The monobloc hydrogel breast implant, experiences and ideas

This study is focused on the properties of the monobloc hydrogel (MH) breast implant, which has been around for more than 30 years, and to see how it behaves with regard to health complaints as sometimes seen in some patients who had received silicone gel (SG) breast implants. Patients responded to a questionnaire examining their experience with breast implants. Three groups were included. First, the control group (n = 34) of women without breast implants. Second, a C group of women (n = 42) who began and remained on the MH implant. Third, the B group of women who had their silicone gel implant replaced by the MH implant. In the B1 subgroup (n = 22), a capsulectomy was also performed. In the B2 subgroup (n = 13), the replacement was carried out without a capsulectomy. The C group behaved very much like the control group. The women of the B group experienced an improvement of their complaints and the improvement was even better after a capsulectomy. The only difference between the MH and SG implants is the content of the implant. The satisfaction of women with MH implants is generally high and not or hardly associated with health complaints. In women with SG implants and health complaints, these complaints can be relieved by replacement of the implants by MH implants

The distribution, ecology and predicted habitat use of the Critically Endangered angelshark (Squatina squatina) in coastal waters of Wales and the central Irish Sea

The angelshark (Squatina squatina) has the northernmost range of any angel shark species, but there is limited information on its distribution, habitat use and ecology at higher latitudes. To address this, Angel Shark Project: Wales gathered 2231 S. squatina records and 142 anecdotal resources from fishers, coastal communities and archives. These spanned the coastal waters of Wales and the central Irish Sea and were dated from 1812 to 2020, with 97.62% of records within 11.1 km (6 nm) of the coast. Commercial, recreational and charter boat fishers provided the majority of S. squatina records (97.18%), with significantly more sightings from three decades (1970s, 1980s and 1990s) and in the months of September, June, August and July (in descending order). The coastal area between Bardsey Island and Strumble Head had the most S. squatina records (n = 1279), with notable concentrations also found in Carmarthen Bay, Conwy Bay and the Outer Severn Estuary. Species distribution models (SDM) identified four environmental variables that had significant influence on S. squatina distribution, depth, chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity, and these varied between the quarters (Q) of the year. SDM model outputs predicted a larger congruous area of suitable habitat in Q3 (3176 km2) compared to Q2 (2051 km2), with suitability along the three glacial moraines (Sarn Badrig, Sarn-y-Bwch and Sarn Cynfelyn) strongly presented. Comparison of modelled environmental variables at the location of S. squatina records for each Q identified reductions in depth and salinity, and increases in chlorophyll-a and SST when comparing Q2 or Q3 with Q1 or Q4. This shift may suggest S. squatina are making seasonal movements to shallow coastal waters in Q2 and Q3. This is supported by 23 anecdotal resources and may be driven by reproductive behaviour, as there were 85 records of S. squatina individuals ≤60 cm in the dataset, inferred as recently born or juvenile life-history stages. The results have helped fill significant evidence gaps identified in the Wales Angelshark Action Plan and immediate next research steps are suggested

Potentiation of radiation therapy by the oncolytic adenovirus dl1520 (ONYX-015) in human malignant glioma xenografts

In spite of aggressive surgery, irradiation and/or chemotherapy, treatment of malignant gliomas remains a major challenge in adults and children due to high treatment failure. We have demonstrated significant cell lysis and antitumour activity of the E1B-55 kDa-gene-deleted adenovirus ONYX-015 (dl1520, CI-1042; ONYX Pharmaceuticals) in subcutaneous human malignant glioma xenografts deriving from primary tumours. Here, we show the combined efficacy of this oncolytic therapy with radiation therapy. Total body irradiation (5 Gy) of athymic nude mice prior to intratumoral injections of ONYX-015 1 x 10(8) PFU daily for 5 consecutive days yielded additive tumour growth delays in the p53 mutant xenograft IGRG88. Radiation therapy was potentiated in the p53 functional tumour IGRG121 with a 'subtherapeutic' dose of 1 x 10(7) PFU daily for 5 consecutive days, inducing significant tumour growth delay, 90% tumour regression and 50% tumour-free survivors 4 months after treatment. These potentiating effects were not due to increased adenoviral infectivity or replication. Furthermore, cell lysis and induction of apoptosis, the major mechanisms for adenoviral antitumour activity, did not play a major role in the combined treatment strategy. Interestingly, the oncolytic adenovirus seemed to accelerate radiation-induced tumour fibrosis. Potentiating antitumour activity suggests the development of this combined treatment for these highly malignant tumours

Acquiring a pet dog significantly reduces stress of primary carers for children with autism spectrum disorder: a prospective case control study

This study describes the impact of pet dogs on stress of primary carers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Stress levels of 38 primary carers acquiring a dog and 24 controls not acquiring a dog were sampled at: Pre-intervention (17 weeks before acquiring a dog), post-intervention (3–10 weeks after acquisition) and follow-up (25–40 weeks after acquisition), using the Parenting Stress Index. Analysis revealed significant improvements in the intervention compared to the control group for Total Stress, Parental Distress and Difficult Child. A significant number of parents in the intervention group moved from clinically high to normal levels of Parental Distress. The results highlight the potential of pet dogs to reduce stress in primary carers of children with an ASD

Search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with a gravitino LSP and stau NLSP

Sleptons, neutralinos and charginos were searched for in the context of scenarios where the lightest supersymmetric particle is the gravitino. It was assumed that the stau is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Data collected with the DELPHI detector at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV were analysed combining the methods developed in previous searches at lower energies. No evidence for the production of these supersymmetric particles was found. Hence, limits were derived at 95% confidence level.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres