MicroRNA-155 is a potential predictive tool for atopic dermatitis severity in children: A preliminary study.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory dermatological disorders in childhood. Assessment of AD severity is the initial step in designing the proper therapeutic plan. Moreover, it is imperative for evaluation of disease improvement during and following therapy. This study was designed to assess the prognostic role of miRNA-155 (miR-155) in the prediction of AD severity as the primary outcome. While the secondary outcome was to correlate the serum miR-155 expression levels with the scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) severity index. This case-control study included 24 children with AD and 24 apparently healthy children as a control group. AD children were stratified according to the SCORAD severity index. Approximately 58% of children had mild AD, 25% moderate AD, and about 17% severe AD. Children with AD had statistically significantly higher miR-155 expression levels in comparison to the control children, (p < 0.001). Children with severe AD had statistically significantly higher miR-155 expression levels compared to mild AD children (p=0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for miR-155 demonstrated that miR-155 can differentiate between children with mild AD and those with moderate-to-severe AD, with an area under the curve of 0.879, and an excellent discrimination power. A statistically strong significant positive correlation existed between miR-155 levels and SCORAD severity index (rs= 0.666, p < 0.001). In conclusion, MiR-155 could be considered as a non-invasive biomarker of AD severity in children. It is a promising prognostic tool in the prediction of AD severity.

Experimental Determination of α Widths of

The efficiency of the weak s process in low-metallicity rotating massive stars depends strongly on the rates of the competing ^{17}O(α,n)^{20}Ne and ^{17}O(α,γ)^{21}Ne reactions that determine the potency of the ^{16}O neutron poison. Their reaction rates are poorly known in the astrophysical energy range of interest for core helium burning in massive stars because of the lack of spectroscopic information (partial widths, spin parities) for the relevant states in the compound nucleus ^{21}Ne. In this Letter, we report on the first experimental determination of the α-particle spectroscopic factors and partial widths of these states using the ^{17}O(^{7}Li,t)^{21}Ne α-transfer reaction. With these the ^{17}O(α,n)^{20}Ne and ^{17}O(α,γ)^{21}Ne reaction rates were evaluated with uncertainties reduced by a factor more than 3 with respect to previous evaluations and the present ^{17}O(α,n)^{20}Ne reaction rate is more than 20 times larger. The present (α,n)/(α,γ) rate ratio favors neutron recycling and suggests an enhancement of the weak s process in the Zr-Nd region by more than 1.5 dex in metal-poor rotating massive stars.

Synthesis and crystal structure of a silver(I) 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside complex.

Silver nitrate reacts with 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (6-MMPR) in aqueous solution containing methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide at room temperature to give a colourless crystalline complex, namely, bis(6-methylmercaptopurine riboside-κN7)(nitrato-κ2O,O')silver(I) 2.32-hydrate, [Ag(NO3)(C11H14N4O4S)2]·2.32H2O. The crystal structure, determined from synchrotron diffraction data, shows a central AgI ion on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis, coordinated in an almost linear fashion by two 6-MMPR ligands via atom N7 (purine numbering), with the nitrate counter-ion loosely coordinated as a bidentate ligand, forming a discrete molecular complex as an approximate dihydrate. The complex and water molecules are connected in a three-dimensional network by hydrogen bonding.

Analytical study to determine the optical properties of gold nanoparticles in the visible solar spectrum.

In this work the optical properties of the formed gold nanoparticles, that obtained upon reducing the gold(I):6-thioguanosine hydrogel by dimethylamine borane (DMAB) have been studied. The analytical measurements to calculate the optical band gap showed a significant narrowing in the optical band gap value (Eg). Tauc plot was used to estimate the optical band gap (Eg) with the direct and indirect allowed transitions, before and after the reducing process. Narrowing the band gap is very important to increase the efficiency of the semiconductor material as it leads to absorbing in the visible region of the solar spectrum.

Circularly polarised luminescence in an RNA-based homochiral, self-repairing, coordination polymer hydrogel.

The aqueous equimolar reaction of Ag(i) ions with the thionucleoside enantiomer (-)6-thioguanosine, ((-)6tGH), yields a one-dimensional coordination polymer {Ag(-)tG} n , the self-assembly of which generates left-handed helical chains. The resulting helicity induces an enhanced chiro-optical response compared to the parent ligand. DFT calculations indicate that this enhancement is due to delocalisation of the excited state along the helical chains, with 7 units being required to converge the calculated CD spectra. At concentrations ≥15 mmol l-1 reactions form a sample-spanning hydrogel which shows self-repair capabilities with instantaneous recovery in which the dynamic reversibility of the coordination chains appears to play a role. The resulting gel exhibits circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) with a large dissymmetry factor of -0.07 ± 0.01 at 735 nm, a phenomenon not previously observed for this class of coordination polymer.

Synthesis and surface characterization of new triplex polymer of Ag(I) and mixture nucleosides: cytidine and 8-bromoguanosine.

In this work one-dimensional (1D) triplex polymer of silver (I): mixture nucleosides of cytidine and 8-bromoguanosine was synthesised. The polymer showed high stability due to the presence Ag(I) ions in the structure of the polymer in addition to the stability that produces from the effect of Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding in the triplex CGC. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the morphology of the polymer. The AFM images revealed formation of nanofibres extending many microns in length with height in the range of 2-3 nm. Statistical analyses carried out to analyse the AFM images to determine the height of the loops that formed in the polymer. The data displayed that the height value was in the range between 10 nm to 15 nm. The data of TEM images were consistent with the data of AFM images by displaying a very long fibre. Gwyddion software program was used to investigate surface parameters (roughness and waviness), diameter (size distribution), and probability density of the fibre. The data showed that the diameter of the fibre was ∼0.4 nm.

Publisher Correction: An increase in the 12C + 12C fusion rate from resonances at astrophysical energies.

In equation (1) of this Letter, the closing bracket was missing; in Extended Data Fig. 1 and the accompanying legend, 'Φ(pd)' should have been 'Φ2(pd)', and in the Methods the text "Odd J assignments are uncertain by ±1." has been added. These errors have all been corrected online.

An increase in the 12C + 12C fusion rate from resonances at astrophysical energies.

Carbon burning powers scenarios that influence the fate of stars, such as the late evolutionary stages of massive stars 1 (exceeding eight solar masses) and superbursts from accreting neutron stars2,3. It proceeds through the 12C + 12C fusion reactions that produce an alpha particle and neon-20 or a proton and sodium-23-that is, 12C(12C, α)20Ne and 12C(12C, p)23Na-at temperatures greater than 0.4 × 109 kelvin, corresponding to astrophysical energies exceeding a megaelectronvolt, at which such nuclear reactions are more likely to occur in stars. The cross-sections 4 for those carbon fusion reactions (probabilities that are required to calculate the rate of the reactions) have hitherto not been measured at the Gamow peaks 4 below 2 megaelectronvolts because of exponential suppression arising from the Coulomb barrier. The reference rate 5 at temperatures below 1.2 × 109 kelvin relies on extrapolations that ignore the effects of possible low-lying resonances. Here we report the measurement of the 12C(12C, α0,1)20Ne and 12C(12C, p0,1)23Na reaction rates (where the subscripts 0 and 1 stand for the ground and first excited states of 20Ne and 23Na, respectively) at centre-of-mass energies from 2.7 to 0.8 megaelectronvolts using the Trojan Horse method6,7 and the deuteron in 14N. The cross-sections deduced exhibit several resonances that are responsible for very large increases of the reaction rate at relevant temperatures. In particular, around 5 × 108 kelvin, the reaction rate is boosted to more than 25 times larger than the reference value 5 . This finding may have implications such as lowering the temperatures and densities 8 required for the ignition of carbon burning in massive stars and decreasing the superburst ignition depth in accreting neutron stars to reconcile observations with theoretical models 3 .

A coordination polymer for the site-specific integration of semiconducting sequences into DNA-based materials.

Advances in bottom-up material design have been significantly progressed through DNA-based approaches. However, the routine integration of semiconducting properties, particularly long-range electrical conduction, into the basic topological motif of DNA remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate this with a coordination polymer derived from 6-thioguanosine (6-TG-H), a sulfur-containing analog of a natural nucleoside. The complexation reaction with Au(I) ions spontaneously assembles luminescent one-dimensional helical chains, characterized as {AuI(µ-6-TG)} n , extending many µm in length that are structurally analogous to natural DNA. Uniquely, for such a material, this gold-thiolate can be transformed into a wire-like conducting form by oxidative doping. We also show that this self-assembly reaction is compatible with a 6-TG-modified DNA duplex and provides a straightforward method by which to integrate semiconducting sequences, site-specifically, into the framework of DNA materials, transforming their properties in a fundamental and technologically useful manner.Integration of semiconducting properties into the basic topological motif of DNA remains challenging. Here, the authors show a coordination polymer derived from 6-thioguanosine that complexes with Au(I) ions to form a wire-like material that can also integrate semiconducting sequences into the framework of DNA materials.

High-Precision Probe of the Fully Sequential Decay Width of the Hoyle State in

The decay path of the Hoyle state in ^{12}C (E_{x}=7.654 MeV) has been studied with the ^{14}N(d,α_{2})^{12}C(7.654) reaction induced at 10.5 MeV. High resolution invariant mass spectroscopy techniques have allowed us to unambiguously disentangle direct and sequential decays of the state passing through the ground state of ^{8}Be. Thanks to the almost total absence of background and the attained resolution, a fully sequential decay contribution to the width of the state has been observed. The direct decay width is negligible, with an upper limit of 0.043% (95% C.L.). The precision of this result is about a factor 5 higher than previous studies. This has significant implications on nuclear structure, as it provides constraints to 3α cluster model calculations, where higher precision limits are needed.

Análisis médico forense del peso pulmonar y de otros factores en la muerte por sumersión / Medical forensic analysis of the pulmonary weight and of other factors in the death for drowning

La investigación médico-legal de la muerte por sumersión es uno de los temas más controvertidos y difíciles en medicina forense. Se han propuesto diversos hallazgos durante la autopsia, pruebas histopatológicas y biológicas, pero ninguna de ellas es específica ni definitiva en el diagnóstico de este tipo de muerte. En este artículo analizamos 78 casos de fallecidos en los que se estableció un diagnóstico médico-legal de muerte por sumersión. El 18% tenían pulmones con un peso inferior a 1.000 g. En el 3,8% los pulmones eran macroscópicamente normales, los conocidos como pulmones secos. En algunos de los casos considerados en la literatura médica como ahogados secos la muerte puede deberse a causas naturales de difícil diagnóstico (AU)

The medico-legal investigation of death by drowning is one of the most controversial and difficult issues in forensics. Have been proposed several findings at autopsy, histopathological and biological tests but none of them are specific and definitive diagnosis of this type of death. We analyze 78 cases of deaths in which a forensic diagnosis of death by drowning was established. In 18% of the total had lungs with a weight less than 1,000 g. 3.8% the lungs were normal macroscopic, known as dry lungs. Some of the cases in the medical literature as dry drowning death may be due to natural causes of difficult diagnosis (AU)

Estenosis aórtica por válvula bicúspide: una causa de muerte súbita en jóvenes deportistas / Aortic stenosis due to bicuspid valve: cause of sudden death in young athletes

La estenosis aórtica es una causa de muerte súbita frecuente durante la práctica de deporte. La anomalía congénita más habitual de la válvula aórtica es la válvula bicúspide. Se describe el caso de un varón de 19 años de edad, diagnosticado de valvulopatía y asintomático, que falleció súbitamente mientras practicaba deporte. En la autopsia es necesario, antes de abrir el anillo valvular, explorar el estado de las valvas y valorar el área de la superficie permeable (AU)

The aortic estenosis is a reason of sudden frequent death during the practice of sport. The most frequent congenital anomaly of the aortic valve is the bicuspid valve. There is described the case of a 19-year-old male diagnositicado of valvulopatia and asymptomatic that expired suddenly while was practising sport. In the autopsy it is necessary, before the opening of the valvular ring, the examination of the condition of the valves and to value the area of the permeable surface (AU)

Estudio y análisis médico-legal de las muertes en privación de libertad en Málaga (2004-2012) / Study and forensic analysis of deaths in custody in Malaga, Spain (2004-2012)

Se presenta un estudio sobre todos los casos de muertes en privación de libertad ocurridos en la provincia de Málaga durante los años 2004-2012, que fueron 41. En cuanto al origen y la causa de la muerte, la mayoría fueron accidentales (46,3%, incluyendo reacción adversa a drogas), seguidas de suicidios (24,3%), muertes de origen natural (21,9%) y homicidios (7,3%). En el estudio se detalla también la edad, el sexo, la nacionalidad, el consumo de tóxicos y el lugar del suceso. Finalmente se exponen cuatro interesantes casos: dos accidentes, un suicidio y un homicidio (AU)

A study of all cases of deaths in custody occurred in the province of Malaga, Spain, during the years 2004 to 2012 is presented. These were 41. As for the origin and etiology of death, most were accidents 46.3% (including adverse drug reaction), followed by suicides (24.3%), natural deaths (21.9%) and homicides (7.3%). In the study; age, sex, national consumption of toxic and location of occurrence is detailed. Finally four interesting cases are discussed: twoaccidents, one suicide and a homicide (AU)

Measurement of the -3 keV resonance in the reaction 13C(α,n)16O of importance in the s-process.

The (13)C(α,n)(16)O reaction is the neutron source for the main component of the s-process, responsible for the production of most nuclei in the mass range 90

Consumo de alcohol, tabaco, cannabis y otras sustancias psicoactivas en estudiantes de la Universidad de Málaga / Consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other psychoactive substances among University of Malaga students

Objetivos. Conocer la prevalencia de consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en los estudiantes de la Universidad de Málaga, patrones de consumo, accesibilidad y riesgo percibido, con el fin de obtener información que permita diseñar intervenciones dirigidas a la prevención y modificación de actitudes. Material y métodos. Cuestionario anónimo y autocumplimentado administrado a una muestra representativa (n = 1.121) de la población de estudiantes (bienio 2007-2009). Resultados. Las sustancias más consumidas en el último mes fueron alcohol (64,6%) y cannabis (9%), con una prevalencia de consumo para todas las sustancias por debajo de la media en la población de referencia, excepto para el alcohol, donde se iguala. El consumo de tabaco diario (11,2%) es muy inferior al de la población general, aunque similar al de otras universidades. Perciben como conductas de consumo menos arriesgadas el consumo de alcohol (23-24,5%) y el consumo esporádico de cannabis (20,6%), que consideran la droga ilícita más accesible. La mayoría de las sustancias presentan un uso recreativo y son consumidas en grupo. No se aprecian diferencias por razón de género en la percepción del riesgo para ninguna de las conductas, aun cuando el patrón de consumo sí varía en función del sexo. Conclusiones. La prevalencia de consumo para alcohol y cannabis junto a la percepción del riesgo asociado al uso de las sustancias psicoactivas estudiadas y otros datos obtenidos en este estudio podrían contribuir a definir intervenciones dirigidas a la prevención y modificación de actitudes, así como al diseño de futuras investigaciones en este colectivo (AU)

Objectives. To find out the prevalence of psychoactive substance use among students in Malaga University, and their consumption patterns, accessibility and risk awareness associated with their use in order to obtain information to design interventions for prevention and behavioural changes. Material and methods. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire were used in a representative sample of students population (n=1,121, period 2007-2009). Results. The substances most consumed in the last month were alcohol (64.6%) and cannabis (9%), with a prevalence of consumption for all the substances under the average in the population of reference, except for alcohol that remains equal. The consumption of daily smoked tobacco (11.2%) is lower than that of the general population, although similar to other universities. Student perceive low risk associated with alcohol consumption (23-24.5%) as well as sporadic consumption of cannabis (20.6%) which is consider the most accessible illicit drug. Most substances show a recreational use and are usually consumed in groups. There are not gender differences in risk awareness for any of the substances, although the consumption patterns for the majority of substances depend on the gender. Conclusions. Prevalence of both alcohol and cannabis consumption as well as risk awareness associated with psychoactive substance use, and other findings from this study could address the development of interventions for prevention, behavioural changes and the design of new studies in this group (AU)

Measurement of the 20 and 90 keV resonances in the 18O(p,alpha)15N reaction via the Trojan horse method.

The 18O(p,alpha)15N reaction is of primary importance in several astrophysical scenarios, including fluorine nucleosynthesis inside asymptotic giant branch stars as well as oxygen and nitrogen isotopic ratios in meteorite grains. Thus the indirect measurement of the low energy region of the 18O(p,alpha)15N reaction has been performed to reduce the nuclear uncertainty on theoretical predictions. In particular the strength of the 20 and 90 keV resonances has been deduced and the change in the reaction rate evaluated.

Suppression of the Coulomb interaction in the off-energy-shell p - p scattering from the p + d --> p + p + n reaction.

Off-energy-shell effects in p - p scattering have been investigated at p - p relative energies from 600 down to 80 keV applying the Trojan horse method (THM) to the p + d --> p + p + n reaction at 5 MeV. In contrast with the on-energy-shell case, no Coulomb-nuclear interference minimum has been found in the extracted THM p - p cross section, due to the suppression of the Coulomb amplitude as predicted by the half-off-energy shell calculations. This hypothesis is strengthened by the agreement between THM p - p data and calculated on-energy-shell n + n, n + p and nuclear p + p cross sections.

The high mobility group protein 1 enhances binding of the estrogen receptor DNA binding domain to the estrogen response element.

We have examined the ability of the high-mobility group protein 1 (HMG1) to alter binding of the estrogen receptor DNA-binding domain (DBD) to the estrogen response element (ERE). HMG1 dramatically enhanced binding of purified, bacterially expressed DBD to the consensus vitellogenin A2 ERE in a dose-dependent manner. The ability of HMG1 to stabilize the DBD-ERE complex resulted in part from a decrease in the dissociation rate of the DBD from the ERE. Antibody supershift experiments demonstrated that HMG1 was also capable of forming a ternary complex with the ERE-bound DBD in the presence of HMG1-specific antibody. HMG1 did not substantially affect DBD-ERE contacts as assessed by methylation interference assays, nor did it alter the ability of the DBD to induce distortion in ERE-containing DNA fragments. Because HMG1 dramatically enhanced estrogen receptor DBD binding to the ERE, and the DBD is the most highly conserved region among the nuclear receptor superfamily members, HMG1 may function to enhance binding of other nuclear receptors to their respective response elements and act in concert with coactivator proteins to regulate expression of hormone-responsive genes.