Patient follow-up plays a significant role in the amount of weight lost after LAGB, but not after RYGBP. Patient motivation and surgeon commitment for long-term follow-up is critical for successful weight loss after LAGB surgery.

Laparoscopic bariatric surgery is safe in super-obese patients. LAGB, the least invasive procedure, resulted in the lowest operative times, the lowest conversion rate, the shortest hospital stay and the lowest morbidity in this high-risk cohort of patients. Rates of all parameters studied increased with increasing procedural complexity. However, the difference in %EWL between RYGBP and LAGB at 2 and 3 years was not statistically significant.

Intron density is highly variable across eukaryotic species. It seems that different lineages have experienced considerably different levels of intron gain and loss events, but the reasons for this are not well known. A large number of mechanisms for intron loss and gain have been suggested, and most of them have at least some level of indirect support. We therefore figured out that the variability in intron density can be a reflection of the fact that different mechanisms are active in different lineages. Quite a number of these putative mechanisms, both for intron loss and for intron gain, postulate that the enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT) has a key role in the process. In this paper, we lay out three predictions whose approval or falsification gives indication for the involvement of RT in intron gain and loss processes. Testing these predictions requires data on the intron gain and loss rates of individual genes along different branches of the eukaryotic phylogenetic tree. So far, such rates could not be computed, and hence, these predictions could not be rigorously evaluated. Here, we use a maximum likelihood algorithm that we have devised in the past, Evolutionary Reconstruction by Expectation Maximization, which allows the estimation of such rates. Using this algorithm, we computed the intron loss and gain rates of more than 300 genes in each branch of the phylogenetic tree of 19 eukaryotic species. Based on that we found only little support for RT activity in intron gain. In contrast, we suggest that RT-mediated intron loss is a mechanism that is very efficient in removing introns, and thus, its levels of activity may be a major determinant of intron number. Moreover, we found that intron gain and loss rates are negatively correlated in intron-poor species but are positively correlated for intron-rich species. One explanation to this is that intron gain and loss mechanisms in intron-rich species (like metazoans) share a common mechanistic component, albeit not a RT.

Routine removal of peri-gastric fat pads when using the pars flaccida technique for Lap Band surgery appears to prevent postoperative esophageal obstruction.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) account for 4% of all malignancies. 5-year survival rate increased to 50% with new treatment modalities, however there is need for new effective treatment for the more aggressive, relapsing forms. Recently, CTLA4-FasL, that can bind to B7 and Fas receptor (Fas), was shown to induce robust apoptosis of cell lines originating from B cell lymphomas expressing both B7 and Fas, by activating pro-apoptotic signals in parallel to abrogating anti-apoptotic ones. The present study focuses on the unique properties of CTLA4-FasL as a potent apoptosis inducer of malignant cells in-vitro and in a xenograft model. CTLA4-FasL was found to naturally form a stable homo-hexamer. CTLA4-FasL induces robust apoptosis of a large variety of malignant cells while relatively sparing non-malignant ones, being more efficient when both receptors (B7 and Fas) are expressed on target cells. Even in non-B7 expressing cells, CTLA4-FasL exhibited better apoptotic activity than its parts, alone or in combination, however, only in B7 expressing cells apoptosis occurs at low concentrations and CTLA4-FasL induces activation of apoptotic signals and reduces anti-apoptotic ones. Importantly, CTLA4-FasL efficiently inhibited the growth of human B cell lineage tumors in a xenograft model, by provoking tumor cells’ apoptosis. Thus, CTLA4-FasL, a natural homo-hexamer protein, induces robust apoptosis of malignant cells, in-vitro and in-vivo. In B-cell lymphoma, its potency stems from the combination of its synergistic effect of activating the caspases while abrogating the anti-apoptotic signaling, with its unique hexameric structure, making CTLA4-FasL a promising candidate for aggressive B cell lymphomas treatment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-014-0064-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No abstract

No abstract

Halite scaling has caused serious issues in oil/gas field with high TDS and low water cut due to temperature drop and evaporation of the produced water. Simulation of such field condition is very hard. Analytical error for high concentrations of Na+and Cl- is large in the brine making accurate assessment of solubility and Saturation Index (SI) calculation difficult. We have developed the testing capability and methods to understand and control halite problems. We have developed testing methods that can create halite super saturation by incorporating (i) additional chloride from CaCl2 to the reaction mix at equilibrium and/or (ii) utilizing the change in temperature (∆T) as a driving force. These methods are optimized to assess the halite problem from 25-150 °C using mass analyses techniques, mixing of incompatible brines and temperature drop. The composition of salt, dilution volume and saturation index have been calculated using BCC ScaleSoftPitzer software. The induction time (tind) and mass of precipitated salts are considered for data analyses. Various experimentations to simulate the water dilution at ∆T were conducted and data suggest that in some cases 5 % dilution of the brine could drop halite saturation index (SI) to the equilibrium. Similarly, solubility of halite was analyzed in the presence of high calcium concentration in the brine up to 80,000 mg/L. Inhibitors with different functionalities were tested at various ranges of brine condition at saturation index of up to 0.15. Some inhibitors like polymers were found to prolong the induction time for several hours and reduce the halite precipitation mass up to 95%. Overall, the methods are robust yet simple and economic that can simulate field conditions in oil/gas production system to assess the halite scaling risk at higher extremes.