116 research outputs found
Inverse correlation between serum complement component C1q levels and whole blood type-1 interferon signature in active tuberculosis and QuantiFERON-positive uveitis: implications for diagnosis
Objectives
To examine the relation between serum C1q levels and blood type‐1 interferon signature (type‐1 IFN signature) in active pulmonary tuberculosis (APTB) and to determine whether combined measurement of serum C1q and type‐1 IFN signature may add to the diagnosis of QuantiFERON‐positive (QFT+) patients with uveitis of unknown cause.
Methods
C1q was determined (ELISA) in serum from two distinct Indonesian cohorts, and in total, APTB (n = 72), QFT+ uveitis of unknown aetiology (n = 58), QFT− uveitis (n = 51) patients and healthy controls (HC; n = 73) were included. The type‐1 IFN signature scores were previously determined.
Results
Serum C1q was higher in APTB than HC (P < 0.001). APTB patients with uveitis had higher serum C1q than APTB patients without uveitis (P = 0.0207). Serum C1q correlated inversely with type‐1 IFN signature scores in APTB (P = 0.0036, r2 = 0.3526), revealing that these biomarkers for active TB disease can be mutually exclusive. Stratification of QFT+ patients with uveitis of unknown cause, by serum C1q and type‐1 IFN signature, yielded four groups with different likelihood of suffering from active TB uveitis.
Conclusion
Serum C1q is elevated in APTB, e
MAP3K8 (TPL2/COT) Affects Obesity-Induced Adipose Tissue Inflammation without Systemic Effects in Humans and in Mice
Chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue often accompanies obesity, leading to insulin resistance and increasing the risk for metabolic diseases. MAP3K8 (TPL2/COT) is an important signal transductor and activator of pro-inflammatory pathways that has been linked to obesity-induced adipose tissue inflammation. We used human adipose tissue biopsies to study the relationship of MAP3K8 expression with markers of obesity and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8). Moreover, we evaluated obesity-induced adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance in mice lacking MAP3K8 and WT mice on a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks. Individuals with a BMI >30 displayed a higher mRNA expression of MAP3K8 in adipose tissue compared to individuals with a normal BMI. Additionally, high mRNA expression levels of IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8, but not TNF -a, in human adipose tissue were associated with higher expression of MAP3K8. Moreover, high plasma SAA and CRP did not associate with increased MAP3K8 expression in adipose tissue. Similarly, no association was found for MAP3K8 expression with plasma insulin or glucose levels. Mice lacking MAP3K8 had similar bodyweight gain as WT mice, yet displayed lower mRNA expression levels of IL-1ß, IL-6 and CXCL1 in adipose tissue in response to the HFD as compared to WT animals. However, MAP3K8 deficient mice were not protected against HFD-induced adipose tissue macrophage infiltration or the development of insulin resistance. Together, the data in both human and mouse show that MAP3K8 is involved in local adipose tissue inflammation, specifically for IL-1ß and its responsive cytokines IL-6 and IL-8, but does not seem to have systemic effects on insulin resistance
Complement Component C1q as Serum Biomarker to Detect Active Tuberculosis
Transplantation and autoimmunit
Denial of long-term issues with agriculture on tropical peatlands will have devastating consequences
Non peer reviewe
Target and double spin asymmetries of deeply virtual pi(0) production with a longitudinally polarized proton target and CLAS
The target and double spin asymmetries of the exclusive pseudoscalar channel
were measured for the first time in the
deep-inelastic regime using a longitudinally polarized 5.9 GeV electron beam
and a longitudinally polarized proton target at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF
Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). The data were collected over a large
kinematic phase space and divided into 110 four-dimensional bins of ,
, and . Large values of asymmetry moments clearly indicate a
substantial contribution to the polarized structure functions from transverse
virtual photon amplitudes. The interpretation of experimental data in terms of
generalized parton distributions (GPDs) provides the first insight on the
chiral-odd GPDs and , and complement previous measurements
of unpolarized structure functions sensitive to the GPDs and .
These data provide necessary constraints for chiral-odd GPD parametrizations
and will strongly influence existing theoretical handbag models
First measurement of the helicity asymmetry E in eta photoproduction on the proton
Results are presented for the first measurement of the double-polarization
helicity asymmetry E for the photoproduction reaction . Data were obtained using the FROzen Spin Target (FROST)
with the CLAS spectrometer in Hall B at Jefferson Lab, covering a range of
center-of-mass energy W from threshold to 2.15 GeV and a large range in
center-of-mass polar angle. As an initial application of these data, the
results have been incorporated into the J\"ulich model to examine the case for
the existence of a narrow resonance between 1.66 and 1.70 GeV. The
addition of these data to the world database results in marked changes in the
predictions for the E observable using that model. Further comparison with
several theoretical approaches indicates these data will significantly enhance
our understanding of nucleon resonances
Colorectal liver metastases: Surgery versus thermal ablation (COLLISION) - a phase III single-blind prospective randomized controlled trial
Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) are widely accepted techniques to eliminate small unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Although previous studies labelled thermal ablation inferior to surgical resection, the apparent selection bias when comparing patients with unresectable disease to surgical candidates, the superior safety profile, and the competitive overall survival results for the more recent reports mandate the setup of a randomized controlled trial. The objective of the COLLISION trial is to prove non-inferiority of thermal ablation compared to hepatic resection in patients with at least one resectable and ablatable CRLM and no extrahepatic disease. Methods: In this two-arm, single-blind multi-center phase-III clinical trial, six hundred and eighteen patients with at least one CRLM (≤3cm) will be included to undergo either surgical resection or thermal ablation of appointed target lesion(s) (≤3cm). Primary endpoint is OS (overall survival, intention-to-treat analysis). Main secondary endpoints are overall disease-free survival (DFS), time to progression (TTP), time to local progression (TTLP), primary and assisted technique efficacy (PTE, ATE), procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay, assessment of pain and quality of life (QoL), cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Discussion: If thermal ablation proves to be non-inferior in treating lesions ≤3cm, a switch in treatment-method may lead to a reduction of the post-procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay and incremental costs without compromising oncological outcome for patients with CRLM. Trial registration:NCT03088150 , January 11th 2017
First measurement of the polarization observable E in the p→(γ→,π<sup>+</sup>)n reaction up to 2.25 GeV
First results from the longitudinally polarized frozen-spin target (FROST)
program are reported. The double-polarization observable E, for the reaction
, has been measured using a circularly polarized
tagged-photon beam, with energies from 0.35 to 2.37 GeV. The final-state pions
were detected with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer in Hall B at the
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. These polarization data agree
fairly well with previous partial-wave analyses at low photon energies. Over
much of the covered energy range, however, significant deviations are observed,
particularly in the high-energy region where high-L multipoles contribute. The
data have been included in new multipole analyses resulting in updated nucleon
resonance parameters. We report updated fits from the Bonn-Gatchina, J\"ulich,
and SAID groups.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Semi-inclusive pi(0) target and beam-target asymmetries from 6 GeV electron scattering with CLAS
We present precision measurements of the target and beam-target spin
asymmetries from neutral pion electroproduction in deep-inelastic scattering
(DIS) using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab. We
scattered 6-GeV, longitudinally polarized electrons off longitudinally
polarized protons in a cryogenic NH target, and extracted double and
single target spin asymmetries for in
multidimensional bins in four-momentum transfer ( GeV),
Bjorken- (), hadron energy fraction (), transverse
pion momentum ( GeV), and azimuthal angle between the
lepton scattering and hadron production planes. We extracted asymmetries as a
function of both and , which provide access to transverse-momentum
distributions of longitudinally polarized quarks. The double spin asymmetries
depend weakly on . The moments are zero within
uncertainties, which is consistent with the expected suppression of the Collins
fragmentation function. The observed moments suggest that quark
gluon correlations are significant at large .Comment: 18 preprint pages, 3 figure
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