Incisional hernia after upper abdominal surgery: A randomised controlled trial of midline versus transverse incision

Objectives: To determine whether a transverse incision is an alternative to a midline incision in terms of incisional hern

Doubling of marine dinitrogen-fixation rates based on direct measurements

Biological dinitrogen fixation provides the largest input of nitrogen to the oceans, therefore exerting important control on the ocean’s nitrogen inventory and primary productivity. Nitrogen-isotope data fromocean sediments suggest that the marine-nitrogen inventory has been balanced for the past 3,000 years (ref. 4). Producing a balanced marine-nitrogenbudget based on direct measurements has proved difficult, however, with nitrogen loss exceeding the gain from dinitrogen fixation by approximately 200 TgNyr-1 (refs 5, 6). Here we present data from the Atlantic Ocean and show that the most widely used method of measuring oceanic N2-fixation rates underestimates the contribution of N2-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) relative to a newly developed method. Using molecular techniques to quantify the abundance of specific clades of diazotrophs in parallel with rates of 15N2 incorporation into particulate organic matter, we suggest that the difference between N2-fixation rates measured with the established method and those measured with the new method8 can be related to the composition of the diazotrophic community. Our data show that in areas dominated by Trichodesmium, the established method underestimatesN2-fixation rates by an averageof 62%. We also find that the newly developed method yields N2-fixation rates more than six times higher than those from the established method when unicellular, symbiotic cyanobacteria and c-proteobacteria dominate the diazotrophic community. On the basis of average areal rates measured over the Atlantic Ocean, we calculated basin-wide N2-fixation rates of 14+/-1TgNyr-1 and 24+/-1TgNyr-1 for the established and new methods, respectively. If our findings can be extrapolated to other ocean basins, this suggests that the global marine N2-fixation rate derived from direct measurements may increase from 103+/-8TgNyr-1 to 177+/-8TgNyr-1, and that the contribution of N2 fixers other than Trichodesmium is much more significant than was previously thought

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations at large transverse momenta in p+pp+p and Au+Au collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}= 200 GeV

Results on high transverse momentum charged particle emission with respect to the reaction plane are presented for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$= 200 GeV. Two- and four-particle correlations results are presented as well as a comparison of azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions to those in $p+p$ at the same energy. Elliptic anisotropy, $v_2$, is found to reach its maximum at $p_t \sim 3$ GeV/c, then decrease slowly and remain significant up to $p_t\approx 7$ -- 10 GeV/c. Stronger suppression is found in the back-to-back high-$p_t$ particle correlations for particles emitted out-of-plane compared to those emitted in-plane. The centrality dependence of $v_2$ at intermediate $p_t$ is compared to simple models based on jet quenching.Comment: 4 figures. Published version as PRL 93, 252301 (2004

Azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV

The results from the STAR Collaboration on directed flow (v_1), elliptic flow (v_2), and the fourth harmonic (v_4) in the anisotropic azimuthal distribution of particles from Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV are summarized and compared with results from other experiments and theoretical models. Results for identified particles are presented and fit with a Blast Wave model. Different anisotropic flow analysis methods are compared and nonflow effects are extracted from the data. For v_2, scaling with the number of constituent quarks and parton coalescence is discussed. For v_4, scaling with v_2^2 and quark coalescence is discussed.Comment: 26 pages. As accepted by Phys. Rev. C. Text rearranged, figures modified, but data the same. However, in Fig. 35 the hydro calculations are corrected in this version. The data tables are available at http://www.star.bnl.gov/central/publications/ by searching for "flow" and then this pape

Timing the multiple cell death pathways initiated by Rose Bengal acetate photodynamic therapy

Rose Bengal acetate photodynamic therapy (RBAc–PDT) induced multiple cell death pathways in HeLa cells through ROS and ER stress. Indeed, apoptosis was the first preferred mechanism of death, and it was triggered by at least four different pathways, whose independent temporal activation ensures cell killing when one or several of the pathways are inactivated. Apoptosis occurred as early as 1 h after PDT through activation of intrinsic pathways, followed by activation of extrinsic, caspase-12-dependent and caspase-independent pathways, and by autophagy. The onset of the different apoptotic pathways and autophagy, that in our system had a pro-death role, was timed by determining the levels of caspases 9, 8, 3 and 12; Bcl-2 family; Hsp70; LC3B; GRP78 and phospho-eIF2α proteins. Interestingly, inhibition of one pathway, that is, caspase-9 (Z-LEHD-FMK), caspase-8 (Z-IETD-FMK), pan-caspases (Z-VAD-FMK), autophagy (3-MA) and necrosis (Nec-1), did not impair the activation of the others, suggesting that the independent onset of the different apoptotic pathways and autophagy did not occur in a subordinated manner. Altogether, our data indicate RBAc as a powerful photosensitiser that induces a prolonged cytotoxicity and time-related cell death onset by signals originating from or converging on almost all intracellular organelles. The fact that cancer cells can die through different mechanisms is a relevant clue in the choice and design of anticancer PDT

Rapidity and Centrality Dependence of Proton and Anti-proton Production from Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV

We report on the rapidity and centrality dependence of proton and anti-proton transverse mass distributions from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV as measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC. Our results are from the rapidity and transverse momentum range of |y|<0.5 and 0.35 <p_t<1.00GeV/c. For both protons and anti-protons, transverse mass distributions become more convex from peripheral to central collisions demonstrating characteristics of collective expansion. The measured rapidity distributions and the mean transverse momenta versus rapidity are flat within |y|<0.5. Comparisons of our data with results from model calculations indicate that in order to obtain a consistent picture of the proton(anti-proton) yields and transverse mass distributions the possibility of pre-hadronic collective expansion may have to be taken into account.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to PR

Structural and micro-anatomical changes in vertebrae associated with idiopathic-type spinal curvature in the curveback guppy model

Background: The curveback lineage of guppy is characterized by heritable idiopathic-type spinal curvature thatdevelops during growth. Prior work has revealed several important developmental similarities to the human idiopathicscoliosis (IS) syndrome. In this study we investigate structural and histological aspects of the vertebrae that areassociated with spinal curvature in the curveback guppy and test for sexual dimorphism that might explain a femalebias for severe curve magnitudes in the population.Methods: Vertebrae were studied from whole-mount skeletal specimens of curved and non-curved adult males andfemales. A series of ratios were used to characterize structural aspects of each vertebra. A three-way analysis of variancetested for effects of sex, curvature, vertebral position along the spine, and all 2-way interactions (i.e., sex and curvature,sex and vertebra position, and vertebra position and curvature). Histological analyses were used to characterize microarchitecturalchanges in affected vertebrae and the intervertebral region.Results: In curveback, vertebrae that are associated with curvature demonstrate asymmetric shape distortion,migration of the intervertebral ligament, and vertebral thickening on the concave side of curvature. There is sexualdimorphism among curved individuals such that for several vertebrae, females have more slender vertebrae than domales. Also, in the region of the spine where lordosis typically occurs, curved and non-curved females have a reducedwidth at the middle of their vertebrae, relative to males.Conclusions: Based on similarities to human spinal curvatures and to animals with induced curves, the concaveconvexbiases described in the guppy suggest that there is a mechanical component to curve pathogenesis incurveback. Because idiopathic-type curvature in curveback is primarily a sagittal deformity, it is structurally more similarto Scheuermann kyphosis than IS. Anatomical differences between teleosts and humans make direct biomechanicalcomparisons difficult. However, study of basic biological systems involved in idiopathic-type spinal curvature incurveback may provide insight into the relationship between a predisposing aetiology, growth, and biomechanics.Further work is needed to clarify whether observed sex differences in vertebral characteristics are related to the femalebias for severe curves that is observed in the population

Fecal pancreatic elastase-1 levels in older individuals without known gastrointestinal diseases or diabetes mellitus

Background - Structural changes occur in the pancreas as a part of the natural aging process. With aging, also the incidence of maldigestive symptoms and malnutrition increases, raising the possibility that these might be caused at least in part by inadequate pancreatic enzyme secretion due to degenerative processes and damage of the gland. Fecal elastase-1 is a good marker of pancreatic exocrine secretion. The aim of this study was to investigate the fecal elastase-1 levels among over 60 years old Finnish and Polish healthy individuals without any special diet, known gastrointestinal disease, surgery or diabetes mellitus. Methods - A total of 159 patients participated in this cross-sectional study. 106 older individuals (aged 60-92 years) were recruited from outpatient clinics and elderly homes. They were divided to three age groups: 60-69 years old (n = 31); 70-79 years old (n = 38) and over 80 years old (n = 37). 53 young subjects (20-28 years old) were investigated as controls. Inclusion criteria were age over 60 years, normal status and competence. Exclusion criteria were any special diet, diabetes mellitus, any known gastrointestinal disease or prior gastrointestinal surgery. Fecal elastase-1 concentration was measured from stool samples with an ELISA that uses two monoclonal antibodies against different epitopes of human elastase-1. Results - Fecal elastase-1 concentrations correlated negatively with age (Pearson r = -0,3531, P < 0.001) and were significantly lower among subjects over 70 years old compared to controls (controls vs. 70-79 years old and controls vs. over 80 years old, both P < 0.001). Among the over 60 years old subjects, the fecal elastase-1 concentrations were below the cut off level of 200 μg/g in 23 of 106 (21.7%) individuals [mean 112 (86-138) μg/g] indicating pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. Of those, 9 subjects had fecal elastase-1 level below 100 μg/g as a marker of severe pancreatic insufficiency. Conclusion - In our study one fifth of healthy older individuals without any gastrointestinal disorder, surgery or diabetes mellitus suffer from pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and might benefit from enzyme supplementation therapy.peerReviewe

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV

A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3 detector at LEP using data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.4 pb^-1. Higgs decays into a charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its associated neutrino are considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from Standard Model background processes. A lower limit of 65.5 GeV on the charged Higgs mass is derived at 95 % confidence level, independent of the decay branching ratio Br(H^{+/-} -> tau nu)

Measurement of D-s(+) and D-s(*+) production in B meson decays and from continuum e(+)e(-) annihilation at √s=10.6 GeV

This is the pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the links below. Copyright @ 2002 APSNew measurements of Ds+ and Ds*+ meson production rates from B decays and from qq̅ continuum events near the Υ(4S) resonance are presented. Using 20.8 fb-1 of data on the Υ(4S) resonance and 2.6 fb-1 off-resonance, we find the inclusive branching fractions B(B⃗Ds+X)=(10.93±0.19±0.58±2.73)% and B(B⃗Ds*+X)=(7.9±0.8±0.7±2.0)%, where the first error is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the Ds+→φπ+ branching fraction uncertainty. The production cross sections σ(e+e-→Ds+X)×B(Ds+→φπ+)=7.55±0.20±0.34pb and σ(e+e-→Ds*±X)×B(Ds+→φπ+)=5.8±0.7±0.5pb are measured at center-of-mass energies about 40 MeV below the Υ(4S) mass. The branching fractions ΣB(B⃗Ds(*)+D(*))=(5.07±0.14±0.30±1.27)% and ΣB(B⃗Ds*+D(*))=(4.1±0.2±0.4±1.0)% are determined from the Ds(*)+ momentum spectra. The mass difference m(Ds+)-m(D+)=98.4±0.1±0.3MeV/c2 is also measured.This work was supported by DOE and NSF (USA), NSERC (Canada), IHEP (China), CEA and CNRS-IN2P3 (France), BMBF (Germany), INFN (Italy), NFR (Norway), MIST (Russia), and PPARC (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Swiss NSF, A. P. Sloan Foundation, Research Corporation, and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation