2,071 research outputs found
Prognostic factors affecting outcomes in fistulating perianal Crohn's disease: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND: One in three patients with Crohn's disease will develop a perianal fistulae, and one third of these will achieve long-term healing or closure. A barrier to conducting well-designed clinical trials for these patients is a lack of understanding of prognostic factors. This systematic review sets out to identify factors associated with prognosis of perianal Crohn's fistulae. METHODS: This review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42016050316) and conducted in line with PRISMA guidelines along a predefined protocol. English-language studies assessing baseline factors related to outcomes of fistulae treatment in adult patients were included. Searches were performed on MEDLINE and Embase databases. Screening of abstracts and full texts for eligibility was performed prior to extraction of data into predesigned forms. Bias was assessed using the QUIPS tool. RESULTS: Searches identified 997 papers. Following removal of duplicates and secondary searches, 923 were screened for inclusion. Forty-seven papers were reviewed at full-text level and 13, 2 of which were randomised trials, were included in the final qualitative review. Two studies reported distribution of Crohn's disease as a prognostic factor for healing. Two studies found that CARD15 mutations decreased response of fistulae to antibiotics. Complexity of fistulae anatomy was implicated in prognosis by 4 studies. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review has identified potential prognostic markers, including genetic factors and disease behaviour. We cannot, however, draw robust conclusions from this heterogeneous group of studies; therefore, we recommend that a prospective cohort study of well-characterised patients with Crohn's perianal fistulae is undertaken
Relating the scalar flavour-changing neutral couplings to the CKM matrix
We build a class of two-Higgs-doublet models in which the flavour-changing
couplings of the neutral scalars are related in an exact way to elements of the
quark mixing matrix. In this framework, we explore the different possibilities
for CP violation and find some interesting scenarios, like a realization of the
superweak idea without CP violation in the -meson system. In another
scenario the neutral scalars can be relatively light, and their contributions
to the -- transitions can alter the standard-model predictions
for CP violation in that system.Comment: 12 pages LATEX, no figure
On the flavor structure of the littlest Higgs model
We investigate the Yukawa sector for up-like quarks in the Lee's version of
the Littlest Higgs model. We derive general quark mass and mixing formulae and
study leading order contributions due to non-zero light quark masses. Relying
on the unitarity of the generalized quark mixing matrix we obtain corrections
to the CKM matrix elements. In this model FCNCs appear at the tree level and
using leading order contributions we obtain the FCNC couplings for the up-like
quark transitions. In light of recent experimental results on the D0 - D0bar
transition we make predictions for xD as well as the D to mu+ mu- decay rate.
Finally, we discuss probabilities for the t to c (u) Z transitions relevant for
the LHC studies.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
The genetic basis of host preference and resting behavior in the major African malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis
Malaria transmission is dependent on the propensity of Anopheles mosquitoes to bite
humans (anthropophily) instead of other dead end hosts. Recent increases in the usage of
Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs) in Africa have been associated with reductions in highly anthropophilic and endophilic vectors such as Anopheles gambiae s.s., leaving species with a broader host range, such as Anopheles arabiensis, as the most
prominent remaining source of transmission in many settings. An. arabiensis appears to be
more of a generalist in terms of its host choice and resting behavior, which may be due to
phenotypic plasticity and/or segregating allelic variation. To investigate the genetic basis of host choice and resting behavior in An. arabiensis we sequenced the genomes of 23
human-fed and 25 cattle-fed mosquitoes collected both in-doors and out-doors in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. We identified a total of 4,820,851 SNPs, which were used to conduct the first genome-wide estimates of “SNP heritability”for host choice and resting
behavior in this species. A genetic component was detected for host choice (human vs cow
fed; permuted P = 0.002), but there was no evidence of a genetic component for resting
behavior (indoors versus outside; permuted P = 0.465). A principal component analysis
(PCA) segregated individuals based on genomic variation into three groups which were
characterized by differences at the 2Rb and/or 3Ra paracentromeric chromosome inversions. There was a non-random distribution of cattle-fed mosquitoes between the PCA clusters, suggesting that alleles linked to the 2Rb and/or 3Ra inversions may influence host
choice. Using a novel inversion genotyping assay, we detected a significant enrichment of
the standard arrangement (non-inverted) of 3Ra among cattle-fed mosquitoes (N = 129)
versus all non-cattle-fed individuals. Thus, tracking the frequency of the 3Ra in An. arabiensis populations may be of use to infer selection on host choice behavior within these vector populations; possibly in response to vector control. Controlled
host-choice assays are needed to discern whether the observed genetic component has a
direct relationship with innate host preference. A better understanding of the genetic basis
for host feeding behavior in An. arabiensis may also open avenues for novel vector control
strategies based on driving genes for zoophily into wild mosquito populations
Magnetic field-dependent interplay between incoherent and Fermi liquid transport mechanisms in low-dimensional tau phase organic conductors
We present an electrical transport study of the 2-dimensional (2D) organic
conductor tau-(P-(S,S)-DMEDT-TTF)_2(AuBr)_2(AuBr_2)_y (y = 0.75) at low
temperatures and high magnetic fields. The inter-plane resistivity rho_zz
increases with decreasing temperature, with the exception of a slight anomaly
at 12 K. Under a magnetic field B, both rho_zz and the in-plane resistivity
plane rho_xx show a pronounced negative and hysteretic magnetoresistance with
Shubnikov de Haas (SdH)oscillations being observed in some (high
quality)samples above 15 T. Contrary to the predicted single, star-shaped,
closed orbit Fermi surface from band structure calculations (with an expected
approximate area of 12.5% of A_FBZ), two fundamental frequencies F_l and F_h
are detected in the SdH signal. These orbits correspond to 2.4% and 6.8% of the
area of the first Brillouin zone(A_FBZ), with effective masses F_l = 4.0 +/-
0.5 and F_h = 7.3 +/- 0.1. The angular dependence, in tilted magnetic fields of
F_l and F_h, reveals the 2D character of the FS and Angular dependent
magnetoresistance (AMRO) further suggests a FS which is strictly 2-D where the
inter-plane hopping t_c is virtually absent or incoherent. The Hall constant
R_xy is field independent, and the Hall mobility increases by a factor of 3
under moderate magnetic fields. Our observations suggest a unique physical
situation where a stable 2D Fermi liquid state in the molecular layers are
incoherently coupled along the least conducting direction. The magnetic field
not only reduces the inelastic scattering between the 2D metallic layers, but
it also reveals the incoherent nature of interplane transport in the AMRO
spectrum. The apparent ferromagnetism of the hysteretic magnetoresistance
remains an unsolved problem.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figure
The influence of microsatellite polymorphisms in sex steroid receptor genes ESR1, ESR2 and AR on sex differences in brain structure.
The androgen receptor (AR), oestrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and oestrogen receptor beta (ESR2) play essential roles in mediating the effect of sex hormones on sex differences in the brain. Using Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and gene sizing in two independent samples (discovery n = 173, replication = 61), we determine the common and unique influences on brain sex differences in grey (GM) and white matter (WM) volume between repeat lengths (n) of microsatellite polymorphisms AR(CAG)n, ESR1(TA)n and ESR2(CA)n. In the hypothalamus, temporal lobes, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior insula and prefrontal cortex, we find increased GM volume with increasing AR(CAG)n across sexes, decreasing ESR1(TA)n across sexes and decreasing ESR2(CA)n in females. Uniquely, AR(CAG)n was positively associated with dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal GM volume and the anterior corona radiata, left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, thalamus and internal capsule WM volume. ESR1(TA)n was negatively associated with the left superior corona radiata, left cingulum and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus WM volume uniquely. ESR2(CA)n was negatively associated with right fusiform and posterior cingulate cortex uniquely. We thus describe the neuroanatomical correlates of three microsatellite polymorphisms of steroid hormone receptors and their relationship to sex differences
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