Evaluation of different plasmid DNA delivery system for immunization against HER2/neu in a transgenic murine model of mammary carcinoma

Studies of DNA vaccination against HER2/neu showed the effectiveness of immunization protocols in models of transplantable or spontaneous tumors; scarce information, however, has been provided to identify the procedure of DNA administration that more effectively contributes to the activation of immune system against spontaneously arising HER2/neu-positive tumors. We compared the effectiveness of different procedures of DNA vaccine delivery (intradermic injection (ID), gene gun (GG) delivery and intramuscular injection (IM) alone or with electroporation) in a murine transgenic model of mammary carcinoma overexpressing HER2/neu. We highlighted the role of DNA delivery system in the success of DNA vaccination showing that, among the analysed methods, intramuscular injection of the vaccine, particularly when associated to electroporation, elicits a better protection against HER2/neu spontaneous tumor development inducing antibody and cell-mediated immune responsiveness against HER2/neu and a ThI polarization of the immune response

Development of a novel method to measure bone marrow fat fraction in older women using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography

Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) has been implicated in a number of conditions associated with bone deterioration and osteoporosis. Several studies have found an inverse relationship between BMAT and bone mineral density (BMD), and higher levels of BMAT in those with prevalent fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for measuring BMAT, but its use is limited by high costs and low availability. We hypothesized that BMAT could also be accurately quantified using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Methods: In the present study, a novel method to quantify the tibia bone marrow fat fraction, defined by MRI, using HR-pQCT was developed. In total, 38 postmenopausal women (mean [standard deviation] age 75.9 [3.1] years) were included and measured at the same site at the distal (n = 38) and ultradistal (n = 18) tibia using both MRI and HR-pQCT. To adjust for partial volume effects, the HR-pQCT images underwent 0 to 10 layers of voxel peeling to remove voxels adjacent to the bone. Linear regression equations were then tested for different degrees of voxel peeling, using the MRI-derived fat fractions as the dependent variable and the HR-pQCT-derived radiodensity as the independent variables. Results: The most optimal HR-pQCT derived model, which applied a minimum of 4 layers of peeled voxel and with more than 1% remaining marrow volume, was able to explain 76% of the variation in the ultradistal tibia bone marrow fat fraction, measured with MRI (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The novel HR-pQCT method, developed to estimate BMAT, was able to explain a substantial part of the variation in the bone marrow fat fraction and can be used in future studies investigating the role of BMAT in osteoporosis and fracture prediction

Atazanavir and darunavir in pregnant women with HIV: Evaluation of laboratory and clinical outcomes from an observational national study

Background: Atazanavir and darunavir represent the main HIV PIs recommended in pregnancy, but comparativedata in pregnant women are limited.We assessed the safety and activity profile of these two drugs in pregnancyusing data from a national observational study.Methods: Women with atazanavir or darunavir exposure in pregnancy were evaluated for laboratory measuresand main pregnancy outcomes (e.g. preterm delivery, low birthweight, non-elective caesarean section and neonatalgestational age-adjusted birthweight Z-score).Results: Final analysis included 500 pregnancies with either atazanavir (n"409) or darunavir (n"91) exposure.No differences in pregnancy outcomes, weight gain in pregnancy, drug discontinuations, undetectable HIV-RNA,haemoglobin, ALT, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were observed between the twogroups. At third trimester, exposure to darunavir was associated with higher levels of plasma triglycerides(median 235.5 versus 179 mg/dL; P"0.032) and a higher total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio (median 4.03versus 3.27; P"0.028) and exposure to atazanavir was associated with higher levels of plasma bilirubin (1.54versus 0.32 mg/dL; P<0.001).Conclusions: In this observational study, the two main HIV PIs currently recommended by perinatal guidelinesshowed similar safety and activity in pregnancy, with no evidence of differences between the two drugs in termsof main pregnancy outcomes. Based on the minor differences observed in laboratory measures, prescribingphysicians might prefer either drug in some particular situations where the different impacts of treatment onlipid profile and bilirubin may have clinical relevance

Search for Eccentric Black Hole Coalescences during the Third Observing Run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass $M>70$ $M_\odot$) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities $0 < e \leq 0.3$ at $0.33$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ at 90\% confidence level.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M&gt;70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0&lt;e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Nonlinear eigenvalue Neumann problems with discontinuities

In this paper we study nonlinear eigenvalue problems with Neumann boundary conditions and discontinuous terms. First we consider a nonlinear problem involving the p-Laplacian and we prove the existence of a solution for the multivalued approximation of it, then we pass to semilinear problems and we prove the existence of multiple solutions. The approach is based on the critical point theory for nonsmooth locally Lipschitz functionals

A quasilinear Neumann problem with discontinuous nonlinearirty

In this paper we study a quasilinear boundary value problem of Neumann type with discontinuous terms. In particular we consider a problem in which the p-Laplacian is involved. In order to prove the existence of solutions we replace this problem with a multivalued approximation of it and, using a variational approach for locally Lipschitz functionals, we prove two existence results for it