Dark matter annihilation and decay in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: The classical and ultrafaint dSphs

Dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are prime targets for present and future gamma-ray telescopes hunting for indirect signals of particle dark matter. The interpretation of the data requires careful assessment of their dark matter content in order to derive robust constraints on candidate relic particles. Here, we use an optimised spherical Jeans analysis to reconstruct the `astrophysical factor' for both annihilating and decaying dark matter in 21 known dSphs. Improvements with respect to previous works are: (i) the use of more flexible luminosity and anisotropy profiles to minimise biases, (ii) the use of weak priors tailored on extensive sets of contamination-free mock data to improve the confidence intervals, (iii) systematic cross-checks of binned and unbinned analyses on mock and real data, and (iv) the use of mock data including stellar contamination to test the impact on reconstructed signals. Our analysis provides updated values for the dark matter content of 8 `classical' and 13 `ultrafaint' dSphs, with the quoted uncertainties directly linked to the sample size; the more flexible parametrisation we use results in changes compared to previous calculations. This translates into our ranking of potentially-brightest and most robust targets---viz., Ursa Minor, Draco, Sculptor---, and of the more promising, but uncertain targets---viz., Ursa Major 2, Coma---for annihilating dark matter. Our analysis of Segue 1 is extremely sensitive to whether we include or exclude a few marginal member stars, making this target one of the most uncertain. Our analysis illustrates challenges that will need to be addressed when inferring the dark matter content of new `ultrafaint' satellites that are beginning to be discovered in southern sky surveys.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to MNRAS. Supplementary material available on reques

Anticipated survival and health behaviours in older English adults: cross sectional and longitudinal analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

BACKGROUND: Individuals may make a rational decision not to engage in healthy behaviours based on their assessment of the benefits of such behaviours to them, compared to other uncontrollable threats to their health. Anticipated survival is one marker of perceived uncontrollable threats to health. We hypothesised that greater anticipated survival: a) is cross-sectionally associated with healthier patterns of behaviours; b) increases the probability that behaviours will be healthier at follow up than at baseline; and c) decreases the probability that behaviours will be 'less healthy' at follow than at baseline. METHODS: Data from waves 1 and 5 of the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing provided 8 years of follow up. Perceptions of uncontrollable threats to health at baseline were measured using anticipated survival. Health behaviours considered were self-reported cigarette smoking, physical activity level, and frequency of alcohol consumption. A wide range of socio-economic, demographic, and health variables were adjusted for. RESULTS: Greater anticipated survival was cross-sectionally associated with lower likelihood of smoking, and higher physical activity levels, but was not associated with alcohol consumption. Lower anticipated survival was associated with decreased probability of adopting healthier patterns of physical activity, and increased probability of becoming a smoker at follow up. There were no associations between anticipated survival and change in alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Our hypotheses were partially confirmed, though associations were inconsistent across behaviours and absent for alcohol consumption. Individual assessments of uncontrollable threats to health may be an important determinant of smoking and physical activity.This work was funded by a British Medical Association Strutt Harper Award (2011). JA is funded by the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.This is the final published version of the article. It was originally published in PLOS ONE (Adams J, Stamp E, Nettle D, Milne EMG, Jagger C, PLoS ONE 2015, 10(3): e0118782. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118782). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.011878

Raízes e Evolução do Estado Constitucional: a Tensão entre Constitucionalismo e Democracia

ROOTS AND EVOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL STATE: THE TENSION BETWEEN CONSTITUTIONALISM AND DEMOCRACY O presente trabalho busca analisar as raízes históricas e como ocorreu tanto a formação quanto o desenvolvimento do Estado Constitucional. Além disso, pretende investigar as relações que se estabeleceram entre o Constitucionalismo e a Democracia, marcadas, nitidamente, por um conflito permanente e necessário. Serão apresentadas noções gerais, conceitos e aspectos históricos buscando tratar o tema com a complexidade que lhe é característica, para que, ao final, seja oferecida uma abordagem capaz de maximizar o debate. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Estado Constitucional. Democracia. Constitucionalismo ABSTRACT This paper seeks to analyze the historical roots and occurred as the formation and development of the State Constitution. Furthermore, it intends to investigate the relationships established between Constitutionalism and Democracy, marked clearly by a permanent and necessary conflict. General ideas will be presented, concepts and historical aspects seeking to treat the subject with the complexity that is characteristic of him, so that in the end, be offered an approach that maximizes the debate. KEYWORDS: Constitutional State. Democracy. Constitutionalism. Data da Submissão: 07/04/2014 Data da Aceitação: 16/06/201

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis with a normal Alkaline Phosphatase: a case report

A 78 year-old lady presented with abdominal swelling and fatigue. She was anaemic with mild hypoalbuminaemia, and had a normal alkaline phosphatase. Computed tomography showed hepatosplenomegaly and mild ascites. Anti mitochondrial antibodies were strongly positive, as were anti nuclear antibodies, and the gamma glutamyl-transferase was shown to be elevated. A diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis was made. A brief discussion of treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis follows. The case is notable for the fact that primary biliary cirrhosis can manifest clinically without an elevation in alkaline phosphatase – normally the hallmark of the disease

Negative Effect of Smoking on the Performance of the QuantiFERON TB Gold in Tube Test.

False negative and indeterminate Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) results are a well documented problem. Cigarette smoking is known to increase the risk of tuberculosis (TB) and to impair Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) responses to antigenic challenge, but the impact of smoking on IGRA performance is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on IGRA performance in TB patients in a low and high TB prevalence setting respectively. Patients with confirmed TB from Denmark (DK, n = 34; 20 smokers) and Tanzania (TZ, n = 172; 23 smokers) were tested with the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In tube (QFT). Median IFN-γ level in smokers and non smokers were compared and smoking was analysed as a risk factor for false negative and indeterminate QFT results. Smokers from both DK and TZ had lower IFN-γ antigen responses (median 0.9 vs. 4.2 IU/ml, p = 0.04 and 0.4 vs. 1.6, p < 0.01), less positive (50 vs. 86%, p = 0.03 and 48 vs. 75%, p < 0.01) and more false negative (45 vs. 0%, p < 0.01 and 26 vs. 11%, p = 0.04) QFT results. In Tanzanian patients, logistic regression analysis adjusted for sex, age, HIV and alcohol consumption showed an association of smoking with false negative (OR 17.1, CI: 3.0-99.1, p < 0.01) and indeterminate QFT results (OR 5.1, CI: 1.2-21.3, p = 0.02). Cigarette smoking was associated with false negative and indeterminate IGRA results in both a high and a low TB endemic setting independent of HIV status

Gestational age at delivery and special educational need: retrospective cohort study of 407,503 schoolchildren

&lt;STRONG&gt;Background&lt;/STRONG&gt; Previous studies have demonstrated an association between preterm delivery and increased risk of special educational need (SEN). The aim of our study was to examine the risk of SEN across the full range of gestation. &lt;STRONG&gt;Methods and Findings&lt;/STRONG&gt; We conducted a population-based, retrospective study by linking school census data on the 407,503 eligible school-aged children resident in 19 Scottish Local Authority areas (total population 3.8 million) to their routine birth data. SEN was recorded in 17,784 (4.9%) children; 1,565 (8.4%) of those born preterm and 16,219 (4.7%) of those born at term. The risk of SEN increased across the whole range of gestation from 40 to 24 wk: 37–39 wk adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–1.20; 33–36 wk adjusted OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.43–1.63; 28–32 wk adjusted OR 2.66, 95% CI 2.38–2.97; 24–27 wk adjusted OR 6.92, 95% CI 5.58–8.58. There was no interaction between elective versus spontaneous delivery. Overall, gestation at delivery accounted for 10% of the adjusted population attributable fraction of SEN. Because of their high frequency, early term deliveries (37–39 wk) accounted for 5.5% of cases of SEN compared with preterm deliveries (&lt;37 wk), which accounted for only 3.6% of cases. &lt;STRONG&gt;Conclusions&lt;/STRONG&gt; Gestation at delivery had a strong, dose-dependent relationship with SEN that was apparent across the whole range of gestation. Because early term delivery is more common than preterm delivery, the former accounts for a higher percentage of SEN cases. Our findings have important implications for clinical practice in relation to the timing of elective delivery

A institucionalização da Medicina Legal no Brasil

The authors described the history of forensic medicine in Brazil, since its institution at the Bahia School of Medicine by Nina Rodriguez, to the contribution of Oscar Freire in bringing the scientific forensic work to Sao Paulo and to the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, where the subject became, in time, an independent discipline, by the hands of Dr. Freire’s disciple, Flaminio Fávero.Os autores traçam um panorama da chegada da Medicina Legal no Brasil, desde sua introdução, por intermédio de Nina Rodrigues na Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, passando pela vinda de Oscar Freire a São Paulo e a consequente criação da disciplina junto à Faculdade de Medicina e Cirurgia de São Paulo, futura Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, até a institucionalização da mesma, realizada por seu principal discípulo Flamínio Fávero

The Prevalence of Latent Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection Based on an Interferon-γ Release Assay: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Urban Adults in Mwanza, Tanzania.

One third of the world's population is estimated to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI). Surveys of LTBI are rarely performed in resource poor TB high endemic countries like Tanzania although low-income countries harbor the largest burden of the worlds LTBI. The primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of LTBI in household contacts of pulmonary TB cases and a group of apparently healthy neighborhood controls in an urban setting of such a country. Secondly we assessed potential impact of LTBI on inflammation by quantitating circulating levels of an acute phase reactant: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in neighborhood controls. The study was nested within the framework of two nutrition studies among TB patients in Mwanza, Tanzania. Household contacts- and neighborhood controls were invited to participate. The study involved a questionnaire, BMI determination and blood samples to measure AGP, HIV testing and a Quantiferon Gold In tube (QFN-IT) test to detect signs of LTBI. 245 household contacts and 192 neighborhood controls had available QFN-IT data. Among household contacts, the proportion of QFT-IT positive was 59% compared to 41% in the neighborhood controls (p = 0.001). In a linear regression model adjusted for sex, age, CD4 and HIV, a QFT-IT positive test was associated with a 10% higher level of alpha-1-acid glycoprotein(AGP) (10(B) 1.10, 95% CI 1.01; 1.20, p = 0.03), compared to individuals with a QFT-IT negative test. LTBI is highly prevalent among apparently healthy urban Tanzanians even without known exposure to TB in the household. LTBI was found to be associated with elevated levels of AGP. The implications of this observation merit further studies

Addison's disease presenting with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in 24-year-old woman: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Idiopathic intracranial hypertension can rarely be associated with an underlying endocrine disorder such as Cushing's syndrome, hyperthyroidism, or with administration of thyroxine or growth hormone. Though cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension associated with Addison's disease in children have been reported, there is only one documented case report of this association in adults. We describe a case of an acute adrenal insufficiency precipitated by idiopathic intracranial hypertension in a Caucasian female.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 24-year-old Caucasian woman was acutely unwell with a background of several months of generalised fatigue and intermittent headaches. She had unremarkable neurological and systemic examination with a normal computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Normal cerebrospinal fluid but increased opening pressure at lumbar puncture suggested intracranial hypertension. A flat short synacthen test and raised level of adrenocorticotrophic hormone were consistent with primary adrenal failure.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Addison's disease can remain unrecognised until precipitated by acute stress. This case suggests that idiopathic intracranial hypertension can rarely be associated with Addison's disease and present as an acute illness. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is possibly related to an increase in the levels of arginine vasopressin peptide in serum and cerebrospinal fluid secondary to a glucocorticoid deficient state.</p