Investigation of tidal displacements of the Earth's surface by laser ranging to GEOS-3

An analysis of laser ranging data from three stations was carried out in an attempt to measure the geometric Earth tide. Two different approaches to the problem were investigated. The dynamic method computes pass to pass apparent movements in stations height relative to short arcs fitted to several passes of data from the same station by the program GEODYNE. The quasi-geometric method reduces the dependence on unmodelled satellite dynamics to a knowledge of only the radial position of the satellite by considering two station simultaneous ranging at the precise time that the satellite passes through the plane defined by two stations and the center of mass of the Earth

Mexican World Heritage information on the web: Institutional presence and visibility

This study offers a global overview of the presence and visibility of web information on UNESCO World Heritage located in Mexico, via the analysis of official websites and Web 2.0 information. Cultural heritage is a determining factor in linking people to their history, and contributes to increasing cultural tourism and economic development. The study starts from the hypothesis that the design of these has an influence on the dissemination and popularity of the aforementioned heritage. The relationships between the administrative organization of the country and Internet protocols are compared. A webometric study of the official Mexican websites was carried out. An evaluation sheet was designed to allow the assessment of aspects relating to identification, presence, accessibility and content. The multilingual nature of this information and its presence on social networks and Wikipedia was analysed. The analysis of URLs confirms that the domain .mx is used in 84% of cases. The results indicate a noticeable use of Web 2.0 dissemination of the heritage assets on YouTube (51%) and Facebook (40%), followed by 23% on Twitter. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines are not yet frequently applied. Finally, the results obtained make it possible to identify variables that can contribute to improvements in the visibility and dissemination of official web information.This paper was supported by the RD & I Project, HAR2012-38562 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness)

Self-reported adherence to oral cancer therapy: relationships with symptom distress, depression, and personal characteristics

Background: Therapeutic cancer chemotherapy is most successful when complete dosing is achieved. Because many newer therapeutic agents are oral and self-administered by the patient, adherence is a concern. The purpose of our analysis was to explore relationships between adherence, patient characteristics, and barriers to adherence. Methods: This secondary analysis utilized self-reported data from a randomized trial of self-care management conducted at two cancer centers in the US. Symptom distress was measured using the 15-item Symptom Distress Scale (SDS-15) and depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Adherence to oral medication was self-reported using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Measures were collected via Web-based, study-specific software ~8 weeks after treatment start date. Odds of low/medium adherence (score <8) were explored using univariate logistic regression. Given the number of factors and possible relationships among factors, a classification tree was built in lieu of a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Of the eligible participants enrolled, 77 were on oral therapy and 70 had an MMAS score. Forty-nine (70%) reported a high adherence score (=8). Higher odds of low/medium adherence were associated with greater symptom distress (P=0.09), more depression (P=0.05), chemotherapy vs hormonal oral medication (P=0.03), being female (P=0.02), and being randomized to the control group in the parent trial (P=0.09). Conversely, high adherence was associated with working (P=0.08), being married/partnered (P=0.004), and being older (P=0.02). Factors identified as significantly related to low/medium adherence from the univariate logistic regression analyses were supported by the classification tree results. Conclusion: Nonadherence to therapeutic oral medications in patients with cancer was associated with being unmarried/unpartnered, symptom distress, younger age, not working, and female sex. These findings may help to identify patients at risk for nonadherence and for whom supportive interventions to enhance adherence may be needed

Association between Response to Albendazole Treatment and beta-Tubulin Genotype Frequencies in Soil-transmitted Helminths

Albendazole (ABZ), a benzimidazole (BZ) anthelmintic (AH), is commonly used for treatment of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Its regular use increases the possibility that BZ resistance may develop, which, in veterinary nematodes is caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the β-tubulin gene at positions 200, 167 or 198. The relative importance of these SNPs varies among the different parasitic nematodes of animals studied to date, and it is currently unknown whether any of these are influencing BZ efficacy against STHs in humans. We assessed ABZ efficacy and SNP frequencies before and after treatment of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm infections.Studies were performed in Haiti, Kenya, and Panama. Stool samples were examined prior to ABZ treatment and two weeks (Haiti), one week (Kenya) and three weeks (Panama) after treatment to determine egg reduction rate (ERR). Eggs were genotyped and frequencies of each SNP assessed.In T. trichiura, polymorphism was detected at codon 200. Following treatment, there was a significant increase, from 3.1% to 55.3%, of homozygous resistance-type in Haiti, and from 51.3% to 67.8% in Kenya (ERRs were 49.7% and 10.1%, respectively). In A. lumbricoides, a SNP at position 167 was identified at high frequency, both before and after treatment, but ABZ efficacy remained high. In hookworms from Kenya we identified the resistance-associated SNP at position 200 at low frequency before and after treatment while ERR values indicated good drug efficacy.Albendazole was effective for A. lumbricoides and hookworms. However, ABZ exerts a selection pressure on the β-tubulin gene at position 200 in T. trichiura, possibly explaining only moderate ABZ efficacy against this parasite. In A. lumbricoides, the codon 167 polymorphism seemed not to affect drug efficacy whilst the polymorphism at codon 200 in hookworms was at such low frequency that conclusions cannot be drawn

Fenoldopam use in a burn intensive care unit: a retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fenoldopam mesylate is a highly selective dopamine-1 receptor agonist approved for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies that may have a role at low doses in preserving renal function in those at high risk for or with acute kidney injury (AKI). There is no data on low-dose fenoldopam in the burn population. The purpose of our study was to describe our use of low-dose fenoldopam (0.03-0.09 μg/kg/min) infusion in critically ill burn patients with AKI.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit (BICU) with severe burns from November 2005 through September 2008 who received low-dose fenoldopam. Data obtained included systolic blood pressure, serum creatinine, vasoactive medication use, urine output, and intravenous fluid. Patients on concomitant continuous renal replacement therapy were excluded. Modified inotrope score and vasopressor dependency index were calculated. One-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, Wilcoxson signed rank, and chi-square tests were used. Differences were deemed significant at p < 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-seven patients were treated with low-dose fenoldopam out of 758 BICU admissions (10%). Twenty (26%) were AKI network (AKIN) stage 1, 14 (18%) were AKIN stage 2, 42 (55%) were AKIN stage 3, and 1 (1%) was AKIN stage 0. Serum creatinine improved over the first 24 hours and continued to improve through 48 hours (<it>p </it>< 0.05). There was an increase in systolic blood pressure in the first 24 hours that was sustained through 48 hours after initiation of fenoldopam (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Urine output increased after initiation of fenoldopam without an increase in intravenous fluid requirement (<it>p </it>< 0.05; <it>p </it>= NS). Modified inotrope score and vasopressor dependency index both decreased over 48 hours (<it>p </it>< 0.0001; <it>p </it>= 0.0012).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest that renal function was preserved and that urine output improved without a decrease in systolic blood pressure, increase in vasoactive medication use, or an increase in resuscitation requirement in patients treated with low-dose fenoldopam. A randomized controlled trial is required to establish the efficacy of low-dose fenoldopam in critically ill burn patients with AKI.</p

Tim-3 expression defines a novel population of dysfunctional T cells with highly elevated frequencies in progressive HIV-1 infection

Progressive loss of T cell functionality is a hallmark of chronic infection with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1). We have identified a novel population of dysfunctional T cells marked by surface expression of the glycoprotein Tim-3. The frequency of this population was increased in HIV-1–infected individuals to a mean of 49.4 ± SD 12.9% of CD8+ T cells expressing Tim-3 in HIV-1–infected chronic progressors versus 28.5 ± 6.8% in HIV-1–uninfected individuals. Levels of Tim-3 expression on T cells from HIV-1–infected inviduals correlated positively with HIV-1 viral load and CD38 expression and inversely with CD4+ T cell count. In progressive HIV-1 infection, Tim-3 expression was up-regulated on HIV-1–specific CD8+ T cells. Tim-3–expressing T cells failed to produce cytokine or proliferate in response to antigen and exhibited impaired Stat5, Erk1/2, and p38 signaling. Blocking the Tim-3 signaling pathway restored proliferation and enhanced cytokine production in HIV-1–specific T cells. Thus, Tim-3 represents a novel target for the therapeutic reversal of HIV-1–associated T cell dysfunction

Assays to Detect β-Tubulin Codon 200 Polymorphism in Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides

The soil-transmitted helminths Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura are gastrointestinal nematodes causing many disabilities in tropical parts of the developing world. Control programs, such as “The Focussing Resources on Effective School Health” (FRESH) Partnership, have been implemented to remove human soil-transmitted nematodes through large-scale use of benzimidazole anthelmintic drugs for school-aged children in developing countries. The benzimidazole drugs albendazole and mebendazole are commonly used as a single annual treatment in areas where the burden is high. In veterinary nematodes, repeated use of these anthelmintics has selected for resistant populations. Resistance to benzimidazoles is commonly associated with a single amino acid substitution from phenylalanine to tyrosine in the β-tubulin gene at position 200. In this study, we have developed pyrosequencing assays for codon 200 in A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura to screen for this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in β-tubulin. The 200Tyr SNP was detected at low frequency in T. trichiura from non-treated people from Kenya and at high frequency in T. trichiura from treated people from Panama. The presence of the resistance-associated SNP may play a role in the sometimes low and variable efficacy of benzimidazole anthelmintics against T. trichiura

HIV-Specific T-Cells Accumulate in the Liver in HCV/HIV Co-Infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)-related liver disease progresses more rapidly in individuals co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV), although the underlying immunologic mechanisms are unknown. We examined whether HIV-specific T-cells are identified in the liver of HCV/HIV co-infected individuals and promote liver inflammation through bystander immune responses. METHODS: Ex-vivo intra-hepatic lymphocytes from HCV mono-infected and HCV/HIV co-infected individuals were assessed for immune responses to HIV and HCV antigens by polychromatic flow cytometry. RESULTS: HCV/HIV liver biopsies had similar frequencies of lymphocytes but lower percentages of CD4+ T-cells compared to HCV biopsies. In co-infection, intra-hepatic HIV-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells producing IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha were detected and were comparable in frequency to those that were HCV-specific. In co-infected individuals, viral-specific CD8+ T-cells produced more of the fibrogenic cytokine, TNF-alpha. In both mono- and co-infected individuals, intra-hepatic HCV-specific T-cells were poorly functional compared to HIV-specific T-cells. In co-infection, HAART was not associated with a reconstitution of intra-hepatic CD4+ T-cells and was associated with reduction in both HIV and HCV-specific intra-hepatic cytokine responses. CONCLUSION: The accumulation of functional HIV-specific T-cells in the liver during HCV/HIV co-infection may represent a bystander role for HIV in inducing faster progression of liver disease