Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Oppositely Charged Molecular Switches in the Aqueous Phase: Theory and Experiment.

XUV photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful method for investigating the electronic structures of molecules. However, the correct interpretation of results in the condensed phase requires theoretical models that account for solvation. Here we present experimental aqueous-phase XPS of two organic biomimetic molecular switches, NAIP and p-HDIOP. These switches are structurally similar, but have opposite charges and thus present a stringent benchmark for solvation models which need to reproduce the observed ΔeBE = 1.1 eV difference in electron binding energy compared to the 8 eV difference predicted in the gas phase. We present calculations using implicit and explicit solvent models. The latter employs the average solvent electrostatic configuration and free energy gradient (ASEC-FEG) approach. Both nonequilibrium polarizable continuum models and ASEC-FEG calculations give vertical binding energies in good agreement with the experiment for three different computational protocols. Counterions, explicitly accounted for in ASEC-FEG, contribute to the stabilization of molecular states and reduction of ΔeBE upon solvation.

Seguimiento y tratamiento en un programa de prevención de cáncer cervicouterino basado en el test de VPH en Jujuy / Follow up and treatment in a screening program based on HPV testing in jujuy

En 2011 el Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, conjuntamente con el Ministerio deSalud de Jujuy, lanzó en esta provincia el Proyecto Demostración (PDJ) para laincorporación del test de virus de papiloma humano (VPH) como test de tamizaje.El test de VPH es realizado en todos los efectores públicos de salud, de maneragratuita, a todas las mujeres de 30 años y más. Uno de los componentes principalesen este nuevo contexto es el seguimiento y tratamiento de las mujeres VPH+.ObjetivosMedir el abandono del proceso de seguimiento y tratamiento de las mujerescon VPH+/Pap anormal; analizar el perfil socioeconómico de las mujeresque abandonan el proceso de atención; y analizar las percepciones de losprofesionales acerca de los factores que influyen en el proceso de seguimiento ytratamiento en el contexto del tamizaje con test de VPH.MétodosSe llevó a cabo un estudio cuantitativo y cualitativo. Se realizó el análisis defuentes secundarias, con encuestas domiciliarias a mujeres con diagnóstico deVPH+/Pap anormal atendidas en el sistema público de salud de Jujuy en 2012 yentrevistas semiestructuradas a profesionales.ResultadosEl porcentaje de abandono fue del 7%, con un rango de 5,8-18,8%. Entre losabandonos, se observó una mayor proporción de mujeres con nivel educativo bajo ycon cobertura pública de salud. Los principales motivos de abandono identificadospor los profesionales fueron el miedo, las creencias culturales y el machismo.Entre los obstáculos para el seguimiento de las mujeres se destacaron la falta derecursos humanos y los problemas de referencia y contrarreferencia. La búsquedaactiva realizada por las navegadoras y agentes sanitarios, y la buena comunicaciónmédico-paciente fueron percibidas como los principales facilitadores.ConclusionesSi bien los niveles de abandono son bajos, es necesario visibilizar este problemaentre los profesionales involucrados y continuar las acciones de fortalecimientode los servicios públicos de salud.

Hyaluronan derivatives bearing variable densities of ferulic acid residues.

A synthetic procedure has been developed to conjugate ferulic acid (FA) to an important natural polysaccharide derivative such as hyaluronic acid (HA). The activation of FA with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) has been investigated. Two reactive intermediates, namely monoimidazolide 2 [i.e. (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one] and bisimidazolide 3 [i.e. (E)-4-(3-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-3-oxoprop-1-enyl)-2-methoxyphenyl 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylate] were characterized from the point of view of their structure and reactivity. The ready isolation of bisimidazolide 3 and its reactivity support its potential usefulness in the feruloylation of molecular or macromolecular materials bearing hydroxyl moieties. Bisimidazolide derivative 3 has been found to be an effective reagent in the feruloylation of HA to give HAFA graft copolymers showing different grafting degrees (GD), which could be modulated by varying the reaction conditions. A series of HAFA derivatives showing different GD values has been prepared and submitted to an extensive macromolecular and rheological characterization in order to ascertain that the grafting of HA with FA does not degrade the polysaccharide backbone and to evaluate the role of GD in affecting solubility and rheological properties. The results suggested that relatively low GD values were sufficient to confer physical cross-linking capabilities resulting in the features of a strong gel of HAFA dispersions.

Motion sickness susceptibility in healthy subjects and vestibular patients: effects of gender, age and trait-anxiety.

Several studies have suggested that anxiety may play a role in motion sickness susceptibility (MSS) variability. This study aimed to assess motion sickness susceptibility in healthy subjects and chronic vestibular patients and to investigate its relationship to gender, age and trait-anxiety. Healthy subjects (n=167) and chronic dizzy patients with various vestibulopathies (n=94), aged from 20 to 92 years old, were asked to complete Motion Sickness Susceptibility questionnaire (MSSQ) and trait-anxiety questionnaire (STAI-B). When patients were divided into those who had vestibular loss (n=51) vs. patients without vestibular loss (n=43), the MSSQ scores (mean ± SD) for patients with vestibular loss (18.8 ± 30.9) were lower than healthy subjects (36.4 ± 34.8), who were lower than vestibular patients without vestibular loss (59.0 ± 39.7). These significant differences could not be explained by gender, age, trait-anxiety, or interaction. Women had higher MSS than men, and MSS declined with age for healthy subjects and vestibular patients. The overall relationship between anxiety and MSS scores was weak and only reached significance in healthy subjects. These results support the conclusion that the vestibular system is heavily involved in MSS and that trait-anxiety may play a role in MSS but only in healthy subjects.

SATB1 collaborates with loss of p16 in cellular transformation.

Tumor progression is associated with invasiveness and metastatic potential. The special AT-rich binding protein 1 (SATB1) has been identified as a key factor in the progression of breast cancer cells to a malignant phenotype and is associated with progression of human tumors. In normal development, SATB1 coordinates gene expression of progenitor cells by functioning as a genome organizer. In contrast to progenitor and tumor cells, SATB1 expression in nontransformed cells is not compatible with proliferation. Here we show that SATB1 expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts induces cell cycle arrest and senescence that is associated with elevated p16 protein levels. Deletion of p16 overcomes the SATB1-induced senescence. We further provide evidence for an interaction of SATB1 with the retinoblastoma (RB)/E2F pathway downstream of p16. A combined deletion of the RB proteins, RB, p107 and p130 (triple-mutant; TM), prevents SATB1-induced G1 arrest, which is restored upon the reintroduction of RB into SATB1-expressing TM fibroblasts. SATB1 interacts with the E2F/RB complex and regulates the cyclin E promoter in an E2F-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that p16 and the RB/E2F pathway are critical for SATB1-induced cell cycle arrest. In the absence of p16, SATB1 causes anchorage-independent growth and invasive phenotype in fibroblasts. Our data illustrate that p16 mutations collaborate with the oncogenic activity of SATB1. Consistent with our finding, a literature survey shows that deletion of p16 is generally associated with SATB1 expressing human cell lines and tumors.

[Psychometric properties of a French adaptation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory]. / Propriétés psychométriques d'une version française du Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.

INTRODUCTION: Tinnitus is a subjective phenomenon and in the majority of cases it is impossible to objectify it. The patient's self-evaluation using questionnaires and rating scales is the only way to quantify this symptom. Among the most widely used tools is the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). This questionnaire permits the practitioner to quantify the severity of tinnitus and measure the psycho-emotional and functional components of the tinnitus related handicap. It has been translated and validated in many languages. However, there is no French version of the THI. The reliability of the THI as a powerful clinical tool for tinnitus evaluation, and the lack of a French version of this questionnaire led us to translate it into French. The goal of this study was to validate our French adaptation of the THI (fTHI) for the management of French-speaking tinnitus sufferers. This is also essential for an effective international cooperation. METHODS: The fTHI was presented to a sample of 174 patients (63% men and 34% women) who had consulted our IMERTA Tinnitus Centre from June 2007 to July 2008. All patients reported tinnitus that had persisted for at least six months (average duration: 5.9 ± 4.3 years) as their primary complaint. The mean age of the sample was 54.2 ± 16.4 years, ranging from 22 to 84. The patients did not present any linguistic or mental problems likely to compromise their capacities to answer French questionnaires. During the first visit, before the consultation with the doctor, the patients were asked to complete the fTHI, and to evaluate the clearness of items and the ease of answering the questionnaire. Using rating scales, the patients were also asked to evaluate the severity of tinnitus and its impact on their quality of life. Internal consistency reliability of the fTHI and each sub-scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α). The average values, standard errors and correlations between the items, the scores of fTHI and those of the rating scales were calculated using "Statistica 6" software. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The homogeneity was considered to be satisfactory for α greater than 0.8. RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of the patients answered the totality of the fTHI. Ninety-six percent of them evaluated it as simple, comprehensible and easy to answer. Cronbach's α for the fTHI was 0.90 with item/total correlations (p<0.001) ranging from r=0.21 (item n(o) 19) to r=0.71 (items n(o) 17 and 21). Cronbach's α for the functional sub-scale was 0.80 with item/total correlations (p<0.001) ranging from r=0.38 (item n(o) 24) and 0.69 (item n(o) 4). Cronbach's α for the emotional sub-scale was 0.85 with item/total correlations (p<0.001) ranging from r=0.52 (item n(o) 6) and r=0.78 (item n(o) 21). Cronbach's α for the catastrophic sub-scale was 0.49 with item/total correlations (p<0.001) ranging from r=0.51 (item n(o) 19) and 0.63 (item n(o) 23). The total score of the fTHI is correlated significantly (p<0.001) with the functional (r=0.91), emotional (r=0.90) and catastrophic (r=0.69) sub-scales. Correlations between the fTHI and the rating scales vary between 0.26 (p<0.001) and 0.61 (p<0.001). The highest coefficient of correlation is obtained for the "Total score of fTHI"/"Tinnitus impact on quality of life". CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the French adaptation of the THI and its sub-scales has good internal consistency reliabilities, comparable to those of the original version. Significant inter-correlations are found between the sub-scales items, even if they represent three distinct factors. In addition, the fTHI is correlated with the self-report rating scales of the tinnitus's impact on the patient's quality of life and the severity of tinnitus. Thus, the fTHI is a psychometrically robust, reliable and valid measure of tinnitus related handicaps and can be used in a clinical setting to quantify the impact of tinnitus on French-speaking patients' quality of life, and to monitor their progress with specific therapies.

Intraoperative imprint cytology: its significance as a diagnostic adjunct.

We retrospectively evaluated 664 specimens submitted for intraoperative frozen-section analysis for which cytologic imprints or smears were also prepared; 238 (36%) were malignant neoplasms. These preparations were retrospectively evaluated independently by three reviewers of varied experience in the detection of malignancy. The number of false-positive and false-negative results were recorded, and various assessment parameters (sensitivity, specificity, efficiency, and predictive value) were calculated. The imprint was of chief value as an adjunct to the frozen section, particularly in avoiding false-positive and, to a lesser extent, false-negative interpretations. Experience with the use of intraoperative cytology demonstrated the technique to be of value in providing abbreviated preparation time (3-5 min); supportive diagnostic information when frozen section was equivocal; diagnostic information when frozen-section evaluation could not be done (e.g., excessively small sample); contributory information for final diagnosis on difficult cases; and excellent teaching material for cytopathology.

Discriminant analysis of laboratory tests in patients admitted to a coronary care unit.

Discriminant analysis of chemistry and hematology laboratory test results was used to classify patients with and without myocardial infarction in a coronary care unit. We studied 64 patients with myocardial infarction and 70 patients without infarction, using logistic regression, linear and quadratic discriminant analyses on untransformed and logarithmically transformed data. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST, EC 2.6.1.1), the best single discriminating test, classified 73% of patients correctly. Quadratic discriminant analysis on log-transformed data had a 98.5% classification accuracy when all variables were used in the discriminant function and had the highest classification accuracy and precision. All of the discriminant methods had acceptable cross-validation.