Notes

[Management of urethral stricture].
Higher hydromorphone controlled-release dispensing rate was a stronger predictor of HCV incidence than all opioid prescriptions (standardized Risk Ratio=1.17, p less then 0.0001 vs sRR=1.11, p=0.02). When hydromorphone controlled-release was excluded from the opioid prescription variable, dispensing patterns of all other opioids no longer remained a significant predictor(sRR=1.042, p=0.34). The observed relationship between HCV incidence and hydromorphone controlled-release dispensing suggests that the type of opioid prescribed locally may contribute to variations in HCV incidence. These data add support to evidence that hydromorphone controlled-release use is contributing to HCV spread in Ontario. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Polymer networks usually contain numerous inhomogeneities that deteriorate their physical properties and should be eliminated to create reliable, high-performance materials. Here we introduce a simple method for the production of nearly ideal networks from various vinyl polymers through controlled polymerization and subsequent crosslinking. Monodisperse star polymers with bromide end groups were synthesized by atom-transfer radical polymerization and end-linked with dithiol linkers using thiol-bromide chemistry. This simple procedure formed nearly ideal polymer networks, as revealed from elasticity of the formed gel and model conjugation reactions involving linear polymers. The versatility of this method was demonstrated by preparing networks of common vinyl polymers, including polyacrylates, polymethacrylate, and polystyrene. Our novel platform can be used to prepare multiple functional nearly ideal gels and elastomers, and to explore fundamental aspects of polymer networks. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.This article (Selvakumar & O'Connor, 2018) cannot be properly understood without examining unpublished U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) research data from which the results published in this article were in principle derived. Such data include the specific dates and times of day the samples were collected; the indicator organism concentrations in each of these samples; and detailed rainfall and temperature measurements during the 16 sampling events and throughout the study period. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Specific and rapid detection of proteins in biological fluids poses a challenging problem. In biological fluids, many proteins are present in low concentrations, requiring high affinity and specificity of the beacon-protein interaction. We report a novel design of a peptide-PNA hybrid beacon that exploits the dimeric nature of a target protein, S100B, a biomarker for brain trauma, to enhance binding affinity and specificity. The complementary base-pairing of the PNA bases brings the two arms of the beacon, one carrying an Alexa tag and the other carrying a Dabcyl moiety, to proximity, quenching Alexa fluorescence. Each of the two arms carries a sequence that binds to one of the subunits. Binding to the target separates the quencher from the probe lifting the quenching of fluorescence. Enhanced affinity and specificity resulting from simultaneously binding to two sites allowed specific detection of S100B at low nanomolar concentrations in the presence of serum. The design can be easily adapted for the detection of proteins containing multiple binding sites and may prove useful for rapid and sensitive biomarker detection. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. Blasticidin S KGaA, Weinheim.Birefringent materials, which can modulate the polarization of light, are almost exclusively limited to oxides. Peroxides have long been overlooked as birefringent materials, because they are usually not stable in air. Here we report the first peroxide birefringent material Rb 2 VO(O 2 ) 2 F, whose single crystals keep transparent after being exposed in air for two weeks. Interestingly, Rb 2 VO(O 2 ) 2 F does not feature an optimal anisotropic structure, but its birefringence (∆ n = 0.189 at 546 nm) exceeds those of the majority of oxides. According to the first-principles calculations, this exceptional birefringence should be responsible to the strong electronic interactions between localized π orbital of O 2 2- anions and V 5+ 3 d orbitals, which may be also favorable to the stability in air for Rb 2 VO(O 2 ) 2 F. These findings distinguish peroxides as a bran-new class of birefringent materials that may possess birefringence superior to the traditional oxides. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignancy of the thyroid gland with a relatively high cure rate. Distant metastasis (DM) of PTC is uncommon, but when it occurs, it significantly decreases the survival of PTC patients. However, the molecular mechanisms of DM in PTCs have not been systematically studied. We performed whole exome sequencing and GeneseeqPrime (425 genes) panel sequencing of the primary tumor, plasma and matched white blood cell samples from 20 PTCs with DM and 46 PTCs without DM. We identified somatic mutations, gene fusions and copy number alterations and analyzed their relationships with DM of PTCs. BRAF-V600E was identified in 73% of PTCs, followed by RET fusions (14%) in a mutually exclusive manner (p less then 0.0001). We found gene fusions (RET, ALK or NTRK1) (p less then 0.01) and chromosome 22q loss (p less then 0.01) were independently associated with DM by both univariate and multivariate analysis. A nomogram model consisting of chromosome 22q loss, gene fusions and three clinical variables was built for predicting DM in PTC (C-index=0.89). The plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection rate in PTCs was only 38.9%, however, it was significantly associated with the metastatic status (p= 0.04), tumor size (p= 0.001) and invasiveness (p= 0.01). In conclusion, gene fusions and chromosome 22q loss were independently associated with DM in PTCs and could serve as molecular biomarkers for predicting DM. The ctDNA detection rate was low in non-DM PTCs but significantly higher in PTCs with DM. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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