4,685 research outputs found
Aetiopathology and Management Challenges of Lung Cancer in the Developing World
Background: There are newer diagnostic and therapeutic armamentaria for primary lung cancer. Application of molecular genetics in lung cancer management is evolving rapidly. However, the traditional knowledge and practices that were applicable before the 1980s still hold sway in most developing countries.Objective: To highlight the gap in current aetiopathology and management profile of primary lung cancers.Design: Hospital based prospective study.Setting: Metropolitan Lagos University Teaching Hospital which accounts for about 13% of Nigerian population.Subjects: Two hundread and sixty seven patients referred to our centre with lung malignancy as a differential diagnosis.Results: The research lasted 99 months beginning October 1999 during which 267 patients were enlisted. There were 148 males (55.4%) and 119 females (44.5%). Stage IV patients were 183 (68.5%) while only three patients were found at stage I. Histology showed squamous cell carcinoma in 27.7% of cases while adenocarcinoma constituted 64.0%. Curative surgery was performed for 13.1% while non curative surgery was performed for 16.5%. Correlation between smoking and malignancy was stronger among the male than the female patients.Conclusion: There is increasing incidence of primary lung cancers among non-smoking females. Despite the availability of modern diagnostic and therapeutic tools, the developing world is lagging behind in their acquisition and application
Interactive climate factors restrict future increases in spring productivity of temperate trees
peer reviewe
The Luminosity Dependence of Quasar Clustering
We investigate the luminosity dependence of quasar clustering, inspired by
numerical simulations of galaxy mergers that incorporate black hole growth.
These simulations have motivated a new interpretation of the quasar luminosity
function. In this picture, the bright end of the quasar luminosity function
consists of quasars radiating nearly at their peak luminosities, while the
faint end consists mainly of very similar sources, but at dimmer phases in
their evolution. We combine this model with the statistics of dark matter halos
that host quasar activity. We find that, since bright and faint quasars are
mostly similar sources seen in different evolutionary stages, a broad range in
quasar luminosities corresponds to only a narrow range in the masses of quasar
host halos. On average, bright and faint quasars reside in similar host halos.
Consequently, we argue that quasar clustering should depend only weakly on
luminosity. This prediction is in qualitative agreement with recent
measurements of the luminosity dependence of the quasar correlation function
(Croom et al. 2005) and the galaxy-quasar cross-correlation function
(Adelberger & Steidel 2005). Future precision clustering measurements from SDSS
and 2dF, spanning a large range in luminosity, should provide a strong test of
our model.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Ap
Mixture model with multiple allocations for clustering spatially correlated observations in the analysis of ChIP-Seq data
Model-based clustering is a technique widely used to group a collection of
units into mutually exclusive groups. There are, however, situations in which
an observation could in principle belong to more than one cluster. In the
context of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) experiments, for example, the
signal observed in the data might be produced by two (or more) different
biological processes operating together and a gene could participate in both
(or all) of them. We propose a novel approach to cluster NGS discrete data,
coming from a ChIP-Seq experiment, with a mixture model, allowing each unit to
belong potentially to more than one group: these multiple allocation clusters
can be flexibly defined via a function combining the features of the original
groups without introducing new parameters. The formulation naturally gives rise
to a `zero-inflation group' in which values close to zero can be allocated,
acting as a correction for the abundance of zeros that manifest in this type of
data. We take into account the spatial dependency between observations, which
is described through a latent Conditional Auto-Regressive process that can
reflect different dependency patterns. We assess the performance of our model
within a simulation environment and then we apply it to ChIP-seq real data.Comment: 25 pages; 3 tables, 6 figure
Developing a Programme Theory of Integrated Care: the effectiveness of Lincolnshire’s multidisciplinary Neighbourhood Teams in supporting older people with multi-morbidity’ (ProTICare) [summary report]
It is a well-rehearsed conversation that an ageing population places a significant ‘burden’ on the healthcare system where this narrative has become arguably more prevalent during a time of unprecedented economic restraint. A key approach to ensuring cost-effective service delivery through the integration of health and social care services aims to ensure a ‘seamless’ care pathway from early preventative interventions, planned care for complex needs, and a reduction in unscheduled hospital admissions and inappropriate service use. Ultimately it is acknowledged that integrated care will lead to the improvement of older people’s quality of life (Curry and Ham, 2010). An innovative concept developed from this discourse is the ‘Neighbourhood Teams’, a multidisciplinary team, comprising healthcare professionals and voluntary sector services with the underlying focus of providing streamlined case managing of care for individuals with multiple long term conditions. It is evident that multimorbidity is an increasing concern for the healthcare system, recognisable amongst individuals over 65 years of age, especially those defined as the 'oldest old'. Echoing current policy, an additional but essential role of the Neighbourhood Teams is encouraging individuals to self-manage their conditions.
This research will report on the effectiveness of four Lincolnshire Neighbourhood Teams in supporting older people with multimorbidities. Furthermore drawing upon existing literature and qualitative interviews with healthcare and voluntary sector staff, the development of a programme theory of integrated care derived from various elements of the project will reflect upon the perceived outcomes of the Neighbourhood Teams and their successes in achieving their stated aims
First Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing Measurement of Satellite Halo Mass in the CFHT Stripe-82 Survey
We select satellite galaxies from the galaxy group catalog constructed with
the SDSS spectroscopic galaxies and measure the tangential shear around these
galaxies with source catalog extracted from CFHT/MegaCam Stripe-82 Survey to
constrain the mass of subhalos associated with them. The lensing signal is
measured around satellites in groups with masses in the range [10^{13},
5x10^{14}]h^{-1}M_{sun}, and is found to agree well with theoretical
expectation. Fitting the data with a truncated NFW profile, we obtain an
average subhalo mass of log M_{sub}= 11.68 \pm 0.67 for satellites whose
projected distances to central galaxies are in the range [0.1, 0.3] h^{-1}Mpc,
and log M_{sub}= 11.68 \pm 0.76 for satellites with projected halo-centric
distance in [0.3, 0.5] h^{-1}Mpc. The best-fit subhalo masses are comparable to
the truncated subhalo masses assigned to satellite galaxies using abundance
matching and about 5 to 10 times higher than the average stellar mass of the
lensing satellite galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRA
Alternating Magnetic Field-Induced Hyperthermia Increases Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Cell Association/Uptake and Flux in Blood-Brain Barrier Models
PURPOSE: Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are being investigated for brain cancer therapy because alternating magnetic field (AMF) activates them to produce hyperthermia. For central nervous system applications, brain entry of diagnostic and therapeutic agents is usually essential. We hypothesized that AMF-induced hyperthermia significantly increases IONP blood-brain barrier (BBB) association/uptake and flux.
METHODS: Cross-linked nanoassemblies loaded with IONPs (CNA-IONPs) and conventional citrate-coated IONPs (citrate-IONPs) were synthesized and characterized in house. CNA-IONP and citrate-IONP BBB cell association/uptake and flux were studied using two BBB Transwell® models (bEnd.3 and MDCKII cells) after conventional and AMF-induced hyperthermia exposure.
RESULTS: AMF-induced hyperthermia for 0.5 h did not alter CNA-IONP size but accelerated citrate-IONP agglomeration. AMF-induced hyperthermia for 0.5 h enhanced CNA-IONP and citrate-IONP BBB cell association/uptake. It also enhanced the flux of CNA-IONPs across the two in vitro BBB models compared to conventional hyperthermia and normothermia, in the absence of cell death. Citrate-IONP flux was not observed under these conditions. AMF-induced hyperthermia also significantly enhanced paracellular pathway flux. The mechanism appears to involve more than the increased temperature surrounding the CNA-IONPs.
CONCLUSIONS: Hyperthermia induced by AMF activation of CNA-IONPs has potential to increase the BBB permeability of therapeutics for the diagnosis and therapy of various brain diseases
Maximum Overlap. Hybridization in PF5 and SF4
The method of Murrell as modified by Golebiewski has been
applied to determine the maximum overlap hybrid orbitals for PF5
and SF4• For the former system, three cases have been considered:
cr overlap integrals of the central atom valence and F 2p orbitals are
(i) taken as angular parts of P atomic orbitals projected in the bond
directions, (ii) evaluated using SCF atomic wave functions with
equidistant F ligands, and (iii) calculated using experimental bond
lengths. The resultant overall hybridizations are compared and
discussed. For SF4, only case (iii) has been carried out. In addition,
the wave function of the lone pair orbital is obtained with symmetry
consideration and orthonormality relationships among all the hy-
. brids. This appears to be an inexpensive way to determine the
form of the lone pair and to estimate its size
Antenna subtraction for jet production observables in full colour at NNLO
We describe the details of the calculation of the full colour NNLO QCD corrections to jet production observables at the LHC with antenna subtraction. All relevant matrix elements for the process pp → jj at NNLO in full colour are colour-decomposed and given in a N and n expansion, making identification of leading and subleading colour contributions transparent. The colour-ordered antenna subtraction method has previously successfully been used to construct the NNLO subtraction terms for processes with up to five partons or in the leading colour approximation. However, it is challenged by the more involved subleading colour structure of the squared matrix elements in processes with six or more partons. Here, we describe the methods needed to successfully construct the NNLO subtraction terms for the subleading colour contributions to dijet production within the antenna subtraction formalism
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