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We describe the case of an 11-month-old girl with a rare cerebellar glioblastoma driven by a NACC2-NTRK2 (Nucleus Accumbens Associated Protein 2-Neurotrophic Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 2) fusion. Initial workup of our case demonstrated homozygous CDKN2A deletion, but immunohistochemistry for other driver mutations, including IDH1 R132H, BRAF V600E, and H3F3A K27M were negative, and ATRX was retained. Tissue was subsequently submitted for personalized oncogenomic analysis, including whole genome and whole transcriptome sequencing, which demonstrated an activating NTRK2 fusion, as well as high PD-L1 expression, which was subsequently confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, H3 and IDH demonstrated wildtype status. These findings suggested the possibility of treatment with either NTRK- or immune checkpoint- inhibitors through active clinical trials. Ultimately, the family pursued standard treatment that involved Head Start III chemotherapy and proton radiotherapy. Notably, at most recent follow upapproximately two years from initial diagnosis, the patient is in disease remission and thriving, suggesting favorable biology despite histologic malignancy. This case illustrates the value of personalized oncogenomics, as the molecular profiling revealed two actionable changes that would not have been apparent through routine diagnostics. NTRK fusions are known oncogenic drivers in a range of cancer types, but this is the first report of a NACC2-NTRK2 fusion in a glioblastoma.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This presentation will enable the learner to:
1.Explore the current molecular landscape of pediatric high grade gliomas
2.Recognize the value of personalized oncogenomic analysis, particularly in rare and/or aggressive tumors
3.Discuss the current status of NTRK inhibitor clinical trials
Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), the cryogenic infrared space telescope recently pre-selected for a ‘Phase A’ concept study as one of the three remaining candidates for European Space Agency (ESA's) fifth medium class (M5) mission, is foreseen to include a far-infrared polarimetric imager [SPICA-POL, now called B-fields with BOlometers and Polarizers (B-BOP)], which would offer a unique opportunity to resolve major issues in our understanding of the nearby, cold magnetised Universe. This paper presents an overview of the main science drivers for B-BOP, including high dynamic range polarimetric imaging of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) in both our Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Thanks to a cooled telescope, B-BOP will deliver wide-field 100–350
$\mu$
m images of linearly polarised dust emission in Stokes Q and U with a resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and both intensity and spatial dynamic ranges comparable to those achieved by Herschel images of the cold ISM in total intensity (Stokes I). The B-BOP 200
$\mu$
m images will also have a factor
$\sim $
30 higher resolution than Planck polarisation data. This will make B-BOP a unique tool for characterising the statistical properties of the magnetised ISM and probing the role of magnetic fields in the formation and evolution of the interstellar web of dusty molecular filaments giving birth to most stars in our Galaxy. B-BOP will also be a powerful instrument for studying the magnetism of nearby galaxies and testing Galactic dynamo models, constraining the physics of dust grain alignment, informing the problem of the interaction of cosmic rays with molecular clouds, tracing magnetic fields in the inner layers of protoplanetary disks, and monitoring accretion bursts in embedded protostars.
Clinical Enterobacteriacae isolates with a colistin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥4 mg/L from a United States hospital were screened for the mcr-1 gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and confirmed by whole-genome sequencing. Four colistin-resistant Escherichia coli isolates contained mcr-1. Two isolates belonged to the same sequence type (ST-632). All subjects had prior international travel and antimicrobial exposure.
Children with congenital heart disease are at high risk for malnutrition. Standardisation of feeding protocols has shown promise in decreasing some of this risk. With little standardisation between institutions’ feeding protocols and no understanding of protocol adherence, it is important to analyse the efficacy of individual aspects of the protocols.
Methods:
Adherence to and deviation from a feeding protocol in high-risk congenital heart disease patients between December 2015 and March 2017 were analysed. Associations between adherence to and deviation from the protocol and clinical outcomes were also assessed. The primary outcome was change in weight-for-age z score between time intervals.
Results:
Increased adherence to and decreased deviation from individual instructions of a feeding protocol improves patients change in weight-for-age z score between birth and hospital discharge (p = 0.031). Secondary outcomes such as markers of clinical severity and nutritional delivery were not statistically different between groups with high or low adherence or deviation rates.
Conclusions:
High-risk feeding protocol adherence and fewer deviations are associated with weight gain independent of their influence on nutritional delivery and caloric intake. Future studies assessing the efficacy of feeding protocols should include the measures of adherence and deviations that are not merely limited to caloric delivery and illness severity.
The use of the Polychromator (multichannel spectrometer) for X-ray analysis allows choice of the optimum combination of slit width, crystal type, focussing circle radius and detector for each of the elements to be determined by the instrument.
Comparisons will be made of various curved and ground crystals such as quartz, lithium fluoride, sodium chloride and ADP used in a focussing spectrometer. The effect of the width of the entrance and exit slits upon resolution, line intensity and line-to-background ratios will be discussed. Gas filled detectors such as Multitrons, flow proportional counters and Geiger counters will be discussed as to the effect of the filling upon efficiency and upon their use with counting or integrating techniques. Limits of detectability for various elements with optimum combinations of the above components will be reported.
X-ray microscopy is a field that has developed rapidly in recent years. Two different approaches have been used. Zone plates have been employed to produce focussed beams with sizes as low as 0.07 pm for x-ray energies below 1 keV. Images of biological materials and elemental maps for major and minor low Z have been produced using above and below absorption edge differences. At higher energies collimators and focussing mirrors have been used to make small diameter beams for excitation of characteristic K— or L-x rays of all elements in the periodic
table.
We are engaged in a study of the ash produced by combustion of lignite in a 750-MW power station. The aim is to follow the transport of elements with Z> 16 from the mine, through: a) the combustion process, b) emissionto the atmosphere or c) deposition in a land fill, d) transport in the environment and e) subsequent uptake by animals and humans. The resulting data will be used to estimate potential adverse impact on human health caused by operation of the power station.
Several grass and broadleaf weed species around the world have evolved multiple-herbicide resistance at alarmingly increasing rates. Research on the biochemical and molecular resistance mechanisms of multiple-resistant weed populations indicate a prevalence of herbicide metabolism catalyzed by enzyme systems such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferases and, to a lesser extent, by glucosyl transferases. A symposium was conducted to gain an understanding of the current state of research on metabolic resistance mechanisms in weed species that pose major management problems around the world. These topics, as well as future directions of investigations that were identified in the symposium, are summarized herein. In addition, the latest information on selected topics such as the role of safeners in inducing crop tolerance to herbicides, selectivity to clomazone, glyphosate metabolism in crops and weeds, and bioactivation of natural molecules is reviewed.
Shunt-related adverse events are frequent in infants after modified Blalock–Taussig despite use of acetylsalicylic acid prophylaxis. A higher incidence of acetylsalicylic acid-resistance and sub-therapeutic acetylsalicylic acid levels has been reported in infants. We evaluated whether using high-dose acetylsalicylic acid can decrease shunt-related adverse events in infants after modified Blalock–Taussig.
Methods
In this single-centre retrospective cohort study, we included infants ⩽1-year-old who underwent modified Blalock–Taussig placement and received acetylsalicylic acid in the ICU. We defined acetylsalicylic acid treatment groups as standard dose (⩽7 mg/kg/day) and high dose (⩾8 mg/kg/day) based on the initiating dose.
Results
There were 34 infants in each group. Both groups were similar in age, gender, cardiac defect type, ICU length of stay, and time interval to second stage or definitive repair. Shunt interventions (18 versus 32%, p=0.16), shunt thrombosis (14 versus 17%, p=0.74), and mortality (9 versus 12%, p=0.65) were not significantly different between groups. On multiple logistic regression analysis, single-ventricle morphology (odds ratio 5.2, 95% confidence interval of 1.2–23, p=0.03) and post-operative red blood cells transfusion ⩾24 hours [odds ratio 15, confidence interval of (3–71), p<0.01] were associated with shunt-related adverse events. High-dose acetylsalicylic acid treatment [odds ratio 2.6, confidence interval of (0.7–10), p=0.16] was not associated with decrease in these events.
Conclusions
High-dose acetylsalicylic acid may not be sufficient in reducing shunt-related adverse events in infants after modified Blalock–Taussig. Post-operative red blood cells transfusion may be a modifiable risk factor for these events. A randomised trial is needed to determine appropriate acetylsalicylic acid dosing in infants with modified Blalock–Taussig.
Society is undergoing a shift in gender politics. Science and medicine are part of this conversation, not least as women's representation and pay continue to drop as one progresses through more senior academic and clinical levels. Naming and redressing these inequalities needs to be a priority for us all.
Sexual minority youth have elevated suicidal ideation and self-harm compared with heterosexual young people; however, evidence for mediating mechanisms is predominantly cross-sectional. Using a longitudinal design, we investigated self-esteem and depressive symptoms as mediators of increased rates of suicidal ideation or self-harm (SISH) among sexual minority youth, and the roles of childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) and sex as moderators of these relationships.
Method
In total, 4274 youth from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort reported sexual orientation at age 15 years, and past-year SISH at age 20 years. Self-esteem and depressive symptoms were assessed at ages 17 and 18 years, respectively. CGN was measured at 30–57 months. Covariates included sociodemographic variables and earlier measures of mediator and outcome variables. Mediation pathways were assessed using structural equation modelling.
Results
Sexual minority youth (almost 12% of the sample) were three times more likely than heterosexual youth to report past-year SISH (95% confidence interval 2.43–3.64) at 20 years. Two mediation pathways were identified: a single mediator pathway involving self-esteem and a multiple-mediated pathway involving self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Although CGN was associated with past-year SISH, it did not moderate any mediation pathways and there was no evidence for moderation by sex.
Conclusions
Lower self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms partly explain the increased risk for later suicidal ideation and self-harm in sexual minority youth. Preventive strategies could include self-esteem-enhancing or protecting interventions, especially in female sexual minority youth, and treatment of depression.
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPAA) plays a critical role in the functioning of all other biological systems. Thus, studying how the environment may influence its ontogeny is paramount to understanding developmental origins of health and disease. The early post-conceptional (EPC) period could be particularly important for the HPAA as the effects of exposures on organisms’ first cells can be transmitted through all cell lineages. We evaluate putative relationships between EPC maternal cortisol levels, a marker of physiologic stress, and their children’s pre-pubertal HPAA activity (n=22 dyads). Maternal first-morning urinary (FMU) cortisol, collected every-other-day during the first 8 weeks post-conception, was associated with children’s FMU cortisol collected daily around the start of the school year, a non-experimental challenge, as well as salivary cortisol responses to an experimental challenge (all Ps<0.05), with some sex-related differences. We investigated whether epigenetic mechanisms statistically mediated these links and, therefore, could provide cues as to possible biological pathways involved. EPC cortisol was associated with >5% change in children’s buccal epithelial cells’ DNA methylation for 867 sites, while children’s HPAA activity was associated with five CpG sites. Yet, no CpG sites were related to both, EPC cortisol and children’s HPAA activity. Thus, these epigenetic modifications did not statistically mediate the observed physiological links. Larger, prospective peri-conceptional cohort studies including frequent bio-specimen collection from mothers and children will be required to replicate our analyses and, if our results are confirmed, identify biological mechanisms mediating the statistical links observed between maternal EPC cortisol and children’s HPAA activity.
We compared sepsis “time zero” and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SEP-1 pass rates among 3 abstractors in 3 hospitals. Abstractors agreed on time zero in 29 of 80 (36%) cases. Perceived pass rates ranged from 9 of 80 cases (11%) to 19 of 80 cases (23%). Variability in time zero and perceived pass rates limits the utility of SEP-1 for measuring quality.
Conveying information cohesively is an essential element of communication that is disrupted in schizophrenia. These disruptions are typically expressed through disorganized symptoms, which have been linked to neurocognitive, social cognitive, and metacognitive deficits. Automated analysis can objectively assess disorganization within sentences, between sentences, and across paragraphs by comparing explicit communication to a large text corpus.
Method
Little work in schizophrenia has tested: (1) links between disorganized symptoms measured via automated analysis and neurocognition, social cognition, or metacognition; and (2) if automated analysis explains incremental variance in cognitive processes beyond clinician-rated scales. Disorganization was measured in schizophrenia (n = 81) with Coh-Metrix 3.0, an automated program that calculates basic and complex language indices. Trained staff also assessed neurocognition, social cognition, metacognition, and clinician-rated disorganization.
Results
Findings showed that all three cognitive processes were significantly associated with at least one automated index of disorganization. When automated analysis was compared with a clinician-rated scale, it accounted for significant variance in neurocognition and metacognition beyond the clinician-rated measure. When combined, these two methods explained 28–31% of the variance in neurocognition, social cognition, and metacognition.
Conclusions
This study illustrated how automated analysis can highlight the specific role of disorganization in neurocognition, social cognition, and metacognition. Generally, those with poor cognition also displayed more disorganization in their speech—making it difficult for listeners to process essential information needed to tie the speaker's ideas together. Our findings showcase how implementing a mixed-methods approach in schizophrenia can explain substantial variance in cognitive processes.
We present early results from the first near-IR imaging of the weak X-ray sources discovered in the recent Chandra/ACIS-I survey towards the Galactic Centre (GC) (Wang et al. 2002). These ~800 discrete sources, which contribute significantly to the GC X-ray emission, represent an important and previously unknown population within the Galaxy. From our VLT observations we will identify likely IR counterparts to a sample of the hardest sources, which are most likely X-ray binaries. With these data we can place constraints on the nature of the discrete weak X-ray source population of the GC. Once the data analysis is complete we will discuss our results in the context of binary population synthesis models.
To understand increasing rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Tennessee, we conducted testing, risk factor analysis and a nested case–control study among persons who use drugs. During June–October 2016, HCV testing with risk factor assessment was conducted in sexually transmitted disease clinics, family planning clinics and an addiction treatment facility in eastern Tennessee; data were analysed by using multivariable logistic regression. A nested case–control study was conducted to assess drug-using risks and behaviours among persons who reported intranasal or injection drug use (IDU). Of 4753 persons tested, 397 (8.4%) were HCV-antibody positive. HCV infection was significantly associated with a history of both intranasal and IDU (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 35.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 24.1–51.9), IDU alone (aOR 52.7, CI 25.3–109.9), intranasal drug use alone (aOR 2.6, CI 1.8–3.9) and incarceration (aOR 2.7, CI 2.0–3.8). By 4 October 2016, 574 persons with a reported history of drug use; 63 (11%) were interviewed further. Of 31 persons who used both intranasal and injection drugs, 26 (84%) reported previous intranasal drug use, occurring 1–18 years (median 5.5 years) before their first IDU. Our findings provide evidence that reported IDU, intranasal drug use and incarceration are independent indicators of risk for past or present HCV infection in the study population.
The solar magnesium II core-to-wing ratio has been a well-studied proxy for chromospheric activity since 1978. Daily measurements at high spectral (0.1 nm) resolution began with the launch of the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) in 2003. The next generation of measurements from the Extreme Ultraviolet Sensor (EUVS) on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16) will add high time cadence (every 30 seconds) to the observational Mg II irradiance record. We present a comparison of the two measurements during the period of overlap.
Ultraviolet (UV) Solar spectral Irradiance (SSI) has been measured from orbit on a regular basis since the beginning of the space age. These observations span four Solar Cycles, and they are crucial for our understanding of the Sun-Earth connection and space weather. SSI at these wavelengths are the main drivers for the upper atmosphere including the production and destruction of ozone in the stratosphere. The instruments that measure UV SSI not only require good preflight calibration, but also need a robust method to maintain that calibration on orbit. We will give an overview of the catalog of current and former UV SSI measurements along with the calibration philosophy of each instrument and an estimation of the uncertainties in the published irradiances.
The longstanding association between the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus and schizophrenia (SZ) risk has recently been accounted for, partially, by structural variation at the complement component 4 (C4) gene. This structural variation generates varying levels of C4 RNA expression, and genetic information from the MHC region can now be used to predict C4 RNA expression in the brain. Increased predicted C4A RNA expression is associated with the risk of SZ, and C4 is reported to influence synaptic pruning in animal models.
Methods
Based on our previous studies associating MHC SZ risk variants with poorer memory performance, we tested whether increased predicted C4A RNA expression was associated with reduced memory function in a large (n = 1238) dataset of psychosis cases and healthy participants, and with altered task-dependent cortical activation in a subset of these samples.
Results
We observed that increased predicted C4A RNA expression predicted poorer performance on measures of memory recall (p = 0.016, corrected). Furthermore, in healthy participants, we found that increased predicted C4A RNA expression was associated with a pattern of reduced cortical activity in middle temporal cortex during a measure of visual processing (p < 0.05, corrected).
Conclusions
These data suggest that the effects of C4 on cognition were observable at both a cortical and behavioural level, and may represent one mechanism by which illness risk is mediated. As such, deficits in learning and memory may represent a therapeutic target for new molecular developments aimed at altering C4’s developmental role.