6,839 research outputs found
Scalar dark energy models mimicking CDM with arbitrary future evolution
Dark energy models with various scenarios of evolution are considered from
the viewpoint of the formalism for the equation of state. It is shown that
these models are compatible with current astronomical data. Some of the models
presented here evolve arbitrarily close to CDM up to the present, but
diverge in the future into a number of different possible asymptotic states,
including asymptotic de-Sitter (pseudo-rip) evolution, little rips with
disintegration of bound structures, and various forms of finite-time future
singularities. Therefore it is impossible from observational data to determine
whether the universe will end in a future singularity or not. We demonstrate
that the models under consideration are stable for a long period of time
(billions of years) before entering a Little Rip/Pseudo-Rip induced dissolution
of bound structures or before entering a soft finite-time future singularity.
Finally, the physical consequences of Little Rip, Type II, III and Big Crush
singularities are briefly compared.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, version to appear in Physics Letters
Gastroduodenal injury after radioembolization of hepatic tumors
Radioembolization is a new tool for the treatment of hepatic tumors
that consists in the injection of biocompatible microspheres carrying
radioisotopes into the hepatic artery or its branches. METHODS: We have performed
radioembolization in 78 patients with hepatic tumors using resin-based
microspheres loaded with yttrium-90. All patients were previously evaluated to
minimize the risk of hazardous irradiation to nontarget organs and to obtain the
data needed for dose calculation. RESULTS: We report a complication found in
three cases (3.8%) that consists of abdominal pain resulting from gastroduodenal
lesions and that had a chronic, insidious course. Microscopically, microspheres
were detected in the specimens obtained from all affected gastric areas. Since
these gastroduodenal lesions do not appear when nonradiating microspheres are
injected in animals, lesions are likely to be due to radiation and not to an
ischemic effect of vascular occlusion by spheres. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that a
pretreatment evaluation that includes a more thorough scrutiny of the hepatic
vascularization in search of small collaterals connecting to the gastroduodenal
tract can help prevent this awkward complicatio
Myostatin Is Elevated in Congenital Heart Disease and After Mechanical Unloading
Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass whose activity is upregulated in adult heart failure (HF); however, its role in congenital heart disease (CHD) is unknown.We studied myostatin and IGF-1 expression via Western blot in cardiac tissue at varying degrees of myocardial dysfunction and after biventricular support in CHD by collecting myocardial biopsies from four patient cohorts: A) adult subjects with no known cardiopulmonary disease (left ventricle, LV), (Adult Normal), (n = 5); B) pediatric subjects undergoing congenital cardiac surgery with normal RV size and function (right ventricular outflow tract, RVOT), (n = 3); C) pediatric subjects with worsening but hemodynamically stable LV failure [LV and right ventricle (LV, RV,)] with biopsy collected at the time of orthotopic heart transplant (OHT), (n = 7); and D) pediatric subjects with decompensated bi-ventricular failure on BiVAD support with biopsy collected at OHT (LV, RV, BiVAD), (n = 3).The duration of HF was longest in OHT patients compared to BIVAD. The duration of BiVAD support was 4.3±1.9 days. Myostatin expression was significantly increased in LV-OHT compared to RV-OHT and RVOT, and was increased more than double in decompensated biventricular HF (BiVAD) compared to both OHT and RVOT. An increased myostatin/IGF-1 ratio was associated with ventricular dysfunction.Myostatin expression in increased in CHD, and the myostatin/IGF-1 ratio increases as ventricular function deteriorates. Future investigation is necessary to determine if restoration of the physiologic myostatin/IGF-1 ratio has therapeutic potential in HF
Reconstruction of the equation of state for the cyclic universes in homogeneous and isotropic cosmology
We study the cosmological evolutions of the equation of state (EoS) for the
universe in the homogeneous and isotropic
Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) space-time. In particular, we
reconstruct the cyclic universes by using the Weierstrass and Jacobian elliptic
functions. It is explicitly illustrated that in several models the universe
always stays in the non-phantom (quintessence) phase, whereas there also exist
models in which the crossing of the phantom divide can be realized in the
reconstructed cyclic universes.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, version accepted for publication in Central
European Journal of Physic
Alcohol consumption and body composition in a population-based sample of elderly Australian men
Background: Alcohol is calorie dense, and impacts activity, appetite and lipid processing. The aim of this study was to therefore investigate the association between alcohol consumption and components of body composition including bone, fat and lean tissue.Methods: Participants were recruited from a randomly selected, population-based sample of 534 men aged 65 years and older enrolled in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Alcohol intake was ascertained using a food frequency questionnaire and the sample categorised as nondrinkers or alcohol users who consumed B2, 3–4 or C5 standard drinks on a usual drinking day. Bone mineral density (BMD), lean body mass and body fat mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; overall adiposity (%body fat), central adiposity (%truncal fat) and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. Bone quality was determined by quantitative heel ultrasound (QUS).Results: There were 90 current non-drinkers (16.9 %), 266 (49.8 %) consumed 1–2 drinks/day, 104 (19.5 %) 3–4 drinks/day and 74 (13.8 %) C5 drinks/day. Those consuming C5 drinks/day had greater BMI (?4.8 %), fat mass index (?20.1 %), waist circumference (?5.0 %), %body fat (?15.2 %) and proportion of trunk fat (?5.3 %) and lower lean mass (-5.0 %) than non-drinkers after adjustment for demographic and lifestyle factors. Furthermore, they were more likely to be obese than non-drinkers according to criteria based on BMI (OR = 2.83, 95 %CI 1.10–7.29) or waist circumference (OR = 3.36, 95 %CI 1.32–8.54). There was an inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and QUS parameters and BMD at the mid forearm site; no differences were detected for BMD at other skeletal sites.Conclusion: Higher alcohol intake was associated with greater total and central adiposity and reduced bone quality.<br /
Purification and immobilization of engineered glucose dehydrogenase: A new approach to producing gluconic acid from breadwaste
Background Platform chemicals are essential to industrial processes. Used as starting materials for the manufacture of diverse products, their cheap availability and efficient sourcing are an industrial requirement. Increasing concerns about the depletion of natural resources and growing environmental consciousness have led to a focus on the economics and ecological viability of bio-based platform chemical production. Contemporary approaches include the use of immobilized enzymes that can be harnessed to produce high-value chemicals from waste. Results In this study, an engineered glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) was optimized for gluconic acid (GA) production. Sulfolobus solfataricus GDH was expressed in Escherichia coli. The Km and Vmax values for recombinant GDH were calculated as 0.87 mM and 5.91 U/mg, respectively. Recombinant GDH was immobilized on a hierarchically porous silica support (MM-SBA-15) and its activity was compared with GDH immobilized on three commercially available supports. MM-SBA-15 showed significantly higher immobilization efficiency (> 98%) than the commercial supports. After 5 cycles, GDH activity was at least 14% greater than the remaining activity on commercial supports. Glucose in bread waste hydrolysate was converted to GA by free-state and immobilized GDH. After the 10th reuse cycle on MM-SBA-15, a 22% conversion yield was observed, generating 25 gGA/gGDH. The highest GA production efficiency was 47 gGA/gGDH using free-state GDH. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of enzymatically converting BWH to GA: immobilizing GDH on MM-SBA-15 renders the enzyme more stable and permits its multiple reuse
Screening of cosmological constant for De Sitter Universe in non-local gravity, phantom-divide crossing and finite-time future singularities
We investigate de Sitter solutions in non-local gravity as well as in
non-local gravity with Lagrange constraint multiplier. We examine a condition
to avoid a ghost and discuss a screening scenario for a cosmological constant
in de Sitter solutions. Furthermore, we explicitly demonstrate that three types
of the finite-time future singularities can occur in non-local gravity and
explore their properties. In addition, we evaluate the effective equation of
state for the universe and show that the late-time accelerating universe may be
effectively the quintessence, cosmological constant or phantom-like phases. In
particular, it is found that there is a case in which a crossing of the phantom
divide from the non-phantom (quintessence) phase to the phantom one can be
realized when a finite-time future singularity occurs. Moreover, it is
demonstrated that the addition of an term can cure the finite-time future
singularities in non-local gravity. It is also suggested that in the framework
of non-local gravity, adding an term leads to possible unification of the
early-time inflation with the late-time cosmic acceleration.Comment: 42 pages, no figure, version accepted for publication in General
Relativity and Gravitatio
Preclinical and randomized phase I studies of plitidepsin in adults hospitalized with COVID-19
Plitidepsin, a marine-derived cyclic-peptide, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication at nanomolar concentrations by targeting the host protein eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A. Here, we show that plitidepsin distributes preferentially to lung over plasma, with similar potency against across several SARS-CoV-2 variants in preclinical studies. Simultaneously, in this randomized, parallel, open-label, proof-of-concept study (NCT04382066) conducted in 10 Spanish hospitals between May and November 2020, 46 adult hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection received either 1.5 mg (n = 15), 2.0 mg (n = 16), or 2.5 mg (n = 15) plitidepsin once daily for 3 d. The primary objective was safety; viral load kinetics, mortality, need for increased respiratory support, and dose selection were secondary end points. One patient withdrew consent before starting procedures; 45 initiated treatment; one withdrew because of hypersensitivity. Two Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events were observed (hypersensitivity and diarrhea). Treatment-related adverse events affecting more than 5% of patients were nausea (42.2%), vomiting (15.6%), and diarrhea (6.7%). Mean viral load reductions from baseline were 1.35, 2.35, 3.25, and 3.85 log10 at days 4, 7, 15, and 31. Nonmechanical invasive ventilation was required in 8 of 44 evaluable patients (16.0%); six patients required intensive care support (13.6%), and three patients (6.7%) died (COVID-19-related). Plitidepsin has a favorable safety profile in patients with COVID-19
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