3,163 research outputs found
A Preliminary Investigation towards the Risk Stratification of Allogeneic Stem Cell Recipients with Respect to the Potential for Development of GVHD via Their Pre-Transplant Plasma Lipid and Metabolic Signature
The clinical outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) may be influenced by the metabolic status of the recipient following conditioning, which in turn may enable risk stratification with respect to the development of transplant-associated complications such as graft vs. host disease (GVHD). To better understand the impact of the metabolic profile of transplant recipients on post-transplant alloreactivity, we investigated the metabolic signature of 14 patients undergoing myeloablative conditioning followed by either human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related or unrelated donor SCT, or autologous SCT. Blood samples were taken following conditioning and prior to transplant on day 0 and the plasma was comprehensively characterized with respect to its lipidome and metabolome via liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LCMS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS). A pro-inflammatory metabolic profile was observed in patients who eventually developed GVHD. Five potential pre-transplant biomarkers, 2-aminobutyric acid, 1-monopalmitin, diacylglycerols (DG 38:5, DG 38:6), and fatty acid FA 20:1 demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity towards predicting post-transplant GVHD. The resulting predictive model demonstrated an estimated predictive accuracy of risk stratification of 100%, with area under the curve of the ROC of 0.995. The likelihood ratio of 1-monopalmitin (infinity), DG 38:5 (6.0), and DG 38:6 (6.0) also demonstrated that a patient with a positive test result for these biomarkers following conditioning and prior to transplant will be at risk of developing GVHD. Collectively, the data suggest the possibility that pre-transplant metabolic signature may be used for risk stratification of SCT recipients with respect to development of alloreactivity
Evolution of the most recent common ancestor of a population with no selection
We consider the evolution of a population of fixed size with no selection.
The number of generations to reach the first common ancestor evolves in
time. This evolution can be described by a simple Markov process which allows
one to calculate several characteristics of the time dependence of . We also
study how is correlated to the genetic diversity.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, uses RevTex4 and feynmf.sty Corrections :
introduction and conclusion rewritten, references adde
Three-phase point in a binary hard-core lattice model?
Using Monte Carlo simulation, Van Duijneveldt and Lekkerkerker [Phys. Rev.
Lett. 71, 4264 (1993)] found gas-liquid-solid behaviour in a simple
two-dimensional lattice model with two types of hard particles. The same model
is studied here by means of numerical transfer matrix calculations, focusing on
the finite size scaling of the gaps between the largest few eigenvalues. No
evidence for a gas-liquid transition is found. We discuss the relation of the
model with a solvable RSOS model of which the states obey the same exclusion
rules. Finally, a detailed analysis of the relation with the dilute three-state
Potts model strongly supports the tricritical point rather than a three-phase
point.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX2e, 13 EPS figure
Dynamics at a smeared phase transition
We investigate the effects of rare regions on the dynamics of Ising magnets
with planar defects, i.e., disorder perfectly correlated in two dimensions. In
these systems, the magnetic phase transition is smeared because static
long-range order can develop on isolated rare regions. We first study an
infinite-range model by numerically solving local dynamic mean-field equations.
Then we use extremal statistics and scaling arguments to discuss the dynamics
beyond mean-field theory. In the tail region of the smeared transition the
dynamics is even slower than in a conventional Griffiths phase: the spin
autocorrelation function decays like a stretched exponential at intermediate
times before approaching the exponentially small equilibrium value following a
power law at late times.Comment: 10 pages, 8eps figures included, final version as publishe
Premiers résultats des plongées de la campagne SUBPSO 1 dans la zone de collision des rides d'Entrecasteaux et de l'arc des Nouvelles-Hébrides
International audienceGeological cross-sections,constructed from observations and samples collected during seven dives of theFrench submersible Nautile,reveal that the inner wall of the New Hebrides trench, in front of the North d'Entrecasteaux ridge and the Bougainville guyot,is primarily composed of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, most likely shed from the arc. Observations indicate that the bedding of thearc-slope rocks,which generally slopes trench ward in this collision zone,dips steeply (40-80°) arcward near the contact of the colliding features. In this particular area, arc-slope rocks are generally highly fractured and sheared, an exception being rocks forming the ridge east of the Bougainville guyot.Arc-slope rocks are deeply incised by erosional channels and show numerous fresh slump scars. These scars confirm the importance of mass wasting along the deformation front. No evidence for fluid venting,such as clams and mud volcanoes,was observed during the dives.Les coupes géologiques réalisées à partir de sept plongées du Nautile ont montré que le mur interne de la fosse des Nouvelles-hébrides,en face de la ride Nord d'Entrecasteaux et du guyot Bougainville,est essentiellement constitué par des formations volcaniques et volcano-détritiques provenant probablement de l'arc. Ces formations, généralement inclinées vers la fosse, ont,au contact de la ride et du guyot,rebroussées vers le haut et pentées de 40 à 80°vers l'arc. A ces niveaux,les roches sont intensément fracturées et cisaillées à l'exception de celles constituant le bourrelet qui surplombe le toit du guyot Bougainville.Le mur interne présente enfin une morphologie remarquable comprenant des loupes d'arrachement gravitaire,des chenaux d'érosion, des canyons et,localement,des marmites de géant.Ces figures confirment l'importance de l'érosion gravitaire le long du front de déformation.Aucune manifestation de sorties de fluides n'a été observée lors de ces plongées
Random Dirac Fermions and Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics
We study the influence of a strong imaginary vector potential on the quantum
mechanics of particles confined to a two-dimensional plane and propagating in a
random impurity potential. We show that the wavefunctions of the non-Hermitian
operator can be obtained as the solution to a two-dimensional Dirac equation in
the presence of a random gauge field. Consequences for the localization
properties and the critical nature of the states are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, 1 figure, version published in PR
Blood pressure and blood lead concentration in bus drivers.
San Francisco bus drivers have an increased prevalence of hypertension. This study examined relationships between blood lead concentration and blood pressure in 342 drivers. The analysis reported in this study was limited to subjects not on treatment for hypertension (n = 288). Systolic and diastolic pressures varied from 102 to 173 mm Hg and from 61 to 105 mm Hg, respectively. The blood lead concentration varied from 2 to 15 micrograms/dL. The relationship between blood pressure and the logarithm of blood lead concentration was examined using multiple regression analysis. Covariates included age, body mass index, sex, race, and caffeine intake. The largest regression coefficient relating systolic blood pressure and blood lead concentration was 1.8 mm Hg/ln (micrograms/dL) [90% C. I., -1.6, 5.3]. The coefficient for diastolic blood pressure was 2.5 mm Hg/ln (micrograms/dL) [90% C. I., 0.1, 4.9]. These findings suggest effects of lead exposure at lower blood lead concentrations than those concentrations that have previously been linked with increases in blood pressure
Geology of the d'Entrecasteaux - New Hebrides arc collision zone : results from a deep submersible survey
International audienceDuring the SuBPSOl cruise, seven submersible dives were conducted between water depths of 5350 and 900 m over the collision zone between the New Hebrides island arc and the d'Entrecasteaux Zone (DEZ). The DEZ, a topographic high on the Australian plate, encompasses the North d'Entrecasteaux Ridge (NDR) and the Bougainville guyot, both of which collide with the island-arc slope. In this report we use diving observations and samples, as well as dredging results, to analyse the geology of the Bougainville guyot and the outer arc slope in the DEZ-arc collision zone, and to decipher the mechanisms of seamount subduction. These data indicate that the Bougainville guyot is a middle Eocene island arc volcanocapped with reef limestones that appear to have been deposited during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene and in Miocene-Pliocene times. This guyot possibly emerged during the Middle and Late Miocene, and started to sink in the New Hebrides trench after the Pliocene. The rocks of the New Hebrides arc slope, in the collision zone, consist primarily of Pliocene-Recent volcaniclastic rocks derived from the arc, and underlying fractured island-arc volcanic basement, possibly of Late Miocene age. However, highly sheared, Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene nannofossil ooze and chalk are exposed at the toe of the arc slope against the northern flank of the NDR. Based on a comparison with cores collected at DSDP Site 286, the ooze and chalk can be interpreted as sediments accreted from the downgoing plate. East of the Bougainville guyot an antifonn that developed in the arc slope as a consequence of the collision reveals a 500-m-thick wedge of strongly tectonized rocks, possibly accreted from the guyot or an already subducted seamount. The wedge that is overlain by less deformed volcaniclastic island-arc rocks and sediments includes imbricated layers of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene reef and micritic limestones. This wedge, which develops against the leading flank of the guyot, tends to smooth its high-drag shape. A comparison between the 500-m-thick wedge of limestones that outcrops southeast of the guyot and the absence of such a wedge over the flat top of the guyot, although the top is overthrust by island-arc rocks and sediments, can be interpreted to suggest that the wedge moves in the subduction zone with the guyot and facilitates its subduction by streamlining
Exact Multifractality for Disordered N-Flavour Dirac Fermions in Two Dimensions
We present a nonperturbative calculation of all multifractal scaling
exponents at strong disorder for critical wavefunctions of Dirac fermions
interacting with a non-Abelian random vector potential in two dimensions. The
results, valid for an arbitrary number of fermionic flavours, are obtained by
deriving from Conformal Field Theory an effective Gaussian model for the
wavefunction amplitudes and mapping to the thermodynamics of a single particle
in a random potential. Our spectrum confirms that the wavefunctions remain
delocalized in the presence of strong disorder.Comment: 4 pages, no figue
Disordered Systems and the Replica Method in AdS/CFT
We formulate a holographic description of effects of disorder in conformal
field theories based on the replica method and the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Starting with copies of conformal field theories, randomness with a
gaussian distribution is described by a deformation of double trace operators.
After computing physical quantities, we take the limit at the final
step. We compute correlation functions in the disordered systems by using the
holographic replica method as well as the formulation in the conformal field
theory. We find examples where disorder changes drastically the scaling of two
point functions. The renormalization group flow of the effective central charge
in our disordered systems is also discussed.Comment: 26 pages, references added, published versio
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