Testing strong gravity with gravitational waves and Love numbers

The LIGO observation of GW150914 has inaugurated the gravitational-wave astronomy era and the possibility of testing gravity in extreme regimes. While distorted black holes are the most convincing sources of gravitational waves, similar signals might be produced also by other compact objects. In particular, we discuss what the gravitational-wave ringdown could tell us about the nature of the emitting object, and how measurements of the tidal Love numbers could help us in understanding the internal structure of compact dark objects

First steps to define murine amniotic fluid stem cell microenvironment

Stem cell niche refers to the microenvironment where stem cells reside in living organisms. Several elements define the niche and regulate stem cell characteristics, such as stromal support cells, gap junctions, soluble factors, extracellular matrix proteins, blood vessels and neural inputs. In the last years, different studies demonstrated the presence of cKit+ cells in human and murine amniotic fluid, which have been defined as amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells. Firstly, we characterized the murine cKit+ cells present both in the amniotic fluid and in the amnion. Secondly, to analyze the AFS cell microenvironment, we injected murine YFP+ embryonic stem cells (ESC) into the amniotic fluid of E13.5 wild type embryos. Four days after transplantation we found that YFP+ sorted cells maintained the expression of pluripotency markers and that ESC adherent to the amnion were more similar to original ESC in respect to those isolated from the amniotic fluid. Moreover, cytokines evaluation and oxygen concentration analysis revealed in this microenvironment the presence of factors that are considered key regulators in stem cell niches. This is the first indication that AFS cells reside in a microenvironment that possess specific characteristics able to maintain stemness of resident and exogenous stem cells

Emerging role of Lipopolysaccharide binding protein in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury

Sepsis remains a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients, with limited therapeutic options available. Of the several disorders connected with sepsis, acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the major complications. The pathophysiology of sepsis-induced AKI is characterized by severe inflammation in renal parenchyma with endothelial dysfunction, intra-glomerular thrombosis and tubular injury. Endothelial dysfunction is regulated by several mechanisms implicated in cellular de-differentiation, such as endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). Gram-negative bacteria and their cell wall component lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are frequently involved in the pathogenesis of AKI. The host recognition of LPS requires a specific receptor, which belongs to the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family of proteins, called TLR4, and two carrier proteins, namely the LPS-binding protein (LBP) and cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14). In particular, LBP is released as a consequence of Gram-negative infection and maximizes the activation of TLR4 signalling. Recent findings regarding the emerging role of LBP in mediating sepsis-induced AKI, and the possible beneficial effects resulting from the removal of this endogenous adaptor protein, will be discussed in this review

Evaluation of fetal well-being through color doppler velocimetry

Purpose: to evaluate the accuracy of Doppler velocimetry in the diagnosis of fetal well-being. Methods: a total of 130 pregnant women assisted at the Ultrasound Unit of the Center for Integral Assistance of Women's Health, UNICAMP, between the 28th and 42nd gestational weeks was analyzed. The correlation between fetal umbilical and middle cerebral arteries, abdominal aorta, and the adverse perinatal results was established. The pregnant women selected for this study were submitted electively to cesarean sections, at the utmost four hours after the color Doppler examination. We considered as adverse perinatal results: Apgar score lower than seven at the 5th minute, neonatal intensive care unit hospitalization, intrauterine growth retardation, acute fetal distress, perinatal mortality, hypoglycemia, polycythemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and cerebral hemorrhage. The indexes for the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries and the abdominal aorta were related, in each case, to the adverse perinatal results. Results: the systole/diastole umbilical artery ratio presented a higher sensitivity than the pulsatile and tolerance indexes. The Doppler study of the umbilical artery presented greater sensitivity than the middle cerebral artery and the abdominal aorta in detecting adverse perinatal results. Conclusion: the Doppler velocimetry of the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries presented good diagnostic capacity in evaluating fetal well-being, and a significant association with the adverse perinatal results.Objetivos: Avaliar a eficiência do exame dopplervelocimétrico no diagnóstico do bem-estar fetal. Metodologia: Foram analisadas 130 gestantes atendidas no Serviço de Ultra-Sonografia do Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, entre a 28ª e a 42ª semana. Foram feitas correlações entre o Doppler das artérias umbilical, cerebral média e aorta abdominal fetal com os resultados perinatais adversos. As gestantes selecionadas para o estudo foram submetidas eletivamente ao parto cesáreo, no máximo quatro horas após o exame Doppler. Considerou-se como resultados perinatais adversos: índice de Apgar ao 5º minuto menor que sete, internação em unidade de terapia intensiva neonatal, retardo de crescimento intra-uterino, sofrimento fetal agudo, mortalidade perinatal, hipoglicemia, enterocolite necrosante e hemorragia cerebral. Os índices de impedância das artérias umbilical, cerebral média e aorta abdominal foram relacionados caso a caso com os resultados perinatais adversos. Resultados: a relação sístole/diástole da artéria umbilical apresentou maior sensibilidade (80,76%) do que o índice de pulsatilidade e índice de resistência da artéria umbilical. O estudo Doppler da artéria umbilical apresentou melhor sensibilidade que o da artéria cerebral média e da aorta abdominal na detecção de resultados perinatais adversos. Conclusão: a dopplervelocimetria das artérias umbilical e cerebral média apresentou boa capacidade de avaliação do bem-estar fetal e associação significativa com resultados perinatais adversos.71

Predictor Analysis in Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Single Center Experience

PURPOSE: To confirm the efficacy of ultrasound (US) guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules, we evaluated as primary outcome the technical efficacy and clinical success in a single center dataset. The secondary outcome was to find a correlation between nodules’ pre-treatment features and volume reduction rate (VRR) ≥75% at 12 months after RFA and during follow-up period. METHODS: This retrospective study included 119 consecutive patients (99 females, 20 males, 51.5 ± 14.4 years) with benign thyroid nodules treated in our hospital between October 2014 and December 2018 with a mean follow-up of 26.8 months (range 3–48). Clinical and US features before and after RFA were evaluated by a US examination at 1, 3, 6, 12 months and annually thereafter up to 48 months. RESULTS: The median pre-treatment volume was 22.4 ml; after RFA we observed a statistically significant volume reduction from the first month (11.7 ml) to the last follow-up (p 22.4 ml (HR 0.54, p 0.036) were found to be independent positive and negative predictors of VRR ≥75% respectively. One-month post RFA VRR ≥50% represented the best positive predictor of technical success. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the efficacy of RFA in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. In particular we show that by selecting macrocystic nodules smaller than 22.4 ml better long-term response can be achieved, which is predicted by an early shrinkage of the nodule

PACSIN2 as a modulator of autophagy and mercaptopurine cytotoxicity: mechanisms in lymphoid and intestinal cells

PACSIN2 variants are associated with gastrointestinal effects of thiopurines and thiopurine methyltransferase activity through an uncharacterized mechanism that is postulated to involve auto-phagy. This study aims to clarify the role of PACSIN2 in autophagy and in thiopurine cytotoxicity in leukemic and intestinal models. Higher autophagy and lower PACSIN2 levels were observed in inflamed compared with non-inflamed colon biopsies of in-flammatory bowel disease pediatric patients at diagnosis. PAC-SIN2 was identified as an inhibitor of autophagy, putatively through inhibition of autophagosome formation by a protein- protein interaction with LC3-II, mediated by a LIR motif. Moreover, PACSIN2 resulted a modulator of mercaptopurine-induced cyto-toxicity in intestinal cells, suggesting that PACSIN2-regulated autophagy levels might influence thiopurine sensitivity. However, PACSIN2 modulates cellular thiopurine methyltransferase activity via mechanisms distinct from its modulation of autophagy

Improvement of diaphragmatic performance through orthotopic application of decellularized extracellular matrix patch.

AbstractMuscle tissue engineering can provide support to large congenital skeletal muscle defects using scaffolds able to allow cell migration, proliferation and differentiation. Acellular extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold can generate a positive inflammatory response through the activation of anti-inflammatory T-cell populations and M2 polarized macrophages that together lead to a local pro-regenerative environment. This immunoregulatory effect is maintained when acellular matrices are transplanted in a xenogeneic setting, but it remains unclear whether it can be therapeutic in a model of muscle diseases. We demonstrated here for the first time that orthotopic transplantation of a decellularized diaphragmatic muscle from wild animals promoted tissue functional recovery in an established atrophic mouse model. In particular, ECM supported a local immunoresponse activating a pro-regenerative environment and stimulating host muscle progenitor cell activation and migration. These results indicate that acellular scaffolds may represent a suitable regenerative medicine option for improving performance of diseased muscles

Formação do Bosque do Quilombo da Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite.

Caracterização da área; Distribuição das áreas disponíveis e respectivas atribuições em terreno da nova Sede da Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite;Implantação do Bosque do Quilombo;Perfuração das covas marcadas na área de implantação do Bosque do Quilombo;Covas abertas com 60 x 60 cm e em espaçamento de 3 x 3 m; Transporte das mudas da origem ao local de implantação do Bosque do Quilombo; Funcionários do CNPM e seus familiares no dia do plantio (21/09/2007) das mudas do Bosque do Quilombo; Espécies plantadasbitstream/CNPM-2009-09/2264/1/cot26_bosque_quilombo_vf.pd

AdS segment and hidden conformal symmetry in general non-extremal black holes

It is demonstrated that the near-horizon geometry of general non-extremal black holes can be described by a portion of AdS space. We show that the reason why hidden conformal symmetries near horizons of general non-extremal black holes are achieved in previous works is that the near-horizon geometries have been equivalently taken as these AdS segments rather than simply the Rindler space.Comment: 19 pages, no figure

Conformal Symmetry of a Black Hole as a Scaling Limit: A Black Hole in an Asymptotically Conical Box

We show that the previously obtained subtracted geometry of four-dimensional asymptotically flat multi-charged rotating black holes, whose massless wave equation exhibit $SL(2,\R) \times SL(2,\R) \times SO(3)$ symmetry may be obtained by a suitable scaling limit of certain asymptotically flat multi-charged rotating black holes, which is reminiscent of near-extreme black holes in the dilute gas approximation. The co-homogeneity-two geometry is supported by a dilation field and two (electric) gauge-field strengths. We also point out that these subtracted geometries can be obtained as a particular Harrison transformation of the original black holes. Furthermore the subtracted metrics are asymptotically conical (AC), like global monopoles, thus describing "a black hole in an AC box". Finally we account for the the emergence of the $SL(2,\R) \times SL(2,\R) \times SO(3)$ symmetry as a consequence of the subtracted metrics being Kaluza-Klein type quotients of $AdS_3\times 4 S^3$. We demonstrate that similar properties hold for five-dimensional black holes.Comment: Sections 3 and 4 significantly augmente