Collapsing open isotropic universe generated by nonminimally coupled scalar field

We investigated the behavior of an open isotropic universe generated by a scalar field which couples with background curvature nonminimally with the coupling constant $\xi$. In particular we focus on the situation where the initial value for the scalar field $\phi_{\rm in}$ is greater than the critical value ${\hat \phi}_c$=${m_p}/{\sqrt{8\pi\xi(1-6\xi)}}$. The behavior is similar to an open de Sitter universe with $k=-1$ with a negative cosmological constant $\Lambda <0$. It is found that the universe will collapse eventually to a singularity and thus has a finite extent in time in the future. Furthermore, there are some cases which shows a rebouncing behavior before the final collapse.Comment: 8 pages, 3 ps files, submitted to Phys.Lett.

Cancer activity and bleeding events post-PCI

Purpose : Limited data exist about clinically relevant bleeding events related to antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in cancer patients. We investigated the risk factors for clinically relevant bleeding events in patients with cancer after PCI with stent implantation. Patients and Methods : Patients with solid cancer subjected to first PCI were divided into active (n = 45) and non-active cancer groups (n = 44). The active group included non-operable patients on treatment or with metastasis ; the non-active included those already subjected to or for whom radical surgery was planned within 3 months after the index PCI. Results : During a median follow-up of 2.2 years, 11 bleeding events occurred, with only one occurring in the non-active cancer group. Half of them occurred during the dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) period, and the rest occurred during single-antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) period. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed significantly more bleeding events in the active cancer group (p = 0.010). Multivariate Cox regression hazard analysis revealed cancer activity as a significant independent risk factor for bleeding (p = 0.023) ; but not for three-point major adverse cardiovascular events. Conclusion : Clinically relevant bleeding risk after PCI was significantly lower in non-active cancer. Active cancer group had clinically relevant bleeding during both DAPT and SAPT periods

A Genetic Variant in the IL-17 Promoter Is Functionally Associated with Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease after Unrelated Bone Marrow Transplantation

Interleukin IL-17 is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs2275913, in the promoter region of the IL-17 gene is associated with susceptibility to ulcerative colitis. When we examined the impact of rs2275913 in a cohort consisting of 438 pairs of patients and their unrelated donors transplanted through the Japan Marrow Donor Program, the donor IL-17 197A allele was found to be associated with a higher risk of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD; hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 2.13; P = 0.05). Next, we investigated the functional relevance of the rs2275913 SNP. In vitro stimulated T cells from healthy individuals possessing the 197A allele produced significantly more IL-17 than those without the 197A allele. In a gene reporter assay, the 197A allele construct induced higher luciferase activity than the 197G allele, and the difference was higher in the presence of T cell receptor activation and was abrogated by cyclosporine treatment. Moreover, the 197A allele displayed a higher affinity for the nuclear factor activated T cells (NFAT), a critical transcription factor involved in IL-17 regulation. These findings substantiate the functional relevance of the rs2275913 polymorphism and indicate that the higher IL-17 secretion by individuals with the 197A allele likely accounts for their increased risk for acute GVHD and certain autoimmune diseases

Outcome of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with Central Nervous System Involvement

AbstractCentral nervous system (CNS) involvement in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is rare and associated with poor outcomes. Therefore, CNS involvement in AML is an indicator for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, the impact of CNS involvement in AML on the outcome of allo-HSCT remains unclear. We performed a large-scale nationwide retrospective analysis to elucidate the outcomes of allo-HSCT on AML with CNS involvement (CNS+AML). Clinical data were collected from a registry database of the Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. CNS involvement was defined as the infiltration of leukemia cells into the CNS or myeloid sarcoma in the CNS identified at any time from diagnosis to transplantation. One hundred fifty-seven patients with CNS+AML underwent allo-HSCT between 2006 and 2011. The estimated overall survival, cumulative incidence of relapse and nonrelapse mortality at 2 years for CNS+AML (51.2%, 30.2%, and 14.5%, respectively) were comparable with those for AML without CNS involvement (48.6%, 27.4%, and 22.0%, respectively). Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that the development of chronic graft-versus-host disease, disease status, and cytogenetic risk category were independent prognostic factors for overall survival for CNS+AML. These results suggest that allo-HSCT may improve outcomes in patients with CNS+AML

The AKARI far-infrared all-sky survey maps

We present a far-infrared all-sky atlas from a sensitive all-sky survey using the Japanese AKARI satellite. The survey covers >99% of the sky in four photometric bands centred at 65 μm, 90 μm, 140 μm, and 160 μm, with spatial resolutions ranging from 1' to 1".5. These data provide crucial information on the investigation and characterisation of the properties of dusty material in the interstellar medium (ISM), since a significant portion of itsenergy is emitted between ∼ 50 and 200μm. The large-scale distribution of interstellar clouds, their thermal dust temperatures, and their column densities can be investigated with the improved spatial resolution compared to earlier all-sky survey observations. In addition to the point source distribution, the large-scale distribution of ISM cirrus emission, and its filamentary structure, are well traced. We have made the first public release of the full-sky data to provide a legacy data set for use in the astronomical communit

Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia, unlike acute erythroid leukemia, predicts an unfavorable outcome after allogeneic HSCT

Acute erythroid leukemia (FAB-M6) and acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (FAB-M7) exhibit closely related properties in cells regarding morphology and the gene expression profile. Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is considered the mainstay of the treatment for both subtypes of leukemia due to their refractoriness to chemotherapy and high rates of relapse, it remains unclear whether allo-HSCT is curative in such cases due to their scarcity. We retrospectively examined the impact of allo-HSCT in 382 patients with M6 and 108 patients with M7 using nationwide HSCT data and found the overall survival (OS) and relapse rates of the M6 patients to be significantly better than those of the M7 patients after adjusting for confounding factors and statistically comparable with those of the patients with M0/M1/M2/M4/M5 disease. Consequently, the factors of age, gender, performance status, karyotype, disease status at HSCT and development of graft-vs.-host disease predicted the OS for the M6 patients, while the performance status and disease status at HSCT were predictive of the OS for the M7 patients. These findings substantiate the importance of distinguishing between M6 and M7 in the HSCT setting and suggest that unknown mechanisms influence the HSCT outcomes of these closely related subtypes of leukemia. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.Embargo Period 12 month