1,941 research outputs found
Association between intratumoral lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) and clinicopathologic features in endometrial cancer: a retrospective cohort study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer significantly decreases survival rate. Few data on the influence of intratumoral lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) on survival in endometrial cancer are available. Our aim was to assess the intratumoral LMVD of endometrial carcinomas and to investigate its association with classical pathological factors, lymph node metastasis and survival.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-seven patients with endometrial carcinoma diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 underwent complete surgical staging and evaluation of intratumoral LMVD and other histologic variables. Lymphatic microvessels were identified by immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibody against human podoplanin (clone D2-40) and evaluated by counting the number of immunostained lymphatic vessels in 10 hot spot areas at 400× magnification. The LMVD was expressed by the mean number of vessels in these 10 hot spot microscopic fields. We next investigated the association of LMVD with the clinicopathologic findings and prognosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean number of lymphatic vessels counted in all cases ranged between 0 and 4.7. The median value of mean LMVD was 0.5, and defined the cut-off for low and high LMVD. We identified low intratumoral LMVD in 27 (47.4%) patients and high LMVD in 30 (52.6%) patients. High intratumoral LMVD was associated with lesser miometrial and adnaexal infiltration, lesser cervical and peritoneal involvement, and fewer fatal cases. Although there was lower lymph node involvement among cases with high LMVD, the difference did not reach significance. No association was seen between LMVD and FIGO staging, histological type, or vascular invasion. On the other hand, low intratumoral LMVD was associated with poor outcome. Seventy-five percent of deaths occurred in patients with low intratumoral LMVD.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show association of high intratumoral LMVD with features related to more localized disease and better outcome. We discuss the role of lymphangiogenesis as an early event in the endometrial carcinogenesis.</p
On Multi-Index Filtrations Associated to Weierstraß Semigroups
This paper is a survey on the main techniques involved in the computation of the Weierstraß semigroup at several points of curves defined over perfect fields, with special emphasis on the case of two points. Some hints about the usage of some packages of the computer algebra software Singular are also given; these are however only valid for curves defined over Fp with p a prime number
Slepton mass-splittings as a signal of LFV at the LHC
Precise measurements of slepton mass-splittings might represent a powerful
tool to probe supersymmetric (SUSY) lepton flavour violation (LFV) at the LHC.
We point out that mass-splittings of the first two generations of sleptons are
especially sensitive to LFV effects involving transitions. If these
mass-splittings are LFV induced, high-energy LFV processes like the neutralino
decay {\nt}_2\to\nt_1\tau^{\pm}\mu^{\mp} as well as low-energy LFV processes
like are unavoidable. We show that precise slepton
mass-splitting measurements and LFV processes both at the high- and low-energy
scales are highly complementary in the attempt to (partially) reconstruct the
flavour sector of the SUSY model at work. The present study represents another
proof of the synergy and interplay existing between the LHC, i.e. the {\em
high-energy frontier}, and high-precision low-energy experiments, i.e. the {\em
high-intensity frontier}.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. v2: added discussion on backgrounds, added
references, version to be published on JHE
MODELLING OF COMPOSITIONS BASED ON WOOD-FIBER USING POLYETHYLENE AND Pinus sp. SAWDUST
Neste trabalho, foi estudado o efeito da composi\ue7\ue3o de
diferentes misturas de polietileno de alta densidade (HDPE) virgem,
HDPE reciclado e serragem de Pinus sp., nas propriedades
f\uedsico-mec\ue2nicas de placas confeccionadas pelo processo de
compress\ue3o. As misturas foram homogeneizadas em um misturador tipo
Drais, sem controle de temperatura e moldadas por compress\ue3o em
prensa hidr\ue1ulica a 150\ub0C. Partindo das placas, foram
confeccionados corpos-de-prova para ensaios de tra\ue7\ue3o,
flex\ue3o, impacto e dureza, segundo normas ASTM, e tamb\ue9m foram
determinadas as densidades m\ue9dias das placas. A modelagem
estat\uedstica foi realizada segundo o planejamento centr\uf3ide
simplex, utilizando sete misturas dos tr\ue9s componentes e tr\ue9s
repeti\ue7\uf5es de cada mistura. Os resultados mostraram que a
resist\ue9ncia \ue0 tra\ue7\ue3o, a resist\ue9ncia \ue0
flex\ue3o, a dureza e a densidade das placas, s\ue3o explicadas
pelo modelo linear, enquanto a resist\ue9ncia ao impacto \ue9
explicada pelo modelo quadr\ue1tico. N\ue3o houve diferen\ue7a
significativa nas propriedades f\uedsico-mec\ue2nicas dos
comp\uf3sitos confeccionados com HDPE virgem, daqueles confeccionados
com HDPE reciclado, exceto para resist\ue9ncia ao impacto, no qual o
HDPE virgem apresentou maiores valores.In this work, the effect of different compositions of virgin and
recycled high density polyethylene/ Pinus sp. on physical-mechanical
properties of sheets made by compression molding was studied. The
compositions were blended in a thermokinetic mixer (Draiss) and
compression molded at 150\ub0C. ASTM samples for tensile, flexural,
impact and hardness tests were taken from the sheets. The density of
the sheets were determined. The statistical model used was a centroid
simplex with seven compositions and three repetitions. Results showed
that tensile and flexural strength as well as hardness and density
followed a linear model, while impact strength is explained by a
quadratic model. Physical-mechanical properties of compositions using
virgin and recycled HDPE did not show significative changes, except for
impact strength, when virgin HDPE showed higher numerical results
Zinc/copper imbalance reflects immune dysfunction in human leishmaniasis: an ex vivo and in vitro study
BACKGROUND: The process of elimination of intracellular pathogens, such as Leishmania, requires a Th1 type immune response, whereas a dominant Th2 response leads to exacerbated disease. Experimental human zinc deficiency decreases Th1 but not Th2 immune response. We investigated if zinc and copper levels differ in different clinical forms of leishmaniasis, and if these trace metals might be involved in the immune response towards the parasite. METHODS: Blood was collected from 31 patients with either localized cutaneous (LCL), mucosal (ML) or visceral (VL) leishmaniasis, as well as from 25 controls from endemic and non-endemic areas. Anti-Leishmania humoral and cellular immune response were evaluated by quantifying specific plasma IgG, lymphoproliferation and cytokine production, respectively. Plasma levels of Cu and Zn were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS: A significant decrease in plasma Zn was observed in all three patient groups (p < 0.01 for LCL and ML, p < 0.001 for VL), as compared to controls, but only VL (7/10) and ML (1/7) patients displayed overt Zn deficiency. Plasma Cu was increased in LCL and VL (p < 0.001) but not in ML, and was strongly correlated to anti-Leishmania IgG (Spearman r = 0.65, p = 0.0028). Cu/Zn ratios were highest in patients with deficient cellular (VL<<LCL<ML) and exacerbated humoral (VL>LCL>ML) immune response. Ex vivo production of parasite-induced IFN-γ was negatively correlated to plasma Cu levels in LCL (r = -0.57, p = 0.01). In vitro, increased Cu levels inhibited IFN-γ production. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Zn deficiency in VL and ML indicate possible therapeutic administration of Zn in these severe forms of leishmaniasis. 2. Plasma Cu positively correlates to humoral immune response across patient groups. 3. Environmentally or genetically determined increases in Cu levels might augment susceptibility to infection with intracellular pathogens, by causing a decrease in IFN-γ production
The Custodial Randall-Sundrum Model: From Precision Tests to Higgs Physics
We reexamine the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model with enlarged gauge symmetry
SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_X x P_LR in the presence of a brane-localized Higgs
sector. In contrast to the existing literature, we perform the Kaluza-Klein
(KK) decomposition within the mass basis, which avoids the truncation of the KK
towers. Expanding the low-energy spectrum as well as the gauge couplings in
powers of the Higgs vacuum expectation value, we obtain analytic formulas which
allow for a deep understanding of the model-specific protection mechanisms of
the T parameter and the left-handed Z-boson couplings. In particular, in the
latter case we explain which contributions escape protection and identify them
with the irreducible sources of P_LR symmetry breaking. We furthermore show
explicitly that no protection mechanism is present in the charged-current
sector confirming existing model-independent findings. The main focus of the
phenomenological part of our work is a detailed discussion of Higgs-boson
couplings and their impact on physics at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. For
the first time, a complete one-loop calculation of all relevant Higgs-boson
production and decay channels is presented, incorporating the effects stemming
from the extended electroweak gauge-boson and fermion sectors.Comment: 74 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. v2: Matches version published in JHE
LHC and lepton flavour violation phenomenology of a left-right extension of the MSSM
We study the phenomenology of a supersymmetric left-right model, assuming
minimal supergravity boundary conditions. Both left-right and (B-L) symmetries
are broken at an energy scale close to, but significantly below the GUT scale.
Neutrino data is explained via a seesaw mechanism. We calculate the RGEs for
superpotential and soft parameters complete at 2-loop order. At low energies
lepton flavour violation (LFV) and small, but potentially measurable mass
splittings in the charged scalar lepton sector appear, due to the RGE running.
Different from the supersymmetric 'pure seesaw' models, both, LFV and slepton
mass splittings, occur not only in the left- but also in the right slepton
sector. Especially, ratios of LFV slepton decays, such as Br()/Br() are sensitive to the
ratio of (B-L) and left-right symmetry breaking scales. Also the model predicts
a polarization asymmetry of the outgoing positrons in the decay , A ~ [0,1], which differs from the pure seesaw 'prediction' A=1$.
Observation of any of these signals allows to distinguish this model from any
of the three standard, pure (mSugra) seesaw setups.Comment: 43 pages, 17 figure
Record of Early Tonian mafic magmatism in the central Espinha?o (Brazil) : new insights for break-up of the Neoproterozoic landmass ancestor of S?o Francisco-Congo paleocontinent.
Petrological characterization, U?Pb geochronology, Lu?Hf analyses and major and trace element data from mafic intrusions in the Central Espinha?o (central portion of the Brazilian shield) are used here to investigate the geological significance of the Early Neoproterozoic magmatism in the context of the S~ao Francisco-Congo paleocontinent. These mafic bodies are represented by medium to coarse-grained metagabbros with plagioclase, amphibole and clinopyroxene. Zircon U?Pb isotopic data from two samples yielded weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 895 3.4 Ma (MSWD ? 1.7) and 896 2.4 Ma (MSWD ? 0.64), regarded as the best estimates for the crystallization age of these mafic rocks. Major and trace element data (including REEs) show that the gabbros originated from a subalkaline tholeiitic magma, typical of intraplate magmatism. Such rocks are slightly enriched in LREEs and LILEs and depleted in HFSEs. Our new isotope and geochemical data, along with regional knowledge, indicate that these metagabbros mark the beginning of an important Tonian-age extensional tectonic event of the landmass of which the S~ao Francisco-Congo paleocontinent was part (Rodinia supercontinent or Central African block?). We furthermore suggest that these rocks belong to a prominent suite of Tonian-age mafic rocks that mark a diachronic breakup attempt of this landmass which may have occurred from south to north along the Espinha?o mountain range
Overview on the phenomenon of two-qubit entanglement revivals in classical environments
The occurrence of revivals of quantum entanglement between separated open
quantum systems has been shown not only for dissipative non-Markovian quantum
environments but also for classical environments in absence of back-action.
While the phenomenon is well understood in the first case, the possibility to
retrieve entanglement when the composite quantum system is subject to local
classical noise has generated a debate regarding its interpretation. This
dynamical property of open quantum systems assumes an important role in quantum
information theory from both fundamental and practical perspectives. Hybrid
quantum-classical systems are in fact promising candidates to investigate the
interplay among quantum and classical features and to look for possible control
strategies of a quantum system by means of a classical device. Here we present
an overview on this topic, reporting the most recent theoretical and
experimental results about the revivals of entanglement between two qubits
locally interacting with classical environments. We also review and discuss the
interpretations provided so far to explain this phenomenon, suggesting that
they can be cast under a unified viewpoint.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. Chapter written for the upcoming book "Lectures
on general quantum correlations and their applications
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