479 research outputs found
Formiciform Salticidae (Araneae). Two new combinations and four new species of the genera Martella and Sarinda
GRO J1744-28: an intermediate B-field pulsar in a low mass X-ray binary
The bursting pulsar, GRO J1744-28, went again in outburst after 18
years of quiescence in mid-January 2014. We studied the broad-band, persistent,
X-ray spectrum using X-ray data from a XMM-Newton observation, performed almost
at the peak of the outburst, and from a close INTEGRAL observation, performed 3
days later, thus covering the 1.3-70.0 keV band. The spectrum shows a complex
continuum shape that cannot be modelled with standard high-mass X-ray pulsar
models, nor by two-components models. We observe broadband and peaked residuals
from 4 to 15 keV, and we propose a self-consistent interpretation of these
residuals, assuming they are produced by cyclotron absorption features and by a
moderately smeared, highly ionized, reflection component. We identify the
cyclotron fundamental at 4.7 keV, with hints for two possible harmonics
at 10.4 keV and 15.8 keV. The position of the cyclotron fundamental allows an
estimate for the pulsar magnetic field of (5.27 0.06) 10
G, if the feature is produced at its surface. From the dynamical and
relativistic smearing of the disk reflected component, we obtain a lower limit
estimate for the truncated accretion disk inner radius, ( 100 R),
and for the inclination angle (18-48). We also detect the
presence of a softer thermal component, that we associate with the emission
from an accretion disk truncated at a distance from the pulsar of 50-115 R.
From these estimates, we derive the magneto-spheric radius for disk accretion
to be 0.2 times the classical Alfv\'en radius for radial accretion.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Microtubules in Bacteria: Ancient Tubulins Build a Five-Protofilament Homolog of the Eukaryotic Cytoskeleton
Microtubules play crucial roles in cytokinesis, transport, and motility, and are therefore superb targets for anti-cancer drugs. All tubulins evolved from a common ancestor they share with the distantly related bacterial cell division protein FtsZ, but while eukaryotic tubulins evolved into highly conserved microtubule-forming heterodimers, bacterial FtsZ presumably continued to function as single homopolymeric protofilaments as it does today. Microtubules have not previously been found in bacteria, and we lack insight into their evolution from the tubulin/FtsZ ancestor. Using electron cryomicroscopy, here we show that the tubulin homologs BtubA and BtubB form microtubules in bacteria and suggest these be referred to as “bacterial microtubules” (bMTs). bMTs share important features with their eukaryotic counterparts, such as straight protofilaments and similar protofilament interactions. bMTs are composed of only five protofilaments, however, instead of the 13 typical in eukaryotes. These and other results suggest that rather than being derived from modern eukaryotic tubulin, BtubA and BtubB arose from early tubulin intermediates that formed small microtubules. Since we show that bacterial microtubules can be produced in abundance in vitro without chaperones, they should be useful tools for tubulin research and drug screening
Systematic versus on-demand early palliative care: A randomised clinical trial assessing quality of care and treatment aggressiveness near the end of life
Aim Early palliative care (EPC) in oncology has shown sparse evidence of a positive impact on patient outcomes, quality of care outcomes and costs. Patients and methods Data for this secondary analysis were taken from a trial of 207 outpatients with metastatic pancreatic cancer randomly assigned to receive standard cancer care plus on-demand EPC (standard arm) or standard cancer care plus systematic EPC (interventional arm). After 20 months\u2019 follow-up, 149 (80%) had died. Outcome measures were frequency, type and timing of chemotherapy administration, use of resources, place of death and overall survival. Results Some indices of end-of-life (EoL) aggressiveness had a favourable impact from systematic EPC. Interventional arm patients showed higher use of hospice services: a significantly longer median and mean period of hospice care (P = 0.025 for both indexes) and a significantly higher median and mean number of hospice admissions (both P < 0.010). In the experimental arm, chemotherapy was performed in the last 30 days of life in a significantly inferior rate with respect to control arm: 18.7% versus 27.8% (adjusted P = 0.036). Other non-significant differences were seen in favour of experimental arm. Conclusions Systematic EPC showed a significant impact on some indicators of EoL treatment aggressiveness. These data, reinforced by multiple non-significant differences in most of the other items, suggest that quality of care is improved by this approach. This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01996540)
Association Between the Use of a Mobile Health Strategy App and Biological Changes in Breast Cancer Survivors: Prospective Pre-Post Study
The objectives of this study were to: (1) check whether it is feasible to find changes in inflammation biomarkers
through an mHealth strategy app as a delivery mechanism of an intervention to monitor energy balance; and (2) discover potential
predictors of change of these markers in breast cancer survivors (BCSs). Analyzing changes in inflammatory biomarker concentrations after using the mHealth app, differences between
preassessment CRP (4899.04 pg/ml; SD 1085.25) and IL-6 (87.15 pg/ml; SD 33.59) and postassessment CRP (4221.24 pg/ml;
SD 911.55) and IL-6 (60.53 pg/ml; SD 36.31) showed a significant decrease in both markers, with a mean difference of –635.25
pg/ml (95% CI –935.65 to –334.85; P<.001) in CRP and –26.61 pg/ml (95% CI –42.51 to –10.71; P=.002) in IL-6. Stepwise
regression analyses revealed that changes in global quality of life, as well as uMARS score and hormonal therapy, were possible predictors of change in CRP concentration after using the mHealth app. In the same way, the type of tumor removal surgery
conducted, as well as changes in weight and pain score, were possible predictors of change in IL-6 concentration after using the
app. In conclusion, through the results of this study, we hypothesize that there is a possible association between an
mHealth energy balance monitoring strategy and biological changes in BCSs. These changes could be explained by different
biopsychosocial parameters, such as the use of the application itself, quality of life, pain, type of tumor removal surgery, hormonal
treatment or obesity.The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2013-2016), Fondo de
Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI14/01627), Fondos Estructurales de la Unión Europea (FEDER), and
by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU14/01069 and FPU17/00939)
Severe respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, in a patient transferred to the United Kingdom from the Middle East, September 2012
Coronaviruses have the potential to cause severe transmissible human disease, as demonstrated by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003. We describe here the clinical and virological features of a novel coronavirus infection causing severe respiratory illness in a patient transferred to London, United Kingdom, from the Gulf region of the Middle East
Calibração e validação da produtividade agrícola municipal para cultura da soja na região sul do Brasil simuladas através do modelo Sarrazon.
Este trabalho apresenta três modelos estatísticos que visam estimar a produtividade real da cultura de soja na região Sul do País, com base nos valores do Índice de Satisfação da Necessidade de água (ISNA) gerados para o Zoneamento Agrícola de Risco Climático da soja. A fim de se avaliar a confiança dos métodos e como ferramenta de comparação entre eles, obtiveram-se os erros de estimativa destes com a produtividade observada
Sonidegib as a Locally Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapy in Real-life Clinical Setting: A National Multicentre Study
Background: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent cancer. A minority of BCCs have an aggressive behaviour (laBCC) and may require hedgehog pathway inhibitors such as sonidegib as its treatment. Objective: To describe the use of sonidegib in a large number of patients and provide more data on its real-life efficacy and safety profile.Methods: We conducted a retrospective and multicentric study that included patients treated with sonidegib. Epidemiological, effectiveness and safety data were collected.Results: A total of 82 patients with a mean age of 73.9 years were included. Ten patients had Gorlin syndrome. Median treatment duration was 6 months. Median follow-up duration was 34.2 months. Globally, 81.7% of the patients showed clinical improvement (52.4% partial response and 29.3% complete response), 12.2% clinical stability and 6.1% disease progression. There was no statistically significant difference in clinical improvement between the 24 h and 48 h sonidegib posology. After 6 months of treatment, 48.8% of the patients discontinued sonidegib. Prior vismodegib treatment and recurrent primary BCC were associated with a poorer response to sonidegib. At 6 months of treatment, 68.3% of the patients experienced at least one adverse effect. Conclusion: Sonidegib shows good effectiveness and acceptable safety profile in usual clinical practice.& COPY; 2023 AEDV. Published by Elsevier Espan & SIM;a, S.L.U.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
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