397 research outputs found
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Ab initio alpha-alpha scattering
Processes involving alpha particles and alpha-like nuclei comprise a major
part of stellar nucleosynthesis and hypothesized mechanisms for thermonuclear
supernovae. In an effort towards understanding alpha processes from first
principles, we describe in this letter the first ab initio calculation of
alpha-alpha scattering. We use lattice effective field theory to describe the
low-energy interactions of nucleons and apply a technique called the adiabatic
projection method to reduce the eight-body system to an effective two-cluster
system. We find good agreement between lattice results and experimental phase
shifts for S-wave and D-wave scattering. The computational scaling with
particle number suggests that alpha processes involving heavier nuclei are also
within reach in the near future.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Increased chromosomal radiosensitivity in asymptomatic carriers of a heterozygous BRCA1 mutation
Background: Breast cancer risk increases drastically in individuals carrying a germline BRCA1 mutation. The exposure to ionizing radiation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes of BRCA1 mutation carriers is counterintuitive, since BRCA1 is active in the DNA damage response pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate whether healthy BRCA1 mutations carriers demonstrate an increased radiosensitivity compared with healthy individuals.
Methods: We defined a novel radiosensitivity indicator (RIND) based on two endpoints measured by the G2 micronucleus assay, reflecting defects in DNA repair and G2 arrest capacity after exposure to doses of 2 or 4 Gy. We investigated if a correlation between the RIND score and nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) could be established.
Results: We found significantly increased radiosensitivity in the cohort of healthy BRCA1 mutation carriers compared with healthy controls. In addition, our analysis showed a significantly different distribution over the RIND scores (p = 0.034, Fisher’s exact test) for healthy BRCA1 mutation carriers compared with non-carriers: 72 % of mutation carriers showed a radiosensitive phenotype (RIND score 1–4), whereas 72 % of the healthy volunteers showed no radiosensitivity (RIND score 0). Furthermore, 28 % of BRCA1 mutation carriers had a RIND score of 3 or 4 (not observed in control subjects). The radiosensitive phenotype was similar for relatives within several families, but not for unrelated individuals carrying the same mutation. The median RIND score was higher in patients with a mutation leading to a premature termination codon (PTC) located in the central part of the gene than in patients with a germline mutation in the 5′ end of the gene.
Conclusions: We show that BRCA1 mutations are associated with a radiosensitive phenotype related to a compromised DNA repair and G2 arrest capacity after exposure to either 2 or 4 Gy. Our study confirms that haploinsufficiency is the mechanism involved in radiosensitivity in patients with a PTC allele, but it suggests that further research is needed to evaluate alternative mechanisms for mutations not subjected to NMD
The impact of the Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism on survival in the general population – the HUNT study
Stationary Black Holes: Uniqueness and Beyond
The spectrum of known black-hole solutions to the stationary Einstein
equations has been steadily increasing, sometimes in unexpected ways. In
particular, it has turned out that not all black-hole-equilibrium
configurations are characterized by their mass, angular momentum and global
charges. Moreover, the high degree of symmetry displayed by vacuum and
electro-vacuum black-hole spacetimes ceases to exist in self-gravitating
non-linear field theories. This text aims to review some developments in the
subject and to discuss them in light of the uniqueness theorem for the
Einstein-Maxwell system.Comment: Major update of the original version by Markus Heusler from 1998.
Piotr T. Chru\'sciel and Jo\~ao Lopes Costa succeeded to this review's
authorship. Significantly restructured and updated all sections; changes are
too numerous to be usefully described here. The number of references
increased from 186 to 32
Fish under exercise
Improved knowledge on the swimming physiology of fish and its application to fisheries science and aquaculture (i.e., farming a fitter fish) is currently needed in the face of global environmental changes, high fishing pressures, increased aquaculture production as well as increased concern on fish well-being. Here, we review existing data on teleost fish that indicate that sustained exercise at optimal speeds enhances muscle growth and has consequences for flesh quality. Potential added benefits of sustained exercise may be delay of ovarian development and stimulation of immune status. Exercise could represent a natural, noninvasive, and economical approach to improve growth, flesh quality as well as welfare of aquacultured fish: a FitFish for a healthy consumer. All these issues are important for setting directions for policy decisions and future studies in this area. For this purpose, the FitFish workshop on the Swimming Physiology of Fish (http://www.ub.edu/fitfish2010) was organized to bring together a multidisciplinary group of scientists using exercise models, industrial partners, and policy makers. Sixteen international experts from Europe, North America, and Japan were invited to present their work and view on migration of fishes in their natural environment, beneficial effects of exercise, and applications for sustainable aquaculture. Eighty-eight participants from 19 different countries contributed through a poster session and round table discussion. Eight papers from invited speakers at the workshop have been contributed to this special issue on The Swimming Physiology of Fish
How do parents of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) perceive their therapies?
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies are commonly used by pediatric patients with chronic medical conditions. Little is known about parents' perceptions of these therapies. This study describes the views of parents of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) regarding conventional and CAM therapies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Parents of children with JIA seen at a pediatric rheumatology clinic were surveyed between June 1 and July 31, 2007. Questionnaires asked about patients' use of over 75 therapies in the past 30 days, their perceived helpfulness (0 = not helpful; 3 = very helpful), perceived side effects (0 = none; 3 = severe), and whether each therapy would be recommended to other patients with JIA (Yes, No, Not sure).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Questionnaires were returned by 52/76 (68%) parents; patients' average age was 10.9 years and 87% were Caucasian. Medications were used by 45 (88%) patients; heat (67%) and extra rest (54%) were also commonly used. CAM therapies were used by 48 (92%), e.g., massage (54%), vitamins and other supplements (54%), avoiding foods that worsened pain (35%) and stress management techniques (33%). Among the therapies rated by 3 or more parents, those that scored 2.5 or higher on helpfulness were: biologic medications, methotrexate, naproxen, wheelchairs, orthotics, heat, vitamins C and D, music, support groups and prayer. CAM therapies had 0 median side effects and parents would recommend many of them to other families.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>JIA patients use diverse therapies. Parents report that many CAM therapies are helpful and would recommend them to other parents. These data can be used in counseling patients and guiding future research.</p
The Farsi version of the Hypomania Check-List 32 (HCL-32): Applicability and indication of a four-factorial solution
Background: Data from the Iranian population for hypomania core symptom clusters are lacking. The aim of the present study was therefore to apply the Farsi version of the Hypomania-Check-List 32 (HCL-32), and to explore its factorial structure.Methods: A total of 163 Iranian out-patients took part in the study; 61 suffered from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and 102 suffered from Bipolar Disorders (BP). Participants completed the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and the Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32). Exploratory factor analyses were used to examine the properties of the HCL-32. A ROC-curve analysis was performed to calculate sensitivity and specificity.Results: The HCL-32 differentiated between patients with MDD and with BP. Psychometric properties were satisfactory: sensitivity: 73; specificity: 91. MDQ and HCL-32 did correlate highly. No differences were found between patients suffering from BP I and BP II.Discussion: Instead of the two-factorial structure of the HCL-32 reported previously, the present pattern of factorial results suggest a distinction between four factors: two broadly positive dimensions of hypomania ("physically and mentally active"; "positive social interactions") and two rather negative dimensions ("risky behavior and substance use"; "difficulties in social interaction and impatience").Conclusion: The Farsi version of the HCL-32 proved to be applicable, and therefore easy to introduce within a clinical context. The pattern of results suggests a four factorial solution. © 2011 Haghighi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
Photoactivatable drugs for nicotinic optopharmacology
Photoactivatable pharmacological agents have revolutionized neuroscience, but the palette of available compounds is limited. We describe a general method for caging tertiary amines by using a stable quaternary ammonium linkage that elicits a red shift in the activation wavelength. We prepared a photoactivatable nicotine (PA-Nic), uncageable via one- or two-photon excitation, that is useful to study nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in different experimental preparations and spatiotemporal scales
Phenytoin versus Leviteracetam for seizure prophylaxis after brain injury - A meta analysis
Background: Current standard therapy for seizure prophylaxis in Neuro-surgical patients involves the use of Phenytoin (PHY). However, a new drug Levetiracetam (LEV) is emerging as an alternate treatment choice. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to compare these two drugs in patients with brain injury.Methods: An electronic search was performed in using Pubmed, Embase, and CENTRAL. We included studies that compared the use of LEV vs. PHY for seizure prophylaxis for brain injured patients (Traumatic brain injury, intracranial hemorrhage, intracranial neoplasms, and craniotomy). Data of all eligible studies was extracted on to a standardized abstraction sheet. Data about baseline population characteristics, type of intervention, study design and outcome was extracted. Our primary outcome was seizures.Results: The literature search identified 2489 unduplicated papers. Of these 2456 papers were excluded by reading the abstracts and titles. Another 25 papers were excluded after reading their complete text. We selected 8 papers which comprised of 2 RCTs and 6 observational studies. The pooled estimate\u27s Odds Ratio 1.12 (95% CI = 0.34, 3.64) demonstrated no superiority of either drug at preventing the occurrence of early seizures. In a subset analysis of studies in which follow up for seizures lasted either 3 or 7 days, the effect estimate remained insignificant with an odds ratio of 0.96 (95% CI = 0.34, 2.76). Similarly, 2 trials reporting seizure incidence at 6 months also had insignificant pooled results while comparing drug efficacy. The pooled odds ratio was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.24, 3.79).Conclusions: Levetiracetam and Phenytoin demonstrate equal efficacy in seizure prevention after brain injury. However, very few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the subject were found. Further evidence through a high quality RCT is highly recommended
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