Behavior of tumors under nonstationary theraphy

We present a model for the interaction dynamics of lymphocytes-tumor cells population. This model reproduces all known states for the tumor. Futherly,we develop it taking into account periodical immunotheraphy treatment with cytokines alone. A detailed analysis for the evolution of tumor cells as a function of frecuency and theraphy burden applied for the periodical treatment is carried out. Certain threshold values for the frecuency and applied doses are derived from this analysis. So it seems possible to control and reduce the growth of the tumor. Also, constant values for cytokines doses seems to be a succesful treatment.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Cost-utility of a walking programme for moderately depressed, obese, or overweight elderly women in primary care: a randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a considerable public health burden due to physical inactivity, because it is a major independent risk factor for several diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, moderate mood disorders neurotic diseases such as depression, etc.). This study assesses the cost utility of the adding a supervised walking programme to the standard "best primary care" for overweight, moderately obese, or moderately depressed elderly women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One-hundred six participants were randomly assigned to an interventional group (n = 55) or a control group (n = 51). The intervention consisted of an invitation, from a general practitioner, to participate in a 6-month walking-based, supervised exercise program with three 50-minute sessions per week. The main outcome measures were the healthcare costs from the Health System perspective and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) using EuroQol (EQ-5D.)</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the patients invited to participate in the program, 79% were successfully recruited, and 86% of the participants in the exercise group completed the programme. Over 6 months, the mean treatment cost per patient in the exercise group was €41 more than "best care". The mean incremental QALY of intervention was 0.132 (95% CI: 0.104–0.286). Each extra QALY gained by the exercise programme relative to best care cost €311 (95% CI, €143–€394). The cost effectiveness acceptability curves showed a 90% probability that the addition of the walking programme is the best strategy if the ceiling of inversion is €350/QALY.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The invitation strategy and exercise programme resulted in a high rate of participation and is a feasible and cost-effective addition to best care. The programme is a cost-effective resource for helping patients to increase their physical activity, according to the recommendations of general practitioners. Moreover, the present study could help decision makers enhance the preventive role of primary care and optimize health care resources.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>[ISRCTN98931797]</p

The scientific impact of developing nations

This paper analyzes science productivity for nine developing countries. Results show that these nations are reducing their science gap, with R&D investments and scientific impact growing at more than double the rate of the developed world. But this “catching up” hides a very uneven picture among these nations, especially on what they are able to generate in terms of impact and output relative to their levels of investment and available resources. Moreover, unlike what one might expect, it is clear that the size of the nations and the relative scale of their R&D investments are not the key drivers of efficiency

CaloMan: Fast generation of calorimeter showers with density estimation on learned manifolds

Precision measurements and new physics searches at the Large Hadron Collider require efficient simulations of particle propagation and interactions within the detectors. The most computationally expensive simulations involve calorimeter showers. Advances in deep generative modelling - particularly in the realm of high-dimensional data - have opened the possibility of generating realistic calorimeter showers orders of magnitude more quickly than physics-based simulation. However, the high-dimensional representation of showers belies the relative simplicity and structure of the underlying physical laws. This phenomenon is yet another example of the manifold hypothesis from machine learning, which states that high-dimensional data is supported on low-dimensional manifolds. We thus propose modelling calorimeter showers first by learning their manifold structure, and then estimating the density of data across this manifold. Learning manifold structure reduces the dimensionality of the data, which enables fast training and generation when compared with competing methods.Comment: Accepted to the Machine Learning and the Physical Sciences Workshop at NeurIPS 202

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in Pre-miR-27a, Pre-miR-196a2, Pre-miR-423, miR-608 and Pre-miR-618 with breast cancer susceptibility in a South American population

Indexación: Web of ScienceBackground MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous, non-coding, single-stranded RNAs capable of regulating gene expression by suppressing translation or degrading mRNAs. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) can alter miRNA expression, resulting in diverse functional consequences. Previous studies have examined the association of miRNA SNPs with breast cancer (BC) susceptibility. The contribution of miRNA gene variants to BC susceptibility in South American women had been unexplored. Our study evaluated the association of the SNPs rs895819 in pre-miR27a, rs11614913 in pre-miR-196a2, rs6505162 in pre-miR-423, rs4919510 in miR-608, and rs2682818 in pre-mir-618 with familial BC and early-onset non-familial BC in non-carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations from a South American population. Results We evaluated the association of five SNPs with BC risk in 440 cases and 807 controls. Our data do not support an association of rs11614913:C > T and rs4919510:C > G with BC risk. The rs6505162:C > A was significantly associated with increased risk of familial BC in persons with a strong family history of BC (OR = 1.7 [95 % CI 1.0–2.0] p = 0.05). The rs2682818:C > A genotype C/A is associated with an increased BC risk in non-familial early-onset BC. For the rs895819:A > G polymorphism, the genotype G/G is significantly associated with reduced BC risk in families with a moderate history of BC (OR = 0.3 [95 % CI 0.1–0.8] p = 0.01). Conclusions The contribution of variant miRNA genes to BC in South American women had been unexplored. Our findings support the following conclusions: a) rs6505162:C > A in pre-miR-423 increases risk of familial BC in families with a strong history of BC; b) the C/A genotype at rs2682818:C > A (pre-miR-618) increases BC risk in non-familial early-onset BC; and c) the G/G genotype at rs895819:A > G (miR-27a) reduces BC risk in families with a moderate history of BC.http://bmcgenet.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12863-016-0415-

Kulla, a container-centric construction model for building infrastructure-agnostic distributed and parallel applications

This paper presents the design, development, and implementation of Kulla, a virtual container-centric construction model that mixes loosely coupled structures with a parallel programming model for building infrastructure-agnostic distributed and parallel applications. In Kulla, applications, dependencies and environment settings, are mapped with construction units called Kulla-Blocks. A parallel programming model enables developers to couple those interoperable structures for creating constructive structures named Kulla-Bricks. In these structures, continuous dataflow and parallel patterns can be created without modifying the code of applications. Methods such as Divide&Containerize (data parallelism), Pipe&Blocks (streaming), and Manager/Block (task parallelism) were developed to create Kulla-Bricks. Recursive combinations of Kulla instances can be grouped in deployment structures called Kulla-Boxes, which are encapsulated into VCs to create infrastructure-agnostic parallel and/or distributed applications. Deployment strategies were created for Kulla-Boxes to improve the IT resource profitability. To show the feasibility and flexibility of this model, solutions combining real-world applications were implemented by using Kulla instances to compose parallel and/or distributed system deployed on different IT infrastructures. An experimental evaluation based on use cases solving satellite and medical image processing problems revealed the efficiency of Kulla model in comparison with some traditional state-of-the-art solutions.This work has been partially supported by the EU project "ASPIDE: Exascale Programing Models for Extreme Data Processing" under grant 801091 and the project "CABAHLA-CM: Convergencia Big data-Hpc: de los sensores a las Aplicaciones" S2018/TCS-4423 from Madrid Regional Government

Solar photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics: Evaluation of the applicability of the TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) composite material

For the first time, TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) photocatalysts supported on perlite mineral particles prepared by the solvothermal/microwave methods and post-annealing technique were tested in the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics (PET NPs). Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, N2 physisorption, photoluminescence emission spectroscopy, photocurrent response, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize the as-prepared materials. The response surface methodology approach was used to study the effects: pH of the NPs suspension and incorporated amount of MIL-100(Fe) on the TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) catalyst to optimize the photocatalytic degradation of the PET NPs under simulated solar light. The degradation of the PET NPs was evaluated by measuring turbidity and carbonyl index (FTIR) changes. The total organic carbon (TOC) in the solution during the degradation of the PET NPs was assessed to measure NPs oxidation into water-soluble degradation by-products. The active species involved in the photocatalytic degradation of PET NPs by the TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) composite was further examined based on trapping experiments. The use of 12.5 wt% TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) catalyst showed improved photocatalytic efficacy in the oxidation of PET NPs at pH 3 under simulated sunlight compared to bare TiO2. The increase in the carbonyl index (CI = 0.99), the reduction in the turbidity ratio (0.454), and the increase in the content of TOC released (3.00 mg/L) were possible with 12.5 wt% TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) material. In contrast, the PET NPs were slowly degraded by TiO2-based photocatalysis (CI = 0.96, turbidity ratio = 0.539, released TOC = 2.12 mg/L). The mesoporous TiO2/MIL-100(Fe) composites with high specific surface area, capacity to absorb visible light, and effective separation of photogenerated electron-hole charges clearly demonstrated the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance in the PET NPs degradation under simulated solar light

Lymphoid B cells induce NF-κB activation in high endothelial cells from human tonsils

Indexación: Scopus.Immune surveillance depends on still poorly understood lymphocyte-endothelium interactions required for lymphocyte transendothelial migration into secondary lymphoid organs. The nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) regulatory system and its inhibitory IκB proteins control the inducible expression of adhesion molecules, cytokines and chemokines involved in endothelial activation and lymphocyte transmigration. Here we present results showing the activation of this system in response to the interaction of high endothelial cells from human tonsils (HUTEC) with human B and T lymphoid cell lines and primary tonsillar lymphocytes. Western blot and electrophoretic mobility shift assays show that adhesion of different lymphoid cells induce varying levels of NF-κB activation in HUTEC, with Daudi cells, tonsil-derived B cell line 10 (TBCL-10) and primary tonsillar B lymphocytes causing the strongest activation. The main NF-κB protein complexes translocated to the nucleus were p65/p50 and p50/p50. Results from reverse transcription-PCR and flow cytometry analysis of HUTEC indicate that the interaction with Daudi cells induce an increased expression of IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA and cell-surface expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, all of which were prevented by sodium salicylate, an inhibitor of NF-κB activation. Transwell experiments show that NF-κB activation and the response of HUTEC to the interaction of Daudi cells does not depend on direct cell-cell contact but rather on the production of soluble factors that require the presence of both cell types. These results suggest that lymphocytes and high endothelium establish a cross talk leading to NF-κB-mediated expression of cytokines and adhesion molecules, inducing endothelial cell activation.https://academic.oup.com/intimm/article/18/2/259/66453

Obesogenic Lifestyle and Its Influence on Adiposity in Children and Adolescents, Evidence from Mexico

Overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) during childhood/adolescence are major public health problems in Mexico. Several obesogenic lifestyle (OL) risk factors have been identified, but the burden and consequences of them in Mexican children/adolescents remain unclear. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of OL components and describe their relationships with adiposity, and OW/OB. A population-based cross-sectional study of Mexican children/adolescents with nutritional assessment, data collection on daily habits and adiposity as fat-mass index (FMI) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was performed. Individual OL-components: "inactivity," "excessive screen time," "insufficient sleep," "unhealthy-diet", were defined according to non-adherence to previously published healthy recommendations. RESULTS: 1449 subjects were assessed between March 2015 to April 2018. Sixteen percent of subjects had all four OL-components, 40% had three, 35% had two, 9% had one, and 0.5% had none. A cumulative OL score showed a significant dose-response effect with FMI. The combination of inactivity, excessive screen time, and insufficient sleep showed the highest risk association to OW/OB and higher values of FMI. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of OL-components was extremely high and associated with increased adiposity and OW/OB. Several interventions are needed to revert this major public health threat

ADmINIsTRATION Of EARly POsT-PARTum ORAl DRENCh IN DAIRy COws: EffECT ON mETAbOlIC PROfIlE

AbsTRACT some prophylactic treatments have been proposed in high-yielding dairy cattle in order to minimize the effects of negative energy balance and some disturbances such as hypocalcaemia and ketosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two doses of drench within 24 h after calving on the metabolic profile and prevention of ketosis. a total of 48 cows from a herd in rio Grande do sul state (southern Brazil) was used in the study. The animals were randomly selected and treated orally with drench (n= 32, propylene glycol, electrolytes and choline in 40 L of water) and water (n= 16) used as control. Blood samples were collected by blood coccygeal venipuncture through a vacutainer plain system tubes. Biochemical determinations were performed in serum (albumin, urea, cholesterol, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids -neFa-, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, aspartate transaminase -asT-and gammaglutamyltransferase -GGT-) and a cow-side determination of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) was performed using the abbot blood Precision Xtra system. all cows in the experiment had their milk production controlled. The drench treatment produces a tendency to a better milk yield (32.5 vs 29.6 L/cow/day) and helps to prevent subclinical ketosis, as indicated by a lesser prevalence of subclinical ketosis (29.7% vs 37.2%) and mean values of BHB (1.19 vs 1.27 mmol/L) as well as a lesser lipolysis as indicated by neFa values (509 vs 1.560 µmol/L). The other components of the metabolic profile did not have substantial effects between treatments. in short, on the conditions of the present work, the drench treatment is an effective management tool for prevention of subclinical ketosis and severe lipolysis. Key-words: beta-hydroxybutyrate, ketosis, neFa, prevention