357 research outputs found
Noncommutative Thermofield Dynamics
The real-time operator formalism for thermal quantum field theories,
thermofield dynamics, is formulated in terms of a path-integral approach in
non-commutative spaces. As an application, the two-point function for a thermal
non-commutative theory is derived at the one-loop level. The
effect of temperature and the non-commutative parameter, competing with one
another, is analyzed.Comment: 13 pages; to be published in IJMP-A
Consensus conference on the management of tumor lysis syndrome.
Tumor lysis syndrome is a potentially life threatening complication of massive cellular lysis in cancers. Identification of high-risk patients and early recognition of the syndrome is crucial in the institution of appropriate treatments. Drugs that act on the metabolic pathway of uric acid to allantoin, like allopurinol or rasburicase, are effective for prophylaxis and treatment of tumor lysis syndrome. Sound recommendations should regulate diagnosis and drug application in the clinical setting. The current article reports the recommendations on the management of tumor lysis syndrome that were issued during a Consensus Conference project, and which were endorsed by the Italian Society of Hematology (SIE), the Italian Association of Pediatric Oncologists (AIEOP) and the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM). Current concepts on the pathophysiology, clinical features, and therapy of tumor lysis syndrome were evaluated by a Panel of 8 experts. A consensus was then developed for statements regarding key questions on tumor lysis syndrome management selected according to the criterion of relevance by group discussion. Hydration and rasburicase should be administered to adult cancer patients who are candidates for tumor-specific therapy and who carry a high risk of tumor lysis syndrome. Cancer patients with a low-risk of tumor lysis syndrome should instead receive hydration along with oral allopurinol. Hydration and rasburicase should also be administered to patients with clinical tumor lysis syndrome and to adults and high-risk children who develop laboratory tumor lysis syndrome. In conclusion, the Panel recommended rasburicase for tumor lysis syndrome prophylaxis in selected patients based on the drug efficacy profile. Methodologically rigorous studies are needed to clarify its cost-effectiveness profile
Noncommutative effects in astrophysical objects: a survey
The main implications of noncommutativity over astrophysical objects are
examined. Noncommutativity is introduced through a deformed dispersion relation
and the relevant
thermodynamical quantities are calculated using the grand canonical ensemble
formalism. These results are applied to simple physical models describing
main-sequence stars, white-dwarfs and neutron stars. The stability of
main-sequence stars and white dwarfs is discussed.Comment: 10 pages. Talk presented by C. Z. at the "First Mediterranean
Conference on Classical and Quantum Gravity", Kolymbari (Crete, Greece),
September 14-18, 2009. To appear in the Proceeding
Baryon acoustic oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations: Radio frequency interference measurements and telescope site selection
The Baryon acoustic oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations
(BINGO) telescope is a new 40-m class radio telescope to measure the
large-angular-scale intensity of Hi emission at 980-1260 MHz to constrain dark
energy parameters. As it needs to measure faint cosmological signals at the
milliKelvin level, it requires a site that has very low radio frequency
interference (RFI) at frequencies around 1 GHz. We report on measurement
campaigns across Uruguay and Brazil to find a suitable site, which looked at
the strength of the mobile phone signals and other radio transmissions, the
location of wind turbines, and also included mapping airplane flight paths. The
site chosen for the BINGO telescope is a valley at Serra do Urubu, a remote
part of Paraiba in North-East Brazil, which has sheltering terrain. During our
measurements with a portable receiver we did not detect any RFI in or near the
BINGO band, given the sensitivity of the equipment. A radio quiet zone around
the selected site has been requested to the Brazilian authorities ahead of the
telescope construction.Comment: Preprint of an article accepted in the Journal of Astronomical
Instrumentation, copyright 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company
https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscinet/ja
Impact of the rs1024611 polymorphism of ccl2 on the pathophysiology and outcome of primary myelofibrosis
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can modify the individual pro-inflammatory background and may therefore have relevant implications in the MPN setting, typified by aberrant cytokine production. In a cohort of 773 primary myelofibrosis (PMF), we determined the contribution of the rs1024611 SNP of CCL2—one of the most potent immunomodulatory chemokines—to the clinical and biological characteristics of the disease, demonstrating that male subjects carrying the homozygous genotype G/G had an increased risk of PMF and that, among PMF patients, the G/G genotype is an independent prognostic factor for reduced overall survival. Functional characterization of the SNP and the CCL2-CCR2 axis in PMF showed that i) homozygous PMF cells are the highest chemokine producers as compared to the other genotypes; ii) PMF CD34+ cells are a selective target of CCL2, since they uniquely express CCR2 (CCL2 receptor); iii) activation of the CCL2-CCR2 axis boosts pro-survival signals induced by driver mutations via Akt phosphorylation; iv) ruxolitinib effectively counteracts CCL2 production and down-regulates CCR2 expression in PMF cells. In conclusion, the identification of the role of the CCL2/CCR2 chemokine system in PMF adds a novel element to the pathophysiological picture of the disease, with clinical and therapeutic implications
Which patients with myelofibrosis should receive ruxolitinib therapy? ELN-SIE evidence-based recommendations
In Vitro Megakaryocyte Differentiation and Proplatelet Formation in Ph-Negative Classical Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Distinct Patterns in the Different Clinical Phenotypes
Background: Ph-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal disorders that include primary myelofibrosis (PMF), polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET). Although the pathogenesis of MPNs is still incompletely understood, an involvement of the megakaryocyte lineage is a distinctive feature.
Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed the in vitro megakaryocyte differentiation and proplatelet formation in 30 PMF, 8 ET, 8 PV patients, and 17 healthy controls (CTRL). Megakaryocytes were differentiated from peripheral blood CD34+ or CD45+ cells in the presence of thrombopoietin. Megakaryocyte output was higher in MPN patients than in CTRL with no
correlation with the JAK2 V617F mutation. PMF-derived megakaryocytes displayed nuclei with a bulbous appearance, were smaller than ET- or PV-derived megakaryocytes and formed proplatelets that presented several structural alterations. In contrast, ET- and PV-derived megakaryocytes produced more proplatelets with a striking increase in bifurcations and tips compared to both control and PMF. Proplatelets formation was correlated with platelet counts in patient peripheral blood. Patients with pre-fibrotic PMF had a pattern of megakaryocyte proliferation and proplatelet formation that was similar to
that of fibrotic PMF and different from that of ET.
Conclusions/Significance: In conclusion, MPNs are associated with high megakaryocyte proliferative potential. Profound differences in megakaryocyte morphology and proplatelet formation distinguish PMF, both fibrotic and prefibrotic, from ET and PV
Rabbit ATG/ATLG in preventing graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: consensus-based recommendations by an international expert panel
This collaborative initiative aimed to provide recommendations on the use of polyclonal antithymocyte globulin (ATG) or anti-T lymphocyte globulin (ATLG) for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A comprehensive review of articles released up to October, 2018 was performed as a source of scientific evidence. Fourteen clinically relevant key questions to the domains indication, administration, and post-transplant management were developed and recommendations were produced using the Delphi technique involving a Panel of 14 experts. ATG/ATLG was strongly recommended as part of myeloablative conditioning regimen prior to matched or mismatched unrelated bone marrow or peripheral blood allogeneic HSCT in malignant diseases to prevent severe acute and chronic GvHD. ATG/ATLG was also recommended prior to HLA-identical sibling peripheral HSCT with good but lesser bulk of evidence. In reduced intensity or nonmyeloablative conditioning regimens, ATG/ATLG was deemed appropriate to reduce the incidence of acute and chronic GvHD, but a higher risk of relapse should be taken into account. Recommendations regarding dose, application, and premedication were also provided as well as post-transplant infectious prophylaxis and vaccination. Overall, these recommendations can be used for a proper and safe application of polyclonal ATG/ATLG to prevent GvHD after allogeneic HSCT
Genetic variation at MECOM, TERT, JAK2 and HBS1L-MYB predisposes to myeloproliferative neoplasms
Clonal proliferation in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) is driven by somatic mutations in JAK2, CALR or MPL, but the contribution of inherited factors is poorly characterized. Using a three-stage genome-wide association study of 3,437 MPN cases and 10,083 controls, we identify two SNPs with genome-wide significance in JAK2V617F-negative MPN: rs12339666 (JAK2; meta-analysis P=1.27 × 10−10) and rs2201862 (MECOM; meta-analysis P=1.96 × 10−9). Two additional SNPs, rs2736100 (TERT) and rs9376092 (HBS1L/MYB), achieve genome-wide significance when including JAK2V617F-positive cases. rs9376092 has a stronger effect in JAK2V617F-negative cases with CALR and/or MPL mutations (Breslow–Day P=4.5 × 10−7), whereas in JAK2V617F-positive cases rs9376092 associates with essential thrombocythemia (ET) rather than polycythemia vera (allelic χ2 P=7.3 × 10−7). Reduced MYB expression, previously linked to development of an ET-like disease in model systems, associates with rs9376092 in normal myeloid cells. These findings demonstrate that multiple germline variants predispose to MPN and link constitutional differences in MYB expression to disease phenotype
Holographic Description of Heavy-Quark Potentials in an Inflationary Braneworld Scenario
We study heavy-quark potential in an inflationary braneworld scenario. The
scenario we consider is an (Euclidean) inflating braneworld embedded in
a static Euclidean . Using gauge/gravity duality we obtain a confining
phase depending on the ratio between the Hubble parameter in the braneworld
and the brane tension .Comment: 16 pages. Minor modifications. To appear in JHE
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