Evidences for a quasi 60-year North Atlantic Oscillation since 1700 and its meaning for global climate change

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) obtained using instrumental and documentary proxy predictors from Eurasia is found to be characterized by a quasi 60-year dominant oscillation since 1650. This pattern emerges clearly once the NAO record is time integrated to stress its comparison with the temperature record. The integrated NAO (INAO) is found to well correlate with the length of the day (since 1650) and the global surface sea temperature record HadSST2 and HadSST3 (since 1850). These findings suggest that INAO can be used as a good proxy for global climate change, and that a 60-year cycle exists in the global climate since at least 1700. Finally, the INAO ~60-year oscillation well correlates with the ~60- year oscillations found in the historical European aurora record since 1700, which suggests that this 60-year dominant climatic cycle has a solar-astronomical origin

Singular values of the Dirac operator in dense QCD-like theories

We study the singular values of the Dirac operator in dense QCD-like theories at zero temperature. The Dirac singular values are real and nonnegative at any nonzero quark density. The scale of their spectrum is set by the diquark condensate, in contrast to the complex Dirac eigenvalues whose scale is set by the chiral condensate at low density and by the BCS gap at high density. We identify three different low-energy effective theories with diquark sources applicable at low, intermediate, and high density, together with their overlapping domains of validity. We derive a number of exact formulas for the Dirac singular values, including Banks-Casher-type relations for the diquark condensate, Smilga-Stern-type relations for the slope of the singular value density, and Leutwyler-Smilga-type sum rules for the inverse singular values. We construct random matrix theories and determine the form of the microscopic spectral correlation functions of the singular values for all nonzero quark densities. We also derive a rigorous index theorem for non-Hermitian Dirac operators. Our results can in principle be tested in lattice simulations.Comment: 3 references added, version published in JHE

Analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of human acute myeloid leukemia

Accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00262-015-1762-9The use of peptide vaccines, enhanced by adjuvants, has shown some efficacy in clinical trials. However, responses are often short-lived and rarely induce notable memory responses. The reason is that self-antigens have already been presented to the immune system as the tumor develops, leading to tolerance or some degree of host tumor cell destruction. To try to break tolerance against self-antigens, one of the methods employed has been to modify peptides at the anchor residues to enhance their ability to bind major histocompatibility complex molecules, extending their exposure to the T-cell receptor. These modified or analogue peptides have been investigated as stimulators of the immune system in patients with different cancers with variable but sometimes notable success. In this review we describe the background and recent developments in the use of analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia describing knowledge useful for the application of analogue peptide treatments for other malignancies

Partially distributed coordination with Reo and constraint automata

Algorithms and the Foundations of Software technolog

Regulatory T cell frequency in patients with melanoma with different disease stage and course, and modulating effects of high-dose interferon-α 2b treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-dose interferon-alpha 2b (IFN-α 2b) is the only approved systemic therapy in the United States for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma. The study objective was to explore the immunomodulatory mechanism of action for IFN-α 2b by measuring serum regulatory T cell (Treg), serum transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin (IL)-10, and autoantibody levels in patients with melanoma treated with the induction phase of the high-dose IFN-α 2b regimen.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with melanoma received IFN-α 2b administered intravenously (20 MU/m²each day from day 1 to day 5 for 4 consecutive weeks). Serum Treg levels were measured as whole lymphocytes in CD4⁺cells using flow cytometry while TGF-β, IL-10, and autoantibody levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two patients with melanoma received IFN-α 2b treatment and were evaluated for Treg levels. Before treatment, Treg levels were significantly higher in patients with melanoma when compared with data from 20 healthy subjects (<it>P </it>= 0.001; Mann-Whitney test). Although a trend for reduction of Treg levels following IFN-α 2b treatment was observed (average decrease 0.29% per week), statistical significance was not achieved. Subgroup analyses indicated higher baseline Treg levels for stage III versus IV disease (<it>P </it>= 0.082), early recurrence versus no recurrence (<it>P </it>= 0.017), deceased versus surviving patients (<it>P = </it>0.021), and preoperative neoadjuvant versus postoperative adjuvant treatment groups (not significant). No significant effects were observed on the levels of TGF-β, IL-10, and autoantibodies in patients with melanoma treated with IFN-α 2b.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with melanoma in this study showed increased basal levels of Treg that may be relevant to their disease and its progression. Treg levels shifted in patients with melanoma treated with IFN-α 2b, although no firm conclusions regarding the role of Tregs as a marker of treatment response or outcome can be made at present.</p

Single-dose palonosetron for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy containing steroids: results of a phase II study from the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio dei Linfomi (GISL)

PURPOSE: The control of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy is paramount for overall treatment success in cancer patients. Antiemetic therapy during chemotherapy in lymphoma patients generally consists of anti-serotoninergic drugs and dexamethasone. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a single dose of palonosetron, a second-generation serotonin type 3 (5-HT(3)) receptor antagonist, in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) containing steroids. METHODS: Patients received a single intravenous bolus of palonosetron (0.25 mg) before administration of chemotherapy. Complete response (CR) defined as no vomiting and no rescue therapy during overall phase (0-120 h) was the primary endpoint. Complete control (CC) defined as CR and only mild nausea was a secondary endpoint. RESULTS: Eighty-six evaluable patients entered in the study. A CR was observed in 74 patients (86.0%) during the overall phase; the CR during the acute (0-24 h) and delayed (24-120 h) phases was 90.7% and 88.4%, respectively. CC was 89.5% during the acute and 84.9% during the delayed phase; the overall CC was 82.6%. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first trial, which demonstrated the efficacy of a single dose of palonosetron in control CINV in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving MEC regimen containing steroids