Phantom pain (PhP)is reported by patients after limb amputation due to trauma or chronic diseases. We report the case of successful PhP treatment with pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of the femoral and sciatic nerve. (PRF) reduced the intensity of pain for one year, improving the quality of life of the patient.

A 55-year-old man with left temporo-insulo-parietal glioblastoma was admitted because of abrupt excruciating pain in right arm and ipsilateral face. EEG showed a left central frontal rhythmic activity and complains were controlled with anti-epileptic drugs. Paroxysmal pain is an unusual manifestation of focal seizures and can be the only symptom.

Vaccines provide effective protection against many infectious diseases as well as therapeutics for some serious diseases, such as cancer. Many viral vaccines require amplification of virus in cell cultures during manufacture. Traditionally, cell cultures, such as VERO, have been used for virus production in bovine serum-containing culture media. However, due to concerns of potential adventitious agents present in fetal bovine serum (FBS), regulatory agencies suggest avoiding the use of bovine serum in vaccine production. Current serum-free media suitable for VERO-based virus production contains high concentrations of undefined plant hydrolysates. Although these media have been extensively used, the lack of chemical definition has potential to adversely affect cell growth kinetics and subsequent virus production. As plant hydrolysates are made from plant raw materials, performance variations could be significant among different lots of production. We developed a chemically defined, serum-free medium, OptiVERO, that was optimized specifically for VERO cells. VERO cell growth kinetics were demonstrated to be equivalent to EMEM-10% FBS in this chemically defined medium while the plant hydrolysate-containing medium demonstrated a higher doubling time in both 2D and 3D cultures. Virus production comparisons demonstrated that the chemically defined OptiVERO medium performed at least as good as the EMEM-10%FBS and better than the plant hydrolysate-containing media. We report the success in using recombinant proteins to replace undefined plant hydrolysates to formulate a chemically defined medium that can efficiently support VERO cell expansion and virus production.

Background and Purpose: Local anesthetics block sodium and a variety of potassium channels. Although previous studies identified a residue in the pore signature sequence together with three residues in the S6 segment as a putative binding site, the precise molecular basis of Kv potassium channel inhibition by local anesthetics remained unknown. Kv crystal structures predict that some of these residues point away from the central cavity and face into a drug binding site called ‘side pockets´. Thus, the question arises whether the binding site of local anesthetics is exclusively located in the central cavity or also involves the ‘side pockets´. Experimental Approach: A systematic functional alanine mutagenesis approach, scanning 58 mutants, in concert with in silico docking experiments and molecular dynamics simulations were utilized to elucidate the binding site of bupivacaine and ropivacaine. Key Results: Kv1.5 inhibition by local anesthetics requires binding to the central cavity and the ‘side pockets´, where the latter requires interactions with residues of the S5 and the backside of the S6 segment. Mutations in the ‘side pockets´ remove stereoselectivity of Kv1.5 inhibition by bupivacaine. Strikingly, while we found that binding to the ‘side pockets´ is conserved for the different local anesthetics, the binding mode in the central cavity and the ‘side pockets´ shows considerable variations. Conclusion and Implications: Local anesthetics bind to the central cavity and the ‘side pockets´ which provides a crucial key for the molecular understanding of their Kv channel affinity and stereoselectivity, as well as their spectrum of side effects.

Background and purpose: The pathophysiology of coronary artery spasm ( CAS), with its associated ischaemic crises, is currently poorly understood, and treatment is frequently ineffective. In view of increasing evidence that platelet- platelet based defects may occur in CAS patients,. we investigated platelet reactivity in CAS patients and whether symptomatic crises reflect activation of platelet-endothelial interactions. Experimental approach: CAS patients were evaluated during acute and/or chronic symptomatic phases, and compared with healthy control subjects. Inhibition of platelet aggregation with ADP by the nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP), . and plasma levels of syndecan-1 (glycocalyx shedding marker), tryptase (mast cell activation marker), and platelet microparticles were measured. Key Results: Inhibition of aggregation by SNP was impaired in chronic CAS, and tended to deteriorate further during symptomatic crises, while plasma levels of syndecan-1, tryptase and platelet microparticles increased. Infusion of high dose N-acetylcysteine (NAC) plus glyceryl trinitrate rapidly restored platelet responsiveness to SNP and decreased plasma syndecan-1 levels. The effect of NAC on platelet responsiveness to SNP was mimicked in vitro by the H2S donor NaHS. Conversely, inhibition of enzymatic release of H2S attenuated NAC effect. Conclusion and Implications: CAS is associated with substantial impairment of platelet NO signaling. During acute symptomatic exacerbations, platelet resistance to NO is aggravated, together with mast cell activation and damage to both vasculature and platelets. NAC reverses platelet resistance to NO via release of H2S, and reverses glycocalyx shedding during symptomatic crises: this suggests that H2S donors may correct the pathophysiological anomalies underlying CAS.

Letter to the Editor, BJOG Exchange

The M42 aminopeptidases are a family of dinuclear aminopeptidases widely distributed in Prokaryotes. They are potentially associated to the proteasome, achieving complete peptide destruction. Their most peculiar characteristic is their quaternary structure, a tetrahedron-shaped particle made of twelve subunits. The catalytic site of M42 aminopeptidases is defined by seven conserved residues. Five of them are involved in metal ion binding which is important to maintain both the activity and the oligomeric state. The sixth conserved residue, a glutamate, is the catalytic base deprotonating the water molecule during peptide bond hydrolysis. The seventh residue is an aspartate whose function remains poorly understood. This aspartate residue, however, must have a critical role as it is strictly conserved in all MH clan enzymes. It forms some kind of catalytic triad with the histidine residue and the metal ion of the M2 binding site. We assess its role in TmPep1050, an M42 aminopeptidase of Thermotoga maritima, through a mutational approach. Asp-62 was substituted with alanine, asparagine, or glutamate residue. The three Asp-62 substitutions completely abolished TmPep1050 activity and impeded dodecamer formation. They also interfered with metal ion binding as only one cobalt ion is bound per subunit instead of two. The structural data showed that the Asp62Ala substitution has an impact on the active site folds becoming similar to TmPep1050 dimer. We propose a structural role for Asp-62, helping to stabilize a crucial loop in the active site and to position correctly the catalytic base and a metal ion ligand of the M1 site.

In this article, we provide advice and insights, based on our own experiences, for computational chemists who are beginning new tenure-track positions at primarily undergraduate institutions. We each followed different routes to obtain our tenure-track positions, but we all experienced similar challenges when getting started in our new position. In this article, we discuss our approaches to seven areas that we all found important for engaging undergraduate students in our computational chemistry research, including setting up computational resources, recruiting research students, training research students, designing student projects, managing the lab, mentoring students, and student conference participation. KEYWORDS — undergraduate research, computational chemistry, primarily undergraduate institution, tenure-track position, career pathways

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a vasculitis of unknown aetiology that is reported to accompany autoimmune diseases. We report a rare case of BD, Addison’s disease, Hashimoto’s disease, and subclinical coeliac disease all occurring in one patient which has not previously been reported.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) can easily be misdiagnosed. We present the case of a man with abdominal pain who was EG but misdiagnosed with cholelithiasis. This case highlights the need to consider EG in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain since a favorable result can be achieved with timely treatment.

Leaf shape is a defining feature of how we recognise and classify plant species. Although there is extensive variation in leaf shape within many species, few studies have disentangled the underlying genetic architecture. We characterised the genetic architecture of leaf shape variation in Eurasian aspen (Populus tremula L.) by performing a genome wide association studies (GWAS) for physiognomy traits. To ascertain the roles of identified GWAS candidate genes within the leaf development transcriptional program, we performed gene co-expression network analyses from a developmental series, which is publicly available at http://aspleaf.plantgenie.org. We additionally used gene expression measurements across the population to analyse GWAS candidate genes in the context of a population-wide co-expression network and to identify genes that were differentially expressed between groups of individuals with contrasting leaf shapes. These data were integrated with expression GWAS (eQTL) results to define a set of candidate genes associated with leaf shape variation. Our results identified no clear adaptive link to leaf shape variation and indicate that leaf shape traits are genetically complex, likely determined by numerous small-effect variations in gene expression. Genes associated with shape variation were peripheral within the population-wide co-expression network, were not highly connected within the leaf development co-expression network and exhibited signatures of relaxed selection. As such, our results are consistent with the omnigenic model.

A semiclassical phase-space perspective of band- and topological-insulator regimes of 2D Dirac materials, and normal- and superradiant-phases of atom-field interacting models is given in terms of delocalization, entropies, and quantum correlation measures. From this point of view, the low-energy limit of tight-binding models describing the electronic band structure of topological 2D Dirac materials like phosphorene and silicene with tunable band gaps, share similarities with Rabi-Dicke and Jaynes-Cummings atom-field interaction models, respectively. In particular, the edge state of 2D Dirac materials in the topological insulator phase exhibits a Schr\”odinger cat structure similar to the ground state of two-level atoms in a cavity interacting with a one-mode radiation field in the superradiant phase. Delocalization seems to be a common feature of topological insulator and superradiant phases.

The occurrence of mycobacterial infections in different hosts and their implication as obligate or opportunistic pathogens remain mainly unclear. In addition to the well-known pathogenic members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis - complex (MTBC), over 180 nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species have been described. Although the large majority of the NTM are assumed to be non-pathogenic to most individuals, an increasing trend in NTM infections has been observed over the last decades. The reasons of such augmentation are probably more than one: improved laboratory diagnostics, an increasing number of immunocompromised patients and individuals with lung damage are some of the possible aspects. Mandibular lymph nodes of 176 hunted wild boars from the pre-Alpine region of Canton Ticino, Switzerland, were collected. Following gross inspection, each lymph node was subjected to culture and to an IS6110 based real-time PCR specific for MTBC members. Histology was performed of a selection of lymph nodes presenting gross visible lesions. Moreover, accuracy of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry species identification was compared with sequence analysis of a combination of housekeeping genes. Mycobacteria of the MTBC were detected in five out of 176 wild boars (2.8%; CI95% 1.2 - 6.5) and were all confirmed to be Mycobacterium microti by molecular methods. In addition, based on the examined lymph nodes, NTM were detected in 57.4% (CI95% 50.0 – 64.5) of the wild boars originating from the study area. The 111 isolates belonged to 24 known species and three potentially undescribed Mycobacterium species. M. avium subsp. hominissuis thereby predominated (22.5%) and was found in lymph nodes with and without macroscopic changes. Overall, the present findings show that, with the exception of undescribed Mycobacterium species where identification was not possible (3.6%; 4/111), MALDI-TOF had a high concordance rate (90.1%; 100/111 isolates) to the sequence based reference method.

Previously, our lab developed high molecular weight (MW) tense (T) state glutaraldehyde polymerized bovine hemoglobins (PolybHbs) that exhibited reduced vasoactivity in several small animal models. In this work, we prepared PolybHb in the T- and relaxed (R) quaternary state with ultrahigh MW (> 500 kDa) with varying cross-link densities and investigated the effect of MW on key biophysical properties (i.e., O2 affinity, cooperativity coefficient, hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity, polymer composition, viscosity, gaseous ligand-binding kinetics, autoxidation, and haptoglobin-binding kinetics). To further optimize current PolybHb synthesis and purification protocols, we performed a comprehensive meta-data analysis to evaluate correlations between procedural parameters (i.e. cross-linker:bovine Hb (bHb) molar ratio, gas/liquid exchange time, temperature during dithionite addition, and number of diafiltration cycles) and the biophysical properties of both T-state and R-state PolybHbs. Our results showed that, the duration of the fast-step autoxidation phase of R-state PolybHb increased with decreasing glutaraldehyde:bHb molar ratio. Additionally, T-state PolybHb exhibited significantly higher biomolecular rate constants for binding to haptoglobin and unimoleular O2 offloading rate constants compared to R-state PolybHb. The methemoglobin (metHb) level in the final product was insensitive to the molar ratio of glutaraldehyde to bHb for all PolybHb. During tangential flow filtration processing of the final product, 14 diafiltration cycles was found to yield the lowest metHb level.

COVID-19 pandemic disease spread by SARS-COV-2 single-strand structure RNA virus belongs to the 7th generation of the coronavirus family. Following an unusual replication mechanism, its extreme ease of transmissibility has put many counties under lockdown. With a cure for the infection uncertain in the near future, the pressure currently lies in the current healthcare infrastructure, policies, government activities, and behaviour of the people to contain the virus. This research seeks to understand the spreading patterns of the COVID-19 virus through exponential growth modelling and identifies countries that have showed an initial sign of containment until 26th March 2020. Post identification of countries that have shown an initial sign of containment, predictive supervised machine learning models were built with infrastructure, environment, policies, and infection related independent variables. For the purpose, COVID-19 infection data across 42 countries were used. Logistic regression results shows a positive significant relationship of healthcare infrastructure and lockdown policies on the sign of early containment in countries. Machine learning models based on logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, and support vector machines were developed and are seen to have accuracies between 76.2% to 92.9% to predict early sign of infection containment. Other policies and activities taken by countries to contain the infection are also discussed.

Background: Cladribine (CdA), an oral prodrug approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis, selectively depletes lymphocytes. CdA passes the blood-brain barrier suggesting a potential effect on CNS resident cells. Objective: We examined, if CdA modifies the phenotype and function of naïve and activated primary mouse microglia, when applied in different concentrations including 0.1-1 µM that putatively overlaps human CSF concentrations. Methods: Primary microglia cultures without stimulation or in the presence of proinflammatory lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or anti-inflammatory IL-4 were co-treated with different concentrations of CdA for 24 hours. Viability was assessed by MTT assay. Phagocytotic ability and morphology were examined by flow cytometry, and random migration by IncuCyte Zoom and TrackMate. Change in gene expression was examined by qPCR, and protein secretion by Meso Scale Discovery. Results: LPS and IL-4 upregulated deoxycytidine kinase (DCK) expression. Only activated microglia were affected by CdA, and this was unrelated to viability. CdA 0.1-1 µM significantly reduced granularity, phagocytotic ability and random migration of activated microglia. CdA 10 µM increased the IL-4-induced gene expression of Arg1 and LPS-induced expression of IL-1beta, TNF, iNOS, and Arg1, but protein secretion remained unaffected. CdA 10 µM potentiated the increased expression of anti-inflammatory TNFR2 but not TNFR1 induced by LPS. Conclusion: Microglia acquire a less activated phenotype when treated with 0.1–1 µM CdA that putatively overlaps human CSF concentrations. This may be related to the upregulated gene expression of DCK upon activation and suggests a potential alternative mechanism of CdA with direct effect on CNS resident cells.

Carbon dioxide has attracted considerable attention owing to its physics and abundant polymorphs. Despite decades of extensive experiments and theoretical simulations, the structure and properties of carbon dioxide under extreme pressures and temperatures are yet to be properly understood. Particularly, the intermediate phase IV of solid carbon dioxide, which separates the molecular phases at low pressures from the non-molecular phases at high pressures, has not been fully investigated, and its structure remains controversial. Here, based on the second-order Møller−Plesset perturbation (MP2) theory and the embedded fragment method, we study the crystal structure, equation of state, and Raman spectra of solid carbon dioxide phase IV at high pressures and temperatures. We demonstrate that the solid carbon dioxide phase IV is a molecular structure that remains in a molecular state rather than the bent state shown in other literatures, which is consistent with the experimental work by Datchi et al. and denies the observed results by Park et al. The proposed work is of great significance in determining the structure of the high-pressure phases of carbon dioxide and further exploring the new phase of molecular crystals.

The ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the atomic structures of Co92-xBxTa8 (x = 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, at.%) glassy alloys. The result shows that the local packing of B-centered clusters is more efficient than that for Co- and Ta-centered clusters. It is also found that B-centered clusters are the primary structure-forming clusters. The Kasper polyhedra with a Voronoi index of <0 3 6 0> and <0 2 8 0> are dominant in B-centered clusters. Specially, the <0 3 6 0> clusters can form a robust network structure, which plays a key role in mechanical properties. Such a network structure has a higher activation barrier for structural rearrangement and a better resist to plastic flow. Thus, the increase in the fraction of <0 3 6 0> with B content would result in an increase in yield strength as well as a sharp decrease in compression plasticity.