149 research outputs found
The possible anti-inflammatory role of circulating human leukocyte antigen levels in women with endometriosis after treatment with danazol and leuprorelin acetate depot.
BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is defined as an inflammatory condition of the female reproductive tract, a state often associated with infertility and miscarriage. Many exogenously administered factors (treatments) control the disease via as yet unknown pathways. Possible candidate molecules involved in these mechanisms could be the serum-soluble human leukocyte antigens (sHIA) that have been detected in a variety of human body fluids and that are associated with several diseases. AIMS: We here examine how danazol and leuprorelin acetate depot treatments exert their anti-inflammatory action. It is plausible that subtle alterations mediated by these treatments and in relation to sHLA may explain the pathophysiology of endometriosis and provide insights towards new therapeutic protocols. METHODS: Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using specific monoclonal antibodies, determined serum-soluble class-I and class-II HLA levels. ELISA readings from treated women were compared with normal healthy subjects. RESULTS: Serum-soluble class-I and class-II HLA levels are statistically significantly lower (P < 0.001) in women with endometriosis than in the control groups. However, danazol but not leuprorelin acetate depot administration augments soluble HLA class I and class II (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) to normal levels during the treatment period, an increase that may account for the anti-inflammatory effect and the remission observed. CONCLUSIONS: It is shown that one of the underlying causes of endometriosis may be the lack of both circulating class-I and class-II antigen levels. Danazol administration acts via an induced release of these antigens, whose presence correlates with the degree of the inflammatory alleviation obtained. We thus provide evidence that the inflammatory state of the disease appears to be associated with soluble HLA levels because, 3 months after ceasing therapy, the circulating antigens in the serum return to the same levels that correspond to the pathological condition
Predictions for Higgs and SUSY spectra from SO(10) Yukawa Unification with mu > 0
We use Yukawa unification to constrain SUSY parameter space. We
find a narrow region survives for (suggested by \bsgam and the
anomalous magnetic moment of the muon) with , , \gev and \gev. Demanding Yukawa unification thus makes definite predictions for
Higgs and sparticle masses.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, revised version to be published in PR
Sparticle Mass Spectra from SO(10) Grand Unified Models with Yukawa Coupling Unification
We examine the spectrum of superparticles obtained from the minimal SO(10)
grand unified model, where it is assumed the gauge symmetry breaking yields the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as the effective theory at
GeV. In this model, unification of Yukawa
couplings implies a value of . At such high values of
, assuming universality of scalar masses, the usual mechanism of
radiative electroweak symmetry breaking breaks down. We show that a set of weak
scale sparticle masses consistent with radiative electroweak symmetry breaking
can be generated by imposing non-universal GUT scale scalar masses consistent
with universality within SO(10) plus extra -term contributions associated
with the reduction in rank of the gauge symmetry group when SO(10)
spontaneously breaks to . We comment upon the
consequences of the sparticle mass spectrum for collider searches for
supersymmetry. One implication of SO(10) unification is that the light bottom
squark can be by far the lightest of the squarks. This motivates a dedicated
search for bottom squark pair production at and colliders.Comment: 12 page REVTEX file including 3 PS figures; revised manuscript
includes minor changes to coincide with published versio
Compatibility of the new DAMA/NaI data on an annual modulation effect in WIMP direct search with a relic neutralino in supergravity schemes
Recent results of the DAMA/NaI experiment for WIMP direct detection point to
a possible annual modulation effect in the detection rate. We show that these
results, when interpreted in terms of a relic neutralino, are compatible with
supergravity models. Together with the universal SUGRA scheme, we also consider
SUGRA models where the unification condition in the Higgs mass parameters at
GUT scale is relaxed.Comment: 10 pages, ReVTeX, 13 figures (included as PS files
Demographic, clinical and laboratory differences between paediatric acute COVID-19 and PIMS-TS-results from a single centre study in the UK.
BackgroundPaediatric symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections associate with two presentations, acute COVID-19 and paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Phenotypic comparisons, and reports on predictive markers for disease courses are sparse and preliminary.MethodsA chart review of COVID-19 and PIMS-TS patients (≤19 years) admitted to Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, a tertiary centre in the North-West of England, was performed (02/2020-09/2022).ResultsA total of 161 symptomatic COVID-19 and 50 PIMS-TS patients were included. Peaks in admissions of patients with PIMS-TS occurred approximately 4 weeks after those for acute COVID-19. The incidence of in-patients with PIMS-TS reduced over time, and there were no admissions after February 2022. When compared to acute COVID-19, PIMS-TS patients were older (median: 10.3 years vs. 2.03 years; p p = 0.01). Pre-existing comorbidities were more common among acute COVID-19 patients (54.7% vs. 8%, p p ≤ 0.01) when compared with acute COVID-19, where respiratory symptoms were more common (51.6% vs. 32%, p = 0.016). PIMS-TS more frequently required intensive care admission (64% vs. 16.8%), and inotropic support (64% vs. 9.3%) (all p p ConclusionAdmissions for PIMS-TS reduced with increasing seroconversion rates in the region. Young age and pre-existing comorbidities associate with hospital admission for acute COVID-19. While PIMS-TS may present more acutely with increased need for intensive care, acute COVID-19 had an increased risk of mortality in this cohort
5d quivers and their AdS(6) duals
We consider an infinite class of 5d supersymmetric gauge theories involving
products of symplectic and unitary groups that arise from D4-branes at orbifold
singularities in Type I' string theory. The theories are argued to be dual to
warped AdS(6)x S4/Zn backgrounds in massive Type IIA supergravity. In
particular, this demonstrates the existence of supersymmetric 5d fixed points
of quiver type. We analyze the spectrum of gauge fields and charged states in
the supergravity dual, and find a precise agreement with the symmetries and
charged operators in the quiver theories. We also comment on other brane
objects in the supergravity dual and their interpretation in the field
theories.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figure
Demographic, clinical and laboratory differences between paediatric acute COVID-19 and PIMS-TS—results from a single centre study in the UK
BackgroundPaediatric symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections associate with two presentations, acute COVID-19 and paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Phenotypic comparisons, and reports on predictive markers for disease courses are sparse and preliminary.MethodsA chart review of COVID-19 and PIMS-TS patients (≤19 years) admitted to Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, a tertiary centre in the North-West of England, was performed (02/2020–09/2022).ResultsA total of 161 symptomatic COVID-19 and 50 PIMS-TS patients were included. Peaks in admissions of patients with PIMS-TS occurred approximately 4 weeks after those for acute COVID-19. The incidence of in-patients with PIMS-TS reduced over time, and there were no admissions after February 2022. When compared to acute COVID-19, PIMS-TS patients were older (median: 10.3 years vs. 2.03 years; p < 0.001). There were no differences in gender distribution, but minority ethnicities were over-represented among PIMS-TS patients. Regional ethnic distribution was reflected among acute COVID-19 patients (66% vs. 84.5% White Caucasian, p = 0.01). Pre-existing comorbidities were more common among acute COVID-19 patients (54.7% vs. 8%, p < 0.001). PIMS-TS patients more commonly presented with abdominal symptoms (92% vs. 50.3%), neurological symptoms (28% vs. 10.6%) and skin rashes (72% vs. 16.8%), (p ≤ 0.01) when compared with acute COVID-19, where respiratory symptoms were more common (51.6% vs. 32%, p = 0.016). PIMS-TS more frequently required intensive care admission (64% vs. 16.8%), and inotropic support (64% vs. 9.3%) (all p < 0.05). More deaths occurred among acute COVID-19 patients [0 vs. 7 (4.4%)], with 5/7 (71%) in the context of pre-existing comorbidities. When compared to acute COVID-19, PIMS-TS patients exhibited more lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia, a more pronounced acute phase reaction, and more hyponatraemia (p < 0.05). Partial least square discriminant analysis of routine laboratory parameters allowed (incomplete) separation of patients at diagnosis, and variable importance projection (VIP) scoring revealed elevated CRP and low platelets as the most discriminatory parameters.ConclusionAdmissions for PIMS-TS reduced with increasing seroconversion rates in the region. Young age and pre-existing comorbidities associate with hospital admission for acute COVID-19. While PIMS-TS may present more acutely with increased need for intensive care, acute COVID-19 had an increased risk of mortality in this cohort
Extended Tree-Level Gauge Mediation
Tree-level gauge mediation (TGM) is a scenario of SUSY breaking in which the
tree-level exchange of heavy (possibly GUT) vector fields generates
flavor-universal sfermion masses. In this work we extend this framework to the
case of E_6 that is the natural extension of the minimal case studied so far.
Despite the number of possible E_6 subgroups containing G_SM is large (we list
all rank 6 subgroups), there are only three different cases corresponding to
the number of vector messengers. As a robust prediction we find that sfermion
masses are SU(5) invariant at the GUT scale, even if the gauge group does not
contain SU(5). If SUSY breaking is mediated purely by the U(1) generator that
commutes with SO(10) we obtain universal sfermion masses and thus can derive
the CMSSM boundary conditions in a novel scenario.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, 3 table
Probing EWSB Naturalness in Unified SUSY Models with Dark Matter
We have studied Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) fine-tuning in the
context of two unified Supersymmetry scenarios: the Constrained Minimal
Supersymmetric Model (CMSSM) and models with Non-Universal Higgs Masses (NUHM),
in light of current and upcoming direct detection dark matter experiments. We
consider both those models that satisfy a one-sided bound on the relic density
of neutralinos, , and also the subset that satisfy
the two-sided bound in which the relic density is within the 2 sigma best fit
of WMAP7 + BAO + H0 data. We find that current direct detection searches for
dark matter probe the least fine-tuned regions of parameter-space, or
equivalently those of lowest Higgs mass parameter , and will tend to probe
progressively more and more fine-tuned models, though the trend is more
pronounced in the CMSSM than in the NUHM. Additionally, we examine several
subsets of model points, categorized by common mass hierarchies; M_{\chi_0}
\sim M_{\chi^\pm}, M_{\chi_0} \sim M_{\stau}, M_{\chi_0} \sim M_{\stop_1}, the
light and heavy Higgs poles, and any additional models classified as "other";
the relevance of these mass hierarchies is their connection to the preferred
neutralino annihilation channel that determines the relic abundance. For each
of these subsets of models we investigated the degree of fine-tuning and
discoverability in current and next generation direct detection experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. v2: references added. v3: matches published
versio
A case of sigmoid endometriosis difficult to differentiate from colon cancer
BACKGROUND: Although endometriosis with sigmoid serosal involvement is not uncommon in women of childbearing age, the mucosal involvement is rare and differential diagnosis from colon cancer may be difficult due to the lack of pathognomonic symptoms and the poor diagnostic yield of colonoscopy and colonic biopsies. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a young woman with sigmoid endometriosis, in which the initial diagnostic workup suggested colon cancer. Histologic evidence, obtained from a second colonoscopy, along with pelvic ultrasound findings led to the final diagnosis of intestinal endometriosis which was confirmed by laparoscopy. CONCLUSION: Colonic endometriosis is often a diagnostic challenge and should be considered in young women with symptoms from the lower gastrointestinal tract
- …