Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) Is a Positive Prognosticator for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a G_αs- protein coupled receptor that plays an important role in the regulation of the immune system and neurotransmission in the CNS. In ovarian cancer cell lines, stimulation of TAAR1 via 3-iodothyronamine (T₁AM) reduces cell viability and induces cell death and DNA damage. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of TAAR1 on overall survival of ovarian carcinoma patients and the correlation of TAAR1 expression with clinical parameters. Ovarian cancer tissue of n = 156 patients who were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (serous, n = 110 (high-grade, n = 80; low-grade, n = 24; unknown, n = 6); clear cell, n = 12; endometrioid, n = 21; mucinous, n = 13), and who underwent surgery at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany between 1990 and 2002, were analyzed. The tissue was stained immunohistochemically with anti-TAAR1 and evaluated with the semiquantitative immunoreactive score (IRS). TAAR1 expression was correlated with grading, FIGO and TNM-classification, and analyzed via the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Further statistical analysis was obtained using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test and Mann-Whitney-U-test. This study shows that high TAAR1 expression is a positive prognosticator for overall survival in ovarian cancer patients and is significantly enhanced in low-grade serous carcinomas compared to high-grade serous carcinomas. The influence of TAAR1 as a positive prognosticator on overall survival indicates a potential prognostic relevance of signal transduction of thyroid hormone derivatives in epithelial ovarian cancer. Further studies are required to evaluate TAAR1 and its role in the development of ovarian cancer.     

4th generation synchrotron source boosts crystalline imaging at the nanoscale

New 4th-generation synchrotron sources,with their increased brilliance,promise to greatly improve the performances of coherent X-ray microscopy.This perspective...     

Enterococcus faecium: in vitro activity of antimicrobial drugs, singly and combined, with and without defibrinated human blood, against multiple-antibiotic-resistant strains

The minimal inhibitory (MICs) and bactericidal concentrations of 14 antimicrobial drugs were determined against 17 clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium, including 4 glycopeptide-resistant strains. Both teicoplanin and vancomycin lacked bactericidal activity against all 13 susceptible isolates. Time-kill experiments served to test various antibiotic combinations chiefly against glycopeptide-resistant strains in Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) and in MHB supplemented with 65% (v/v) fresh defibrinated human blood. Co-trimoxazole, fusidic acid, and novobiocin yielded bacteriostatic effects. Rifampin was bactericidally active against rifampin-susceptible strains (MICs = 0.125 micrograms/ml), but less so against low-level-rifampin-resistant (MICs = 2-8 micrograms/ml) strains in MHB. However, in the presence of human blood, rifampin (2 micrograms/ml) combined with co-trimoxazole (0.25/4.75 micrograms/ml) killed rifampin-susceptible and low-level-rifampin-resistant, but not moderate-level-rifampin-resistant (MICs = 16-32 micrograms/ml) strains of E. faecium. Of two topical drugs examined, mupirocin merely inhibited strains of E. faecium; conversely, taurolidine at 2,000 micrograms/ml was efficacious against all strains examined, although the kinetics of bactericidal activity were retarded somewhat in the presence of 65 vol% human blood.     

Convergence and complexity of interpolatory—newton iteration in a Banach space

The class of interpolatory—Newton iterations is defined and analyzed for the computation of a simple zero of a non-linear operator in a Banach space of finite or infinite dimension. Convergence of the class is established.

The concepts of “informationally optimal class of algorithms” and “optimal algorithm” are formalized. For the multivariate case, the optimality of Newton iteration is established in the class of one-point iterations under an “equal cost assumption”.     

Fourier-transform spectroscopy: new methods and applications: introduction by the feature editors

We are pleased to introduce this special issue of papers on Fourier-transform spectroscopy, which grew out of a recent topical meeting sponsored by the Optical Society of America. The topical meeting welcomed all researchers who practice the art of Fourier-transform spectroscopy in the laboratory, in the atmosphere, and in space. The power and the wide applicability of Fourier-transform spectroscopy unite these fields with a common mathematical and instrumental bond. The meeting probed each of these areas in depth, bringing out new ideas for instrumentation, analysis, and applications. There was a strong sentiment at the meeting that the quality of papers and posters was exceptionally high and that it would be important for future progress in the field to have the results of this meeting captured in print. This special issue is the fruit of that effort.     

Phase determination from mostly one-sided interferograms

We show how to detect and correct for nonlinear phase shifts in a mainly one-sided interferogram of an emission-line source. We simultaneously detect and correct for an out-of-phase emission background from the spectrometer. The method requires two auxiliary spectra, one of a strong continuum source, and one of an emission-line source with little or no continuum.     

Effectiveness of obstetric epidural analgesia. II. Caesarean section

A questionnaire was sent to 260 women who in 1979 had undergone a caesarean section under either epidural or general anaesthesia. Those women who had an epidural for their caesarean section were on average very well informed about the procedure. In contrast, those who had been given a general anaesthetic felt that they had been badly or inadequately informed. Over 90% of the patients of both the epidural and the general anaesthetic groups described the type of anaesthesia which they had received as "very good" to "adequate". In the epidural group, 80% of the patients described the experience of the birth as very intense. Headache, back pain and other complaints such as abdominal pain and wound pain were significantly more frequent in the general anaesthetic as compared to the epidural group. 85.8% of the women given an epidural said that they would choose the same again for a future caesarean, 12.1% would not. Of the group given a general anaesthetic, 29.9% said that in the future they would choose an epidural, and 62.3% that they would prefer to have a general anaesthetic again. The Apgar score at one minute, and the umbilical artery pH values of the newborn of the epidural group were significantly better than those of the general anaesthetic group, whereas at 5 and 10 min the Apgar scores of the babies of both groups showed no differences.