New Galactic Star Clusters Discovered in the Disk Area of the VVVX Survey

The ‘VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea eXtended (VVVX)’ ESO Public Survey is a near-infrared photometric sky survey that covers nearly 1700 deg2 towards the Galactic disc and bulge. It is well-suited to search for new open clusters, hidden behind dust and gas. The pipeline processed and calibrated KS-band tile images of 40 per cent of the disc area covered by VVVX was visually inspected for stellar overdensities. Then, we identified cluster candidates by examination of the composite JHKS colour images. The colour-magnitude diagrams of the cluster candidates are constructed. Whenever possible the Gaia DR2 parameters are used to calculate the mean proper motions, radial velocities, reddening and distances. We report the discovery of 120 new infrared clusters and stellar groups. Approximately half of them (47 per cent) are faint, compact, highly reddened, and they seem to be associated with other indicators of recent star formation, such as nearby Young Stellar Objects, Masers, H II regions or bubbles. The preliminary distance determinations allow us to trace the clusters up to 4.5 kpc, but most of the cluster candidates are centred at 2.2 kpc. The mean proper motions of the clusters show that in general they follow the disc motion of the Galaxy

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Pulsations Beneath the Winds: Unique Precise Photometry from MOST

Contains fulltext : 72155.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Mass Loss from Stars and the Evolution of Stellar Clusters, 29 mei 200

Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration : prognostic importance of initial response in HIV-1 infected patients starting potent antiretroviral therapy : analysis of prospective studies

Background: We examined whether the initial virological and immunological response to highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) is prognostic in patients with HIV-1 who start HAART. Methods: We analysed 13 cohort studies from Europe and North America including 9323 adult treatment-naive patients who were starting HAART with a combination of at least three drugs. We modelled clinical progression from month 6 after starting HAART, taking into account CD4 count and HIV-1 RNA measured at baseline and 6 months. Findings: During 13 408 years of follow-up 152 patients died and 874 developed AIDS or died. Compared with patients who had a 6-month CD4 count of fewer than 25 cells/\u3bcL, adjusted hazard ratios for AIDS or death were 0.55 (95%CI 0.32-0.96) for 25-49 cells/\u3bcL, 0.62 (0.40-0.96) for 50-99 cells/\u3bcL, 0.42 (0.28-0.64) for 100-199 cells/\u3bcL, 0.25 (0.16-0.38) for 200-349 cells/\u3bcL, and 0.18 (0.11-0.29) for 350 or more cells/\u3bcL at 6 months. Compared with patients who had a 6-month HIV-1 RNA of 100 000 copies/mL or greater, adjusted hazard ratios for AIDS or death were 0.59 (0.41-0.86) for 10 000-99 999 copies/mL, 0.42 (0.29-0.61) for 500-9999 copies/mL, and 0.29 (0.21-0.39) for 6-month HIV-1 RNA of 500 copies/mL or fewer. Baseline CD4 and HIV-1 RNA were not associated with progression after controlling for 6-month concentrations. The probability of progression at 3 years ranged from 2.4% in the patients in the lowest-risk stratum to 83% in patients in the highest-risk stratum. Interpretation: At 6 months after starting HAART, the current CD4 cell count and viral load, but not values at baseline, are strongly associated with subsequent disease progression. Our findings should inform guidelines on when to modify HAART

Italian Consensus Statement on Management of HIV-Infected Individuals with Advanced Disease Naïve to Antiretroviral Therapy

Individuals with advanced HIV infection naïve to antiretroviral therapy represent a special population of patients frequently encountered in clinical practice. They are at high risk of disease progression and death, and their viroimmunologic response following the initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy may be more incomplete or slower than that of other patients. Infection management in such patients can also be complicated by underlying conditions, comorbidities, and the need for concomitant medications

Does rapid HIV disease progression prior to combination antiretroviral therapy hinder optimal CD4 + T-cell recovery once HIV-1 suppression is achieved?

Objective: This article compares trends in CD4 + T-cell recovery and proportions achieving optimal restoration (≥500cells/μl) after viral suppression following combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation between rapid and nonrapid progressors. Methods: We included HIV-1 seroconverters achieving viral suppression within 6 months of cART. Rapid progressors were individuals experiencing at least one CD4 + less than 200cells/μl within 12 months of seroconverters before cART. We used piecewise linear mixed models and logistic regression for optimal restoration. Results: Of 4024 individuals, 294 (7.3%) were classified as rapid progressors. At the same CD4 + T-cell count at cART start (baseline), rapid progressors experienced faster CD4 + T-cell increases than nonrapid progressors in first month [difference (95% confidence interval) in mean increase/month (square root scale): 1.82 (1.61; 2.04)], which reversed to slightly slower increases in months 1-18 [-0.05 (-0.06; -0.03)] and no significant differences in 18-60 months [-0.003 (-0.01; 0.01)]. Percentage achieving optimal restoration was significantly lower for rapid progressors than nonrapid progressors at months 12 (29.2 vs. 62.5%) and 36 (47.1 vs. 72.4%) but not at month 60 (70.4 vs. 71.8%). These differences disappeared after adjusting for baseline CD4 + T-cell count: odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.86 (0.61; 1.20), 0.90 (0.38; 2.17) and 1.56 (0.55; 4.46) at months 12, 36 and 60, respectively. Conclusion: Among people on suppressive antiretroviral therapy, rapid progressors experience faster initial increases of CD4 + T-cell counts than nonrapid progressors, but are less likely to achieve optimal restoration during the first 36 months after cART, mainly because of lower CD4 + T-cell counts at cART initiation. Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Kaposi sarcoma risk in HIV-infected children and adolescents on combination antiretroviral therapy from sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia

BACKGROUND  The burden of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children and adolescents on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has not been compared globally. METHODS  We analyzed cohort data from the International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS and the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research in Europe. We included HIV-infected children aged <16 years at cART initiation from 1996 onward. We used Cox models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted for region and origin, sex, cART start year, age, and HIV/AIDS stage at cART initiation. RESULTS  We included 24 991 children from eastern Africa, southern Africa, Europe and Asia; 26 developed KS after starting cART. Incidence rates per 100 000 person-years (PYs) were 86 in eastern Africa (95% confidence interval [CI], 55-133), 11 in southern Africa (95% CI, 4-35), and 81 (95% CI, 26-252) in children of sub-Saharan African (SSA) origin in Europe. The KS incidence rates were 0/100 000 PYs in children of non-SSA origin in Europe (95% CI, 0-50) and in Asia (95% CI, 0-27). KS risk was lower in girls than in boys (adjusted HR [aHR], 0.3; 95% CI, .1-.9) and increased with age (10-15 vs 0-4 years; aHR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2-10.1) and advanced HIV/AIDS stage (CDC stage C vs A/B; aHR, 2.4; 95% CI, .8-7.3) at cART initiation. CONCLUSIONS  HIV-infected children from SSA but not those from other regions, have a high risk of developing KS after cART initiation. Early cART initiation in these children might reduce KS risk

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele. © 2022, The Author(s)