Características hematológicas y bioquímicas en pacientes con y sin diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) sometidos a hemodiálisis durante un año de seguimiento

Objective: To report if there are hematologic and biochemical differences among patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Materials and methods: An observational, retrospective, cohort study of patients treated in the Renal Health Program at the Centro de Prevención de Enfermedad Renal S.A.C. (CENPER) in Lima, Peru. The hematologic and biochemical parameters of 3 patients with T2DM and 3 patients without T2DM undergoing HD were compared. Results: Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in the lymphocyte percentage, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), hemoglobin and hematocrit concentration (lower in diabetic patients), monocyte percentage, and neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (higher in diabetic patients). In the biochemical parameters, the only significant difference was found in the glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) value, which was higher in the diabetic patients compared with the non-diabetic patients (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Diabetes is an important factor linked to inflammation, anemia, lymphopenia and monocytosis in patients undergoing HD. The LMR was the most powerful marker of inflammation in this patient series. Larger-scale studies are required to verify this evidence.Objetivo: Reportar si existen diferencias hematológicas y bioquímicas entre los pacientes con y sin diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) bajo tratamiento de hemodiálisis (HD). Materiales y métodos: Estudio observacional de cohorte retrospectiva de pacientes atendidos por el Programa de Salud renal en el Centro de Prevención de Enfermedad Renal S.A.C (CENPER) de Lima, Perú. Se compararon los parámetros hematológicos y bioquímicos de 3 pacientes con DM2 y 3 pacientes sin DM2 sometidos a HD. Resultados: Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p<0,05) en el porcentaje de linfocitos, el cociente linfocito/ monocito (LMR), la concentración de hemoglobina y hematocrito (menor en pacientes diabéticos), en el porcentaje de monocitos y en el cociente neutrófilo/ linfocitos (NLR) (mayor en pacientes diabéticos). En los parámetros bioquímicos solo se encontró diferencia significativa en la transaminasa TGO que está más elevada en pacientes diabéticos comparados con pacientes no diabéticos (p<0.005). Conclusiones: Diabetes es un factor importante asociado con inflamación, anemia, linfopenia y monocitosis en pacientes sometidos a HD. LMR fue el marcador más potente de inflamación en esta serie de pacientes. Estudios a mayor escala son requeridos para corroborar esta evidencia

Secret Symmetries in AdS/CFT

We discuss special quantum group (secret) symmetries of the integrable system associated to the AdS/CFT correspondence. These symmetries have by now been observed in a variety of forms, including the spectral problem, the boundary scattering problem, n-point amplitudes, the pure-spinor formulation and quantum affine deformations.Comment: 20 pages, pdfLaTeX; Submitted to the Proceedings of the Nordita program `Exact Results in Gauge-String Dualities'; Based on the talk presented by A.T., Nordita, 15 February 201

Genetic polymorphisms in TNF genes and tuberculosis in North Indians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulmonary tuberculosis, the most common clinical form of mycobacterial diseases, is a granulomatous disease of the lungs caused by <it>Mycobaterium tuberculosis</it>. A number of genes have been identified in studies of diverse origins to be important in tuberculosis. Of these, both tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and lymphotoxin α (LT-α) play important immunoregulatory roles.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate the association of <it>TNF </it>polymorphisms with tuberculosis in the Asian Indians, we genotyped five potentially functional promoter polymorphisms in the <it>TNFA </it>gene and a <it>LTA_NcoI </it>polymorphism (+252 position) of the <it>LTA </it>gene in a clinically well-defined cohort of North-Indian patients with tuberculosis (N = 185) and their regional controls (N = 155). Serum TNF-α (sTNF-α) levels were measured and correlated with genotypes and haplotypes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The comparison of the allele frequencies for the various loci investigated revealed no significant differences between the tuberculosis patients and controls. Also, when the patients were sub-grouped into minimal, moderately advanced and far advanced disease on the basis of chest radiographs, TST and the presence/absence of cavitary lesions, none of the polymorphisms showed a significant association with any of the patient sub-groups. Although a significant difference was observed in the serum TNF-α levels in the patients and the controls, none of the investigated polymorphisms were found to affect the sTNF-α levels. Interestingly, it was observed that patients with minimal severity were associated with lower log sTNF-α levels when compared to the patients with moderately advanced and far advanced severity. However, none of these differences were found to be statistically significant. Furthermore, when haplotypes were analyzed, no significant difference was observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Thus, our findings exclude the <it>TNF </it>genes as major risk factor for tuberculosis in the North Indians.</p

Integrable boundaries in AdS/CFT: revisiting the Z=0 giant graviton and D7-brane

We consider the worldsheet boundary scattering and the corresponding boundary algebras for the Z=0 giant graviton and the Z=0 D7-brane in the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider two approaches to the boundary scattering, the usual one governed by the (generalized) twisted Yangians and the q-deformed model of these boundaries governed by the quantum affine coideal subalgebras. We show that the q-deformed approach leads to boundary algebras that are of a more compact form than the corresponding twisted Yangians, and thus are favourable to use for explicit calculations. We obtain the q-deformed reflection matrices for both boundaries which in the q->1 limit specialize to the ones obtained using twisted Yangians.Comment: 36 pages. v2: minor typos corrected, references updated; v3: published versio

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 inverse femtobarns produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE