Treatment-limiting decisions, comorbidities, and mortality in the emergency departments: a cross-sectional elderly population-based study

BACKGROUND: Older adults experience a higher risk of death in the emergency departments (EDs), in part, as a result of their comorbidities. A treatment-limiting decision is often reported for older adults who die in the EDs. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is a validated method for the scoring of comorbidities. Whether an association between the CCI and treatment-limiting decisions exists remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the CCI was associated with the treatment-limiting decisions made for older patients who die in the EDs. METHODS: A total of 2,095 patients >/=65 years old who died in the EDs in France and Belgium were prospectively included between 2004 and 2005. The recorded data included: 1) the CCI score; 2) patient age; 3) gender; 4) living in senior housing facilities; 5) hospitalizations occurring in the previous year; 6) presence of functional limitations (according to the Knaus classification); 7) chronic diseases; and 8) presence of organ failure(s). A treatment-limiting decision was defined as a predetermined choice not to implement therapies that would otherwise be required to sustain life. RESULTS: A treatment-limiting decision was identified in 993 (47%) patients. Fully-adjusted logistic regression model showed that a CCI >/= 5 (OR=25.56 with P=0.037), age >/=85years (OR=20.33 with P<0.001), living in an institution (OR=0.15 with P=0.017), hematologic (OR=6.92 with P=0.020) and respiratory disease (OR=0.17 with P=0.046), and neurologic causes (OR=0.20 with P=0.010) of organ failure were significantly associated with treatment-limiting decisions. CONCLUSION: An elevated CCI score (>/=5) was associated with a treatment-limiting decision in elderly patients evaluated in the EDs. Further research is needed to corroborate this finding

E-β-Ocimene, a Volatile Brood Pheromone Involved in Social Regulation in the Honey Bee Colony (Apis mellifera)

Background: In honey bee colony, the brood is able to manipulate and chemically control the workers in order to sustain their own development. A brood ester pheromone produced primarily by old larvae (4 and 5 days old larvae) was first identified as acting as a contact pheromone with specific effects on nurses in the colony. More recently a new volatile brood pheromone has been identified: E-β-ocimene, which partially inhibits ovary development in workers. [br/] Methodology and Principal Finding: Our analysis of E-β-ocimene production revealed that young brood (newly hatched to 3 days old) produce the highest quantity of E-b-ocimene relative to their body weight. By testing the potential action of this molecule as a non-specific larval signal, due to its high volatility in the colony, we demonstrated that in the presence of E-β-ocimene nest workers start to forage earlier in life, as seen in the presence of real brood. [br/] Conclusions/Significance: In this way, young larvae are able to assign precedence to the task of foraging by workers in order to increase food stores for their own development. Thus, in the complexity of honey bee chemical communication, E-β- ocimene, a pheromone of young larvae, provides the brood with the means to express their nutritional needs to the workers

KP line solitons and Tamari lattices

The KP-II equation possesses a class of line soliton solutions which can be qualitatively described via a tropical approximation as a chain of rooted binary trees, except at "critical" events where a transition to a different rooted binary tree takes place. We prove that these correspond to maximal chains in Tamari lattices (which are poset structures on associahedra). We further derive results that allow to compute details of the evolution, including the critical events. Moreover, we present some insights into the structure of the more general line soliton solutions. All this yields a characterization of possible evolutions of line soliton patterns on a shallow fluid surface (provided that the KP-II approximation applies).Comment: 49 pages, 36 figures, second version: section 4 expande

A selective sweep in a microsporidian parasite Nosema-tolerant honeybee population, Apis mellifera

Nosema is a microsporidian parasite of the honeybee, which infects the epithelial cells of the gut. In Denmark, honeybee colonies have been selectively bred for the absence of Nosema over decades, resulting in a breeding line that is tolerant toward Nosema infections. As the tolerance toward the Nosema infection is a result of artificial selection, we screened chromosome 14 for a selective sweep with microsatellite markers, where a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) had been identified to be involved in the reduction in Nosema spores in the honeybees. By comparing the genetic variability of 10 colonies of the selected honeybee strain with a population sample from 22 unselected colonies, a selective sweep was revealed within the previously identified QTL region. The genetic variability of the swept loci was not only reduced in relation to the flanking markers on chromosome 14 within the selected strain but also significantly reduced compared with the same region in the unselected honeybees. This confirmed the results of the previous QTL mapping for reduced Nosema infections. The success of the selective breeding may have driven the selective sweep found in our study.European Union’s Seventh Framework Program BeeDoc, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft project DFG SPP 1399 (MO 373/26-1), Romanian Centre for Bee Biotechnology (RoBeeTech) and China Scholarship Council.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2052hb201

Intrabeam scattering analysis of measurements at KEK's ATF damping ring

We derive a simple relation for estimating the relative emittance growth in x and y due to intrabeam scattering (IBS) in electron storage rings. We show that IBS calculations for the ATF damping ring, when using the formalism of Bjorken-Mtingwa, a modified formalism of Piwinski (where eta squared divided by beta has been replaced by the dispersion invariant), or a simple high-energy approximate formula all give results that agree well. Comparing theory, including the effect of potential well bunch lengthening, with a complete set of ATF steady-state beam size vs. current measurements we find reasonably good agreement for energy spread and horizontal emittance. The measured vertical emittance, however, is larger than theory in both offset (zero current emittance) and slope (emittance change with current). The slope error indicates measurement error and/or additional current-dependent physics at the ATF; the offset error, that the assumed Coulomb log is correct to within a factor of 1.75.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, .bbl fil

AMPK is a mechano-metabolic sensor linking cell adhesion and mitochondrial dynamics to Myosin-dependent cell migration

Cell migration is crucial for cancer dissemination. We find that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) controls cell migration by acting as an adhesion sensing molecular hub. In 3-dimensional matrices, fast-migrating amoeboid cancer cells exert low adhesion/low traction linked to low ATP/AMP, leading to AMPK activation. In turn, AMPK plays a dual role controlling mitochondrial dynamics and cytoskeletal remodelling. High AMPK activity in low adhering migratory cells, induces mitochondrial fission, resulting in lower oxidative phosphorylation and lower mitochondrial ATP. Concurrently, AMPK inactivates Myosin Phosphatase, increasing Myosin II-dependent amoeboid migration. Reducing adhesion or mitochondrial fusion or activating AMPK induces efficient rounded-amoeboid migration. AMPK inhibition suppresses metastatic potential of amoeboid cancer cells in vivo, while a mitochondrial/AMPK-driven switch is observed in regions of human tumours where amoeboid cells are disseminating. We unveil how mitochondrial dynamics control cell migration and suggest that AMPK is a mechano-metabolic sensor linking energetics and the cytoskeleton

Odorant binding proteins : a biotechnological tool for odour control

The application of an odorant binding protein for odour control and fragrance delayed release from a textile surface was first explored in this work. Pig OBP-1 gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli , and the purified protein was biochemically characterized. The IC50 values(concentrations of competitor that caused a decay of fluorescence to half-maximal intensity) were determined for four distinct fragrances, namely, citronellol, benzyl benzoate,citronellyl valerate and ethyl valerate. The results showed a strong binding of citronellyl valerate,citronellol and benzyl benzoate to the recombinant protein, while ethyl valerate displayed weaker binding. Cationized cotton substrates were coated with porcine odorant binding protein and tested for their capacity to retain citronellol and to mask the smell of cigarette smoke. The immobilized protein delayed the release of citronellol when compared to the untreated cotton. According to a blind evaluation of 30 assessors, the smell of cigarette smoke, trapped onto the fabrics’ surface, was successfully attenuated by porcine odorant binding protein (more than 60 % identified the weakest smell intensity after protein exposure compared to β-cyclodextrin-treated and untreated cotton fabrics). This work demonstrated that porcine odorant binding protein can be an efficient solution to prevent and/orremove unpleasant odours trapped on the large surface of textiles. Its intrinsic properties make odorant binding proteins excellent candidates for controlled release systems which constitute a new application for this class of proteins.This work was co-funded by the European Social Fund through the management authority POPH and FCT. The authors Carla Silva and Teresa Matama would like to acknowledge their post-doctoral fellowships: SFRH/BPD/46515/2008 and SFRH/BPD/47555/2008, respectively

Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Diatoms are prominent marine microalgae, interesting not only from an ecological point of view, but also for their possible use in biotechnology applications. They can be cultivated in phototrophic conditions, using sunlight as the sole energy source. Some diatoms, however, can also grow in a mixotrophic mode, wherein both light and external reduced carbon contribute to biomass accumulation. In this study, we investigated the consequences of mixotrophy on the growth and metabolism of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, using glycerol as the source of reduced carbon. Transcriptomics, metabolomics, metabolic modelling and physiological data combine to indicate that glycerol affects the central-carbon, carbon-storage and lipid metabolism of the diatom. In particular, provision of glycerol mimics typical responses of nitrogen limitation on lipid metabolism at the level of TAG accumulation and fatty acid composition. The presence of glycerol, despite provoking features reminiscent of nutrient limitation, neither diminishes photosynthetic activity nor cell growth, revealing essential aspects of the metabolic flexibility of these microalgae and suggesting possible biotechnological applications of mixotrophy

A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007

We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy, particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000