Evidence of Antineutrinos from Distant Reactors Using Pure Water at SNO.

The SNO+ Collaboration reports the first evidence of reactor antineutrinos in a Cherenkov detector. The nearest nuclear reactors are located 240 km away in Ontario, Canada. This analysis uses events with energies lower than in any previous analysis with a large water Cherenkov detector. Two analytical methods are used to distinguish reactor antineutrinos from background events in 190 days of data and yield consistent evidence for antineutrinos with a combined significance of 3.5σ.

International round-robin experiment for angle-resolved light scattering measurement.

An international round-robin experiment has been conducted to test procedures and methods for the measurement of angle-resolved light scattering. ASTM E2387-05 has been used as the main guide, while the experience gained should also contribute to the new ISO standard of angle-resolved scattering currently under development (ISO/WD 19986:2016). Seven laboratories from Europe and the United States measured the angle-resolved scattering from Al/SiO2-coated substrates, transparent substrates, volume diffusors, quasi-volume diffusors, white calibration standards, and grating samples at laser wavelengths in the UV, VIS, and NIR spectra. Results were sent to Fraunhofer IOF, which coordinated the experiments and analyzed the data, while ESA-ESTEC, as the project donor, defined conditions and parameters. Depending mainly on the sample type, overall good to reasonable agreements were observed, with largest deviations at scattering angles very close to the specular beam. Volume diffusor characterization unexpectedly turned out to be challenging. Not all participants provided measurement uncertainty ranges according to the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement; often, a single general scatterometer-related measurement uncertainty value was stated. Although relative instrument measurement uncertainties close to 1% are sometimes claimed, the comparison results did not support these claims for specular scattering samples as mirrors, substrates, or gratings.

The effect of pomegranate seed oil and grapeseed oil on cis-9, trans-11 CLA (rumenic acid), n-3 and n-6 fatty acids deposition in selected tissues of chickens.

The aim of this study was to determine whether diet modification with different doses of grapeseed oil or pomegranate seed oil will improve the nutritive value of poultry meat in terms of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids, as well as rumenic acid (cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid) content in tissues diversified in lipid composition and roles in lipid metabolism. To evaluate the influence of applied diet modification comprehensively, two chemometric methods were used. Results of cluster analysis demonstrated that pomegranate seed oil modifies fatty acids profile in the most potent way, mainly by an increase in rumenic acid content. Principal component analysis showed that regardless of type of tissue first principal component is strongly associated with type of deposited fatty acid, while second principal component enables identification of place of deposition-type of tissue. Pomegranate seed oil seems to be a valuable feed additive in chickens' feeding.

Development of an E-learning System for the Endoscopic Diagnosis of Early Gastric Cancer: An International Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: In many countries, gastric cancer is not diagnosed until an advanced stage. An Internet-based e-learning system to improve the ability of endoscopists to diagnose gastric cancer at an early stage was developed and was evaluated for its effectiveness. METHODS: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. After receiving a pre-test, participants were randomly allocated to either an e-learning or non-e-learning group. Only those in the e-learning group gained access to the e-learning system. Two months after the pre-test, both groups received a post-test. The primary endpoint was the difference between the two groups regarding the rate of improvement of their test results. FINDINGS: 515 endoscopists from 35 countries were assessed for eligibility, and 332 were enrolled in the study, with 166 allocated to each group. Of these, 151 participants in the e-learning group and 144 in the non-e-learning group were included in the analysis. The mean improvement rate (standard deviation) in the e-learning and non-e-learning groups was 1·24 (0·26) and 1·00 (0·16), respectively (P<0·001). INTERPRETATION: This global study clearly demonstrated the efficacy of an e-learning system to expand knowledge and provide invaluable experience regarding the endoscopic detection of early gastric cancer (R000012039).

Gastric hyperplastic polyps coexisting with early gastric cancers, adenoma and neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia.

Gastric hyperplastic polyps (GHP) constitute up to 93% of all benign epithelial polyps of the stomach. The average probability of malignant transformation in GHP is 0.6-22% in large series. The aim of the study was to present the coexistence of GHP with early gastric cancer (EGC), gastric adenoma (GA), neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia (NH) and well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumour (NET G1). Three cases were studied to reveal clinical data and morphological changes and to assess the relationship between GHP and accompanying gastric neoplastic lesions.

Fatty acid profile of new promising unconventional plant oils for cosmetic use.

OBJECTIVE: Oils have been used on the cosmetic application since antiquity. With the growing interest in cosmetic formulation of strictly natural origin there has been also an increased interest in the use of alternative oils obtained from nuts, herbs, fruit and vegetable seeds. Due to lack of good scientific reports on the cosmetic plant oils available in Poland, the aim of our research was to characterize fatty acids (FA) profile and oxidative quality of selected unconventional plant oils, which are used as cosmetics or potential cosmetic ingredients. METHODS: Oils were purchased from cosmetic health shops in Warsaw (Poland); FA profile was analysed by gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection. Peroxide index (PI), content of hydroperoxides (PV) and free fatty acids (AV) were also determined. RESULTS: Oxidative quality and FA composition of examined oils varied widely among analyzed oils. Cluster analysis revealed three clusters. Clusters S1 and S3 include only one oil (Perilla and sea buckthorn, respectively). Perilla oil is characterized by relatively small content of both saturated FA (8.5%) and monounsaturated FA (14.2%) and much higher amount of polyunsaturated FA (73.5%) whereas in sea buckthorn these proportions are opposite (saturated FA and monounsaturated FA - 33.5% and 51.0% respectively, and the lowest amount of polyunsaturated FA - 5.2%). In cluster S2 two sub-clusters were distinguished and the content of linoleic (p = 0.0015), α-linolenic (p = 0.0092) and oleic (p = 0.0015) acid caused this distinction. PI ranged from 8.9 in sea buckthorn oil to 135 in Perilla oil. Perilla oil and raspberry seed oil were also characterized by the highest PV (225 ± 14.9 mEq O/kg oil and 232 ± 13.8 mEq O/kg oil, respectively), whereas the lowest PV was determined for walnut oil (0.82 ± 0.18 mEq O/kg oil) and carrot seed oil (0.87 ± 0.21 mEq O/kg oil) oils. CONCLUSION: FA composition of cosmetic oils in combination with data concerning their oxidative quality, is very important for determining their safe and effective use. It is very important to standardize and test the FA content in commercially available oils of cosmetic use.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Guideline

This Guideline is an official statement of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system 1 2 was adopted to define the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. Main Recommendations: 1 ESGE recommends endoscopic en bloc resection for superficial esophageal squamous cell cancers (SCCs), excluding those with obvious submucosal involvement (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) may be considered in such lesions when they are smaller than 10 mm if en bloc resection can be assured. However, ESGE recommends endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) as the first option, mainly to provide an en bloc resection with accurate pathology staging and to avoid missing important histological features (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 2 ESGE recommends endoscopic resection with a curative intent for visible lesions in Barrett's esophagus (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). ESD has not been shown to be superior to EMR for excision of mucosal cancer, and for that reason EMR should be preferred. ESD may be considered in selected cases, such as lesions larger than 15 mm, poorly lifting tumors, and lesions at risk for submucosal invasion (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 3 ESGE recommends endoscopic resection for the treatment of gastric superficial neoplastic lesions that possess a very low risk of lymph node metastasis (strong recommendation, high quality evidence). EMR is an acceptable option for lesions smaller than 10 - 15 mm with a very low probability of advanced histology (Paris 0-IIa). However, ESGE recommends ESD as treatment of choice for most gastric superficial neoplastic lesions (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 4 ESGE states that the majority of colonic and rectal superficial lesions can be effectively removed in a curative way by standard polypectomy and/or by EMR (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). ESD can be considered for removal of colonic and rectal lesions with high suspicion of limited submucosal invasion that is based on two main criteria of depressed morphology and irregular or nongranular surface pattern, particularly if the lesions are larger than 20 mm; or ESD can be considered for colorectal lesions that otherwise cannot be optimally and radically removed by snare-based techniques (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence).(AU)

Ligation of oesophageal varices may increase formation of "deep" gastric collaterals.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Endosonography (EUS) is rarely used in the routine diagnostic of portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis even though it has significantly higher sensitivity for detection of varices than gastroduodenoscopy. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the features of portal hypertension identified with EUS and to analyze the effect of variceal ligation on the prevalence of "deep" varices in subjects with cirrhosis. METHODOLOGY: A cohort of 121 patients was divided into 2 groups depending on whether they had a history of variceal bleeding treated with ligation or not. RESULTS: "Deep" oesophageal varices and large (> 5 mm) gastric varices occurred significantly more common in patients with previous banding. Also, large "deep" gastric varices occurred significantly more common in the banded group with no or small varices than in the not-banded group with similar endoscopy. Sixty percent of banded patients who had grade II/III oesophageal varices on endoscopy had large "deep" gastric varices comparing to 20% of not-banded with the same endoscopical findings (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Previous banding may increase the risk of the development of large "deep" oesophageal and gastric varices. Thus potential new indication for EUS in patients with cirrhosis could be a follow-up examination after successful eradication of varices.

Upper gastrointestinal endosonography in patients evaluated for liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Endosonography (EUS), which merges endoscopic and ultrasound examinations, is a useful modality to display abnormal vessels that develop in the intrinsic circulation, frequently called "deep" varices. If these pathological veins exceed of 5 mm diameter, they significantly increase the risk of bleeding among patients with cirrhosis. In the most recent pilot study EUS proved useful to assess children for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). AIM: We performed a cross-sectional study of EUS on 33 (22 males and 11 females) adult cirrhotic subjects being assessed for OLT. MATERIALS/METHODS: We used an echoendoscope at 7.5 MHz/12 MHz/20 MHz to evaluate the esophagus and stomach, including "deep" periesophageal/perigastric varices (adjacent to the muscularis propria) and paraesophageal/paragastric varices (outside the muscularis propria). "Deep" varices were considered to be large if >5 mm. RESULTS: On endoscopy, 26 (79%) patients showed esophageal varices (EV), including 11 (33%) with large (>5 mm) varices. Gastric varices (GV) were observed in 13 (39%) subjects, with 3 patients displaying large (>5 mm) varices. On EUS large "deep" EV (both para and periesophageal) were observed in 12 (36%) subjects, among whom 5 (42%) did not have large varices on endoscopy. Large "deep" GV were found on EUS in 12 (36%) subjects. On endoscopy 4 of them (33%) showed no varices and 3 (25%) had small GV. CONCLUSIONS: EUS offers a precise evaluation of portal hypertension in OLT candidates. "Deep" potentially dangerous varices, which are undetected with routine endoscopy, were noted in a significant proportion of patients. The role of EUS in prioritizing subjects for OLT must be evaluated in a prospective study.

Reduction of biliary complication rate using continuous suture and no biliary drainage for duct-to-duct anastomosis in whole-organ liver transplantation.

Biliary complications (BC) following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are related to various factors including surgical technique and use of biliary drains for a duct-to-duct (DD) anastomosis. Herein we have reported the influence of changes in surgical technique on BC following OLT in our center. From February 2002 to February 2007, we performed 101 whole-organ OLT with a DD anastomosis in 99 adults, of whom we analyzed 84 subjects. We excluded recipients who died within 30 days of OLT without any evidence of BC and 1 patient with a biliary stricture secondary to a hepatic artery thrombosis. Until late 2004, a DD anastomosis with interrupted sutures over an external biliary drain (DD/BD) was performed in 35 patients (Group I). Subsequently, no biliary drain was used for the DD anastomosis (DD/non-BD), using a continuous suture in 49 patients (Group II). The DD anastomosis with interrupted sutures over a biliary drain was associated with a higher incidence of both total (31% vs 8%; P = .008) and late BC (>30 days; 20% vs 2%; P = .008) with a trend toward more leaks (17% vs 4%; P = .06). All biliary leaks in patients with DD/BD reconstruction occurred at the exit site of the biliary drain following its removal. No significant differences were observed when we compared the incidence of biliary strictures and the necessity for surgical intervention. One patient died due to a BC. Our results indicated that a DD anastomosis performed with a continuous suture technique and no external biliary drainage reduced the incidence of BC after whole-organ OLT.

Measurement of the transverse polarization of electrons emitted in free-neutron decay.

Both components of the transverse polarization of electrons (sigmaT1, sigmaT2) emitted in the beta-decay of polarized, free neutrons have been measured. The T-odd, P-odd correlation coefficient quantifying sigmaT2, perpendicular to the neutron polarization and electron momentum, was found to be R=0.008+/-0.015+/-0.005. This value is consistent with time reversal invariance and significantly improves limits on the relative strength of imaginary scalar couplings in the weak interaction. The value obtained for the correlation coefficient associated with sigmaT1, N=0.056+/-0.011+/-0.005, agrees with the Standard Model expectation, providing an important sensitivity test of the experimental setup.

Is prevalence of PBC underestimated in patients with systemic sclerosis?

BACKGROUND: Clinically significant primary biliary cirrhosis occurs in 2.5% of patients with systemic sclerosis. Primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies include anti-mitochondrial, anti-glycoprotein 210, and anti-sp100 antibodies. The majority of asymptomatic anti-mitochondrial-positive subjects express histological features of primary biliary cirrhosis. Early detection of primary biliary cirrhosis is important, as timely introduction of ursodeoxycholic acid may improve prognosis. The aim was to assess the prevalence of MIT3 IgG-anti-mitochondrial, gp210, sp100 and other autoantibodies in patients with systemic sclerosis and compare the clinical and biochemical parameters in those who are primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies positive and negative. MATERIALS/METHODS: Fifty-two consecutive patients with systemic sclerosis were included. Thirty-three suffered from limited skin SS and 19 from diffuse SS. RESULTS: Eight (15%) patients with systemic sclerosis tested positive for primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies. No significant differences were observed between primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies positive and negative subjects in terms of various demographic, clinical or biochemical features. A trend towards increased prevalence of chronic fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies positive patients was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies were detected in 15% of the systemic sclerosis patients. Since patients with primary biliary cirrhosis-specific antibodies are at high-risk or do suffer from primary biliary cirrhosis, screening for primary biliary cirrhosis-specific autoantibodies may be considered during routine assessment of systemic sclerosis.

Search for Time Reversal Violating Effects: R-Correlation Measurement in Neutron Decay.

An experiment aiming at the simultaneous determination of both transversal polarization components of electrons emitted in the decay of free neutrons begins data taking using the polarized cold neutron beam (FUNSPIN) from the Swiss Neutron Spallation Source (SINQ) at the Paul-Scherrer Institute, Villigen. A non-zero value of R due to the e(-) polarization component, which is perpendicular to the plane spanned by the spin of the decaying neutron and the electron momentum, would signal a violation of time reversal symmetry and thus physics beyond the Standard Model. Present status of the project and the results from analysis of the first data sample will be discussed.

[Adverse effects of parenteral administration of antisense oligonucleotides]. / Niepozadane efekty podania parenteralnego oligonukleotydów antysensowych.

To characterize the toxicity of phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotides ([S]ODNs) in vivo, the mice received intravenously 26-mer bcr-abl antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (1 mg/mice/day) for 9 consecutive days. The organs and tissues were removed on the indicated days (+1, +7, +30) after the treatment. Our investigation revealed middle elevation of aminotransferases activity, lactate dehydrogenase level, total protein level and globulin level, decrease of glucose, albumin and blood urea nitrogen level in the peripheral blood. The mild anaemia and thrombocytopenia were observed too. The most significant treatment-related findings in the antisense treated mice were splenomegaly, reactive hepatitis and atrocytosis of kidney. These findings together with previous results demonstrate little and temporary toxicity effects mainly in organs known from cumulating of [S]ODNs.

[Argon plasma coagulation in a patient with early diagnosis of gastric carcinoma]. / Argonowa koagulacja plazmowa u chorego z wczesnie rozpoznanym rakiem wpustu.

Argon plasma coagulation (APC) has been introduced for the local endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal malignancy recently. It is mainly used as a palliative therapy, especially in case of stenosis. Despite a lot of publications concerning APC the clinical usefulness of this method in a small malignant tumors remains unclear. The patient with early diagnosed carcinoma of gastric, efficiently treated using argon plasma coagulation is described.

The influence of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides on various organs in vivo.

To characterize the distribution and toxicity of phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotides ([S]ODNs) in vivo, the mice, previously injected with BV173 leukemic cells (Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia blast-crisis), received intravenously 26-mer BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (1 mg/mouse/day) for 9 consecutive days. Our investigation revealed that [S]ODNs were distributed to almost all organs except the brain with the highest level in the liver, spleen and kidneys. They were also detected in CD10+ leukemic cells isolated from spleen and bone marrow. Intracellular distribution assay showed the presence of [S]ODNs most prominently in nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. Our data demonstrated no significant toxicity of [S]ODNs except the increase in spleen weight.

The effect of zinc and magnesium on calcium uptake into the rat duodenum slices.

The experiments were carried out on 80 male Wistar rats, divided into four groups as follows: group 1, treated orally with ZnCl2 at a dose of 10 mg Zn2+/kg for 14 days; group 2, control; group 3, MgCl2-treated at a dose of 5 mg Mg2+/kg; group 4, treated with ZnCl2 plus MgCl2 in the same manner as groups 1 and 3. The influx of calcium into the rat duodenum slices was investigated in vitro by the method of Papworth and Patrick. Over a range of calcium concentrations (0-10 mM) the influx of this element was defined as a sum of a saturable term (active transport) and a linear term dependent on concentration (passive transport). In the zinc-treated rats only the saturable term was affected. The study of this term by Lineweaver-Burk plots showed a decrease of the half-saturation constant, Kt, while the maximal value, Jm, remained unchanged. Moreover, magnesium was shown to interact with zinc at gut level because simultaneous oral administration of Mg2+ and Zn2+ to rats protected them against the inhibition of calcium uptake observed when Zn2+ was given alone.