Plasma MIC-1 correlates with systemic inflammation but is not an independent determinant of nutritional status or survival in oesophago-gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1(MIC-1) is a potential modulator of systemic inflammation and nutritional depletion, both of which are adverse prognostic factors in oesophago-gastric cancer (OGC). METHODS: Plasma MIC-1, systemic inflammation (defined as plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) of ⩾10 mg l(–1) or modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) of ⩾1), and nutritional status were assessed in newly diagnosed OGC patients (n=293). Healthy volunteers (n=35) served as controls. RESULTS: MIC-1 was elevated in patients (median=1371 pg ml(–1); range 141–39 053) when compared with controls (median=377 pg ml(–1); range 141–3786; P<0.001). Patients with gastric tumours (median=1592 pg ml(–1); range 141–12 643) showed higher MIC-1 concentrations than patients with junctional (median=1337 pg ml(–1); range 383–39 053) and oesophageal tumours (median=1180 pg ml(–1); range 258–31 184; P=0.015). Patients showed a median weight loss of 6.4% (range 0.0–33.4%), and 42% of patients had an mGPS of ⩾1 or plasma CRP of ⩾10 mg l(–1) (median=9 mg l(–1); range 1–200). MIC-1 correlated positively with disease stage (r(2)=0.217; P<0.001), age (r(2)=0.332; P<0.001), CRP (r(2)=0.314; P<0.001), and mGPS (r(2)=0.336; P<0.001), and negatively with Karnofsky Performance Score (r(2)=−0.269; P<0.001). However, although MIC-1 correlated weakly with dietary intake (r(2)=0.157; P=0.031), it did not correlate with weight loss, BMI, or anthropometry. Patients with MIC-1 levels in the upper quartile showed reduced survival (median=204 days; 95% CI 157–251) when compared with patients with MIC-1 levels in the lower three quartiles (median=316 days; 95% CI 259–373; P=0.036), but MIC-1 was not an independent prognostic indicator. CONCLUSIONS: There is no independent link between plasma MIC-1 levels and depleted nutritional status or survival in OGC

A gestural repertoire of 1-2year old human children : in search of the ape gestures

This project was made possible with the generous financial help of the Baverstock Bequest to the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at the University of St Andrews.When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into the thought processes accompanying language, and sign languages are equal to spoken language with all of its features. While some research firmly emphasises the difference between human gestures and those of other apes, the question about whether there are any commonalities has rarely been investigated, and is mostly confined to pointing gestures. The gestural repertoires of nonhuman ape species have been carefully studied and described with regard to their form and function – but similar approaches are much rarer in the study of human gestures. This paper applies the methodology commonly used in the study of nonhuman ape gestures to the gestural communication of human children in their second year of life. We recorded (n=13) children’s gestures in a natural setting with peers and caregivers in Germany and Uganda. Children employed 52 distinct gestures, 46 (89%) of which are present in the chimpanzee repertoire. Like chimpanzees, they used them both singly, and in sequences; and employed individual gestures flexibly towards different goals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Conceptual Design Report Volume 1: The LBNF and DUNE Projects

This document presents the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) put forward by an international neutrino community to pursue the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF/DUNE), a groundbreaking science experiment for long-baseline neutrino oscillation studies and for neutrino astrophysics and nucleon decay searches. The DUNE far detector will be a very large modular liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) located deep underground, coupled to the LBNF multi-megawatt wide-band neutrino beam. DUNE will also have a high-resolution and high-precision near detector

Evaluation of seasonal and yearly behavior of an integral abutment bridge

This paper presents the field performance evaluation of an integral abutment bridge constructed in Massachusetts that was monitored for a period of three years. Emphasis is primarily made on observed seasonal and yearly behavior. Although the bridge abutments were constructed without any skew, differences have been observed in performance between the north and south abutments and are attributed to differences in construction conditions. Longitudinal displacement and rotation fully characterize the abutment deformation response. Fundamental parameters that control the response of the bridge (longitudinal restraint, pile moments) are evaluated through the use of simple mechanical models. The use of simple models allows estimation of bridge parameters for use in more involved finite element models. Data collected during the monitoring period indicate that current design procedures used for integral abutment bridges in Massachusetts are conservative