560 research outputs found
Impairment of recent thymic emigrants in HCV infection.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) often has a more favorable course in younger patients. Considering the involution of the thymic function with age, we investigated the output of recent thymic emigrants (RTE) in HCV patients. To evaluate RTE, we used a competitive quantitative PCR in order to determine the percentages of cells with cj-T cell receptor excision circles (TREC). This study was performed in 14 HCV patients at diagnosis and before any anti-HCV treatment. The results obtained in this group were compared to those obtained in a group of age-matched controls. We found that in the 14 HCV patients naive for anti-HCV treatment the mean percentage of cj-TREC was 3%. We could not detect a correlation between the percentages of cj-TREC and age or patients' viremia. In contrast, in the 26 age-matched controls mean percentage of cj-TREC was 5.6% (P=0.01). Our study describes a novel immune defect in HCV patients. Additional studies are needed to get further insight in the possible role of TREC defect in the pathogenesis and prognosis of the disease
Evaluation of different counting methods for use in radiochemical purity testing procedures for (99m)Tc-labelled radiopharmaceuticals
The efficiency and accuracy of different methods for quality control of radiopharmaceutical preparations for diagnostic purpose were studied. The radiochemical purity of 99mTc Tetrafosmin, 99mTc Exametazime, 99mTc Sestamibi and 99mTc Oxidronate was evaluated by different thin layer chromatography systems, followed by cutting of the strips into two or three sections and by the measurement of radioactivity distribution by dose calibrator or gamma counter. In addition, to confirm the accuracy of these routine procedures, the strips were cut into a number of micro-sections (14–25) and each of them evaluated by the gamma counter.
The three tested procedures gave similar results and revealed a good and comparable accuracy. The radioactivity measurement with the dose calibrator remains the most practicable because of the rapidity of execution
Aproveitamento de um fosfato natural parcialmente solubilizado pelas culturas do arroz, milho e soja: I. Resultados preliminares
Em solos pouco ácidos, pobres em P disponível, dois dos quais anteriormente com vegetação de cerrado, foram conduzidos ensaios destinados a comparar a eficiência de um fosfato natural parcialmente acidulado com ácido sulfúrico (FAPS) com a do super simples (SS) e a do fosfato de Araxá original. Usaram-se as culturas de arroz de sequeiro, milho e soja. Verificou-se que: (1) o FAPS deu produções que não diferiram estatísticamente das obtidas com o SS sendo maiores que as conseguidas com o FA; (2) os resultados das análises de solos e da diagnose foliar indicam que o FAPS funcionou como fonte de P, Ca e S.In slightly acidic soils the effect of two rates of PARP (60 and 120 kg P2O5 per hectare) was compared to that of single superphosphate and of the original ground Araxá rock phosphate (ARP), both supplied to give 90 kg P2O5/ha. Testcrops were: upland rice, corn and soybeans. Main conclusions, based on yield data, and soil and leaf analyses were the following: (1) there was no statistical diferrence between yields obtained with PARP and SS which, however, were ussuallu higher than those provided for by ARP; (2) results from chemical analyses show that the PARP, as well as the SS, were a source of P, Ca and S to the three crops; (3) under the experimental conditions, there fore, the effect of the PARP was close to that of the SS rather than to the effect due to the ARP
Frequency spectrum of toroidal Alfv\'en mode in a neutron star with Ferraro's form of nonhomogeneous poloidal magnetic field
Using the energy variational method of magneto-solid-mechanical theory of a
perfectly conducting elastic medium threaded by magnetic field, the frequency
spectrum of Lorentz-force-driven global torsional nodeless vibrations of a
neutron star with Ferraro's form of axisymmetric poloidal nonhomogeneous
internal and dipole-like external magnetic field is obtained and compared with
that for this toroidal Alfv\'en mode in a neutron star with homogeneous
internal and dipolar external magnetic field. The relevance of considered
asteroseismic models to quasi-periodic oscillations of the X-ray flux during
the ultra powerful outbursts of SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14 is discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Exigências de energia de borregas mestiças alimentadas com níveis crescentes de concentrado na dieta
Influence of the length of hospitalisation in post-discharge outcomes in patients with acute heart failure: Results of the LOHRCA study
Objective: To investigate the relationship between length of hospitalisation (LOH) and post-discharge outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF) patients and to ascertain whether there are different patterns according to department of initial hospitalisation.
Methods: Consecutive AHF patients hospitalised in 41 Spanish centres were grouped based on the LOH (15 days). Outcomes were defined as 90-day post-discharge all-cause mortality, AHF readmissions, and the combination of both. Hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted by chronic conditions and severity of decompensation, were calculated for groups with LOH >6 days vs. LOH <6 days (reference), and stratified by hospitalisation in cardiology, internal medicine, geriatrics, or short-stay units.
Results: We included 8563 patients (mean age: 80 (SD = 10) years, 55.5% women), with a median LOH of 7 days (IQR 4–11): 2934 (34.3%) had a LOH 15 days. The 90-day post-discharge mortality was 11.4%, readmission 32.2%, and combined endpoint 37.4%. Mortality was increased by 36.5% (95%CI = 13.0–64.9) when LOH was 11–15 days, and by 72.0% (95%CI = 42.6–107.5) when >15 days. Conversely, no differences were found in readmission risk, and the combined endpoint only increased 21.6% (95%CI = 8.4–36.4) for LOH >15 days. Stratified analysis by hospitalisation departments rendered similar post-discharge outcomes, with all exhibiting increased mortality for LOH >15 days and no significant increments in readmission risk.
Conclusions: Short hospitalisations are not associated with worse outcomes. While post-discharge readmissions are not affected by LOH, mortality risk increases as the LOH lengthens. These findings were similar across hospitalisation departments
Clinical phenotypes of acute heart failure based on signs and symptoms of perfusion and congestion at emergency department presentation and their relationship with patient management and outcomes
Objective
To compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with acute heart failure (AHF) according to clinical profiles based on congestion and perfusion determined in the emergency department (ED).
Methods and results
Overall, 11 261 unselected AHF patients from 41 Spanish EDs were classified according to perfusion (normoperfusion = warm; hypoperfusion = cold) and congestion (not = dry; yes = wet). Baseline and decompensation characteristics were recorded as were the main wards to which patients were admitted. The primary outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes were need for hospitalisation during the index AHF event, in-hospital all-cause mortality, prolonged hospitalisation, 7-day post-discharge ED revisit for AHF and 30-day post-discharge rehospitalisation for AHF. A total of 8558 patients (76.0%) were warm+ wet, 1929 (17.1%) cold+ wet, 675 (6.0%) warm+ dry, and 99 (0.9%) cold+ dry; hypoperfused (cold) patients were more frequently admitted to intensive care units and geriatrics departments, and warm+ wet patients were discharged home without admission. The four phenotypes differed in most of the baseline and decompensation characteristics. The 1-year mortality was 30.8%, and compared to warm+ dry, the adjusted hazard ratios were significantly increased for cold+ wet (1.660; 95% confidence interval 1.400-1.968) and cold+ dry (1.672; 95% confidence interval 1.189-2.351). Hypoperfused (cold) phenotypes also showed higher rates of index episode hospitalisation and in-hospital mortality, while congestive (wet) phenotypes had a higher risk of prolonged hospitalisation but decreased risk of rehospitalisation. No differences were observed among phenotypes in ED revisit risk.
Conclusions
Bedside clinical evaluation of congestion and perfusion of AHF patients upon ED arrival and classification according to phenotypic profiles proposed by the latest European Society of Cardiology guidelines provide useful complementary information and help to rapidly predict patient outcomes shortly after ED patient arrival
CP violation
The salient features of CP-violating interactions in the standard electroweak
theory and in a few of its popular extensions are discussed. Moreover a brief
overview is given on the status and prospects of searches for CP
non-conservation effects in low and high energy experiments.Comment: 28 pages, Lectures given at the 37th Winter School on Particle
Physics, Schladming, Austria, 199
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