55 research outputs found

    Evaluation of salivary protein patterns among a rural population exposed and non-exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water in areas of Tucumán (Argentina): a pilot study

    Get PDF
    Arsenic contamination in the environment and groundwater is a major global public health problem. Several researchers suggest that the toxicity of arsenic could be related to oral cancer development, usually resulting from potentially malignant lesions. During pathological processes, salivary proteins suffer modifications, which could lead to the discovery of new biomarkers. Objective: To analyze the protein profile in human saliva samples from a rural population exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water and its association with potentially malignant lesions. Methodology: This observational, analytic and cross-sectional design included 121 patients from the state of Graneros (Tucumán, Argentina). Arsenic concentration in drinking water was determined and, according to the values obtained, individuals were divided into 2 groups: exposed group and non-exposed group. Saliva samples were obtained, and total protein concentration was measured by Bradford method. Finally, Laemmli SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was conducted to obtain the protein profile. Results: Total protein concentration in saliva was lower in the exposed group than in the non-exposed group. Average areas of 20 and 42 KDa bands were significantly lower in exposed group than non-exposed group. Conclusion: Chronic intake of high arsenic concentrations in drinking water produces changes in the salivary protein profile, which is associated with the presence of potentially malignant lesions

    Correlates of hallucinatory experiences in the general population: an international multi-site replication study

    Get PDF
    Hallucinatory experiences can occur in both clinical and nonclinical groups. However, in previous studies of the general population, investigations of the cognitive mechanisms underlying hallucinatory experiences have yielded inconsistent results. We ran a large-scale preregistered multisite study, in which general-population participants (N = 1,394 across 11 data-collection sites and online) completed assessments of hallucinatory experiences, a measure of adverse childhood experiences, and four tasks: source memory, dichotic listening, backward digit span, and auditory signal detection. We found that hallucinatory experiences were associated with a higher false-alarm rate on the signal detection task and a greater number of reported adverse childhood experiences but not with any of the other cognitive measures employed. These findings are an important step in improving reproducibility in hallucinations research and suggest that the replicability of some findings regarding cognition in clinical samples needs to be investigated

    FIREBall-2: flight preparation of a proven balloon payload to image the intermediate redshift circumgalactic medium

    Full text link
    FIREBall-2 is a stratospheric balloon-borne 1-m telescope coupled to a UV multi-object slit spectrograph designed to map the faint UV emission surrounding z~0.7 galaxies and quasars through their Lyman-alpha line emission. This spectro-imager had its first launch on September 22nd 2018 out of Ft. Sumner, NM, USA. Because the balloon was punctured, the flight was abruptly interrupted. Instead of the nominal 8 hours above 32 km altitude, the instrument could only perform science acquisition for 45 minutes at this altitude. In addition, the shape of the deflated balloon, combined with a full Moon, revealed a severe off-axis scattered light path, directly into the UV science detector and about 100 times larger than expected. In preparation for the next flight, and in addition to describing FIREBall-2's upgrade, this paper discusses the exposure time calculator (ETC) that has been designed to analyze the instrument's optimal performance (explore the instrument's limitations and subtle trade-offs)

    Durvalumab Plus Carboplatin/Paclitaxel Followed by Maintenance Durvalumab With or Without Olaparib as First-Line Treatment for Advanced Endometrial Cancer: The Phase III DUO-E Trial

    Full text link
    PURPOSE Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combinations have shown activity in endometrial cancer, with greater benefit in mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient (dMMR) than MMR-proficient (pMMR) disease. Adding a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor may improve outcomes, especially in pMMR disease. METHODS This phase III, global, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial randomly assigned eligible patients with newly diagnosed advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer 1:1:1 to: carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab placebo followed by placebo maintenance (control arm); carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab plus olaparib placebo (durvalumab arm); or carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab plus olaparib (durvalumab + olaparib arm). The primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) in the durvalumab arm versus control and the durvalumab + olaparib arm versus control. RESULTS Seven hundred eighteen patients were randomly assigned. In the intention-to-treat population, statistically significant PFS benefit was observed in the durvalumab (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.89]; P = .003) and durvalumab + olaparib arms (HR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.43 to 0.69]; P < .0001) versus control. Prespecified, exploratory subgroup analyses showed PFS benefit in dMMR (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.42 [95% CI, 0.22 to 0.80]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control], 0.41 [95% CI, 0.21 to 0.75]) and pMMR subgroups (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.77 [95% CI, 0.60 to 0.97]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control] 0.57; [95% CI, 0.44 to 0.73]); and in PD-L1-positive subgroups (HR [durvalumab v control], 0.63 [95% CI, 0.48 to 0.83]; HR [durvalumab + olaparib v control], 0.42 [95% CI, 0.31 to 0.57]). Interim overall survival results (maturity approximately 28%) were supportive of the primary outcomes (durvalumab v control: HR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.56 to 1.07]; P = .120; durvalumab + olaparib v control: HR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.42 to 0.83]; P = .003). The safety profiles of the experimental arms were generally consistent with individual agents. CONCLUSION Carboplatin/paclitaxel plus durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab with or without olaparib demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful PFS benefit in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer

    Morphodynamique à l'échelle régionale d'une avant-côte microtidale à barres sédimentaires : le cas du Languedoc-Roussillon à l'aide de la technologie LiDAR

    No full text
    The sandy coasts are very dynamic environments at all time and space scales. Today, they constitute an area of strategic importance for humanity because of its strong economic and demographic weight. This thesis aims to study the morphodynamics of the shoreface of the Languedoc-Roussillon region (Mediterranean Sea) at a multi-decadal to secular scale. This work is possible by the use of topo-bathymetric airborne LiDAR able to map large areas. The results of this thesis show that there exist a wide variety of beach and bars states. The organization of these states is mainly controlled by sedimentary characteristics, wave conditions and geological context. The sediment budget of the shoreface was studied at secular scale and indicates an overall deficit of more than 26 million m3 of sediment. Sand bar dynamic was analyzed at a multi-decadal scale and shows the presence and involvement of slightly oblique nearshore bars in the process of Net Offshore Migration. Finally, this thesis has also highlighted the strong influence of human activities on the general shoreface behaviour at the regional scale.Les littoraux sableux sont des milieux très dynamiques à toutes les échelles de temps et d'espace. De nos jours, ils constituent une zone d'importance stratégique pour l'humanité du fait de son fort poids économique et démographique. Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier la morphodynamique de l'avant-côte de la région Languedoc-Roussillon (Méditerranée) à l'échelle pluri-décennale à séculaire. Ce travail est rendu possible par l'utilisation d'un LiDAR topo-bathymétrique aéroporté capable de cartographier de vastes étendues. Les résultats de ce travail montrent qu'il existe une grande variété d'états de plage et de morphologies de barres d'avant-côte. L'organisation de ces états est principalement contrôlée par les caractéristiques sédimentaires, les conditions d'agitation et le contexte géologique. Le budget sédimentaire de l'avant-côte a été étudié à l'échelle séculaire et montre un déficit global de plus de 26 millions de m3 de sédiments. La dynamique des barres d'avant-côte a été analysée à l'échelle pluridécennale et montre la présence et l'implication de barre d'avant-côte légèrement oblique dans le processus de Net Offshore Migration. Enfin, cette thèse a également mis en avant l'influence des activités anthropiques sur le comportement général de l'avant-côte à l'échelle régionale

    Morphodynamique à l'échelle régionale d'une avant-côte microtidale à barres sédimentaires : le cas du Languedoc-Roussillon à l'aide de la technologie LiDAR

    No full text
    The sandy coasts are very dynamic environments at all time and space scales. Today, they constitute an area of strategic importance for humanity because of its strong economic and demographic weight. This thesis aims to study the morphodynamics of the shoreface of the Languedoc-Roussillon region (Mediterranean Sea) at a multi-decadal to secular scale. This work is possible by the use of topo-bathymetric airborne LiDAR able to map large areas. The results of this thesis show that there exist a wide variety of beach and bars states. The organization of these states is mainly controlled by sedimentary characteristics, wave conditions and geological context. The sediment budget of the shoreface was studied at secular scale and indicates an overall deficit of more than 26 million m3 of sediment. Sand bar dynamic was analyzed at a multi-decadal scale and shows the presence and involvement of slightly oblique nearshore bars in the process of Net Offshore Migration. Finally, this thesis has also highlighted the strong influence of human activities on the general shoreface behaviour at the regional scale.Les littoraux sableux sont des milieux très dynamiques à toutes les échelles de temps et d'espace. De nos jours, ils constituent une zone d'importance stratégique pour l'humanité du fait de son fort poids économique et démographique. Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier la morphodynamique de l'avant-côte de la région Languedoc-Roussillon (Méditerranée) à l'échelle pluri-décennale à séculaire. Ce travail est rendu possible par l'utilisation d'un LiDAR topo-bathymétrique aéroporté capable de cartographier de vastes étendues. Les résultats de ce travail montrent qu'il existe une grande variété d'états de plage et de morphologies de barres d'avant-côte. L'organisation de ces états est principalement contrôlée par les caractéristiques sédimentaires, les conditions d'agitation et le contexte géologique. Le budget sédimentaire de l'avant-côte a été étudié à l'échelle séculaire et montre un déficit global de plus de 26 millions de m3 de sédiments. La dynamique des barres d'avant-côte a été analysée à l'échelle pluridécennale et montre la présence et l'implication de barre d'avant-côte légèrement oblique dans le processus de Net Offshore Migration. Enfin, cette thèse a également mis en avant l'influence des activités anthropiques sur le comportement général de l'avant-côte à l'échelle régionale

    Net offshore bar migration variability at a regional scale: Inter-site comparison (Languedoc-Roussillon, France)

    No full text
    International audienceThe Languedoc-Roussillon coastline is a large unit stretching out over 200 km of sandy low coast in a wave dominated environment. The nearshore is characterized by a quasi continuous system of double sandbar that displays a wide range of typology. The interannual sandbar dynamic was investigated using 2D bathymetric profiles and 3D LiDAR imagery. This study has allowed determining the sandbar systems affected by the Net Offshore Migration (NOM). At a regional scale, conditions necessary to NOM development depend on the sandbar morphologies (crescentic or straight), the wave energy and the associated coastal orientation (low or high energy, sheltered area), the coastal structures (harbour and coastal defences) and the nearshore sedimentary budget. The areas where the NOM occurs show cycle dynamic differences. This regional inter-site comparison highlights that nearshore morphology and bar parameters seem to influence the nearshore bar behaviour. Interaction between the nearshore slope, width of the bar zone and the migration rate control the NOM duration. The sandbar volume and the regional wave climate influence also the migration rate of the system. On the Languedoc-Roussillon coast, the sediment grain size does not appear to influence the seaward bar migration

    Wave-driven circulation over a double nearshore bar system during storm conditions

    No full text
    International audienceCurrent profile

    Longshore variability of beach states and bar types in a microtidal, storm-influenced, low-energy environment

    No full text
    International audienceBeach classification models are widely used in the literature to describe beach states in response to environmentalconditions. These models were essentially developed for sandy barred to barless beaches in micro- to mesotidalenvironments subject to moderate to high wave energy conditions and have been based on field studiesover limited stretches of coast. Here,we further interrogate the performance of the Australian beach classificationscheme by analysing beach states and corresponding bar types on a regional scale in a storm-influenced, lowwave-energy, microtidal environment, using a large and unique spatial and temporal dataset of supra- andsubtidal beach morphology and sedimentology. The 200 km-long coast of the Gulf of Lions in theMediterraneanconsists of quasi-continuous sandy beaches with a well-developed double sandbar system. All the reported classicalbeach stateswere observed on this coast, from reflective to dissipative, alongwith two more unusual states:the rock platform-constrained beach state which is associated with bedrock outcrops, and the non-barred dissipativebeach statewhich ismore commonly found in large tidal-range settings. LiDAR bathymetry shows that thetransitions between beach state zones are marked mainly headlands but transitions also occur progressivelyalong stretches of continuous sandy beach. The longshore distribution of beach states and associated bar typeson a regional scale can be related to the variability of hydrodynamic conditions (wave incidence and energy)and sediment characteristics (particle size). However, the influence of these parameters on beach state seemsto be largely controlled by the geological context such as the presence of a river mouth, headland or rock platform.Finally, we assessed the ability of the parameter Ω, commonly used to characterise beach states, whichcombines wave characteristics and sediment fall velocity, to predict the observed beach states and bar typesusing a very large set of hydrodynamic and sedimentary data. Our results, based on high frequency spatial sampling,show that the fall velocity of the subtidal sediment coupled with wave statistics one month prior the observedbeach state strongly improved the predictive power of the parameter Ω
    • …
    corecore