3,138 research outputs found
A retrospective pilot study to determine whether the reproductive tract microbiota differs between women with a history of infertility and fertile women
© 2017 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Background: We know very little about the microbiota inhabiting the upper female reproductive tract and how it impacts on fertility. Aims: This pilot study aimed to examine the vaginal, cervical and endometrial microbiota for women with a history of infertility compared to women with a history of fertility. Materials and methods: Using a retrospective case–control study design, women were recruited for collection of vaginal, cervical and endometrial samples. The microbiota composition was analysed by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplification and endometrial expression of selected human genes by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Sixty-five specimens from the reproductive tract of 31 women were successfully analysed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (16 controls and 15 cases). The dominant microbial community members were consistent in the vagina and cervix, and generally consistent with the endometrium although the relative proportions varied. We detected three major microbiota clusters that did not group by tissue location or case–control status. There was a trend that infertile women more often had Ureaplasma in the vagina and Gardnerella in the cervix. Testing for the expression of selected genes in the endometrium did not show evidence of correlation with case–control status, or with microbial community composition, although Tenascin-C expression correlated with a history of miscarriage. Conclusions: There is a need for further exploration of the endometrial microbiota, and how the microbiota members or profile interplays with fertility or assisted reproductive technologies
Immunohistochemical evaluation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast carcinoma in Jordan
INTRODUCTION: Although breast carcinoma (BC) is the most common malignancy affecting Jordanian females and the affected population in Jordan is younger than that in the West, no information is available on its biological characteristics. Our aims in this study are to evaluate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu overexpression in BC in Jordan, and to compare the expression of these with other prognostic parameters for BC such as histological type, histological grade, tumor size, patients' age, and number of lymph node metastases. METHOD: This is a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology at Jordan University of Science and Technology. A confirmed 91 cases of BC diagnosed in the period 1995 to 1998 were reviewed and graded. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and Her-2. Immunohistochemical findings were correlated with age, tumor size, grade and axillary lymph node status. RESULTS: Her-2 was overexpressed in 24% of the cases. The mean age of Her-2 positive cases was 42 years as opposed to 53 years among Her-2 negative cases (p = 0.0001). Her-2 expression was inversely related to ER and PR expression. Her-2 positive tumors tended to be larger than Her-2 negative tumors with 35% overexpression among T3 tumors as opposed to 22% among T2 tumors (p = 0.13). Her-2 positive cases tended to have higher rates of axillary metastases, but this did not reach statistical significance. ER and PR positive cases were seen in older patients with smaller tumor sizes. CONCLUSION: Her-2 overexpression was seen in 24% of BC affecting Jordanian females. Her-2 overexpression was associated with young age at presentation, larger tumor size, and was inversely related to ER and PR expression. One-fifth of the carcinomas were Her-2 positive and ER negative. This group appears to represent an aggressive form of BC presenting at a young age with large primary tumors and a high rate of four or more axillary lymph node metastases
The Surgical Infection Society revised guidelines on the management of intra-abdominal infection
Background: Previous evidence-based guidelines on the management of intra-abdominal infection (IAI) were published by the Surgical Infection Society (SIS) in 1992, 2002, and 2010. At the time the most recent guideline was released, the plan was to update the guideline every five years to ensure the timeliness and appropriateness of the recommendations.
Methods: Based on the previous guidelines, the task force outlined a number of topics related to the treatment of patients with IAI and then developed key questions on these various topics. All questions were approached using general and specific literature searches, focusing on articles and other information published since 2008. These publications and additional materials published before 2008 were reviewed by the task force as a whole or by individual subgroups as to relevance to individual questions. Recommendations were developed by a process of iterative consensus, with all task force members voting to accept or reject each recommendation. Grading was based on the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) system; the quality of the evidence was graded as high, moderate, or weak, and the strength of the recommendation was graded as strong or weak. Review of the document was performed by members of the SIS who were not on the task force. After responses were made to all critiques, the document was approved as an official guideline of the SIS by the Executive Council.
Results: This guideline summarizes the current recommendations developed by the task force on the treatment of patients who have IAI. Evidence-based recommendations have been made regarding risk assessment in individual patients; source control; the timing, selection, and duration of antimicrobial therapy; and suggested approaches to patients who fail initial therapy. Additional recommendations related to the treatment of pediatric patients with IAI have been included.
Summary: The current recommendations of the SIS regarding the treatment of patients with IAI are provided in this guideline
Precision measurements of the top quark mass from the Tevatron in the pre-LHC era
The top quark is the heaviest of the six quarks of the Standard Model.
Precise knowledge of its mass is important for imposing constraints on a number
of physics processes, including interactions of the as yet unobserved Higgs
boson. The Higgs boson is the only missing particle of the Standard Model,
central to the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism and generation of
particle masses. In this Review, experimental measurements of the top quark
mass accomplished at the Tevatron, a proton-antiproton collider located at the
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, are described. Topologies of top quark
events and methods used to separate signal events from background sources are
discussed. Data analysis techniques used to extract information about the top
mass value are reviewed. The combination of several most precise measurements
performed with the two Tevatron particle detectors, CDF and \D0, yields a value
of \Mt = 173.2 \pm 0.9 GeV/.Comment: This version contains the most up-to-date top quark mass averag
The Galactic Center with Roman
We advocate for a Galactic center (GC) field to be added to the Galactic
Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS). The new field would yield high-cadence
photometric and astrometric measurements of an unprecedented 3.3
million stars toward the GC. This would enable a wide range of science cases,
such as finding star-compact object binaries that may ultimately merge as
LISA-detectable gravitational wave sources, constraining the mass function of
stars and compact objects in different environments, detecting populations of
microlensing and transiting exoplanets, studying stellar flares and variability
in young and old stars, and monitoring accretion onto the central supermassive
black hole. In addition, high-precision proper motions and parallaxes would
open a new window into the large-scale dynamics of stellar populations at the
GC, yielding insights into the formation and evolution of galactic nuclei and
their co-evolution with the growth of the supermassive black hole. We discuss
the possible trade-offs between the notional GBTDS and the addition of a GC
field with either an optimal or minimal cadence. Ultimately, the addition of a
GC field to the GBTDS would dramatically increase the science return of Roman
and provide a legacy dataset to study the mid-plane and innermost regions of
our Galaxy.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to the NASA Roman Core Community
Surveys White Paper Cal
Roman CCS White Paper: Characterizing the Galactic population of isolated black holes
Although there are estimated to be 100 million isolated black holes (BHs) in
the Milky Way, only one has been found so far, resulting in significant
uncertainty about their properties. The Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey
provides the only opportunity in the coming decades to grow this catalog by
order(s) of magnitude. This can be achieved if 1) Roman's astrometric potential
is fully realized in the observation strategy and software pipelines, 2)
Roman's observational gaps of the Bulge are minimized, and 3) observations with
ground-based facilities are taken of the Bulge to fill in gaps during non-Bulge
seasons. A large sample of isolated BHs will enable a broad range of
astrophysical questions to be answered, such as massive stellar evolution,
origin of gravitational wave sources, supernova physics, and the growth of
supermassive BHs, maximizing Roman's scientific return.Comment: 20 pages. Submitted in response to Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
white paper call: https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/ccs_white_papers.htm
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) and the direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 phi gamma has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb-1
of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 ->
phi gamma) = 1.23 +/- 0.06(stat.) +/- 0.04(syst.) +/- 0.10(fs/fd), where the
first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic
uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma), the
branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be (3.5 +/- 0.4) x
10^{-5}.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma decays has also been measured with
the same data and found to be A(CP)(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (0.8 +/- 1.7(stat.) +/-
0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the
previous experimental results and theoretical expectations.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figues, 4 table
Observation of excited Lambda_b0 baryons
Using pp collision data corresponding to 1.0 fb-1 integrated luminosity
collected by the LHCb detector, two narrow states are observed in the
Lambda_b0pi+pi- spectrum with masses 5911.97 +- 0.12(stat) +- 0.02(syst) +-
0.66(Lambda_b0 mass) MeV/c^2 and 5919.77 +- 0.08(stat) +- 0.02(syst) +-
0.66(Lambda_b0 mass) MeV/c^2. The significances of the observations are 5.2 and
10.2 standard deviations, respectively. These states are interpreted as the
orbitally-excited Lambda_b0 baryons, Lambda_b*0(5912) and Lambda_b*0(5920).Comment: Replaced by version published in Phys. Rev. Lett, modified fit with
better mass resolution treatmen
Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay
We reconstruct the rare decays , , and in a data sample
corresponding to collected in collisions at
by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Using and decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report
the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon
forward-backward asymmetry in the and decay modes, and the
longitudinal polarization in the decay mode with respect to the squared
dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the
standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of
comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the {\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to
\phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}27 \pm 6B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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