804 research outputs found
Histopathologic parameters as predictors of response to endoscopic sinus surgery in nonallergic patients with chronic rhinosinusitis
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the predictable value of histopathologic parameters in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) for response to endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). - - - - - STUDY DESIGN: Symptomatology was rated in 100 patients prior to as well as 12 and 24 months after surgery. Specimens taken during the procedure were examined and scored for goblet cells, subepithelial thickening, mast cells, and eosinophils. Multiple regression analysis was performed to predict the total score of subjective symptoms before treatment by histopathologic parameters. The correlation between histopathologic parameters and postoperative symptoms was then evaluated. - - - - - RESULTS: Goblet cells were the best predictor correlating with 5 symptoms. Subepithelial thickening correlated with 4 symptoms. Mast cell infiltration correlated with 3 symptoms. Eosinophilic infiltration correlated with only one symptom (P<0.05). - - - - - CONCLUSION: Certain histopathologic parameters in CRS are predictive of favorable response to ESS. - - - - - SIGNIFICANCE: Pathologic evaluation may help the ENT surgeon to predict the persistence of certain CRS symptoms after ESS, even in patients at low risk for surgical failure. - - - - - EBM rating: C-4
OrCaCel - OrganoCat plant and pulping combinations for the full valorisation of lignocellulose from marginal land grown perennial plants
Infrared behavior of the gluon propagator in lattice Landau gauge: the three-dimensional case
We evaluate numerically the three-momentum-space gluon propagator in the
lattice Landau gauge, for three-dimensional pure-SU(2) lattice gauge theory
with periodic boundary conditions. Simulations are done for nine different
values of the coupling , from (strong coupling) to (in the scaling region), and for lattice sizes up to . In the
limit of large lattice volume we observe, in all cases, a gluon propagator
decreasing for momenta smaller than a constant value . From our data
we estimate MeV. The result of a gluon propagator
decreasing in the infrared limit has a straightforward interpretation as
resulting from the proximity of the so-called first Gribov horizon in the
infrared directions.Comment: 14 pages, BI-TP 99/03 preprint, correction in the Acknowledgments
section. To appear in Phys.Rev.
Exploring the conformational dynamics of alanine dipeptide in solution subjected to an external electric field: A nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation
In this paper, we investigate the conformational dynamics of alanine
dipeptide under an external electric field by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics
simulation. We consider the case of a constant and of an oscillatory field. In
this context we propose a procedure to implement the temperature control, which
removes the irrelevant thermal effects of the field. For the constant field
different time-scales are identified in the conformational, dipole moment, and
orientational dynamics. Moreover, we prove that the solvent structure only
marginally changes when the external field is switched on. In the case of
oscillatory field, the conformational changes are shown to be as strong as in
the previous case, and non-trivial nonequilibrium circular paths in the
conformation space are revealed by calculating the integrated net probability
fluxes.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure
Type Checking Liveness for Collaborative Processes with Bounded and Unbounded Recursion
We present the first session typing system guaranteeing request-response
liveness properties for possibly non-terminating communicating processes. The
types augment the branch and select types of the standard binary session types
with a set of required responses, indicating that whenever a particular label
is selected, a set of other labels, its responses, must eventually also be
selected. We prove that these extended types are strictly more expressive than
standard session types. We provide a type system for a process calculus similar
to a subset of collaborative BPMN processes with internal (data-based) and
external (event-based) branching, message passing, bounded and unbounded
looping. We prove that this type system is sound, i.e., it guarantees
request-response liveness for dead-lock free processes. We exemplify the use of
the calculus and type system on a concrete example of an infinite state system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Logical Methods in Computer Scienc
On the Infrared Exponent for Gluon and Ghost Propagation in Landau Gauge QCD
In the covariant description of confinement, one expects the ghost
correlations to be infrared enhanced. Assuming ghost dominance, the long-range
behavior of gluon and ghost correlations in Landau gauge QCD is determined by
one exponent kappa. The gluon propagator is infrared finite (vanishing) for
kappa =1/2 (kappa > 1/2) which is still under debate. Here, we study critical
exponent and coupling for the infrared conformal behavior from the asymptotic
form of the solutions to the Dyson-Schwinger equations in an ultraviolet finite
expansion scheme. The value for kappa is directly related to the ghost-gluon
vertex. Assuming that it is regular in the infrared, one obtains kappa = 0.595.
This value maximizes the critical coupling alpha_c(kappa), yielding alpha_c^max
= (4 Pi/Nc) 0.709 approx. 2.97 for Nc=3. For larger kappa the vertex acquires
an infrared singularity in the gluon momentum, smaller ones imply infrared
singular ghost legs. Variations in alpha_c remain within 5% from kappa = 0.5 to
0.7. Above this range, alpha_c decreases more rapidly with alpha_c -> 0 as
kappa -> 1 which sets the upper bound on kappa.Comment: 22 Pages, 10 Figures, LaTeX2e, revtex4, some notes and references
added in response to communication
Body composition parameters predict survival in pancreatic cancer—A retrospective multicenter analysis
Background
Parameters to adapt individual treatment strategies for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are urgently needed. The present study aimed to evaluate body composition parameters as predictors of overall survival (OS) in PDAC patients.
Methods
Measurements of body composition parameters were performed on computed tomography scans at diagnosis. Height-standardized and Body Mass Index- and sex-adjusted regression formulas deriving cut-offs from a healthy population were used. The Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test was performed for survival analysis. Independent prognostic factors were identified with uni- and multivariable Cox regression analyses.
Results
In total, 354 patients were analyzed. In a multivariable Cox model, besides tumor stage and resection status, only myosteatosis (HR 1.53; 95% CI 1.10–2.14, p = 0.01) was an independent prognostic factor of OS among body composition parameters. Subgroup analyses revealed that the prognostic impact of myosteatosis was higher in patients ≤68 years of age, with advanced tumor stages and patients without curative intended resection.
Conclusions
The analysis of one of the largest Caucasian cohorts to date, demonstrated myosteatosis to be an independent prognostic factor of OS in PDAC. To improve outcomes, prospective trials aiming to investigate the utility of an early assessment of myosteatosis with subsequent intervention by dieticians, sports medicine physicians, and physiotherapists are warranted
Bifurcated homeland and diaspora politics in China and Taiwan towards the Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia
The conventional literature on diaspora politics tends to focus on one ‘homeland’ state and its relations with ‘sojourning’ diaspora around the world. This paper examines an instance of ‘bifurcated homeland:’ the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 1949. The paper investigates the changing dynamics of China's and Taiwan's diaspora policies towards Overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. They were affected by their ideological competition, the rise of Chinese nationalism, and the ‘indigenisation’ of Taiwanese identity. Illustrating such changes through the case of the KMT Yunnanese communities in Northern Thailand, this paper makes two interrelated arguments. First, we should understand relations through the lens of interactive dynamics between international system-level changes and domestic political transformations. Depending on different normative underpinnings of the international system, the foundations of regime legitimacy have changed. Subsequently, the nature of relations between the diaspora and the homeland(s) transformed from one that emphasises ideological differences during the Cold War, to one infused with nationalist authenticity in the post-Cold War period. Second, the bifurcated nature of the two homelands also created mutual influences on their diaspora policies during periods of intense competition
Toll-like receptor 9 and the inflammatory response to surgical trauma and cardiopulmonary bypass
Objectives
Cardiac surgery can lead to post-operative end-organ complications secondary to activation of systemic inflammatory response. We hypothesize that surgical trauma or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) may initiate systemic inflammatory response via release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) signaling Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) and interleukin-6 production (IL-6).
Materials and methods
The role of TLR9 in systemic inflammatory response in cardiac surgery was studied using a murine model of sternotomy and a porcine model of sternotomy and CPB. mtDNA and IL-6 were measured with and without TLR9-antagonist treatment. To study ischemia-reperfusion injury, we utilized an ex-vivo porcine kidney model.
Results
In the rodent model (n = 15), circulating mtDNA increased 19-fold (19.29 ± 3.31, p < 0.001) and plasma IL-6 levels increased 59-fold (59.06 ± 14.98) at 1-min post-sternotomy compared to pre-sternotomy. In the murine model (n = 11), administration of TLR-9 antagonists lowered IL-6 expression post-sternotomy when compared to controls (59.06 ± 14.98 vs. 5.25 ± 1.08) indicating that TLR-9 is a positive regulator of IL-6 after sternotomy. Using porcine models (n = 10), a significant increase in circulating mtDNA was observed after CPB (Fold change 29.9 ± 4.8, p = 0.005) and along with IL-6 following renal ischaemia-reperfusion. Addition of the antioxidant sulforaphane reduced circulating mtDNA when compared to controls (FC 7.36 ± 0.61 vs. 32.0 ± 4.17 at 60 min post-CPB).
Conclusion
CPB, surgical trauma and ischemic perfusion injury trigger the release of circulating mtDNA that activates TLR-9, in turn stimulating a release of IL-6. Therefore, TLR-9 antagonists may attenuate this response and may provide a future therapeutic target whereby the systemic inflammatory response to cardiac surgery may be manipulated to improve clinical outcomes
- …