Unique sextuple system: 65 Ursae Majoris

Context. 65 UMa belongs to rather small group of stellar systems of higher multiplicity, whose inner and outer orbits are well-known. Methods: Photometric, spectroscopic, and interferometric data were analyzed, revealing the basic physical properties of the system 65 UMa. A disentangling technique is used to perform the spectra decomposition. This combined approach allows us to study the long-term period changes in the system, identifying the period variation due to the motion on the visual orbit, in addition to a short-term modulation. Results: We find that the system contains one more component, hence 65 UMa is a sextuple hierarchical system. The most inner pair of components consists of an eclipsing binary orbiting around a barycenter on a circular orbit, both components being almost identical of spectral type about A7. This pair orbits on an eccentric orbit around a barycenter, and the third component orbits with a period of about 640 days. This motion is reflected in the period variation in the minima times of the eclipsing pair, as well as in the radial velocities of the primary, secondary, and tertiary components. Moreover, this system orbits around a barycenter with the distant component resolved interferometrically, whose period is of about 118 years. Two more distant components (4" and 63") are also probably gravitationally bound to the system. The nodal period of the eclipsing-pair orbit is on the order of only a few centuries, which makes this system even more interesting for a future prospective detection of changing the depths of minima. Conclusions: We identify a unique solution of the system 65 UMa, decomposing the individual components and even shifting the system to higher multiplicity. The study of this kind of multiple can help us to understand the origin of stellar systems. Besides 65 UMa, only another 11 sextuple systems have been studied.Comment: 6 pages original paper, 8 figures, online material via CDS, published in: 2012 Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 542, id.A7

Comunicação de más notícias no hospital: Implicações para prática clínica e ensino

Breaking bad news in a hospital environment is a difficult task due to the complexity of the cases and the lack of adequate training to perform this task. The main protocols used to breaking bad news were reviewed. Additionally, the curricula of academic activities with a psychosocial focus offered in the Schools of Medicine in the state of Rio Grande do Sul that allow students to have contact with the process of breaking bad news were evaluated. Finally, a summary proposal of the technical recommendations is presented, including the essential points of the communication process.Comunicar malas noticias en un entorno hospitalario es una tarea difícil debido a la complejidad de los casos y la falta de formación adecuada para realizar esta tarea. Se revisaron los principales protocolos utilizados para comunicar malas noticias. Además, se evaluaron los currículos de actividades académicas con enfoque psicosocial ofrecidos en las Facultades de Medicina del estado de Rio Grande do Sul que permiten a los estudiantes tener contacto con el proceso de comunicación de malas noticias. Finalmente, se presenta una propuesta resumida de las recomendaciones técnicas, incluyendo los puntos esenciales del proceso de comunicación.A comunicação de más notícias em ambiente hospitalar é uma tarefa difícil em função da complexidade dos casos e ausência de capacitação adequados para realizar esta tarefa. Foram revisados os principais protocolos utilizados para comunicação de más notícias. Adicionalmente, foram avaliados os currículos das atividades acadêmicas com enfoque psicossocial ofertadas nas Faculdades de Medicina no estado do Rio Grande do Sul que permitam aos alunos terem o contato com o processo de comunicação de más notícias. Por fim, apresenta-se uma proposta resumida das recomendações técnicas, incluindo os pontos essenciais do processo de comunicação

A comunicação de más notícias em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva: um estudo qualitativo com médicos experientes e novatos

A Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) se caracteriza pela alta complexidade, monitoramento contínuo e ininterrupto, destinando-se ao atendimento de pacientes críticos. Comunicar más notícias neste ambiente gera sentimentos intensos para o paciente e seus familiares. O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender como os médicos percebem o processo de comunicação de más notícias na UTI, bem como identificar os fatores que facilitam e dificultam este processo, e os sentimentos gerados no profissional. Os 15 médicos participantes responderam um questionário online com perguntas abertas e fechadas. O processo de comunicação de más notícias foi considerado difícil e emotivo, independentemente do tempo de atuação em UTI. O conhecimento sobre a história do paciente e de seus familiares foi um fator facilitador e as mudanças inesperadas no quadro clínico do paciente foram fatores dificultadores do processo de comunicação. Os médicos reconheceram a necessidade de desenvolver competências para aprimorar a relação com paciente e famílias

Lower insulin-dose adjusted A1c (IDAA1c) is associated with less complications in Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes treated with hematopoetic stem-cell transplantation and conventional therapy

Objective: To evaluate the association between insulin-dose adjusted A1C (IDAA1c) and microvascular complications (MC) and hypoglycemia in a representative Brazilian population of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Research Design and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on a previous study, “Microvascular Complications in Type 1 Diabetes: a comparative analysis of patients treated with autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (AHST) and conventional medical therapy (CT)”. The 168 patients in that study (144 from CT plus 24 from AHST) were re-subdivided into two groups, according to their IDAA1c values (30 patients had IDAA1c ≤ 9; 138 had IDAA1c > 9). Then, the prevalence of MC (diabetic renal disease, neuropathy, and retinopathy), hypoglycemia (blood glucose <60 mg/dL), and severe hypoglycemic (episode of hypoglycemia that required the assistance of another person to treat) events were compared between the groups. The groups were well-matched on these factors: duration of disease, sex, and age at the time of diagnosis of T1DM. Results: After an average of 8 years after diagnosis, only 6.6% (2/30) of the patients from IDAA1c ≤ 9 group developed any MC, whereas 21.0% (29/138) from the IDAA1c > 9 group had at least one complication (p = 0.044). Regarding hypoglycemic events, the proportion of individuals who reported at least 1 episode of hypoglycemia in the last month was 43.3 and 64.7% from the IDAA1c ≤ 9 and IDAA1c > 9 groups, respectively (p = 0.030). Regarding severe hypoglycemia, the proportion of patients presenting at least one episode in the last month and the rate of episode/patient/month were similar between groups (6.7 vs. 13.2%; p = 0.535; and 0.1/patient/month vs. 0.25/patient/month; p = 0.321). Conclusion: In a representative Brazilian population of T1DM patients, those with IDAA1c ≤ 9 presented a lower frequency of MC, as well as fewer episodes of hypoglycemia, in the month prior to the analysis.publishedVersio

Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. DESIGN: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. METHODS: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. RESULTS: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. CONCLUSION: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Assessment of angiogenesis by CD105 antigen in epithelial salivary gland neoplasms with diverse metastatic behavior

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Information on the biology of metastasis development in salivary gland tumors is scarce. Since angiogenesis seems associated with this phenomenon in other tumors, we sought to compare salivary gland tumors with diverse metastatic behavior in order to improve the knowledge and management of these lesions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples from the most important salivary gland tumors were segregated according to its metastatic behavior and submitted to routine immunohistochemistry to identify vessels positive for CD105 expression. Frequency of positive cases and intratumoral microvessel density (IMD) was compared among the group of lesions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CD105 positive vessels were absent in normal salivary gland tissue, were rare in pleomorphic adenomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACC), more common in polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinomas and highest in mucoepidermoid carcinomas. Only ACC with such feature were metastatic. IMD was higher in malignant rather than benign tumors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Immunostaining of CD105 in salivary gland tumors implies participation of angiogenesis in the development of malignant lesions, as well as some role for myoepithelial cells in the control of new vessel formation. In addition, suggest that ACC with positive CD105 vessels are at higher risk for metastasis.</p

Chemical PARP Inhibition Enhances Growth of Arabidopsis and Reduces Anthocyanin Accumulation and the Activation of Stress Protective Mechanisms

Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) post-translationally modifies proteins through the addition of ADP-ribose polymers, yet its role in modulating plant development and stress responses is only poorly understood. The experiments presented here address some of the gaps in our understanding of its role in stress tolerance and thereby provide new insights into tolerance mechanisms and growth. Using a combination of chemical and genetic approaches, this study characterized phenotypes associated with PARP inhibition at the physiological level. Molecular analyses including gene expression analysis, measurement of primary metabolites and redox metabolites were used to understand the underlying processes. The analysis revealed that PARP inhibition represses anthocyanin and ascorbate accumulation under stress conditions. The reduction in defense is correlated with enhanced biomass production. Even in unstressed conditions protective genes and molecules are repressed by PARP inhibition. The reduced anthocyanin production was shown to be based on the repression of transcription of key regulatory and biosynthesis genes. PARP is a key factor for understanding growth and stress responses of plants. PARP inhibition allows plants to reduce protection such as anthocyanin, ascorbate or Non-Photochemical-Quenching whilst maintaining high energy levels likely enabling the observed enhancement of biomass production under stress, opening interesting perspectives for increasing crop productivity

Visualising Surfaces, Surfacing Vision: Introduction

In this Introduction to a special section on Visualising Surfaces, Surfacing Vision, we argue that to conceive vision in the contemporary world it is necessary to examine its embedding within, expression via and organisation on the surface. First, we review recent social and cultural theories to demonstrate how and why an attention to surfaces is salient today. Second, we consider how vision may be understood in terms of surfaces, discussing the emergence of the term ‘surface’, and its transhistorical relationship with vision. Third, we introduce the contributions to the special section, which cover written articles and artworks. We make connections between them, including their exploration of reflexivity and recursion, observation, objectivity and agency, ontology and epistemology, relationality, process, and two- and three-dimensionality. Fourth, we consider some implications of an understanding of visualising surfaces/surfacing vision