Constrained analytical interrelations in neutrino mixing

Hermitian squared mass matrices of charged leptons and light neutrinos in the flavor basis are studied under general additive lowest order perturbations away from the tribimaximal (TBM) limit in which a weak basis with mass diagonal charged leptons is chosen. Simple analytical expressions are found for the three measurable TBM-deviants in terms of perturbation parameters appearing in the neutrino and charged lepton eigenstates in the flavor basis. Taking unnatural cancellations to be absent and charged lepton perturbation parameters to be small, interrelations are derived among masses, mixing angles and the amount of CP-violation.Comment: To be published in the Springer Proceedings in the Physics Series under the heading of the XXI DAE-BRNS Symposium (Guwahati, India

Outcomes for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome

Acute leukemia (AL) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are uncommon in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We retrospectively identified 95 patients with CLL, also diagnosed with AL (n=38) or MDS (n=57), either concurrently (n=5) or subsequent (n=90) to CLL diagnosis and report their outcomes. Median number of CLL treatments prior to AL and MDS was 2 (0-9) and 1 (0-8), respectively; the most common regimen was purine analog combined with alkylating agent±CD20 monoclonal antibody. Twelve cases had no prior CLL treatment. Among 38 cases with AL, 33 had acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 3 had acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL; 1 Philadelphia chromosome positive), 1 had biphenotypic and 1 had extramedullary (bladder) AML. Unfavorable AML karyotype was noted in 26, and intermediate risk in 7 patients. There was no association between survival from AL and number of prior CLL regimens or karyotype. Expression of CD7 on blasts was associated with shorter survival. Among MDS cases, all International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) were represented; karyotype was unfavorable in 36, intermediate in 6 and favorable in 12 patients; 10 experienced transformation to AML. Shorter survival from MDS correlated with higher risk IPSS, poor-risk karyotype and increased number of prior CLL treatments. Overall, outcomes for patients with CLL subsequently diagnosed with AL or MDS were very poor; AL/MDS occurred without prior CLL treatment. Effective therapies for these patients are desperately needed

Acute heroin intoxication in a baby chronically exposed to cocaine and heroin: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Acute intoxication with drugs of abuse in children is often only the tip of the iceberg, actually hiding chronic exposure. Analysis using non-conventional matrices such as hair can provide long-term information about exposure to recreational drugs.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a one-month-old Caucasian boy admitted to our pediatric emergency unit with respiratory distress and neurological abnormalities. A routine urine test was positive for opiates, suggesting an acute opiate ingestion. No other drugs of misuse, such as cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines or derivatives, were detected in the baby's urine. Subsequently, hair samples from the baby and the parents were collected to evaluate the possibility of chronic exposure to drug misuse by segmental analysis. Opiates and cocaine metabolites were detected in hair samples from the baby boy and his parents.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In light of these and previous results, we recommend hair analysis in babies and children from risky environments to detect exposure to heroin and other drug misuse, which could provide the basis for specific social and health interventions.</p

Patency of endoscopic ultrasound-guided gastroenterostomy in the treatment of malignant gastric outlet obstruction

Background and study aims Endoscopic ultrasoundguided gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE) with a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) is a novel, minimally invasive technique in the palliative treatment of malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). Several studies have demonstrated feasibility and safety of EUS-GE, but evidence on long-term durability is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate patency of EUS-GE in treatment of malignant GOO. Patients and Methods An international multicenter study was performed in seven centers in four European countries. Patients who underwent EUS-GE with a LAMS between March 2015 and March 2019 for palliative treatment of symptomatic malignant GOO were included retrospectively. Our main outcome was recurrent obstruction due to LAMS dysfunction; other outcomes of interest were technical success, clinical success, adverse events (AEs), and survival. Results A total of 45 patients (mean age 69.9 ± 12.3 years and 48.9% male) were included. Median duration of followup was 59 days (interquartile range [IQR] 41–128). Recurrent obstruction occurred in two patients (6.1 %), after 33 and 283 days of follow-up. Technical success was achieved in 39 patients (86.7 %). Clinical success was achieved in 33 patients (73.3 %). AEs occurred in 12 patients (26.7 %), of which five were fatal. Median overall survival was 57 days (IQR 32–114). Conclusions EUS-GE showed a low rate of recurrent obstruction. The relatively high number of fatal AEs underscores the importance of careful implementation of EUSGE in clinical practice

Reactor mixing angle from hybrid neutrino masses

In terms of its eigenvector decomposition, the neutrino mass matrix (in the basis where the charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal) can be understood as originating from a tribimaximal dominant structure with small deviations, as demanded by data. If neutrino masses originate from at least two different mechanisms, referred to as "hybrid neutrino masses", the experimentally observed structure naturally emerges provided one mechanism accounts for the dominant tribimaximal structure while the other is responsible for the deviations. We demonstrate the feasibility of this picture in a fairly model-independent way by using lepton-number-violating effective operators, whose structure we assume becomes dictated by an underlying $A_4$ flavor symmetry. We show that if a second mechanism is at work, the requirement of generating a reactor angle within its experimental range always fixes the solar and atmospheric angles in agreement with data, in contrast to the case where the deviations are induced by next-to-leading order effective operators. We prove this idea is viable by constructing an $A_4$-based ultraviolet completion, where the dominant tribimaximal structure arises from the type-I seesaw while the subleading contribution is determined by either type-II or type-III seesaw driven by a non-trivial $A_4$ singlet (minimal hybrid model). After finding general criteria, we identify all the $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetries capable of producing such $A_4$-based minimal hybrid models.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. v3: section including sum rules added, accepted by JHE

An international comparative study of blood pressure in populations of European vs. African descent

Background: The consistent finding of higher prevalence of hypertension in US blacks compared to whites has led to speculation that African-origin populations are particularly susceptible to this condition. Large surveys now provide new information on this issue. Methods: Using a standardized analysis strategy we examined prevalence estimates for 8 white and 3 black populations (N = 85,000 participants). Results: The range in hypertension prevalence was from 27 to 55% for whites and 14 to 44% for blacks. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that not only is there a wide variation in hypertension prevalence among both racial groups, the rates among blacks are not unusually high when viewed internationally. These data suggest that the impact of environmental factors among both populations may have been under-appreciated

Oscillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria

Bacterial contamination of biological conducts, catheters or water resources is a major threat to public health and can be amplified by the ability of bacteria to swim upstream. The mechanisms of this rheotaxis, the reorientation with respect to flow gradients, often in complex and confined environments, are still poorly understood. Here, we follow individual E. coli bacteria swimming at surfaces under shear flow with two complementary experimental assays, based on 3D Lagrangian tracking and fluorescent flagellar labelling and we develop a theoretical model for their rheotactic motion. Three transitions are identified with increasing shear rate: Above a first critical shear rate, bacteria shift to swimming upstream. After a second threshold, we report the discovery of an oscillatory rheotaxis. Beyond a third transition, we further observe coexistence of rheotaxis along the positive and negative vorticity directions. A full theoretical analysis explains these regimes and predicts the corresponding critical shear rates. The predicted transitions as well as the oscillation dynamics are in good agreement with experimental observations. Our results shed new light on bacterial transport and reveal new strategies for contamination prevention.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Expression of human beta-defensins 1 and 2 in kidneys with chronic bacterial infection

BACKGROUND: Constitutive expression and localization of antimicrobial human β-defensin-1 (HBD-1) in human kidneys as a potential mechanism of antimicrobial defense has been previously reported. Inducible expression of human β-defensin-2 (HBD-2) has been described in various epithelial organs but not for the urogenital tract. METHODS: We investigated the gene- and protein expression of HBD-1 and HBD-2 by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry in 15 normal human kidney samples and 15 renal tissues with chronic bacterial infection. Additionally, cell culture experiments were performed to study HBD gene expression by real-time RT-PCR in response to inflammatory cytokines TNFα and IL-1β as well as lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria. RESULTS: Constitutive HBD-1 gene- and protein expression was detected in normal renal tissue and kidneys with chronic infection. As a novel finding, inducible HBD-2 gene- and protein expression was demonstrated in tubulus epithelia with chronic infection but not in normal renal tissue. In pyelonephritic kidneys HBD-1 and HBD-2 expression showed a similar pattern of localizaton in distal tubules, loops of Henle and in collecting ducts of the kidney. Furthermore, real-time RT-PCR of kidney derived cell lines stimulated with inflammatory agents TNF-α, IL-1β and LPS revealed a strong increase in relative HBD-2 transcription level and also a slight increase in relative HBD-1 transcription level. CONCLUSIONS: Upregulated HBD-2 expression in renal tubulus epithelium indicates a role of a wider range of human defensins for antimicrobial host defense in the urogenital tract than previously recognized