The association between plasma tryptophan catabolites and depression: the role of symptom profiles and inflammation

Background: Tryptophan catabolites ("TRYCATs") produced by the kynurenine pathway (KP) may play a role in depression pathophysiology. Studies comparing TRYCATs levels in depressed subjects and controls provided mixed findings. We examined the association of TRYCATs levels with 1) the presence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), 2) depressive symptom profiles and 3) inflammatory markers.Methods: The sample from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety included participants with current (n = 1100) or remitted (n = 753) MDD DSM-IV diagnosis and healthy controls (n = 642). Plasma levels of tryptophan (TRP), kynurenine (KYN), kynurenic acid (KynA), quinolinic acid (QA), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were measured. Atypical/energy-related symptom (AES), melancholic symptom (MS) and anxious-distress symptom (ADS) profiles were derived from questionnaires.Results: After adjustment for age, sex, education, smoking status, alcohol consumption and chronic diseases, no significant differences in TRYCATs were found comparing MDD cases versus controls. The MS profile was associated (q < 0.05) with lower KynA (beta = -0.05), while AES was associated with higher KYN (beta = 0.05), QA (beta = 0.06) and TRP (beta = 0.06). Inflammatory markers were associated with higher KYN (CRP beta = 0.12, IL-6 beta = 0.08, TNF beta = 0.10) and QA (CRP beta = 0.21, IL-6 beta = 0.12, TNF beta = 0.18). Significant differences against controls emerged after selecting MDD cases with high (top 30%) CRP (KYN d = 0.20, QA d = 0.33) and high TNF (KYN d = 0.24; QA d = 0.39).Conclusions: TRYCATs levels were related to specific clinical and biological features, such as atypical symptoms or a proinflammatory status. Modulation of KP may potentially benefit a specific subset of depressed patients. Clinical studies should focus on patients with clear evidence of KP dysregulations.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

On the Lebesgue measure of Li-Yorke pairs for interval maps

We investigate the prevalence of Li-Yorke pairs for $C^2$ and $C^3$ multimodal maps $f$ with non-flat critical points. We show that every measurable scrambled set has zero Lebesgue measure and that all strongly wandering sets have zero Lebesgue measure, as does the set of pairs of asymptotic (but not asymptotically periodic) points. If $f$ is topologically mixing and has no Cantor attractor, then typical (w.r.t. two-dimensional Lebesgue measure) pairs are Li-Yorke; if additionally $f$ admits an absolutely continuous invariant probability measure (acip), then typical pairs have a dense orbit for $f \times f$. These results make use of so-called nice neighborhoods of the critical set of general multimodal maps, and hence uniformly expanding Markov induced maps, the existence of either is proved in this paper as well. For the setting where $f$ has a Cantor attractor, we present a trichotomy explaining when the set of Li-Yorke pairs and distal pairs have positive two-dimensional Lebesgue measure.Comment: 41 pages, 3 figure

Characterization of halogen-bridged binuclear metal complexes as hybridized two-band materials

We study the electronic structure of halogen-bridged binuclear metal (MMX) complexes with a two-band Peierls-Hubbard model. Based on a symmetry argument, various density-wave states are derived and characterized. The ground-state phase diagram is drawn within the Hartree-Fock approximation, while the thermal behavior is investigated using a quantum Monte Carlo method. All the calculations conclude that a typical MMX compound Pt_2(CH_3CS_2)_4I should indeed be regarded as a d-p-hybridized two-band material, where the oxidation of the halogen ions must be observed even in the ground state, whereas another MMX family (NH_4)_4[Pt_2(P_2O_5H_2)_4X] may be treated as single-band materials.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures embedded, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Structure, Photophysics and the Order-Disorder Transition to the Beta Phase in Poly(9,9-(di -n,n-octyl)fluorene)

X-ray diffraction, UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been used to study the well-known order-disorder transition (ODT) to the beta phase in poly(9,9-(di n,n-octyl)fluorene)) (PF8) thin film samples through combination of time-dependent and temperature-dependent measurements. The ODT is well described by a simple Avrami picture of one-dimensional nucleation and growth but crystallization, on cooling, proceeds only after molecular-level conformational relaxation to the so called beta phase. Rapid thermal quenching is employed for PF8 studies of pure alpha phase samples while extended low-temperature annealing is used for improved beta phase formation. Low temperature PL studies reveal sharp Franck-Condon type emission bands and, in the beta phase, two distinguishable vibronic sub-bands with energies of approximately 199 and 158 meV at 25 K. This improved molecular level structural order leads to a more complete analysis of the higher-order vibronic bands. A net Huang-Rhys coupling parameter of just under 0.7 is typically observed but the relative contributions by the two distinguishable vibronic sub-bands exhibit an anomalous temperature dependence. The PL studies also identify strongly correlated behavior between the relative beta phase 0-0 PL peak position and peak width. This relationship is modeled under the assumption that emission represents excitons in thermodynamic equilibrium from states at the bottom of a quasi-one-dimensional exciton band. The crystalline phase, as observed in annealed thin-film samples, has scattering peaks which are incompatible with a simple hexagonal packing of the PF8 chains.Comment: Submitted to PRB, 12 files; 1 tex, 1 bbl, 10 eps figure

The fully differential single-top-quark cross section in next-to-leading order QCD

We present a new next-to-leading order calculation for fully differential single-top-quark final states. The calculation is performed using phase space slicing and dipole subtraction methods. The results of the methods are found to be in agreement. The dipole subtraction method calculation retains the full spin dependence of the final state particles. We show a few numerical results to illustrate the utility and consistency of the resulting computer implementations.Comment: 37 pages, latex, 2 ps figure

Spontaneous non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and premature ventricular contractions and their prognostic relevance in patients with cancer in routine care

AIMS: It is largely unknown whether cancer patients seen in routine care show ventricular arrhythmias in 24 h electrocardiograms (ECGs), and whether when they are detected they carry prognostic relevance. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 261 consecutive cancer patients that were referred to the department of cardiology for 24 h ECG examination and 35 healthy controls of similar age and sex in the analysis. To reduce selection bias, cancer patients with known left ventricular ejection fraction <45% were not included in the analysis. Non–sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) episodes of either ≥3 and ≥4 beats duration were more frequent in cancer patients than controls (17% vs. 0%, p = 0.0008; 10% vs. 0%, p = 0.016). Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)/24 h were not more frequent in cancer patients compared to controls (median (IQR), 26 (2–360) vs. 9 (1–43), p = 0.06; ≥20 PVCs 53% vs. 37%, p = 0.07). During follow-up, (up to 7.2 years, median 15 months) of the cancer patients, 158 (61%) died (1-/3-/5-year mortality rates: 45% [95%CI 39–51%], 66% [95%CI 59–73%], 73% [95%CI 64–82%]). Both non-sustained ventricular tachycardia of ≥4 beats and ≥20 PVCs/24 h independently predicted mortality in univariate and multivariate survival analyses, adjusted for all other univariate predictors of mortality as well as relevant clinical factors, including cancer stage and type, performance status (ECOG), prior potentially cardiotoxic anti-cancer drug therapy, coronary artery disease, potassium concentration, and haemoglobin (multivariate adjusted hazard ratios: NSVT ≥4 beats [HR 1.76, p = 0.022], ≥20 PVCs/24 h [HR 1.63, p < 0.0064]). CONCLUSIONS: NSVT ≥4 beats and ≥20 PVCs/day seen in routine 24 h ECGs of patients with cancer carry prognostic relevance

Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators

Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids, Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age

Forward pi^0 Production and Associated Transverse Energy Flow in Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Deep-inelastic positron-proton interactions at low values of Bjorken-x down to x \approx 4.10^-5 which give rise to high transverse momentum pi^0 mesons are studied with the H1 experiment at HERA. The inclusive cross section for pi^0 mesons produced at small angles with respect to the proton remnant (the forward region) is presented as a function of the transverse momentum and energy of the pi^0 and of the four-momentum transfer Q^2 and Bjorken-x. Measurements are also presented of the transverse energy flow in events containing a forward pi^0 meson. Hadronic final state calculations based on QCD models implementing different parton evolution schemes are confronted with the data.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures and 3 table

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Assessment of coronary artery disease during hospitalization for cancer treatment

BACKGROUND: With improvement of cancer-specific survival, comorbidities and treatment-related side effects, particularly cardiovascular toxicities, need close attention. The aim of the present study was to evaluate clinical characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients requiring coronary angiography during inpatient care. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized between 02/2011 and 02/2018 in our two university hospital cancer centers. From a cohort of 60,676 cancer patients, we identified 153 patients (65.7 ± 11.6 years, 73.2% male), who underwent coronary angiography and were eligible for analysis. These were compared to a control group of 153 non-cancer patients pair-matched with respect to age, sex, and indication for catheterization. RESULTS: Cancer patients presented in 66% with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The most prevalent cancer entities were lymphoma (19%) and lung cancer (18.3%). The rate of primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) was significantly lower in the cancer cohort (40.5% vs. 53.6%, p = 0.029), although manifestation of coronary artery disease (CAD) and PCI results were comparable (SYNergy between PCI with TAXus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX)-score, delta pre- and post-PCI - 9.8 vs. - 8.0, p = 0.2). Mortality was remarkably high in cancer patients (1-year mortality 46% vs. 8% in non-cancer patients, p < 0.001), particularly with troponin-positive ACS (5-year mortality 71%). CONCLUSION: Strategies to effectively control cardiovascular risks in cancer patients are needed. Additionally, suspected CAD in cancer patients should not prevent prompt diagnostic clarification and optimal revascularization as PCI results in cancer patients are comparable to non-cancer patients and occurrence of troponin-positive ACS leads to a significantly increased risk of mortality