predictive modelling interpreted by model explanation to develop stress metrics that indicate the presence of drought and heat stress at the specific environment. We started from the extreme temperature and precipitation indices, modified some of them and introduced additional drought indices relevant to the analysis. Based on maize's sensitivity to stress, the growing season was divided into four stages. The features were calculated throughout the growing season and split in two groups, one for the drought and the other for heat stress. Generated meteorological features were combined with soil features and fed to random forest regression model for the yield prediction. Model explanation gave us the contribution of features to yield decrease, from which we estimated total amount of stress at the environments, which represents new environmental index. Using this index we ranked the environments according to the level of stress. More than 2400 hybrids were tested across the environments where they were grown and based on the yield stability they were marked as either tolerant or susceptible to heat, drought or combined heat and drought stress. Presented methodology and results were produced within the Syngenta Crop Challenge 2019.Complex abdominal wall defects (CAWDs) can be difficult to repair and using a conventional synthetic mesh is often unsuitable. A biological mesh might offer a solution for CAWD repair, but the clinical outcomes are unclear. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of a cross-linked, acellular porcine dermal collagen matrix implant (Permacol) for CAWD repair in a cohort of 60 patients. Here, 58.3% patients presented with a grade 3 hernia (according to the Ventral Hernia Working Group grading system) and a contaminated surgical field. Permacol was implanted as a bridge in 46.7%, as an underlay (intraperitoneal position) in 38.3% and as a sublay (retromuscolar position) in 15% of patients. Fascia closure was achieved in 53.3% of patients. Bay117085 The surgical site occurrence rate was 35% and the defect size significantly influenced the probability of post-operative complications. The long-term (2 year) hernia recurrence rate was 36.2%. This study represents the first large multi-centre Italian case series on Permacol implants in patients with a CAWD. Our data suggest that Permacol is a feasible strategy to repair a CAWD, with acceptable early complications and long-term (2 year) recurrence rates.Blood pressure (BP) management is a crucial part of critical care that directly affects morbidity and mortality. While BP has become a mainstay in patient care, the accuracy and precision of BP measures across commonly used sites (left upper arm, right upper arm, etc.) and methods have not been established. This study begins to fill this gap in literature by testing the null hypothesis that BP measurement does not vary according to site. This is a prospective, non-randomized, cross-sectional study of 80 neurocritical care unit patients. Near simultaneous non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) readings from 4 different locations (bilateral upper arm, bilateral wrist) and, when available, intra-arterial blood pressure readings (IABP) were included. Pearson correlation coefficients and one-way repeated measures ANOVA were used to observe the systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) correlations. The BP measured at the four most common sites (left upper arm, left wrist, right upper arm, right wrist) had adequate correlation coefficients but were statistically significantly different and highly unpredictable. The median inter-site systolic variability was 10 mmHg (IQR 2 to 10 mmHg). The median inter-site MAP variability was 6mmHg with an interquartile range (IQR) of 3 to 9 mmHg. As expected, the values correlated to show that patients with high BP in one site tended to have high BP in another site. However, the unpredictable inter-site variability is concerning within the clinical setting where oftentimes BP measurement site is not standardized but resulting values are nevertheless used for treatment. There is prominent inter-site variability of BP measured across the 4 most common measurement sites. The variability persists across non-invasive (NIBP) and invasive (IABP) methods of assessment.Previous studies have shown that rabbit IgG antibodies against Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens (SmSEA) cross-react with allergens in natural rubber latex, peanuts and grass and tree pollens. Here we describe antigenic molecules that cross-react with rabbit anti-S. mansoni IgG antibodies in extracts of the house dust mite (HDM) Dermatophagoides farinae, the Australian cockroach (ACR) Periplaneta australasiae and in the venom of the honey bee Apis mellifera (HBV). Tandem mass spectrometry identified the cross-reactive allergens as Der f 15 in HDM, two homologues of the Periplaneta americana cockroach allergen Cr-PI/Per a 3 in ACR and two isoforms of the allergen Api m 1 (phospholipase A2 PLA2) in HBV. Cross-reactive rabbit anti-SmSEA IgG antibodies eluted from the three invertebrate allergens reacted with S. mansoni egg antigens and variably with schistosome cercarial and worm antigens. Treatment of the electroblotted allergens with sodium metaperiodate abrogated most of the cross-reactivity of the rabbit anti-SmSEA antibodies, suggesting it was due to cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs). Furthermore, analyses of the allergens' amino acid sequences indicated that they had potential for both N- and O-linked glycosylation. A potential role for the CCDs shared by the schistosome and invertebrates in inducing an allergy-protective effect, as proposed by the hygiene hypothesis, is discussed.The Dongting Lake Basin and the Poyang Lake Basin, both located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, provide 30% of the total water volume for the Yangtze River. Under global climate change, precipitation patterns have undergone varying degrees of changes in different regions. Analysing temporal and spatial rainfall variations is important for understanding the variations in capacity of the two lake basins and the water intake variations by the Yangtze River. This study analyses the temporal and spatial variations of the two basins based on 33 rain-gauge data series from 1960-2015, using statistical methods, GIS spatial analysis and the M-K trend test. Our results showed that the annual precipitation generally increased in the Poyang Lake Basin and we found no obvious changes in the Dongting Lake Basin from 1960 to 2015. Seasonal precipitation levels at interannual scales were roughly consistent, but exhibited variability larger by an order of magnitude in the Poyang Lake Basin than in the Dongting Lake Basin.