Advanced cancer is also a heart failure syndrome: a hypothesis

We present the hypothesis that advanced stage cancer is also a heart failure syndrome. It can develop independently of or in addition to cardiotoxic effects of anti-cancer therapies. This includes an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias. We suggest the pathophysiologic link for these developments includes generalized muscle wasting (i.e. sarcopenia) due to tissue homeostasis changes leading to cardiac wasting associated cardiomyopathy. Cardiac wasting with thinning of the ventricular wall increases ventricular wall stress, even in the absence of ventricular dilatation. In addition, arrhythmias may be facilitated by cellular wasting processes affecting structure and function of electrical cells and conduction pathways. We submit that in some patients with advanced cancer (but not terminal cancer), heart failure therapy or defibrillators may be relevant treatment options. The key points in selecting patients for such therapies may be the predicted life expectancy, quality of life at intervention time, symptomatic burden, and consequences for further anti-cancer therapies. The cause of death in advanced cancer is difficult to ascertain and consensus on event definitions in cancer is not established yet. Clinical investigations on this are called for. Broader ethical considerations must be taken into account when aiming to target cardiovascular problems in cancer patients. We suggest that focused attention to evaluating cardiac wasting and arrhythmias in cancer will herald a further evolution in the rapidly expanding field of cardio-oncology

Nutrition Strategies for Triathlon

Contemporary sports nutrition guidelines recommend that each athlete develop a personalised, periodised and practical approach to eating that allows him or her to train hard, recover and adapt optimally, stay free of illness and injury and compete at their best at peak races. Competitive triathletes undertake a heavy training programme to prepare for three different sports while undertaking races varying in duration from 20 min to 10 h. The everyday diet should be adequate in energy availability, provide CHO in varying amounts and timing around workouts according to the benefits of training with low or high CHO availability and spread high-quality protein over the day to maximise the adaptive response to each session. Race nutrition requires a targeted and well-practised plan that maintains fuel and hydration goals over the duration of the specific event, according to the opportunities provided by the race and other challenges, such as a hot environment. Supplements and sports foods can make a small contribution to a sports nutrition plan, when medical supplements are used under supervision to prevent/treat nutrient deficiencies (e.g. iron or vitamin D) or when sports foods provide a convenient source of nutrients when it is impractical to eat whole foods. Finally, a few evidence-based performance supplements may contribute to optimal race performance when used according to best practice protocols to suit the triathlete’s goals and individual responsiveness

Correlations between the stellar, planetary, and debris components of exoplanet systems observed by <i>Herschel</i>

Context. Stars form surrounded by gas- and dust-rich protoplanetary discs. Generally, these discs dissipate over a few (3–10) Myr, leaving a faint tenuous debris disc composed of second-generation dust produced by the attrition of larger bodies formed in the protoplanetary disc. Giant planets detected in radial velocity and transit surveys of main-sequence stars also form within the protoplanetary disc, whilst super-Earths now detectable may form once the gas has dissipated. Our own solar system, with its eight planets and two debris belts, is a prime example of an end state of this process. Aims. The Herschel DEBRIS, DUNES, and GT programmes observed 37 exoplanet host stars within 25 pc at 70, 100, and 160 μm with the sensitivity to detect far-infrared excess emission at flux density levels only an order of magnitude greater than that of the solar system’s Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. Here we present an analysis of that sample, using it to more accurately determine the (possible) level of dust emission from these exoplanet host stars and thereafter determine the links between the various components of these exoplanetary systems through statistical analysis. Methods. We have fitted the flux densities measured from recent Herschel observations with a simple two parameter (Td, LIR/L⋆) black-body model (or to the 3σ upper limits at 100 μm). From this uniform approach we calculated the fractional luminosity, radial extent and dust temperature. We then plotted the calculated dust luminosity or upper limits against the stellar properties, e.g. effective temperature, metallicity, and age, and identified correlations between these parameters. Results. A total of eleven debris discs are identified around the 37 stars in the sample. An incidence of ten cool debris discs around the Sun-like exoplanet host stars (29 ± 9%) is consistent with the detection rate found by DUNES (20.2 ± 2.0%). For the debris disc systems, the dust temperatures range from 20 to 80 K, and fractional luminosities (LIR/L⋆) between 2.4 ×10-6 and 4.1 ×10-4. In the case of non-detections, we calculated typical 3σ upper limits to the dust fractional luminosities of a few ×10-6. Conclusions. We recover the previously identified correlation between stellar metallicity and hot-Jupiter planets in our data set. We find a correlation between the increased presence of dust, lower planet masses, and lower stellar metallicities. This confirms the recently identified correlation between cold debris discs and low-mass planets in the context of planet formation by core accretion

Thermochemistry and Photochemistry in Cooler Hydrogen Dominated Extrasolar Planets: The Case of GJ436b

We introduce a new thermochemical kinetics and photochemical model. We use high-temperature bidirectional reaction rates for important H, C, O and N reactions (most importantly for CH$_4$ to CO interconversion), allowing us to attain thermochemical equilibrium, deep in an atmosphere, purely kinetically. This allows ab initio chemical modeling of an entire atmosphere, from deep-atmosphere thermochemical equilibrium to the photochemically dominated regime. We use our model to explore the atmospheric chemistry of cooler ($T_{eff} < 10^3$ K) extrasolar giant planets. In particular, we choose to model the nearby hot Neptune GJ436b, the only planet in this temperature regime for which spectroscopic measurements and estimates of chemical abundances now exist. Recent {\it Spitzer} measurements with retrieval have shown that methane is driven strongly out of equilibrium and is deeply depleted on the dayside of GJ 436b, whereas quenched carbon monoxide is abundant. This is surprising because GJ 436b is cooler than many of the heavily irradiated hot Jovians and thermally favorable for CH$_4$, and thus requires an efficient mechanism for destroying it. We include realistic estimates of ultraviolet flux from the parent dM star GJ 436, to bound the direct photolysis and photosensitized depletion of CH$_4$. While our models indicate fairly rich disequilibrium conditions are likely in cooler exoplanets over a range of planetary metallicities, we are unable to generate the conditions for substantial CH$_4$ destruction. One possibility is an anomalous source of abundant H atoms between 0.01-1 bars (which attack CH$_4$), but we cannot as yet identify an efficient means to produce these hot atoms

Neurocranial osteology and neuroanatomy of a late Cretaceous Titanosaurian Sauropod from Spain (Ampelosaurus sp.)

Titanosaurians were a flourishing group of sauropod dinosaurs during Cretaceous times. Fossils of titanosaurians have been found on all continents and their remains are abundant in a number of Late Cretaceous sites. Nonetheless, the cranial anatomy of titanosaurians is still very poorly known. The Spanish latest Cretaceous locality of "Lo Hueco" yielded a relatively well preserved, titanosaurian braincase, which shares a number of phylogenetically restricted characters with Ampelosaurus atacis from France such as a flat occipital region. However, it appears to differ from A. atacis in some traits such as the greater degree of dorsoventral compression and the presence of proatlas facets. The specimen is, therefore, provisionally identified as Ampelosaurus sp. It was CT scanned, and 3D renderings of the cranial endocast and inner-ear system were generated. Our investigation highlights that, although titanosaurs were derived sauropods with a successful evolutionary history, they present a remarkably modest level of paleoneurological organization. Compared with the condition in the basal titanosauriform Giraffatitan brancai, the labyrinth of Ampelosaurus sp. shows a reduced morphology. The latter feature is possibly related to a restricted range of head-turning movementsThis is a contribution to the research project CGL2009-12143 (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Madrid), of which FK, who is currently supported by the Ramón y Cajal Program, is Principal Investigator. LMW and RCR acknowledge funding support from the United States National Science Foundation (IBN-9601174, IBN-0343744, IOB-0517257, IOS-1050154) and the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Ohio Supercomputing Center also provided suppor

Simplified Models for LHC New Physics Searches

This document proposes a collection of simplified models relevant to the design of new-physics searches at the LHC and the characterization of their results. Both ATLAS and CMS have already presented some results in terms of simplified models, and we encourage them to continue and expand this effort, which supplements both signature-based results and benchmark model interpretations. A simplified model is defined by an effective Lagrangian describing the interactions of a small number of new particles. Simplified models can equally well be described by a small number of masses and cross-sections. These parameters are directly related to collider physics observables, making simplified models a particularly effective framework for evaluating searches and a useful starting point for characterizing positive signals of new physics. This document serves as an official summary of the results from the "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop, held at SLAC in September of 2010, the purpose of which was to develop a set of representative models that can be used to cover all relevant phase space in experimental searches. Particular emphasis is placed on searches relevant for the first ~50-500 pb-1 of data and those motivated by supersymmetric models. This note largely summarizes material posted at http://lhcnewphysics.org/, which includes simplified model definitions, Monte Carlo material, and supporting contacts within the theory community. We also comment on future developments that may be useful as more data is gathered and analyzed by the experiments.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures. This document is the official summary of results from "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop (SLAC, September 2010). Supplementary material can be found at http://lhcnewphysics.or

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum