University of Pittsburgh

About: University of Pittsburgh is a education organization based out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 87042 authors who have published 201012 publications receiving 9656783 citations. The organization is also known as: Pitt & Western University of Pennsylvania.

Stimulus onset quenches neural variability: a widespread cortical phenomenon

Abstract: Neural responses are typically characterized by computing the mean firing rate, but response variability can exist across trials. Many studies have examined the effect of a stimulus on the mean response, but few have examined the effect on response variability. We measured neural variability in 13 extracellularly recorded datasets and one intracellularly recorded dataset from seven areas spanning the four cortical lobes in monkeys and cats. In every case, stimulus onset caused a decline in neural variability. This occurred even when the stimulus produced little change in mean firing rate. The variability decline was observed in membrane potential recordings, in the spiking of individual neurons and in correlated spiking variability measured with implanted 96-electrode arrays. The variability decline was observed for all stimuli tested, regardless of whether the animal was awake, behaving or anaesthetized. This widespread variability decline suggests a rather general property of cortex, that its state is stabilized by an input.

Dectin-1 is required for beta-glucan recognition and control of fungal infection.

Abstract: Beta-Glucan is one of the most abundant polysaccharides in fungal pathogens, yet its importance in antifungal immunity is unclear. Here we show that deficiency of dectin-1, the myeloid receptor for -glucan, rendered mice susceptible to infection with Candida albicans. Dectin-1-deficient leukocytes demonstrated significantly impaired responses to fungi even in the presence of opsonins. Impaired leukocyte responses were manifested in vivo by reduced inflammatory cell recruitment after fungal infection, resulting in substantially increased fungal burdens and enhanced fungal dissemination. Our results establish a fundamental function for Beta-glucan recognition by dectin-1 in antifungal immunity and demonstrate a signaling non–Toll-like pattern-recognition receptor required for the induction of protective immune responses.

Prostate Cancer Screening in the Randomized Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial: Mortality Results after 13 Years of Follow-up

Abstract: Results Approximately 92% of the study participants were followed to 10 years and 57% to 13 years. At 13 years, 4250 participants had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the intervention arm compared with 3815 in the control arm. Cumulative incidence rates for prostate cancer in the intervention and control arms were 108.4 and 97.1 per 10 000 person-years, respectively, resulting in a relative increase of 12% in the intervention arm (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.07 to 1.17). After 13 years of follow-up, the cumulative mortality rates from prostate cancer in the intervention and control arms were 3.7 and 3.4 deaths per 10 000 person-years, respectively, resulting in a nonstatistically significant difference between the two arms (RR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.36). No statistically significant interactions with respect to prostate cancer mortality were observed between trial arm and age (Pinteraction

A collection of Physical Activity Questionnaires for health-related research.

Abstract: Introduction; Section I. Physical Activity Questionnaires Used in the General Population; Section II. Physical Activity Questionnaires for Older Adults; Section III. Physical Activity Questionnaires Used in Major Population-Based Surveys

[11C]PIB in a nondemented population: potential antecedent marker of Alzheimer disease.

Abstract: Background: Beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques are the hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). A PET imaging tracer that binds to Aβ plaques in vivo, N-methyl-[11C]2-(4′-methylaminophenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole (or [11C]PIB for “Pittsburgh Compound-B”), has significantly higher binding in subjects diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) compared to nondemented controls. The authors used this imaging technique to investigate whether abnormal binding occurs in clinically normal individuals, prior to the development of cognitive changes. Methods: Forty-one nondemented subjects (age range 20 to 86 years) and 10 patients with DAT (age range 66 to 86 years) underwent [11C]PIB PET scanning. Regions of interest were drawn on the MRI over the cerebellar, prefrontal, lateral temporal, occipital, gyrus rectus, precuneus, and striatal cortex. Binding potential values (BPs), proportional to the density of [11C]PIB-Aβ binding sites, were calculated using the Logan graphical analysis and the cerebellar cortex for a reference tissue. Results: Patients with DAT had elevated BP values vs nondemented subjects (p Conclusions: Elevated [11C]PIB binding in nondemented subjects suggests that [11C]PIB amyloid imaging may be sensitive for detection of a preclinical Alzheimer disease state. Longitudinal studies will be required to determine the association of elevated [11C]PIB binding and risk of developing dementia of the Alzheimer type.