378 research outputs found
Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and biliary drainage after liver transplantation: A five-year experience
Evaluation of the biliary tract by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) is often required in liver transplant patients with an abnormal postoperative course. Indications for PTC include failure of liver enzyme levels to return to normal postoperatively, an elevation of serum bilirubin or liver enzyme levels, suspected bile leak, biliary obstructive symptoms, cholangitis, and sepsis. Over a 5-year period 625 liver transplants in 477 patients were performed at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh. Fifty-three patients (56 transplants) underwent 70 PTCs. Complications diagnosed by PTC included biliary strictures, bile leaks, bilomas, liver abscesses, stones, and problems associated with internal biliary stents. Thirty-two percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage procedures were performed. Ten transplantation patients underwent balloon dilatation of postoperative biliary strictures. Interventional radiologic techniques were important in treating other complications and avoiding additional surgery in many of these patients. Š 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc
Is Aquatic Life Correlated with an Increased Hematocrit in Snakes?
Background: Physiological adaptations that allow air-breathing vertebrates to remain underwater for long periods mainly involve modifications of the respiratory system, essentially through increased oxygen reserves. Physiological constraints on dive duration tend to be less critical for ectotherms than for endotherms because the former have lower mass-specific metabolic rates. Moreover, comparative studies between marine and terrestrial ectotherms have yet to show overall distinct physiological differences specifically associated with oxygen reserves. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used phylogenetically informed statistical models to test if habitat affects hematocrit (an indicator of blood oxygen stores) in snakes, a lineage that varies widely in habitat use. Our results indicate that both phylogenetic position (clade) and especially habitat are significant predictors of hematocrit. Our analysis also confirms the peculiar respiratory physiology of the marine Acrochordus granulatus. Conclusion/Significance: Contrary to previous findings, marine snakes have significantlyâalbeit slightlyâelevated hematocrit, which should facilitate increased aerobic dive times. Longer dives could have consequences for foraging, mate searching, and predation risks. Alternatively, but not exclusively, increased Hct in marine species might also help t
Differential Localization and Independent Acquisition of the H3K9me2 and H3K9me3 Chromatin Modifications in the Caenorhabditis elegans Adult Germ Line
Histone methylation is a prominent feature of eukaryotic chromatin that modulates multiple aspects of chromosome function. Methyl modification can occur on several different amino acid residues and in distinct mono-, di-, and tri-methyl states. However, the interplay among these distinct modification states is not well understood. Here we investigate the relationships between dimethyl and trimethyl modifications on lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me2 and H3K9me3) in the adult Caenorhabditis elegans germ line. Simultaneous immunofluorescence reveals very different temporal/spatial localization patterns for H3K9me2 and H3K9me3. While H3K9me2 is enriched on unpaired sex chromosomes and undergoes dynamic changes as germ cells progress through meiotic prophase, we demonstrate here that H3K9me3 is not enriched on unpaired sex chromosomes and localizes to all chromosomes in all germ cells in adult hermaphrodites and until the primary spermatocyte stage in males. Moreover, high-copy transgene arrays carrying somatic-cell specific promoters are highly enriched for H3K9me3 (but not H3K9me2) and correlate with DAPI-faint chromatin domains. We further demonstrate that the H3K9me2 and H3K9me3 marks are acquired independently. MET-2, a member of the SETDB histone methyltransferase (HMTase) family, is required for all detectable germline H3K9me2 but is dispensable for H3K9me3 in adult germ cells. Conversely, we show that the HMTase MES-2, an E(z) homolog responsible for H3K27 methylation in adult germ cells, is required for much of the germline H3K9me3 but is dispensable for H3K9me2. Phenotypic analysis of met-2 mutants indicates that MET-2 is nonessential for fertility but inhibits ectopic germ cell proliferation and contributes to the fidelity of chromosome inheritance. Our demonstration of the differential localization and independent acquisition of H3K9me2 and H3K9me3 implies that the trimethyl modification of H3K9 is not built upon the dimethyl modification in this context. Further, these and other data support a model in which these two modifications function independently in adult C. elegans germ cells
Search for a New Heavy Gauge Boson Wprime with Electron + missing ET Event Signature in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a search for a new heavy charged vector boson decaying
to an electron-neutrino pair in collisions at a center-of-mass
energy of 1.96\unit{TeV}. The data were collected with the CDF II detector
and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.3\unit{fb}^{-1}. No
significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed and we set
upper limits on . Assuming standard
model couplings to fermions and the neutrino from the boson decay to
be light, we exclude a boson with mass less than
1.12\unit{TeV/}c^2 at the 95\unit{%} confidence level.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures Submitted to PR
Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay
We reconstruct the rare decays , , and in a data sample
corresponding to collected in collisions at
by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Using and decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report
the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon
forward-backward asymmetry in the and decay modes, and the
longitudinal polarization in the decay mode with respect to the squared
dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the
standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of
comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the {\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to
\phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}27 \pm 6B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Measurements of the properties of Lambda_c(2595), Lambda_c(2625), Sigma_c(2455), and Sigma_c(2520) baryons
We report measurements of the resonance properties of Lambda_c(2595)+ and
Lambda_c(2625)+ baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+ pi- as well as
Sigma_c(2455)++,0 and Sigma_c(2520)++,0 baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+
pi+/- final states. These measurements are performed using data corresponding
to 5.2/fb of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV,
collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Exploiting the
largest available charmed baryon sample, we measure masses and decay widths
with uncertainties comparable to the world averages for Sigma_c states, and
significantly smaller uncertainties than the world averages for excited
Lambda_c+ states.Comment: added one reference and one table, changed order of figures, 17
pages, 15 figure
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources
We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the
bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival
Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit
of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30
kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler
et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS
observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray
binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for
both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the
GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for
elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected
X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at
fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a
faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent
findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other
hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field
LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101
sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be
interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows
the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic
AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray
surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high
in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is
present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres
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