EFFECT OF AGING ON MACULAR FEATURES OF X-LINKED RETINOSCHISIS ASSESSED WITH OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY

X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) is one of the most common causes of macular degeneration in young men. The purpose of this study was to use optical coherence tomography combined with ophthalmoscopy to study the effects of aging on the morphologic changes associated with XLRS.

Infrequent replication of parvovirus B19 and erythrovirus genotypes 2 and 3 among HIV-infected patients with chronic anemia

We investigated the role that erythroviruses (parvovirus B19 and erythrovirus genotypes 2 and 3) play in the lives of immunosuppressed HIV-infected patients with chronic anemia. We screened the serum samples of 428 patients by specific ultrasensitive real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Sixteen patients had circulating DNA, with no apparent clinical impact. Erythrovirus-associated anemia is an extremely rare event in HIV-infected patients.

Dose escalation and pharmacokinetic study of AEZS-108 (AN-152), an LHRH agonist linked to doxorubicin, in women with LHRH receptor-positive tumors

Receptors for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) can be utilized for targeted chemotherapy of cytotoxic LHRH analogs. The compound AEZS-108 (previously AN-152) consists of [D-Lys?]LHRH linked to doxorubicin. The objectives of this first study in humans with AESZ-108 were to determine the maximum tolerated dose and to characterize the dose-limiting toxicity, pharmacokinetics, preliminary efficacy, and hormonal effects.

The impact of anemia on long-term clinical outcome in patients undergoing revascularization with the unrestricted use of drug-eluting stents

Anemia is frequent among patients with cardiovascular disease and adversely affects prognosis. The objective of this analysis was to assess the impact of anemia on long-term clinical outcomes among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the unrestricted use of drug-eluting stents (DES).

Targeting p-Conjugated Multiple Donor-Acceptor Motifs Exemplified by Tetrathiafulvalene-Linked Quinoxalines and Tetrabenz bc,ef,hi,uv ovalenes: Synthesis, Spectroscopic, Electrochemical, and Theoretical Characterization

An efficient synthetic approach to a symmetrically functionalized tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative with two diamine moieties, 2-[5,6-diamino-4,7-bis(4-pentylphenoxy)-1,3-benzodithiol-2-ylidene]-4,7- bis(4-pentylphenoxy)-1,3-benzodithiole-5,6-diamine (2), is reported. The subsequent Schiff-base reactions of 2 afford large p-conjugated multiple donoracceptor (DA) arrays, for example, the triad 2-[4,9-bis(4-pentylphenoxy)-1,3-dithiolo[4,5-g]quinoxalin-2-ylidene]-4,9 -bis(4-pentylphenoxy)-1,3-dithiolo[4,5-g]quinoxaline (8) and the corresponding tetrabenz[bc,ef,hi,uv]ovalene-fused pentad 1, in good yields and high purity. The novel redox-active nanographene 1 is so far the largest known TTF-functionalized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with a well-resolved 1H NMR spectrum. The electrochemically highly amphoteric pentad 1 and triad 8 exhibit various electronically excited charge-transfer states in different oxidation states, thus leading to intense optical intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) absorbances over a wide spectral range. The chemical and electrochemical oxidations of 1 result in an unprecedented TTF+ radical cation dimerization, thereby leading to the formation of [1+]2 at room temperature in solution due to the stabilizing effect, which arises from strong pp interactions. Moreover, ICT fluorescence is observed with large solvent-dependent Stokes shifts and quantum efficiencies of 0.05 for 1 and 0.035 for 8 in dichloromethane.

Coastal upwelling is linked to temporal genetic variability in the acorn barnacle Balanus glandula

Dispersal and recruitment are central processes that shape the geographic and temporal distributions of populations of marine organisms. However, significant variability in factors such as reproductive output, larval transport, survival, and settlement success can alter the genetic identity of recruits from year to year. We designed a temporal and spatial sampling protocol to test for genetic heterogeneity among adults and recruits from multiple time points along a similar to 400 km stretch of the Oregon (USA) coastline. In total, 2824 adult and recruiting Balanus glandula were sampled between 2001 and 2008 from 9 sites spanning the Oregon coast. Consistent with previous studies, we observed high mitochondrial DNA diversity at the cytochrome oxidase I locus (884 unique haplotypes) and little to no spatial genetic population structure among the 9 sites (Phi(ST) = 0.00026, p = 0.170). However, subtle but significant temporal shifts in genetic composition were observed among year classes (Phi(ST) = 0.00071, p = 0.035), and spatial Phi(ST) varied from year to year. These temporal shifts in genetic structure were correlated with yearly differences in the strength of coastal upwelling (p = 0.002), with greater population structure observed in years with weaker upwelling. Higher levels of barnacle settlement were also observed in years with weaker upwelling (p < 0.001). These data suggest the hypothesis that low upwelling intensity maintains more local larvae close to shore, thereby shaping the genetic structure and settlement rate of recruitment year classes.