Astrophysical S-factor of 4He12C radiative capture at low energies

The possibility to describe the astrophysical S-factor of the 4He12C radiative capture is considered in the potential cluster model at the energy range 0.1-4.0 MeV. It is shown that the approach used, which takes into account E2 transitions only, gives a good description of the new experimental data for adjusted parameters of potentials and leads to the value S(300) = 16.0$\cdotp$keV b.Comment: 8 Pag

Racemic epinephrine compared to salbutamol in hospitalized young children with bronchiolitis; a randomized controlled clinical trial [ISRCTN46561076]

BACKGROUND: Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract illness in infancy, and hospital admission rates appear to be increasing in Canada and the United States. Inhaled beta agonists offer only modest short-term improvement. Trials of racemic epinephrine have shown conflicting results. We sought to determine if administration of racemic epinephrine during hospital stay for bronchiolitis improved respiratory distress, was safe, and shortened length of stay. METHODS: The study was a randomized, double-blind controlled trial of aerosolized racemic epinephrine compared to salbutamol every one to 4 hours in previously well children aged 6 weeks to ≤ 2 years of age hospitalized with bronchiolitis. The primary outcome was symptom improvement as measured by the Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument (RDAI); secondary outcomes were length of stay in hospital, adverse events, and report of symptoms by structured parental telephone interview one week after discharge. RESULTS: 62 children with a mean age of 6.4 months were enrolled; 80% of children had Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Racemic epinephrine resulted in significant improvement in wheezing and the total RDAI score on day 2 and over the entire stay (p < 0.05). The mean LOS in the epinephrine arm was 2.6 days (95% CI 2, 3.2) v. 3.4 days in those in the salbutamol group (95% CI 2.6, 4.2) (p > 0.05). Adverse events were not significantly different in the two arms. At one week post-discharge, over half of parents reported that their child still had a respiratory symptom and 40% had less than normal feeding. CONCLUSION: Racemic epinephrine relieves respiratory distress in hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis and is safe but does not abbreviate hospital stay. Morbidity associated with bronchiolitis as identified by parents persists for at least one week after hospital discharge in most infants

Autologous chondrocyte implantation-derived synovial fluids display distinct responder and non-responder proteomic profiles

Hulme, Charlotte H. & Wilson, Emma L. - Equal contributorsBackground Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) can be used in the treatment of focal cartilage injuries to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis (OA). However, we are yet to understand fully why some individuals do not respond well to this intervention. Identification of a reliable and accurate biomarker panel that can predict which patients are likely to respond well to ACI is needed in order to assign the patient to the most appropriate therapy. This study aimed to compare the baseline and mid-treatment proteomic profiles of synovial fluids (SFs) obtained from responders and non-responders to ACI. Methods SFs were derived from 14 ACI responders (mean Lysholm improvement of 33 (17–54)) and 13 non-responders (mean Lysholm decrease of 14 (4–46)) at the two stages of surgery (cartilage harvest and chondrocyte implantation). Label-free proteome profiling of dynamically compressed SFs was used to identify predictive markers of ACI success or failure and to investigate the biological pathways involved in the clinical response to ACI. Results Only 1 protein displayed a ≥2.0-fold differential abundance in the preclinical SF of ACI responders versus non-responders. However, there is a marked difference between these two groups with regard to their proteome shift in response to cartilage harvest, with 24 and 92 proteins showing ≥2.0-fold differential abundance between Stages I and II in responders and non-responders, respectively. Proteomic data has been uploaded to ProteomeXchange (identifier: PXD005220). We have validated two biologically relevant protein changes associated with this response, demonstrating that matrix metalloproteinase 1 was prominently elevated and S100 calcium binding protein A13 was reduced in response to cartilage harvest in non-responders. Conclusions The differential proteomic response to cartilage harvest noted in responders versus non-responders is completely novel. Our analyses suggest several pathways which appear to be altered in non-responders that are worthy of further investigation to elucidate the mechanisms of ACI failure. These protein changes highlight many putative biomarkers that may have potential for prediction of ACI treatment success

Dose-Dependent Onset of Regenerative Program in Neutron Irradiated Mouse Skin

Background: Tissue response to irradiation is not easily recapitulated by cell culture studies. The objective of this investigation was to characterize, the transcriptional response and the onset of regenerative processes in mouse skin irradiated with different doses of fast neutrons. Methodology/Principal Findings: To monitor general response to irradiation and individual animal to animal variation, we performed gene and protein expression analysis with both pooled and individual mouse samples. A high-throughput gene expression analysis, by DNA oligonucleotide microarray was done with three months old C57Bl/6 mice irradiated with 0.2 and 1 Gy of mono-energetic 14 MeV neutron compared to sham irradiated controls. The results on 440 irradiation modulated genes, partially validated by quantitative real time RT-PCR, showed a dose-dependent up-regulation of a subclass of keratin and keratin associated proteins, and members of the S100 family of Ca2+-binding proteins. Immunohistochemistry confirmed mRNA expression data enabled mapping of protein expression. Interestingly, proteins up-regulated in thickening epidermis: keratin 6 and S100A8 showed the most significant up-regulation and the least mouse-to-mouse variation following 0.2 Gy irradiation, in a concerted effort toward skin tissue regeneration. Conversely, mice irradiated at 1 Gy showed most evidence of apoptosis (Caspase-3 and TUNEL staining) and most 8-oxo-G accumulation at 24 h post-irradiation. Moreover, no cell proliferation accompanied 1 Gy exposure as shown by Ki67 immunohistochemistry. Conclusions/Significance: The dose-dependent differential gene expression at the tissue level following in vivo exposure to neutron radiation is reminiscent of the onset of re-epithelialization and wound healing and depends on the proportion of cells carrying multiple chromosomal lesions in the entire tissue. Thus, this study presents in vivo evidence of a skin regenerative program exerted independently from DNA repair-associated pathways

Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity.

Calcified dental plaque (dental calculus) preserves for millennia and entraps biomolecules from all domains of life and viruses. We report the first, to our knowledge, high-resolution taxonomic and protein functional characterization of the ancient oral microbiome and demonstrate that the oral cavity has long served as a reservoir for bacteria implicated in both local and systemic disease. We characterize (i) the ancient oral microbiome in a diseased state, (ii) 40 opportunistic pathogens, (iii) ancient human-associated putative antibiotic resistance genes, (iv) a genome reconstruction of the periodontal pathogen Tannerella forsythia, (v) 239 bacterial and 43 human proteins, allowing confirmation of a long-term association between host immune factors, 'red complex' pathogens and periodontal disease, and (vi) DNA sequences matching dietary sources. Directly datable and nearly ubiquitous, dental calculus permits the simultaneous investigation of pathogen activity, host immunity and diet, thereby extending direct investigation of common diseases into the human evolutionary past

The confinement of dilute populations of beam ions in the national spherical torus experiment

Short ∼3 ms pulses of 80 keV deuterium neutrals are injected at three different tangency radii into the national spherical torus experiment. The confinement is studied as a function of tangency radius, plasma current (between 0.4 and 1.0 MA), and toroidal field (between 2.5 and 5.0 kG). The jump in neutron emission during the pulse is used to infer prompt losses of beam ions. In the absence of MHD, the neutron data show the expected dependences on beam angle and plasma current; the average jump in the neutron signal is 88 ± 39% of the expected jump. The decay of the neutron and neutral particle signals following the blip are compared to the expected classical deceleration to detect losses on a 10 ms timescale. The temporal evolution of these signals are consistent with Coulomb scattering rates, implying an effective beam-ion confinement time ≳ 100 ms. The confinement is insensitive to the toroidal field despite large values of ρ ∇ B/B (≲0.25), so any effects of non-conservation of the adiabatic invariant μ are smaller than the experiment error

Observations of fast ion loss to the plasma facing wall during quiescent H-modes on DIII-D

The Quiescent H-mode exhibits H-mode levels of confinement and edge pedestal pressures, but does not exhibit ELMs. To date this mode has only been observed in tokamaks during beam heating with some or all of the beams injected counter to the direction of plasma current. During QH-mode, fast ion loss to the low field side plasma facing surfaces has been observed. Some of the fast ion loss is calculated to be the result of outwardly directed banana orbits of the energetic beam ions created in the edge region. Other fast ion loss has been observed to be associated with bursts or oscillations in broadband, high-frequency, magnetic fluctuations. The relationship of the fast ion loss to the ELM stabilization or edge particle transport during QH-mode is not yet understood. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Association of the Pro12Ala and C1431T variants of PPARG and their haplotypes with susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis. The Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma has been consistently associated with Type 2 diabetes. The rare Ala12 variant is estimated to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 20 percent. This variant is in linkage disequilibrium with another common variant, T1431. Both have opposing associations with body weight. We therefore examined the association of specific haplotypes marked by these two variants with susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes.Methods. We determined the PPARG genotype of a large Scottish cohort of Type 2 diabetic patients (n=1997) and compared allele frequencies with a cohort of local children (n=2444) and a middle-aged, population-based cohort from Scotland (n=1061).Results. Frequency of the Ala12 allele was slightly lower in the Type 2 diabetic cohort than in the children [odds ratio (OR)=0.91, p=0.1]. In contrast, the Ala12 variant was under-represented in the Type 2 diabetic population when compared with similarly aged non-diabetic adults (OR=0.74, p=0.0006). When the Ala12 variant was on a haplotype not bearing the 1431T variant, it conferred greater protection (OR=0.66, p=0.003). However, when it was present in haplotypes containing the 1431T variant (70% of Ala12 carriers), this protection was absent (OR=0.99, p=0.94).Conclusions/interpretation. We replicated the finding that the Ala12 variant of PPARgamma affords protection from Type 2 diabetes, and suggest that this protection is modulated by additional common variation at the PPARG locus.</p

Thin foil Faraday collectors as a radiation hard fast lost-ion diagnostic

Thin foil Faraday collectors were investigated as a diagnostic for lost fast ions from Tokamak fusion plasmas. Initial results from these devices indicated a loss of energetic ions from a variety of plasma conditions. The measured current suggested the viability of thin Faraday collectors as the basis of a lost alpha particle diagnostic for future burning plasma experiments