Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age: Secondary Distance Indicators

The formal division of the distance indicators into primary and secondary leads to difficulties in description of methods which can actually be used in two ways: with, and without the support of the other methods for scaling. Thus instead of concentrating on the scaling requirement we concentrate on all methods of distance determination to extragalactic sources which are designated, at least formally, to use for individual sources. Among those, the Supernovae Ia is clearly the leader due to its enormous success in determination of the expansion rate of the Universe. However, new methods are rapidly developing, and there is also a progress in more traditional methods. We give a general overview of the methods but we mostly concentrate on the most recent developments in each field, and future expectations. © 2018, The Author(s)

An open-label, phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of the anti-IGF-1R antibody cixutumumab in patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma or Ewing family of tumours

Experimentele farmacotherapi

An open-label, phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of the anti-IGF-1R antibody cixutumumab in patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma or Ewing family of tumours

Background Cixutumumab (IMC-A12), a fully human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibody, exerts preclinical activity in several sarcoma models and may be effective for the treatment of these tumours. Methods In this open-label, multicentre, phase 2 study, patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, adipocytic sarcoma, synovial sarcoma or Ewing family of tumours received intravenous cixutumumab (10 mg/kg) for 1 h every other week until disease progression or discontinuation. The primary end-point was the progression-free survival rate (PFR), defined as stable disease or better at 12 weeks. In each tier of disease histology, Simon's optimum 2-stage design was applied (PFR at 12 weeks P0 = 20%, P1 = 40%, α = 0.10, β = 0.10). Stage 1 enrolled 17 patients in each disease group/tier, with at least four patients with stable disease or better required at 12 weeks to proceed to stage 2. Results A total of 113 patients were enrolled; all tiers except adipocytic sarcoma were closed after stage 1 due to futility. The 12-week PFR was 12% for rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 17), 14% for leiomyosarcoma (n = 22), 32% for adipocytic sarcoma (n = 37), 18% for synovial sarcoma (n = 17) and 11% for Ewing family of tumours (n = 18). Median progression-free survival (weeks) was 6.1 for rhabdomyosarcoma, 6.0 for leiomyosarcoma, 12.1 for adipocytic sarcoma, 6.4 for synovial sarcoma and 6.4 for Ewing family of tumours. Among all patients, the most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were nausea (26%), fatigue (23%), diarrhoea (23%) and hyperglycaemia (20%). Conclusions Patients with adipocytic sarcoma may benefit from treatment with cixutumumab. Cixutumumab treatment was well tolerated, with limited gastrointestinal AEs, fatigue and hyperglycaemia. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Desempenho e excreção de nitrogênio de leitões dos 9 aos 25 kg alimentados com dietas com diferentes níveis de lisina digestível e proteína bruta Performance and nitrogen excretion for pigs from 9 to 25 kg submitted to the diets with different levels of digestible lysine and crude protein

Dois experimentos foram conduzidos para avaliar níveis de PB e lisina digestível (LISD) na dieta sobre o desempenho e a excreção de nitrogênio (N) de leitões na fase inicial. No experimento 1, 80 suínos machos castrados e fêmeas (peso inicial de 9,1 &plusmn; 1,2 kg e final de 21,5 &plusmn; 4,8 kg), mestiços Landrace &times; Large White, foram distribuídos em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 2 &times; 4, composto de dois níveis de PB (16 e 18%) e quatro níveis de LISD (0,7; 0,9; 1,1 e 1,3%) com cinco repetições e dois animais por unidade experimental durante 35 dias. Foram avaliados o ganho de peso médio diário (GPMD), o consumo médio diário de ração (CMDR) e a conversão alimentar (CA). No experimento 2, 32 suínos machos castrados (25,0 &plusmn; 1,3 kg), provenientes do experimento 1 foram alojados individualmente em gaiolas próprias para estudos de metabolismo (unidade experimental) durante 11 dias para determinação dos teores de N ingerido (NI), N nas fezes e N na urina. As rações foram formuladas com milho, farelo de soja e leite em pó modificado e suplementadas com vitaminas e minerais. Os aminoácidos metionina e treonina foram corrigidos de acordo com os níveis de lisina, segundo o conceito de proteína ideal. Não houve efeito da interação LISD &times; PB sobre nenhuma variável estudada. Os níveis de LISD tiveram efeito quadrático sobre o GMDR e a CA, que foram melhores nos animais alimentados com as dietas com níveis de 1,04 e 1,09% de PB. Os níveis de N nas fezes sofreram efeito linear crescente dos níveis de LISD e PB, enquanto os níveis de N na urina foram afetados de forma quadrática pelos níveis de LISD, com melhor resultado no nível de 1,03% LISD na ração. O CMDR e o nível de N nas fezes não foram influenciados pelos níveis de LISD e PB. O nível de 1,05% LISD em dietas com 16 e 18% PB proporciona melhor desempenho e menor excreção de N nos dejetos de suínos.<br>Two experiments were conducted to evaluate dietary levels of crude protein (CP) and digestible lysine (LYSD) on the performance and nitrogen (N) excretion of piglets in the initial phase. In experiment 1, 80 barrows and females (initial weight of the 9.1 kg &plusmn; 1.2 kg and final weight of the 21.5 &plusmn; 4.8 kg), crossbred (Landrace x Large White), were distributed to a randomized blocks in factorial scheme 2 x 4 (two levels of CP 16 and 18% - and four levels of LYSD (0.7; 0.9; 1.1 and 1.3%) with five replications and two animals per experimental unit, during 35 days. The average daily weight gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed:gain ratio (F:G) were evaluated. In experiment 2, 32 barrows (25.0 &plusmn; 1.3 kg), from experiment I, were individually allotted in metabolic cages (experimental unit), during 11 days, to evaluate the ingested N, N in feces and N in urine . The diets were formulated with corn, soybean meal and modified powder milk, supplemented with vitamins and minerals. The amino acids methionine and threonine were corrected in function of the lysine levels, following the ideal protein concept. No interaction LYSD x CP was observed for neither studied variable. Average daily gain and F:G showed a quadratic effect for the LYSD levels and were better in the animals fed diets with levels of 1.04 and 1.09%, respectively. The levels of N in the fezes showed crescent linear effect with the LYSD and CP levels, while the N levels in the urine showed quadratic effect with LYSD levels, with lower excretion for the level of 1.03% in the ration. No influence was observed for LYSD and CP level on ADFI and N in fezes. The level of 1.05% LYSD in diets with 16 and 18% CP provide best performance and lower excretion of de N in dejects of the swine