X-ray spectra transmitted through Compton-thick absorbers

X-ray spectra transmitted through matter which is optically thick to Compton scattering are computed by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Applications to the BeppoSAX data of the Seyfert 2 galaxy in Circinus, and to the spectral modeling of the Cosmic X-ray Background, are discussed.Comment: 10 pages. Accepted for publication in New Astronom

Trends in cancer mortality in Switzerland, 1980-2001

Trends in cancer mortality in Switzerland were analysed over the period 1980-2001, on the basis of the World Health Organization database. Appropriately developed correction factors were utilized for the period before 1995, to allow for spurious trends introduced by the change between the 8th and the 10th revisions of the ICD. Steady declines in cancer mortality were observed, particularly from the mid-1980s onwards. Over the last decade, the fall in overall age-standardized (world standard) cancer mortality was 11.1% in men (from 158.1 in 1990-1991 to 140.6/100 000 in 2000-2001) and 7.6% in women (from 91.6 to 84.7/100 000), and the decline was larger in truncated rates from 35 to 64 years (-18.0 and -9.7%). In men, all major tobacco and alcohol neoplasms have declined until the late 1990s but have levelled off over the last few years, reflecting recent trends in alcohol and tobacco consumption. The fall in male lung cancer mortality was 20% over the last decade (from 42.9 to 34.3/100 000). In contrast, lung cancer mortality in women has steadily increased by 38% between 1981 and 1991 and by 47% between 1991 and 2001, to reach 10.7/100 000 at all ages and 18.3 at age 35 to 64, due to increased prevalence of smoking in subsequent generations of Swiss women. Other sites showing substantial declines include stomach and colorectum in both sexes, (cervix) uteri and breast in women. Likewise, prostate cancer showed modest favourable trends after 1995. Steady declines were observed for leukaemias, Hodgkin's disease and testicular cancer, namely, the neoplasms most influenced by therapeutic improvements, while trends in lymphomas and myeloma showed no clear pattern. [Authors]]]> Neoplasms oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_4FDAD003069F 2022-05-07T01:17:43Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_4FDAD003069F The Arid Margins of Northern Syria: Land Occupation and Modes of Exploitation in the Bronze Age Geyer, B. Al-Dbiyat, M. Awad, N. Barge, O. Besançon, J. Jaubert, R. info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart incollection 2008 Urban and Natural Landscapes of an Ancient Syrian Capital, Settlement and Environment at Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna and in Central-Western Syria oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_4FDAF0543B78 2022-05-07T01:17:43Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_4FDAF0543B78 Adverse effects of industrial multiwalled carbon nanotubes on human pulmonary cells info:doi:10.1080/15287390802476991 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1080/15287390802476991 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/19034795 Tabet, Lyes Bussy, Cyrill Amara, Nadia Setyan, Ari Grodet, Alain Rossi Michel, J. Pairon, Jean-Claude Boczkowski, Jorge Lanone, Sophie info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2009 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 60-73 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1528-7394 Nanotubes, Carbon; Asbestos, Amphibole; Asbestos, Serpentine; Soot; Oxidative Stress; Pulmonary Alveoli; Epithelial Cells; Apoptosis eng https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_4FDAF0543B78.P001/REF.pdf http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_4FDAF0543B789 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_4FDAF0543B789 info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Copying allowed only for non-profit organizations https://serval.unil.ch/disclaimer application/pdf oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_4FDB851850ED 2022-05-07T01:17:43Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_4FDB851850ED « Digital stylistic analyses in “PhraseoRom”: methodological and epistemological issues in a multidisciplinary project » Vidotto, Ilaria Jacquot, Clémence Gonon, Laetitia info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject inproceedings Digital Stylistics in Romance Studies and Beyond  eng oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_4FDC597DC998 2022-05-07T01:17:43Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_4FDC597DC998 Distinct but overlapping T helper epitopes in the 37-58 region of SSX-2 info:doi:10.1016/j.clim.2004.08.014 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.clim.2004.08.014 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/15596411 Ayyoub, M. Merlo, A. Hesdorffer, C. S. Speiser, D. Rimoldi, D. Cerottini, J. C. Ritter, G. Chen, Y. T. Old, L. J. Stevanovic, S. Valmori, D. info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2005-01 Clinical Immunology, vol. 114, no. 1, pp. 70-8 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1521-6616 <![CDATA[Because of their specific expression in tumors of different histological types, the products of the SSX genes are important candidate targets for development of cancer vaccines. We have previously identified two immunodominant SSX-2-derived T cell epitopes recognized by HLA-A2-restricted CD8+ T cells (SSX-2 41-49) and HLA-DR11-restricted CD4+ T cells (SSX-2 45-59), respectively. In this study, we report the identification of an HLA-DR3-restricted epitope mapping to the 37-51 region of SSX-2, overlapping both previously identified epitopes. As about one fifth of individuals from several major ethnic groups express HLA-DR3, the identification of this epitope significantly increases the percent of patients that are expected to mount specific CD4+ T cell responses following vaccination with peptides in this region of SSX-2. Retrieval of multiple overlapping epitopes in a defined region of SSX-2 protein suggests the presence of a "hot spot" for T cell recognition that may prove sufficient for the induction of immune responses

Resolving the 10-40 keV Cosmic X-ray Background with Constellation-X

The energy density of the Cosmic X-ray background (XRB) peaks around 30 keV (see Figure 1), an energy not yet probed by focussing imaging instruments. The first hard X-ray telescope due to fly on a space mission will be that on board Constellation-X. The imaging capability, besides providing an improvement of several orders of magnitude in sensitivity over current passively collimated detectors, will permit for the first time to resolve a fraction of the XRB at this most crucial energy. Synthesis models of the XRB based on obscured AGN predict that at least 40% of the 10-40 keV XRB will be resolved by Constellation-X.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of "X-Ray Astronomy '99", 1999, September 6-10, Bologna (Italy

Detection of Faint BLR Components in the Starburst/Seyfert Galaxy NGC 6221 and Measure of the Central BH Mass

In the last decade, using single epoch virial based techniques in the optical band, it has been possible to measure the central black hole mass on large AGN1 samples. However these measurements use the width of the broad line region as a proxy of the virial velocities and are therefore difficult to be carried out on those obscured (type 2) or low luminosity AGN where the nuclear component does not dominate in the optical. Here we present the optical and near infrared spectrum of the starburst/Seyfert galaxy NGC 6221, observed with X-shooter/VLT. Previous observations of NGC 6221 in the X-ray band show an absorbed (N_H=8.5 +/- 0.4 x 10^21 cm^-2) spectrum typical of a type 2 AGN with luminosity log(L_14-195 keV) = 42.05 erg/s, while in the optical band its spectrum is typical of a reddened (A_V=3) starburst. Our deep X-shooter/VLT observations have allowed us to detect faint broad emission in the H_alpha, HeI and Pa_beta lines (FWHM ~1400-2300 km/s) confirming previous studies indicating that NGC 6221 is a reddened starburst galaxy which hosts an AGN. We use the measure of the broad components to provide a first estimate of its central black hole mass (M_BH = 10^(6.6 +/- 0.3) Msol, lambda_Edd=0.01-0.03), obtained using recently calibrated virial relations suitable for moderately obscured (N_H<10^24 cm^-2) AGN.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science

Pancreatic cancer mortality in Europe: the leveling of an epidemic

Mortality rates from pancreatic cancer have increased throughout Europe between the late 1950s and the 1980s. Trends in 22 European countries, the European Union (EU) and 6 selected eastern European countries have been updated using official death certification data for pancreatic cancer abstracted from the WHO database over the period 1980 to 1999. In EU men, a rise from 7.2 to 7.5/100,000 was observed between the early and the late 1980s, followed by a leveling off in the 1990s. For women, rates tended to rise up to the early 1990s, and to level off thereafter around 4.7/100,000. In eastern countries, rates for both sexes rose between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s, and leveled off thereafter around 8.5/100,000 men and 5/100,000 women. Thus, rates for men only were higher in Eastern Europe than in the EU. This analysis first documents a leveling of pancreatic cancer mortality in Europe, after decades of steady rises. This is partly or largely attributable to the decline in smoking, at least in men, but other factors, including mainly nutrition and diet, may also have played some role on these trends. [Authors]]]> Mortality ; Pancreatic Neoplasms oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_F326E20D1607 2022-05-07T01:30:01Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_F326E20D1607 Mouse Grueneberg ganglion neurons share molecular and functional features with C. elegans amphid neurons. info:doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00193 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00193 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/24367309 Brechbühl, J. Moine, F. Broillet, M.C. info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2013 Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 7, pp. 193 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1662-5153 urn:issn:1662-5153 <![CDATA[The mouse Grueneberg ganglion (GG) is an olfactory subsystem located at the tip of the nose close to the entry of the naris. It comprises neurons that are both sensitive to cold temperature and play an important role in the detection of alarm pheromones (APs). This chemical modality may be essential for species survival. Interestingly, GG neurons display an atypical mammalian olfactory morphology with neurons bearing deeply invaginated cilia mostly covered by ensheathing glial cells. We had previously noticed their morphological resemblance with the chemosensory amphid neurons found in the anterior region of the head of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). We demonstrate here further molecular and functional similarities. Thus, we found an orthologous expression of molecular signaling elements that was furthermore restricted to similar specific subcellular localizations. Calcium imaging also revealed a ligand selectivity for the methylated thiazole odorants that amphid neurons are known to detect. Cellular responses from GG neurons evoked by chemical or temperature stimuli were also partially cGMP-dependent. In addition, we found that, although behaviors depending on temperature sensing in the mouse, such as huddling and thermotaxis did not implicate the GG, the thermosensitivity modulated the chemosensitivity at the level of single GG neurons. Thus, the striking similarities with the chemosensory amphid neurons of C. elegans conferred to the mouse GG neurons unique multimodal sensory properties

Mortality Patterns and Trends for Lung Cancer and Other Tobacco-Related Cancers in the Americas, 1955-1989

Mortality from cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, oesphagus, larynx and lung between 1955 and 1989 has been analysed for USA, Canada and 14 countries in Latin America. Among males, Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina and Puerto Rico have the highest rates for all sites, and Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia have the lowest rates. Among females, Cuba, Colombia and Puerto Rico rank high for all sites, and Mexico, Paraguay, Ecuador and Peru rank low. For both sexes, lung cancer mortality rates from the US and Canada are high, whereas rates from other sites are intermediate. An increasing trend in lung cancer mortality over time is shown in all countries except Cuba (no changes), Argentina, Paraguay and Peru (decreasing trend). In Latin America, the tobacco-related lung cancer epidemic is in its early phase among males, and very early phase among female

Oral contraceptives and colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Only limited information and understanding are available on the potential relation between oral contraceptive use and the risk of colorectal cancer. Further data on the issue are therefore useful and may help informed choice of contraception. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were derived from a case-control study of colorectal cancer conducted between 1992 and 2001 in the Swiss Canton of Vaud, including 131 women with colorectal cancer and 373 controls admitted in the same hospital as the cases with diagnosis of acute, non-neoplastic disease, unrelated to long-term modification of diet. Oral contraceptive use was reported by 11% of cases versus 17% of controls, corresponding to multivariate odds ratio of 0.8 (95% CI: 0.4-1.7). The odds ratio was non-significantly below unity across strata of duration, time since first and last oral contraceptive use. CONCLUSION: These findings add further evidence on a possible inverse relation between oral contraceptive and colorectal cancer risk. [authors]]]> oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_79B5CE1ABB91 2022-05-07T01:20:58Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_79B5CE1ABB91 Correlated genetic effects on reproduction define a domestication syndrome in a forest tree. info:doi:10.1111/eva.12252 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/eva.12252 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/25926884 Santos-Del-Blanco, L. Alía, R. González-Martínez, S.C. Sampedro, L. Lario, F. Climent, J. info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2015 Evolutionary Applications, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 403-410 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1752-4571 urn:issn:1752-4571 <![CDATA[Compared to natural selection, domestication implies a dramatic change in traits linked to fitness. A number of traits conferring fitness in the wild might be detrimental under domestication, and domesticated species typically differ from their ancestors in a set of traits known as the domestication syndrome. Specifically, trade-offs between growth and reproduction are well established across the tree of life. According to allocation theory, selection for growth rate is expected to indirectly alter life-history reproductive traits, diverting resources from reproduction to growth. Here we tested this hypothesis by examining the genetic change and correlated responses of reproductive traits as a result of selection for timber yield in the tree Pinus pinaster. Phenotypic selection was carried out in a natural population, and progenies from selected trees were compared with those of control trees in a common garden experiment. According to expectations, we detected a genetic change in important life-history traits due to selection. Specifically, threshold sizes for reproduction were much higher and reproductive investment relative to size significantly lower in the selected progenies just after a single artificial selection event. Our study helps to define the domestication syndrome in exploited forest trees and shows that changes affecting developmental pathways are relevant in domestication processes of long-lived plants