Pain and autonomic dysfunction in patients with sarcoidosis and small fibre neuropathy

Small fibre neuropathy (SFN) has been demonstrated in sarcoidosis. However, a systematic analysis of neuropathic pain and autonomic symptoms, key features of SFN, has not been performed. Clinimetric evaluation of pain and autonomic symptoms using the neuropathic pain scale (NPS) and the modified Composite Autonomic Symptoms Scale (mCOMPASS) was used in sarcoidosis patients for this study. A total of 91 sarcoidosis patients (n = 23 without SFN symptoms, n = 43 with SFN symptoms but normal intraepidermal nerve fibre density (IENFD), n = 25 with SFN symptoms and reduced IENFD) were examined. NPS and mCOMPASS were assessed twice (reliability studies). Severity of pain was compared between the subgroups. Correlation between NPS and a visual analogue pain scale (VAS) was assessed (validity studies). Healthy controls (n = 105) completed the mCOMPASS for comparison with patients’ scores. Patients with sarcoidosis, SFN complaints, and reduced IENFD demonstrated more severe pain scores on the NPS. The mCOMPASS differentiated between subjects with and without SFN symptoms. A significant correlation was obtained between the NPS and VAS, indicating good construct validity. Good reliability values were obtained for all scales. The use of the NPS to evaluate SFN symptoms is suggested, as it shows differences between patients with SFN symptoms with normal or reduced IENFD values. The mCOMPASS might be used to select patients for further testing

High quality factor single-crystal diamond mechanical resonators

Single-crystal diamond is a promising material for MEMs devices because of its low mechanical loss, compatibility with extreme environments, and built-in interface to high-quality spin centers. But its use has largely been limited by challenges in processing and growth. We demonstrate a wafer bonding-based technique to form diamond on insulator, from which we make single-crystal diamond micromechanical resonators with mechanical quality factors as high as 338,000 at room temperature. Variable temperature measurements down to 10 K reveal a nonmonotonic dependence of quality factor on temperature. These resonators enable integration of single-crystal diamond into MEMs technology for classical and quantum applications.Comment: 15 pages total, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Do (and say) as I say: Linguistic adaptation in human-computer dialogs

© Theodora Koulouri, Stanislao Lauria, and Robert D. Macredie. This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.There is strong research evidence showing that people naturally align to each other’s vocabulary, sentence structure, and acoustic features in dialog, yet little is known about how the alignment mechanism operates in the interaction between users and computer systems let alone how it may be exploited to improve the efficiency of the interaction. This article provides an account of lexical alignment in human–computer dialogs, based on empirical data collected in a simulated human–computer interaction scenario. The results indicate that alignment is present, resulting in the gradual reduction and stabilization of the vocabulary-in-use, and that it is also reciprocal. Further, the results suggest that when system and user errors occur, the development of alignment is temporarily disrupted and users tend to introduce novel words to the dialog. The results also indicate that alignment in human–computer interaction may have a strong strategic component and is used as a resource to compensate for less optimal (visually impoverished) interaction conditions. Moreover, lower alignment is associated with less successful interaction, as measured by user perceptions. The article distills the results of the study into design recommendations for human–computer dialog systems and uses them to outline a model of dialog management that supports and exploits alignment through mechanisms for in-use adaptation of the system’s grammar and lexicon

Emerging Chagas disease: trophic network and cycle of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi from palm trees in the Amazon.

A trophic network involving molds, invertebrates, and vertebrates, ancestrally adapted to the palm tree (Attalaea phalerata) microhabitat, maintains enzootic Trypanosoma cruzi infections in the Amazonian county Paço do Lumiar, state of Maranhão, Brazil. We assessed seropositivity for T. cruzi infections in the human population of the county, searched in palm trees for the triatomines that harbor these infections, and gathered demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic data. Rhodnius pictipes and R. neglectus in palm-tree frond clefts or in houses were infected with T. cruzi (57% and 41%, respectively). Human blood was found in 6.8% of R. pictipes in houses, and 9 of 10 wild Didelphis marsupialis had virulent T. cruzi infections. Increasing human population density, rain forest deforestation, and human predation of local fauna are risk factors for human T. cruzi infections

Identificação de Brucella spp. e avaliação da eficiência de técnicas moleculares em carcaças de bovinos com lesões sugestivas de brucelose.

A brucelose bovina é uma zoonose provocada por bactérias do gênero Brucella, responsáveis por importantes perdas econômicas à pecuária. O diagnóstico padrão ouro é o isolamento bacteriano, porém, este método exige tempo e muitos recursos. Nesse contexto, objetivou-se estudar a eficiência das técnicas de PCR convencional e PCR em tempo real (qPCR), como diagnóstico de brucelose em bovinos abatidos em frigoríficos do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, que apresentavam lesões sugestivas

Induction chemotherapy stategies for primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma with sclerosis: a retrospective multinational study on 426 previously untreated patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This multinational retrospective study compares the outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMLBCL) with sclerosis after first-generation (dose-intensive regimens), third-generation (alternating regimens) and high-dose chemotherapy strategies, frequently with adjuvant radiation therapy. DESIGN AND METHODS: Between August 1981 and December 1999, a total of 426 previously untreated patients with confirmed diagnosis were enrolled in 20 institutions to receive combination chemotherapy with either first generation (CHOP or CHOP-like) regimens, third generation (MACOP-B, VACOP-B, ProMACE CytaBOM) regimens or high-dose chemotherapy (HDS/ABMT). RESULTS: With chemotherapy, complete response (CR) rates were 49% (50/105), 51% (142/277) and 53% (23/44) with first generation, third generation and high-dose chemotherapy strategies, respectively; partial response (PR) rates were 32%, 36% and 35%, respectively. All patients who achieved CR and 124/142 (84%) with PR had radiation therapy on the mediastinum. The final CR rates became 61% for CHOP/CHOP-like regimens, 79% for MACOP-B and other regimens, and 75% for HDS/ABMT. After median follow-ups from attaining CR of 48.5 months for CHOP/CHOP-like regimens, 51.7 months for MACOP-B type regimens and 32.4 months for HDS/ABMT, relapses occurred in 15/64 (23%), 27/218 (12%) and 0/33 (0%) patients, respectively. Projected 10-year progression-free survival rates were 35%, 67% and 78%, respectively (p=0.0000). Projected 10-year overall survival rates were 44%, 71% and 77%, respectively (p=0.0000), after median follow-ups from diagnosis of 52.3 months, 54.9 months and 35.8 months, respectively. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: In patients with PMLBCL with sclerosis, MACOP-B plus radiation therapy may be a better strategy than other treatments; these retrospective data need to be confirmed by prospective studies. The encouraging survival results after high dose chemotherapy require confirmation in selected high-risk patients

Neutralization of schwann cell-secreted VEGF is protective to in vitro and in vivo experimental diabetic neuropathy

The pathogenetic role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in long-term retinal and kidney complications of diabetes has been demonstrated. Conversely, little is known in diabetic neuropathy. We examined the modulation of VEGF pathway at mRNA and protein level on dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and Schwann cells (SC) induced by hyperglycaemia. Moreover, we studied the effects of VEGF neutralization on hyperglycemic DRG neurons and streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy. Our findings demonstrated that DRG neurons were not affected by the direct exposition to hyperglycaemia, whereas showed an impairment of neurite outgrowth ability when exposed to the medium of SC cultured in hyperglycaemia. This was mediated by an altered regulation of VEGF and FLT-1 receptors. Hyperglycaemia increased VEGF and FLT-1 mRNA without changing their intracellular protein levels in DRG neurons, decreased intracellular and secreted protein levels without changing mRNA level in SC, while reduced the expression of the soluble receptor sFLT-1 both in DRG neurons and SC. Bevacizumab, a molecule that inhibits VEGF activity preventing the interaction with its receptors, restored neurite outgrowth and normalized FLT-1 mRNA and protein levels in co-cultures. In diabetic rats, it both prevented and restored nerve conduction velocity and nociceptive thresholds. We demonstrated that hyperglycaemia early affected neurite outgrowth through the impairment of SC-derived VEGF/FLT-1 signaling and that the neutralization of SC-secreted VEGF was protective both in vitro and in vivo models of diabetic neuropathy

The Impact of the Physical Environment on Intrapartum Maternity Care: Identification of Eight Crucial Building Spaces.

OBJECTIVES, PURPOSE, OR AIM: This article investigates whether the physical environment in which childbirth occurs impacts the intrapartum intervention rates and how this might happen. The study explores the spatial physical characteristics that can support the design of spaces to promote the health and well-being of women, their supporters, and maternity care professionals. BACKGROUND: Medical interventions during childbirth have consequences for the health of women and babies in the immediate and long term. The increase in interventions is multifactorial and may be influenced by the model of care adopted, the relationships between caregivers and the organizational culture, which is made up of many factors, including the built environment. In the field of birth architecture research, there is a gap in the description of the physical characteristics of birth environments that impact users' health. METHOD: A scoping review on the topic was performed to understand the direct and indirect impacts of the physical environment on birth intervention rates. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The findings are organized into three tables reporting the influence that the physical characteristics of a space might have on people's behaviors, experiences, practices and birth health outcomes. Eight building spaces that require further investigation and research were highlighted: unit layout configuration, midwives' hub/desk, social room, birth philosophy vectors, configuration of the birth room, size and shape of the birth room, filter, and sensory elements. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show the importance of considering the physical environment in maternity care and that further interdisciplinary studies focused on architectural design are needed to enrich the knowledge and evidence on this topic and to develop accurate recommendations for designers

A facility to Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) at the CERN SPS

A new general purpose fixed target facility is proposed at the CERN SPS accelerator which is aimed at exploring the domain of hidden particles and make measurements with tau neutrinos. Hidden particles are predicted by a large number of models beyond the Standard Model. The high intensity of the SPS 400~GeV beam allows probing a wide variety of models containing light long-lived exotic particles with masses below ${\cal O}$(10)~GeV/c$^2$, including very weakly interacting low-energy SUSY states. The experimental programme of the proposed facility is capable of being extended in the future, e.g. to include direct searches for Dark Matter and Lepton Flavour Violation.Comment: Technical Proposa

Evidence for νμ→ντ\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau appearance in the CNGS neutrino beam with the OPERA experiment

The OPERA experiment is designed to search for $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau}$ oscillations in appearance mode i.e. through the direct observation of the $\tau$ lepton in $\nu_{\tau}$ charged current interactions. The experiment has taken data for five years, since 2008, with the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso beam. Previously, two $\nu_{\tau}$ candidates with a $\tau$ decaying into hadrons were observed in a sub-sample of data of the 2008-2011 runs. Here we report the observation of a third $\nu_\tau$ candidate in the $\tau^-\to\mu^-$ decay channel coming from the analysis of a sub-sample of the 2012 run. Taking into account the estimated background, the absence of $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau}$ oscillations is excluded at the 3.4 $\sigma$ level.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 table