9 research outputs found
Influence of elevated-CRP level-related polymorphisms in non-rheumatic Caucasians on the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis
Association between elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels and subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular (CV) events was described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). CRP, HNF1A, LEPR, GCKR, NLRP3, IL1F10, PPP1R3B, ASCL1, HNF4A and SALL1 exert an influence on elevated CRP serum levels in non-rheumatic Caucasians. Consequently, we evaluated the potential role of these genes in the development of CV events and subclinical atherosclerosis in RA patients. Three tag CRP polymorphisms and HNF1A, LEPR, GCKR, NLRP3, IL1F10, PPP1R3B, ASCL1, HNF4A and SALL1 were genotyped in 2,313 Spanish patients by TaqMan. Subclinical atherosclerosis was determined in 1,298 of them by carotid ultrasonography (by assessment of carotid intima-media thickness-cIMT-and presence/absence of carotid plaques). CRP serum levels at diagnosis and at the time of carotid ultrasonography were measured in 1,662 and 1,193 patients, respectively, by immunoturbidimetry. Interestingly, a relationship between CRP and CRP serum levels at diagnosis and at the time of the carotid ultrasonography was disclosed. However, no statistically significant differences were found when CRP, HNF1A, LEPR, GCKR, NLRP3, IL1F10, PPP1R3B, ASCL1, HNF4A and SALL1 were evaluated according to the presence/absence of CV events, carotid plaques and cIMT after adjustment. Our results do not confirm an association between these genes and CV disease in RA
Dark Matter in the Milky Way's Dwarf Spheroidal Satellites
The Milky Way's dwarf spheroidal satellites include the nearest, smallest and
least luminous galaxies known. They also exhibit the largest discrepancies
between dynamical and luminous masses. This article reviews the development of
empirical constraints on the structure and kinematics of dSph stellar
populations and discusses how this phenomenology translates into constraints on
the amount and distribution of dark matter within dSphs. Some implications for
cosmology and the particle nature of dark matter are discussed, and some
topics/questions for future study are identified.Comment: A version with full-resolution figures is available at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~mwalker/mwdsph_review.pdf; 70 pages, 22 figures;
invited review article to be published in Vol. 5 of the book "Planets, Stars,
and Stellar Systems", published by Springe
A Rare Sequela of Constriction Band Syndrome: Case Report.
The patient in this case report is a 19-year-old man who presented with left foot cauliflower lesion. He complained of an inability to wear proper shoes, in addition to an unpleasant appearance of his foot. The lesion was present since his birth. Based on history and physical examination, the top 2 differential diagnoses at this stage were pediatric neurofibroma and constriction band syndrome (CBS). Laboratory investigations and x-ray were ordered for the patient. X-ray showed absence of most of the phalanges of the first, second, and third toes, with swelling of the overlying soft tissues of the foot. CBS was confirmed. Excision of the lesion was done along with skin graft applied on the area. Biopsy showed skin with dermal fibrosis and extensive adipose tissue infiltration without any sign of atypia or malignancy. The patient was discharged with regular follow-up appointments
The remnant of a merger between two dwarf galaxies in Andromeda II
Driven by gravity, massive structures like galaxies and clusters of galaxies
are believed to grow continuously through hierarchical merging and accretion of
smaller systems. Observational evidence of accretion events is provided by the
coherent stellar streams crossing the outer haloes of massive galaxies, such as
the Milky Way or Andromeda. At similar mass-scales, around solar
masses in stars, further observational evidence of merging activity is also
ample. Mergers of lower-mass galaxies are expected within the hierarchical
process of galaxy formation, but have hitherto not been seen for galaxies with
less than about solar masses in stars. Here, we report the kinematic
detection of a stellar stream in one of the satellite galaxies of Andromeda,
the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Andromeda II, which has a mass of only solar
masses in stars. The properties of the stream show that we are observing the
remnant of a merger between two dwarf galaxies. This had a dramatic influence
on the dynamics of the remnant, which is now rotating around its projected
major axis. The stellar stream in Andromeda II illustrates the scale-free
character of the formation of galaxies, down to the lowest galactic mass
scales.Comment: Published in Nature on February 23rd, 2014 (online); includes
Methods, 13 pages, 5 figures; see http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature1299
How job and skill shortages affect the UK
Are we living in the "golden age" of cosmology? Are we close to understanding the nature of the unknown ingredients of the currently most accepted cosmological model and the physics of the early Universe? Or are we instead approaching a paradigm shift? What is dark matter and does it exist? How is it distributed around galaxies and clusters? Is the scientific community open to alternative ideas that may prompt a new scientific revolution - as the Copernican revolution did in Galileo's time? Do other types of supernovae exist that can be of interest for cosmology? Why have quasars never been effectively used as standard candles? Can you tell us about the scientific adventure of COBE? How does the extraction of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy depend on the subtraction of the various astrophysical foregrounds? These, among many others, are the astrophysical, philosophical and sociological questions surrounding modern cosmology and the scientific community that Mauro D'Onofrio and Carlo Burigana pose to some of the most prominent cosmologists of our time. Triggered by these questions and in the spirit of Galileo's book "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" the roughly 40 interview partners reply in the form of essays, with a critical frankness not normally found in reviews, monographs or textbooks