Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSC) for the treatment of secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis: A triple blinded, placebo controlled, randomized phase I/II safety and feasibility study

Background Currently available treatments for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis(SPMS) have limited efficacy and/or safety concerns. Adipose-mesenchymal derived stem cells(AdMSCs) represent a promising option and can be readily obtained using minimally invasive procedures. Go to: Patients and methods In this triple-blind, placebo-controlled study, cell samples were obtained from consenting patients by lipectomy and subsequently expanded. Patients were randomized to a single infusion of placebo, low-dose(1x106cells/kg) or high-dose(4x106cells/kg) autologous AdMSC product and followed for 12 months. Safety was monitored recording adverse events, laboratory parameters, vital signs and spirometry. Expanded disability status score (EDSS), magnetic-resonance-imaging, and other measures of possible treatment effects were also recorded. Go to: Results Thirty-four patients underwent lipectomy for AdMSCs collection, were randomized and thirty were infused (11 placebo, 10 low-dose and 9 high-dose); 4 randomized patients were not infused because of karyotype abnormalities in the cell product. Only one serious adverse event was observed in the treatment arms (urinary infection, considered not related to study treatment). No other safety parameters showed changes. Measures of treatment effect showed an inconclusive trend of efficacy. Conclusion Infusion of autologous AdMSCs is safe and feasible in patients with SPMS. Larger studies and probably treatment at earlier phases would be needed to investigate the potential therapeutic benefit of this technique

Geology of the Bottle Lake Complex, Maine

Guidebook to the geology of Northeastern Maine and neighboring New Brunswick: The 72nd annual meeting of the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, Presque Isle, Maine, October 10-13, 1980: Trip A-

What does consumption tell us about inflation expectations and real interest rates?

En este trabajo se estiman tipos de interes reales, cotas para las expectativas de inflacion y primas por riesgo de inflacion en España. Las estimaciones se realizan en el marco del CCAPM para cuatro especificaciones diferentes de las preferencias. Dado el comportamiento del consumo entre 1979 y 1995, para obtener tipos de interes reales por debajo del 4% es preciso aceptar, ademas de un grado reducido de aversion al riesgo por parte de los agentes, un elevado grado de paciencia, u extremadamente alto grado de sustitucion intertemporal o la existencia de un cierto grado de altruismo en las preferencias de los consumidores. Las primas pro riesgo de inflacion son pequeñas y estables y las expectativas de inflacion reaccion con cierto retraso ante cambios en la tendencia observada de la inflacion. Asi, los agentes parecen tomarse un cierto tiempo antes de considerar definitivo un nuevo patron de comportamiento en los precios. (jah) (jls) (mac

Chiral coherent control of electronic population transfer: towards all-optical and highly enantioselective photochemistry

Recent experiments have demonstrated highly enantioselective population transfer among rotational states using microwave fields with non-coplanar polarizations, a milestone in our ability to control chiral molecules. Extending this ability to the optical domain would open the door to all-optical enantioselective photochemistry, the next milestone in this direction. Here we show that the spatial variation of the field presents a major challenge along this route, limiting the interaction region to a thin layer with a thickness of the order of a wavelength. We provide a solution to this restriction by carefully designing the quantum pathways leading to the excited state. Our simulations reveal that the proposed scheme can result in differences of up to 19% in the excited state populations of R and S carvone. This is a major improvement over what is possible with circularly polarized light (~0.01%) and brings all-optical enantioselective photochemistry within reach for practical applications.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Are ex-post real interest rates a good proxy for ex-ante real rates? : an international comparison within a CCAPM framework

En este trabajo se utiliza el marco teorico que proporciona el modelo de valoracion de activos conocido como CCAPM (Consumption Capital Asset Pricing Model) para obtener tipos de interes reales ex-ante, cotas para los errores de expectativas de inflacion y primas de riesgo en cuatro paises: España, Francia, Reino Unido y Estados Unidos. De acuerdo con los resultados, aun considerando un rango amplio de posibles especificaciones de las preferencias de los agentes, no es posible generar tipos reales ex-ante a un año con un grado suficientemente alto de correlacion con el tipo ex-post. Asimismo, para los casos en los que se obtiene la maxima correlacion entre ambos tipos de interes - es decir, en aquellos casos en los que los tipos ex-post serian una mejor aproximacion al tipo ex-ante -, los errores de expectativas de inflacion parecen desempeñar un papel mas relevante que las primas de riesgo por inflacion a la hora de explicar diferencias en el comportamiento de uno y otro tipo de interes real. (jah) (jls) (mac

Ultrafast control over chiral sum-frequency generation

We introduce an ultrafast all-optical approach for efficient chiral recognition which relies on the interference between two low-order nonlinear processes which are ubiquitous in nonlinear optics: sum-frequency generation and third-harmonic generation. In contrast to traditional sum-frequency generation, our approach encodes the medium's handedness in the intensity of the emitted harmonic signal, rather than in its phase, and it enables full control over the enantiosensitive response. We show how, by sculpting the sub-optical-cycle oscillations of the driving laser field, we can force one molecular enantiomer to emit bright light while its mirror twin remains dark, thus reaching the ultimate efficiency limit of chiral sensitivity via low-order nonlinear light-matter interactions. Our work paves the way for ultrafast and highly efficient imaging and control of the chiral electronic clouds of chiral molecules using lasers with moderate intensities, in all states of matter: from gases to liquids to solids, with molecular specificity and on ultrafast timescales

Strong-field control and enhancement of chiral response in bi-elliptical high-order harmonic generation: An analytical model

The generation of high-order harmonics in a medium of chiral molecules driven by intense bi-elliptical laser fields can lead to strong chiroptical response in a broad range of harmonic numbers and ellipticities (Ayuso et al 2018 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 51 06LT01). Here we present a comprehensive analytical model that can describe the most relevant features arising in the high-order harmonic spectra of chiral molecules driven by strong bi-elliptical fields. Our model recovers the physical picture underlying chiral high-order harmonic generation (HHG) based on ultrafast chiral hole motion and identifies the rotationally invariant molecular pseudoscalars responsible for chiral dynamics. Using the chiral molecule propylene oxide as an example, we show that one can control and enhance the chiral response in bi-elliptical HHG by tailoring the driving field, in particular by tuning its frequency, intensity and ellipticity, exploiting a suppression mechanism of achiral background based on the linear Stark effect

Chiral dichroism in bi-elliptical high-order harmonic generation

The application of strong bi-elliptically polarized laser fields to the generation of high-order harmonics in organic molecules offers exceptional opportunities for chiral recognition and chiral discrimination. These fields are made by combining an elliptically polarized fundamental, typically in the infrared range, with its counter-rotating second harmonic. Here we present a theoretical study of the harmonic emission from the chiral molecule propylene oxide in bi-elliptical fields. Our calculations include, for the first time in such a complex system, accurate photorecomination matrix elements, evaluated using the static-exchange density functional theory method. We show that bi-elliptical light can induce strong chiral dichroism in the harmonic spectra of chiral molecules in a broad range of harmonic numbers and ellipticities

Chiral dichroism in bi-elliptical high-order harmonic generation

The application of strong bi-elliptically polarized laser fields to the generation of high-order harmonics in organic molecules offers exceptional opportunities for chiral recognition and chiral discrimination. These fields are made by combining an elliptically polarized fundamental, typically in the infrared range, with its counter-rotating second harmonic. Here we present a theoretical study of the harmonic emission from the chiral molecule propylene oxide in bi-elliptical fields. Our calculations include, for the first time in such a complex system, accurate photorecomination matrix elements, evaluated using the static-exchange density functional theory method. We show that bi-elliptical light can induce strong chiral dichroism in the harmonic spectra of chiral molecules in a broad range of harmonic numbers and ellipticities