2,624 research outputs found
Serum inhibin B as a marker of spermatogenesis
Inhibin B is produced by Sertoli cells, provides negative feedback on FSH
secretion, and may prove to be an important marker for the functioning of
seminiferous tubules. The purpose of the present study was to examine the
relationship between the spermatogenic function of the testis of
subfertile men and the plasma concentrations of inhibin B and FSH. These
parameters were estimated in a group of 218 subfertile men. Serum inhibin
B levels were closely correlated with the serum FSH levels (r = -0.78, P <
0.001), confirming the role of inhibin B as feedback signal for FSH
production. The spermatogenic function of the testis was evaluated by
determining testicular volume and total sperm count. Inhibin B levels were
significantly correlated with the total sperm count and testicular volume
(r = 0.54 and r = 0.63, respectively; P < 0.001). Testicular biopsies were
obtained in 22 of these men. Inhibin B was significantly correlated with
the biopsy score (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic
analysis revealed a diagnostic accuracy of 95% for differentiating
competent from impaired spermatogenesis for inhibin B, whereas for FSH, a
value of 80% was found. We conclude that inhibin B is the best available
endocrine marker of spermatogenesis in subfertile men
Universality of Shot-Noise in Multiterminal Diffusive Conductors
We prove the universality of shot-noise in multiterminal diffusive conductors
of arbitrary shape and dimension for purely elastic scattering as well as for
hot electrons. Using a Boltzmann-Langevin approach we reduce the calculation of
shot-noise correlators to the solution of a diffusion equation. We show that
shot-noise in multiterminal conductors is a non-local quantity and that
exchange effects can occur without quantum phase coherence even at zero
electron temperature. Concrete numbers for shot-noise are given that can be
tested experimentally.Comment: 4 double-column pages, REVTeX, 1 eps figure embedded with eps
Shot-noise suppression by Fermi and Coulomb correlations in ballistic conductors
We investigate the injection of degenerate Fermi-Dirac electrons into a
multimode ballistic conductor under the space-charge limited regime. The
nonequilibrium current fluctuations were found to be suppressed by both Coulomb
and Fermi correlations. We show that the Fermi shot-noise suppression factor is
limited below by the value 2kT/epsilon_F, where T is the temperature and
epsilon_F the Fermi energy of the injected electrons. The Coulomb noise
suppression factor may attain much lower values epsilon_F/2qU, because of its
dependence on the applied bias U >> kT/q. The asymptotic behaviour of the
overall shot-noise suppression factor in a high degenerate limit was found to
be kT/qU, independently of the material parameters.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, minor changes, published versio
Quantum-Statistical Current Correlations in Multi-Lead Chaotic Cavities
Quantum mechanics requires that identical particles are treated as
indistinguishable. This requirement leads to correlations in the fluctuating
properties of a system. Theoretical predictions are made for an experiment on a
multi-lead chaotic quantum dot which can identify exchange effects in
electronic current-current correlations. Interestingly, we find that the
ensemble averaged exchange effects are of the order of the channel number, and
are insensitive to dephasing.Comment: 4 pages REVTEX, including two figure
Effects of Electron-Electron Scattering on Electron-Beam Propagation in a Two-Dimensional Electron-Gas
We have studied experimentally and theoretically the influence of
electron-electron collisions on the propagation of electron beams in a
two-dimensional electron gas for excess injection energies ranging from zero up
to the Fermi energy. We find that the detector signal consists of
quasiballistic electrons, which either have not undergone any electron-electron
collisions or have only been scattered at small angles. Theoretically, the
small-angle scattering exhibits distinct features that can be traced back to
the reduced dimensionality of the electron system. A number of nonlinear
effects, also related to the two-dimensional character of the system, are
discussed. In the simplest situation, the heating of the electron gas by the
high-energy part of the beam leads to a weakening of the signal of
quasiballistic electrons and to the appearance of thermovoltage. This results
in a nonmonotonic dependence of the detector signal on the intensity of the
injected beam, as observed experimentally.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Analysis of host responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in a multi-site study of subjects with different TB and HIV infection states in sub-Saharan Africa.
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health threat with 9 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths per year. In order to develop a protective vaccine, we need to define the antigens expressed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which are relevant to protective immunity in high-endemic areas. METHODS: We analysed responses to 23 Mtb antigens in a total of 1247 subjects with different HIV and TB status across 5 geographically diverse sites in Africa (South Africa, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda). We used a 7-day whole blood assay followed by IFN-Îł ELISA on the supernatants. Antigens included PPD, ESAT-6 and Ag85B (dominant antigens) together with novel resuscitation-promoting factors (rpf), reactivation proteins, latency (Mtb DosR regulon-encoded) antigens, starvation-induced antigens and secreted antigens. RESULTS: There was variation between sites in responses to the antigens, presumably due to underlying genetic and environmental differences. When results from all sites were combined, HIV- subjects with active TB showed significantly lower responses compared to both TST(-) and TST(+) contacts to latency antigens (Rv0569, Rv1733, Rv1735, Rv1737) and the rpf Rv0867; whilst responses to ESAT-6/CFP-10 fusion protein (EC), PPD, Rv2029, TB10.3, and TB10.4 were significantly higher in TST(+) contacts (LTBI) compared to TB and TST(-) contacts fewer differences were seen in subjects with HIV co-infection, with responses to the mitogen PHA significantly lower in subjects with active TB compared to those with LTBI and no difference with any antigen. CONCLUSIONS: Our multi-site study design for testing novel Mtb antigens revealed promising antigens for future vaccine development. The IFN-Îł ELISA is a cheap and useful tool for screening potential antigenicity in subjects with different ethnic backgrounds and across a spectrum of TB and HIV infection states. Analysis of cytokines other than IFN-Îł is currently on-going to determine correlates of protection, which may be useful for vaccine efficacy trials
The astrometric data reduction software (ADRS) and error budget for PRIMA
The Astrometric Data-Reduction Software (ADRS) processes fringe, delay, environmental, and calibration data for PRIMA narrow-angle astrometry. It is automated software designed to provide fully-calibrated differential delays and separation angles. The ADRS is divided into on-line and off-line processing. The former deals with calibration and data compression, while the latter applies corrections and calculates science quantities. PRIMA is the first VLTI instrument that may require removal of long-term environmental trends. The trend identification and fitting routines are not part of the distributed on-line and off-line processing software. Instead, files containing fit parameters will be updated regularly. Coding is presently underway. The PRIMA error budget summarizes the principal sources of error in PRIMA astrometric observation
“SPLIT” Pancreaticojejunostomy in the Surgical Treatment of Chronic Pancreatitis
“Split” pancreaticojejunostomy is a procedure consisting of vertical transection of the pancreas
and anastomosis of both sides of the cut pancreatic duct with an interposed, Roux-en-Y jejunal
loop. In this paper we report the long term results of this procedure in the treatment of eight
patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP)
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