220 research outputs found
An infrared study of galactic OH/IR stars. I. An optical/near-IR atlas of the Arecibo sample
In this paper we present optical and near-infrared finding charts, accurate
astrometry (~1") and single-epoch near-infrared photometry for 371 IRAS
sources, 96% of those included in the so-called Arecibo sample of OH/IR stars
(Eder et al. 1988; Lewis et al. 1990a; Chengalur et al. 1993). The main
photometric properties of the stars in the sample are presented and discussed
as well as the problems found during the process of identification of the
optical/near-infrared counterparts. In addition, we also identify suitable
reference stars in each field to be used for differential photometry purposes
in the future.
We find that 39% of the sources (144 in number) have no optical counterpart,
8 of them being invisible even at near infrared wavelengths. The relative
distribution of sources with and without optical counterpart in the IRAS
two-colour diagram and their characteristic near infrared colours are
interpreted as the consequence of the increasing thickness of their
circumstellar shells. Among the objects not detected at near infrared
wavelengths four non-variable sources are proposed to be heavily obscured
post-AGB stars which have just very recently left the AGB. Eight additional
objects with unusually bright and/or blue near-infrared colours are identified
as candidate post-AGB stars and/or proto-planetary nebulae.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, for associated finding charts see:
http://www.edpsciences.org/articles/aa/full/2005/08/aa1709/FINDING_CHARTS/are
cibo_index.htm
Variables That Influence Articulation Accuracy in Children with Down Syndrome and Specific Language Disorder: Similarities and Differences
Research about speech sound disorders (SSD) in children with Down syndrome (DS) and children with specific language impairment (SLI) suggests similar linguistic profiles with weakness in phonology skills. The question is if these similarities are superficial or share deficits in levels and underlying skills to its speech disorders: phonological memory (PM), coordination motor skills, and articulatory muscular system. Our research involved 24 children divided into four groups: SLI, DS, and two groups of typical development. SLI group presented a mild‐moderate speech disorder and DS group moderate‐severe. Following skills were evaluated: nonverbal intelligence, PM, and oral motor coordination (oral‐DDK). The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) was used for the measurement of physiological variables (strength and endurance of tongue and lips). Percentage of consonants correct (PCC) was found. Phonological memory, motor coordination, and physiological variables are factors associated with SSD in teenagers with DS. However, SSD in children with SLI only are associated to phonological memory. Motor coordination and physiological variables are not involved in their SSD of mild and moderate‐severe levels. We have objectively measured the strength and endurance of tongue and lips. This may have clinical implications. It is necessary to assess objectively all the variables affecting articulatory accuracy to design intervention programs in SSD
An anti-interleukin-2 receptor drug attenuates thelper 1 lymphocytes-mediated inflammation in an acute model of endotoxin-induced uveitis
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of Daclizumab, an anti-interleukin-2 receptor
drug, in an experimental uveitis model upon a subcutaneous injection of lipopolysaccharide into Lewis rats, a valuable
model for ocular acute inflammatory processes. The integrity of the blood-aqueous barrier was assessed 24 h after
endotoxin-induced uveitis by evaluating two parameters: cell count and protein concentration in aqueous humors. The
histopathology of all the ocular structures (cornea, lens, sclera, choroid, retina, uvea, and anterior and posterior chambers)
was also considered. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of the aqueous humor samples were performed to quantify the
levels of the different chemokine and cytokine proteins. Similarly, a biochemical analysis of oxidative stress-related markers
was also assessed. The inflammation observed in the anterior chamber of the eyes when Daclizumab was administered with
endotoxin was largely prevented since the aqueous humor protein concentration substantially lowered concomitantly with
a significant reduction in the uveal and vitreous histopathological grading. Th1 lymphocytes-related cytokines, such as
Interleukin-2 and Interferon-c, also significantly reduced with related anti-oxidant systems recovery. Daclizumab treatment
in endotoxin-induced uveitis reduced Th1 lymphocytes-related cytokines, such as Interleukin-2 and Interferon gamma, by
about 60–70% and presented a preventive role in endotoxin-induced oxidative stress. This antioxidant protective effect of
Daclizumab may be related to several of the observed Daclizumab effects in our study, including IL-6 cytokine regulatory
properties and a substantial concomitant drop in INFc. Concurrently, Daclizumab treatment triggered a significant
reduction in both the uveal histopathological grading and protein concentration in aqueous humors, but not in cellular
infiltration
Infrasound detection of approaching lahars
Infrasound may be used to detect the approach of hazardous volcanic mudflows, known as lahars, tens of minutes before their flow fronts arrive. We have analyzed signals from more than 20 secondary lahars caused by precipitation events at Fuego Volcano during Guatemala\u27s rainy season in May through October of 2022. We are able to quantify the capabilities of infrasound monitoring through comparison with seismic data, time lapse camera imagery, and high-resolution video of a well-recorded event on August 17. We determine that infrasound sensors, deployed adjacent to the lahar path and in small-aperture (10 s of meters) arrays, are particularly sensitive to remote detection of lahars, including small-sized events, at distances of at least 5 km. At Fuego Volcano these detections could be used to provide timely alerts of up to 30 min before lahars arrive at a downstream monitoring site, such as in the frequently impacted Ceniza drainage. We propose that continuous infrasound monitoring, from locations adjacent to a drainage, may complement seismic monitoring and serve as a valuable tool to help identify approaching hazards. On the other hand, infrasound arrays located a kilometer or more from the lahar path can be effectively used to track a lahar\u27s progression
The diacylglycerol kinase α/Atypical PKC/β1 integrin pathway in SDF-1α mammary carcinoma invasiveness
Diacylglycerol kinase α (DGKα), by phosphorylating diacylglycerol into phosphatidic acid, provides a key signal driving cell migration and matrix invasion. We previously demonstrated that in epithelial cells activation of DGKα activity promotes cytoskeletal remodeling and matrix invasion by recruiting atypical PKC at ruffling sites and by promoting RCP-mediated recycling of α5β1 integrin to the tip of pseudopods. In here we investigate the signaling pathway by which DGKα mediates SDF-1α-induced matrix invasion of MDA-MB-231 invasive breast carcinoma cells. Indeed we showed that, following SDF-1α stimulation, DGKα is activated and localized at cell protrusion, thus promoting their elongation and mediating SDF-1α induced MMP-9 metalloproteinase secretion and matrix invasion. Phosphatidic acid generated by DGKα promotes localization at cell protrusions of atypical PKCs which play an essential role downstream of DGKα by promoting Rac-mediated protrusion elongation and localized recruitment of β1 integrin and MMP-9. We finally demonstrate that activation of DGKα, atypical PKCs signaling and β1 integrin are all essential for MDA-MB-231 invasiveness. These data indicates the existence of a SDF-1α induced DGKα - atypical PKC - β1 integrin signaling pathway, which is essential for matrix invasion of carcinoma cells
Recent advances on the estimation of the thermal reaction norm for sex ratios
Temperature-dependent sex determination, or TSD, is a widespread phenomenon in reptiles. The shape of the relationship between constant incubation temperature and sex ratio defines the TSD pattern. The TSD pattern is considered a life-history parameter important for conservation because the wider the range of temperatures producing both sexes, the more resilient the species is to climate change impacts. We review the different published equations and methodologies that have been used to model TSD patterns. We describe a new flexible model that allows for an asymmetrical pattern around the pivotal temperature, which is the constant temperature producing both sexes in equal proportions. We show that Metropolis-Hastings with Markov chain produced by a Monte Carlo process has many advantages compared to maximum likelihood and is preferred. Finally, we apply the models to results from incubation experiments using eggs from the marine turtle Lepidochelys olivacea originating in Northeast Indian, East Pacific, and West Atlantic Regional Management Units (RMUs) and find large differences in pivotal temperatures but not in transitional ranges of temperatures
Deep Group-wise Variational Diffeomorphic Image Registration
Deep neural networks are increasingly used for pair-wise image registration.
We propose to extend current learning-based image registration to allow
simultaneous registration of multiple images. To achieve this, we build upon
the pair-wise variational and diffeomorphic VoxelMorph approach and present a
general mathematical framework that enables both registration of multiple
images to their geodesic average and registration in which any of the available
images can be used as a fixed image. In addition, we provide a likelihood based
on normalized mutual information, a well-known image similarity metric in
registration, between multiple images, and a prior that allows for explicit
control over the viscous fluid energy to effectively regularize deformations.
We trained and evaluated our approach using intra-patient registration of
breast MRI and Thoracic 4DCT exams acquired over multiple time points.
Comparison with Elastix and VoxelMorph demonstrates competitive quantitative
performance of the proposed method in terms of image similarity and reference
landmark distances at significantly faster registration
Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications
ESRETNET Study Group, The ERDC Study Group, The Associated Clinical Study Group.Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006)
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