93 research outputs found
Modeling Gamma-ray burst Afterglow observations with an Off-axis Jet emission
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are fascinating extragalactic objects. They represent
a fantastic opportunity to investigate unique properties not exhibited in other
sources. Multi-wavelength afterglow observations from some short- and
long-duration GRBs reveal an atypical long-lasting emission that evolves
differently from the canonical afterglow light curves favoring the off-axis
emission. We present an analytical synchrotron afterglow scenario, and the
hydrodynamical evolution of an off-axis top-hat jet decelerated in a stratified
surrounding environment. The analytical synchrotron afterglow model is shown
during the coasting, deceleration (off- and on-axis emission), and the
post-jet-break decay phases, and the hydrodynamical evolution is computed by
numerical simulations showing the time evolution of the Doppler factor, the
half-opening angle, the bulk Lorentz factor, and the deceleration radius. We
show that numerical simulations are in good agreement with those derived with
our analytical approach. We apply the current synchrotron model and describe
successfully the delayed non-thermal emission observed in a sample of long and
short GRBs with evidence of off-axis emission. Furthermore, we provide
constraints on the possible afterglow emission by requiring the
multi-wavelength upper limits derived for the closest Swift-detected GRBs and
promising gravitational-wave events.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
TGF-β antagonist attenuates fibrosis but not luminal narrowing in experimental tracheal stenosis.
Introduction/Objective: Acquired tracheal stenosis (ATS) is an unusual disease
often secondary to prolonged mechanical trauma. ATS pathogenesis involves
inflammation and subsequent fibrosis with narrowing of the tracheal lumen. TGF-β
represents a pivotal factor in most fibrotic processes and therefore, a potential target
in this context. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of TGF-β as a target for
anti-fibrotic interventions in tracheal stenosis.
Methods: Human stenotic tracheobronchial tissues from patients with benign airway
stenosis and normal controls from pneumonectomy specimens were analyzed.
Tracheal stenosis was induced in adult NZ rabbits by a circumferential thermal injury
to the mucosa during open surgery and re-anastomosis. Rabbits were treated
postoperatively with a peritracheal collagen sponge containing a TGF-β peptide
antagonist (p17) or vehicle. Fibrosis was determined by Masson’s trichrome staining,
and α-SMA+
Results: Human and rabbit stenotic tissues showed extensive submucosal fibrosis,
characterized by significantly increased α-SMA
myofibroblasts, CTGF and p-Smad2/3 expression by
immunohistochemistry.
+ myofibroblasts and CTGF
expression. In human stenotic lesions, increased p-Smad2/3+ nuclei were also
observed. p17 treatment significantly reduced the fibrotic thickness as well as the
density of α-SMA+ myofibroblasts and CTGF+
Conclusion: ATS is characterized by a TGF-β dependent fibrotic process but
reduction of the fibrotic component by TGF-β1 antagonist therapy was not sufficient
to improve tracheal narrowing, suggesting that fibrosis may not be the main
contributor to luminal stenosis.
cells in rabbit stenotic lesions but failed
to improve the luminal area.pre-print1304 K
Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger
Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers.
These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of
the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray
energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30
to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of
the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is
determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated
using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due
to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components.
The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of
the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the
AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air
shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy
-- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy
estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the
surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator
scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent
emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for
the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at
least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio
emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate
energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of
15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV
arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling
quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from
state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our
measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric
energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with
our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector
against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI.
Supplemental material in the ancillary file
PTRF/Cavin-1 and MIF Proteins Are Identified as Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Biomarkers by Label-Free Proteomics
With the completion of the human genome sequence, biomedical sciences have entered in the “omics” era, mainly due to high-throughput genomics techniques and the recent application of mass spectrometry to proteomics analyses. However, there is still a time lag between these technological advances and their application in the clinical setting. Our work is designed to build bridges between high-performance proteomics and clinical routine. Protein extracts were obtained from fresh frozen normal lung and non-small cell lung cancer samples. We applied a phosphopeptide enrichment followed by LC-MS/MS. Subsequent label-free quantification and bioinformatics analyses were performed. We assessed protein patterns on these samples, showing dozens of differential markers between normal and tumor tissue. Gene ontology and interactome analyses identified signaling pathways altered on tumor tissue. We have identified two proteins, PTRF/cavin-1 and MIF, which are differentially expressed between normal lung and non-small cell lung cancer. These potential biomarkers were validated using western blot and immunohistochemistry. The application of discovery-based proteomics analyses in clinical samples allowed us to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in non-small cell lung cancer
Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo
Patients with Crohn's disease have longer post-operative in-hospital stay than patients with colon cancer but no difference in complications' rate
BACKGROUNDRight hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection are used to treat benign conditions like Crohn's disease (CD) and malignant ones like colon cancer (CC).AIMTo investigate differences in pre- and peri-operative factors and their impact on post-operative outcome in patients with CC and CD.METHODSThis is a sub-group analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology's prospective, multi-centre snapshot audit. Adult patients with CC and CD undergoing right hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection were included. Primary outcome measure was 30-d post-operative complications. Secondary outcome measures were post-operative length of stay (LOS) at and readmission.RESULTSThree hundred and seventy-five patients with CD and 2,515 patients with CC were included. Patients with CD were younger (median = 37 years for CD and 71 years for CC (P < 0.01), had lower American Society of Anesthesiology score (ASA) grade (P < 0.01) and less comorbidity (P < 0.01), but were more likely to be current smokers (P < 0.01). Patients with CD were more frequently operated on by colorectal surgeons (P < 0.01) and frequently underwent ileocecal resection (P < 0.01) with higher rate of de-functioning/primary stoma construction (P < 0.01). Thirty-day post-operative mortality occurred exclusively in the CC group (66/2515, 2.3%). In multivariate analyses, the risk of post-operative complications was similar in the two groups (OR 0.80, 95%CI: 0.54-1.17; P = 0.25). Patients with CD had a significantly longer LOS (Geometric mean 0.87, 95%CI: 0.79-0.95; P < 0.01). There was no difference in re-admission rates. The audit did not collect data on post-operative enhanced recovery protocols that are implemented in the different participating centers.CONCLUSIONPatients with CD were younger, with lower ASA grade, less comorbidity, operated on by experienced surgeons and underwent less radical resection but had a longer LOS than patients with CC although complication's rate was not different between the two groups
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