Glutathione-s-transferase pi expression in leukaemia: a comparative analysis with mdr-1 data.

Drug resistance in haemopoietic cells may be partly related to the expression of the glutathione-s-transferase (GST) pi and mdr-1 genes. We have used RNA slot blotting techniques to investigate the expression of GST pi in peripheral blood and bone marrow of eleven normal subjects, nine patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), eighteen patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML), and thirty-two patients with chronic lymphocyte leukaemia (CLL). We found increased expression of GST pi in 8 of 9 MDS, (7 peripheral blood, 1 bone marrow) 12 of 18 AML (5 peripheral blood, 7 bone marrow; 4 of 5 untreated, 1 of 5 secondary, 7 of 11 relapse or refractory) and in the peripheral blood of 24 of 32 CLL (3 of 7 untreated, 21 of 25 treated) relative to normal controls. Increased expression of GST pi can occur at any stage of disease and shows no clear relation to mdr-1 expression except, possibly, in CLL. In 3 AML patients GST pi transcript levels were the same or lower on relapse compared to presentation. Upregulation of the GST pi gene could not be demonstrated in 2 CLL patients in response to treatment with intermittent chlorambucil

Reação de genótipos de abacaxizeiro ao nematoide Pratylenchus Brachyurus.

Os fitonematoides são considerados um dos principais fatores limitantes ao cultivo do abacaxizeiro. Estes patógenos causam danos consideráveis às raízes das plantas, diminuindo a eficiência das adubações pela redução da absorção de nutrientes. As plantas apresentam sistema radicular reduzido, folhas cloróticas, estreitas e de tamanho reduzido. Consequentemente, a produção é retardada e com frutos de baixo peso e valor comercial reduzido (Arieira et al., 2008)

Effects of a Postural Exercise Program on Vertical Jump Height in Young Female Volleyball Players with Knee Valgus

Background: Although a knee valgus position is related to the increase in injury risk in volleyball players, there is a lack of studies on the relationship between knee valgus and vertical jump (VJ) performance. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a postural exercise program on VJ height in young female volleyball players with knee valgus. Methods: This pilot study included 19 young female volleyball players divided into the following groups: the Valgus Experimental Group (VEG); the Valgus Control Group (VCG); and the Neutral Control Group (NCG). All three groups carried out the same volleyball training program. In addition, only the VEG underwent a 3-month postural exercise program of 30–45 min/session, twice/week. VJ performance was measured through the Sargent test before (T0), at 6 weeks (T1), and at 12 weeks (T2). Results: A significant effect from T0 to T1 (p = 0.0017) and from T0 to T2 (p = 0.0001) was found in the VEG. No significant differences were found over time in the VCG and in the NCG. Conclusion: An integrated postural exercise program might lead to a more balanced muscle efficiency inducing athletes to obtain a higher VJ performance

Generalised Hong-Ou-Mandel Experiments with Bosons and Fermions

The Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) dip plays an important role in recent linear optics experiments. It is crucial for quantum computing with photons and can be used to characterise the quality of single photon sources and linear optics setups. In this paper, we consider generalised HOM experiments with $N$ bosons or fermions passing simultaneously through a symmetric Bell multiport beam splitter. It is shown that for even numbers of bosons, the HOM dip occurs naturally in the coincidence detection in the output ports. In contrast, fermions always leave the setup separately exhibiting perfect coincidence detection. Our results can be used to verify or employ the quantum statistics of particles experimentally.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, more references adde

Head and shoulder posture affect scapular mechanics and muscle activity in overhead tasks

Forward head and rounded shoulder posture (FHRSP) is theorized to contribute to alterations in scapular kinematics and muscle activity leading to the development of shoulder pain. However, reported differences in scapular kinematics and muscle activity in those with forward head and rounded shoulder posture are confounded by the presence of shoulder pain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare scapular kinematics and muscle activity in individuals free from shoulder pain, with and without FHRSP. Eighty volunteers were classified as having FHRSP or ideal posture. Scapular kinematics were collected concurrently with muscle activity from the upper and lower trapezius as well as the serratus anterior muscles during a loaded flexion and overhead reaching task using an electromagnetic tracking system and surface electromyography. Separate mixed model analyses of variance were used to compare three-dimensional scapular kinematics and muscle activity during the ascending phases of both tasks. Individuals with FHRSP displayed significantly greater scapular internal rotation with less serratus anterior activity, during both tasks as well as greater scapular upward rotation, anterior tilting during the flexion task when compared with the ideal posture group. These results provide support for the clinical hypothesis that FHRSP impacts shoulder mechanics independent of shoulder pain

Influence of Fluorination on the Solubilities of Carbon Dioxide, Ethane, and Nitrogen in 1‑n‑Fluoro-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis(n‑fluoroalkylsulfonyl)amide Ionic Liquids

International audienceThe effect on gas solubilities of adding partially fluorinated alkyl side chains either on imidazolium-based cations or on bis(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)amide anions was studied. The aim was to gain knowledge of the mechanisms of dissolution of gases in fluorinated ionic liquids and, if possible, to improve physical absorption of carbon dioxide in ionic liquids. We have determined experimentally, in the temperature range of 298–343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric pressure, the solubility and thermodynamics of solvation of carbon dioxide, ethane, and nitrogen in the ionic liquids 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8mim][NTf2]), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8mim][BETI]), 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13mim][NTf2]), and 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13mim][BETI]). Ionic liquids with partial fluorination on the cation were found to exhibit higher carbon dioxide and nitrogen mole fraction solubilities but lower ethane solubilities, compared to those of their hydrogenated counterparts. Molecular simulation provided insights about the mechanisms of solvation of the different gases in the ionic liquids

Developing pulmonary rehabilitation for COVID-19: Are we linked with the present literature? a lexical and geographical evaluation study based on the graph theory

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a severe ongoing global emergency. Despite high rates of asymptomatic patients, in many cases, the infection causes a rapid decline in pulmonary function due to an acute respiratory distress-like syndrome, leading to multi-organ failure and death. To date, recommendations about rehabilitation on COVID-19 are based on clinical data derived from other similar lung diseases. Rehabilitation literature lacks a standard taxonomy, limiting a proper evaluation of the most effective treatments for patients after COVID-19 infection. In this study, we assessed the clinical and rehabilitative associations and the geographical area involved in interstitial lung diseases (ILD) and in COVID-19, by a mathematical analysis based on graph theory. We performed a quantitative analysis of the literature in terms of lexical analysis and on how words are connected to each other. Despite a large difference in timeframe (throughout the last 23 years for ILD and in the last 1.5 years for COVID-19), the numbers of papers included in this study were similar. Our results show a clear discrepancy between rehabilitation proposed for COVID-19 and ILD. In ILD, the term “rehabilitation” and other related words such as “exercise” and “program” resulted in lower values of centrality and higher values of eccentricity, meaning relatively less importance of the training during the process of care in rehabilitation of patients with ILD. Conversely, “rehabilitation” was one of the most cited terms in COVID-19 literature, strongly associated with terms such as “exercise”, “physical”, and “program”, entailing a multidimensional approach of the rehabilitation for these patients. This could also be due to the widespread studies conducted on rehabilitation on COVID-19, with Chinese and Italian researchers more involved. The assessment of the terms used for the description of the rehabilitation may help to program shared rehabilitation knowledge and avoid literature misunderstandings