Temperature Evolution Law of Imperfect Relativistic Fluids

The first-order general relativistic theory of a generic dissipative (heat-conducting, viscous, particle-creating) fluid is rediscussed from a unified covariant frame-independent point of view. By generalizing some previous works in the literature, we derive a formula for the temperature variation rate, which is valid both in Eckart's (particle) and in the Landau-Lifshitz (energy) frames. Particular attention is paid to the case of gravitational particle creation and its possible cross-effect with the bulk viscosity mechanism.Comment: 14 pages, no figure, revte

Do genetic factors protect for early onset lung cancer? A case control study before the age of 50 years

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early onset lung cancer shows some familial aggregation, pointing to a genetic predisposition. This study was set up to investigate the role of candidate genes in the susceptibility to lung cancer patients younger than 51 years at diagnosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>246 patients with a primary, histologically or cytologically confirmed neoplasm, recruited from 2000 to 2003 in major lung clinics across Germany, were matched to 223 unrelated healthy controls. 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms of genes with reported associations to lung cancer have been genotyped.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genetic associations or gene-smoking interactions was found for <it>GPX1(Pro200Leu) </it>and <it>EPHX1(His113Tyr)</it>. Carriers of the Leu-allele of <it>GPX1(Pro200Leu) </it>showed a significant risk reduction of OR = 0.6 (95% CI: 0.4–0.8, p = 0.002) in general and of OR = 0.3 (95% CI:0.1–0.8, p = 0.012) within heavy smokers. We could also find a risk decreasing genetic effect for His-carriers of <it>EPHX1(His113Tyr) </it>for moderate smokers (OR = 0.2, 95% CI:0.1–0.7, p = 0.012). Considered both variants together, a monotone decrease of the OR was found for smokers (OR of 0.20; 95% CI: 0.07–0.60) for each protective allele.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Smoking is the most important risk factor for young lung cancer patients. However, this study provides some support for the T-Allel of <it>GPX1(Pro200Leu) </it>and the C-Allele of <it>EPHX1(His113Tyr) </it>to play a protective role in early onset lung cancer susceptibility.</p

Identification of a Common Gene Expression Signature in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Across Independent Microarray Studies

ObjectivesThis study was designed to identify a common gene expression signature in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) across different microarray studies.BackgroundDilated cardiomyopathy is a common cause of heart failure in Western countries. Although gene expression arrays have emerged as a powerful tool for delineating complex disease patterns, differences in platform technology, tissue heterogeneity, and small sample sizes obscure the underlying pathophysiologic events and hamper a comprehensive interpretation of different microarray studies in heart failure.MethodsWe accounted for tissue heterogeneity and technical aspects by performing 2 genome-wide expression studies based on cDNA and short-oligonucleotide microarray platforms which comprised independent septal and left ventricular tissue samples from nonfailing (NF) (n = 20) and DCM (n = 20) hearts.ResultsConcordant results emerged for major gene ontology classes between cDNA and oligonucleotide microarrays. Notably, immune response processes displayed the most pronounced down-regulation on both microarray types, linking this functional gene class to the pathogenesis of end-stage DCM. Furthermore, a robust set of 27 genes was identified that classified DCM and NF samples with >90% accuracy in a total of 108 myocardial samples from our cDNA and oligonucleotide microarray studies as well as 2 publicly available datasets.ConclusionsFor the first time, independent microarray datasets pointed to significant involvement of immune response processes in end-stage DCM. Moreover, based on 4 independent microarray datasets, we present a robust gene expression signature of DCM, encouraging future prospective studies for the implementation of disease biomarkers in the management of patients with heart failure