2,734 research outputs found
Workplace Wellness Programs: Are They Part of the Answer to the U.S.âs Growing Healthcare Crisis?
[Excerpt] Of the $2.8 trillion that the United States has spent on healthcare in recent years, the majority of it (75%) is spent treating chronic disease. Chronic disease is âa long-standing condition that can be controlled but not cured⊠It is the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S., which is 1.7 million lives each year.â To make matters worse, chronic disease indicators in the U.S. have been on the increase recently. And, even though chronic disease is commonly thought to be more prevalent among the elderly, in the past 10 years, it has increased by 25% among working-age adults. The cost of chronic disease to the U.S. economy far exceeds the money and resources spent to treat it. In fact, a study by the Milken Institute found that the indirect costs of chronic diseases (such as missed days from work) are higher than the direct costs to treat them. Furthermore, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that these indirect costs are four times higher for individuals with chronic disease than for those without them. Therefore, chronic disease is strongly affecting employersâ increasing healthcare expenditure. A joint study by Tower Watson and the National Business Group on Health found that 67% of employers identified employeeâs poor health habits as one of their top three challenges to maintain affordable health coverage
Carcinoma da mama de tipo basal
Breast cancer presents as a heterogeneous disease, not only for the clinic and histology,
but also in genetic expression profile. Studies using cDNA microarrays have recently led
to the re-classification of invasive breast carcinomas, based on their molecular signature,
into three main groups: luminal; HER2 (Human Epidermal Receptor 2) overexpressing,
and basal-like. Although the latter group is the least prevalent it is the most agressive
one, lacking a target based therapy, since their main characteristic is being negative for
hormonal receptors or HER2. So, it is of paramount importance to try to unravel their
histogenic origin and characterize their molecular and immunohistochemical profiles. EGFR
(Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor), which is overexpressed in a high proportion of these
carcinomas, is a potential therapeutic target, and clinical trials with inhibitors of its activity
may represent important advances in basal-like breast carcinomas therapy.O cancro da mama apresenta-se como uma doença heterogĂ©nea, nĂŁo sĂł clĂnica e
histologicamente, como também no seu perfil de expressão genética. A avaliação por
cDNA microarrays permitiu re-classificar recentemente os carcinomas da mama invasivos,
de acordo com uma assinatura molecular, em trĂȘs grandes grupos: luminal; com sobre-
expressĂŁo de HER2 (Human Epidermal Receptor 2 â receptor epidĂ©rmico humano 2) e o de
tipo basal. Este Ășltimo Ă© dos trĂȘs o menos prevalente mas o mais agressivo e aquele que
nĂŁo possui tratamento dirigido, uma vez que nĂŁo expressa receptores hormonais ou HER2,
que sĂŁo actuais alvos terapĂȘuticos no cancro da mama. Os carcinomas da mama de tipo
basal tĂȘm sido tema de vĂĄrios trabalhos de investigação que visam conhecer a sua origem
histogenética, bem como a sua caracterização do ponto de vista molecular e
imunohistoquĂmico. O EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor â receptor do factor de
crescimento epidérmico), que se encontra sobre-expresso numa elevada percentagem
destes carcinomas, Ă© um potencial alvo terapĂȘutico, e ensaios clĂnicos utilizando fĂĄrmacos
inibidores da sua actividade podem representar importantes avanços na terapia dirigida
dos carcinomas da mama de tipo basal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Caveolin 1 is overexpressed and amplified in a subset of basal-like and metaplastic breast carcinomas: a morphologic, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and in situ hybridization analysis
The distribution and significance of caveolin 1 (CAV1) expression in different breast cell types and role in breast carcinogenesis remain poorly understood. Both tumor-suppressive and oncogenic roles have been proposed for this protein. The aims of this study were to characterize the distribution of CAV1 in normal breast, benign breast lesions, breast cancer precursors, and metaplastic breast carcinomas; to assess the prognostic significance of CAV1 expression in invasive breast carcinomas; and to define whether CAV1 gene amplification is the underlying genetic mechanism driving CAV1 overexpression in breast carcinomas. Purpose: The distribution and significance of caveolin 1 (CAV1) expression in different breast cell types and role in breast carcinogenesis remain poorly understood. Both tumor-suppressive and oncogenic roles have been proposed for this protein. The aims of this study were to characterize the distribution of CAV1 in normal breast, benign breast lesions, breast cancer precursors, and metaplastic breast carcinomas; to assess the prognostic significance of CAV1 expression in invasive breast carcinomas; and to define whether CAV1 gene amplification is the underlying genetic mechanism driving CAV1 overexpression in breast carcinomas.
Experimental Design: CAV1 distribution in frozen and paraffin-embedded whole tissue sections of normal breast was evaluated using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy. CAV1 expression was immunohistochemically analyzed in benign lesions, breast cancer precursors, and metaplastic breast carcinomas and in a cohort of 245 invasive breast carcinomas from patients treated with surgery followed by anthracycline-based chemotherapy. In 25 cases, CAV1 gene amplification was assessed by chromogenic in situ hybridization.
Results: In normal breast, CAV1 was expressed in myoepithelial cells, endothelial cells, and a subset of fibroblasts. Luminal epithelial cells showed negligible staining. CAV1 was expressed in 90% of 39 metaplastic breast carcinomas and in 9.4% of 245 invasive breast cancers. In the later cohort, CAV1 expression was significantly associated with âbasal-likeâ immunophenotype and with shorter disease-free and overall survival on univariate analysis. CAV1 gene amplification was found in 13% of cases with strong CAV1 expression.
Conclusions: The concurrent CAV1 amplification and overexpression call into question its tumor-suppressive effects in basal-like breast carcinomas
Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the
distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies
eV. These show a correlation with the distribution
of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the
direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at
are heavy nuclei with charge , the proton component of the
sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies . We here
report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above
(for illustrative values of ). If the anisotropies
above are due to nuclei with charge , and under reasonable
assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent
constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies
Influenza vaccination coverage among medical residents: An Italian multicenter survey
Although influenza vaccination is recognized to be safe and effective, recent studies have confirmed that immunization coverage among health care workers remain generally low, especially among medical residents (MRs). Aim of the present multicenter study was to investigate attitudes and determinants associated with acceptance of influenza vaccination among Italian MRs. A survey was performed in 2012 on MRs attending post-graduate schools of 18 Italian Universities. Each participant was interviewed via an anonymous, self-administered, web-based questionnaire including questions on attitudes regarding influenza vaccination. A total of 2506 MRs were recruited in the survey and 299 (11.9%) of these stated they had accepted influenza vaccination in 2011-2012 season. Vaccinated MRs were older (P = 0.006), working in clinical settings (P = 0.048), and vaccinated in the 2 previous seasons (P < 0.001 in both seasons). Moreover, MRs who had recommended influenza vaccination to their patients were significantly more compliant with influenza vaccination uptake in 2011-2012 season (P < 0.001). "To avoid spreading influenza among patients" was recognized as the main reason for accepting vaccination by less than 15% of vaccinated MRs. Italian MRs seem to have a very low compliance with influenza vaccination and they seem to accept influenza vaccination as a habit that is unrelated to professional and ethical responsibility. Otherwise, residents who refuse vaccination in the previous seasons usually maintain their behaviors. Promoting correct attitudes and good practice in order to improve the influenza immunization rates of MRs could represent a decisive goal for increasing immunization coverage among health care workers of the future. © 2014 Landes Bioscience
Quantum numbers of the state and orbital angular momentum in its decay
Angular correlations in decays, with , and , are used to measure
orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the value of
the meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0
fb of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This
determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the
orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be .
The is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit
of at C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper presents measurements of the and cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a
function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were
collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with
the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity
of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements
varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the
1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured
with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with
predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various
parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between
them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables,
submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at
https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13
Further characterization of agmatine binding to mitochondrial membranes: involvement of imidazoline I2 receptor.
Agmatine, a divalent diamine with two positive charges at physiological pH, is transported into the matrix of liver mitochondria by an energy-dependent mechanism, the driving force of which is the electrical membrane potential. Its binding to mitochondrial membranes is studied by applying a thermodynamic treatment of ligand-receptor interactions on the analyses of Scatchard and Hill. The presence of two mono-coordinated binding sites S(1) and S(2), with a negative influence of S(2) on S(1), has been demonstrated. The calculated binding energy is characteristic for weak interactions. S(1) exhibits a lower binding capacity and higher binding affinity both of about two orders of magnitude than S(2). Experiments with idazoxan, a ligand of the mitochondrial imidazoline receptor I(2), demonstrate that S(1) site is localized on this receptor while S(2) is localized on the transport system. S(1) would act as a sensor of exogenous agmatine concentration, thus modulating the transport of the amine by its binding to S(2)
Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in âs=13âTeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of âs=13ââTeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139ââfbâ1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015â2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV
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