Effect of Sun and Planet-Bound Dark Matter on Planet and Satellite Dynamics in the Solar System

We apply our recent results on orbital dynamics around a mass-varying central body to the phenomenon of accretion of Dark Matter-assumed not self-annihilating-on the Sun and the major bodies of the solar system due to its motion throughout the Milky Way halo. We inspect its consequences on the orbits of the planets and their satellites over timescales of the order of the age of the solar system. It turns out that a solar Dark Matter accretion rate of \approx 10^-12 yr^-1, inferred from the upper limit \Delta M/M= 0.02-0.05 on the Sun's Dark Matter content, assumed somehow accumulated during last 4.5 Gyr, would have displaced the planets faraway by about 10^-2-10^1 au 4.5 Gyr ago. Another consequence is that the semimajor axis of the Earth's orbit, approximately equal to the Astronomical Unit, would undergo a secular increase of 0.02-0.05 m yr^-1, in agreement with the latest observational determinations of the Astronomical Unit secular increase of 0.07 +/- 0.02 m yr^-1 and 0.05 m yr^-1. By assuming that the Sun will continue to accrete Dark Matter in the next billions year at the same rate as in the past, the orbits of its planets will shrink by about 10^-1-10^1 au (\approx 0.2-0.5 au for the Earth), with consequences for their fate, especially of the inner planets. On the other hand, lunar and planetary ephemerides set upper bounds on the secular variation of the Sun's gravitational parameter GM which are one one order of magnitude smaller than 10^-12 yr^-1. Dark Matter accretion on planets has, instead, less relevant consequences for their satellites. Indeed, 4.5 Gyr ago their orbits would have been just 10^-2-10^1 km wider than now. (Abridged)Comment: LaTex2e, 17 pages, no figures, 7 tables, 61 references. Small problem with a reference fixed. To appear in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP

The Affective Impact of Financial Skewness on Neural Activity and Choice

Few finance theories consider the influence of “skewness” (or large and asymmetric but unlikely outcomes) on financial choice. We investigated the impact of skewed gambles on subjects' neural activity, self-reported affective responses, and subsequent preferences using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). Neurally, skewed gambles elicited more anterior insula activation than symmetric gambles equated for expected value and variance, and positively skewed gambles also specifically elicited more nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation than negatively skewed gambles. Affectively, positively skewed gambles elicited more positive arousal and negatively skewed gambles elicited more negative arousal than symmetric gambles equated for expected value and variance. Subjects also preferred positively skewed gambles more, but negatively skewed gambles less than symmetric gambles of equal expected value. Individual differences in both NAcc activity and positive arousal predicted preferences for positively skewed gambles. These findings support an anticipatory affect account in which statistical properties of gambles—including skewness—can influence neural activity, affective responses, and ultimately, choice

Genetic Testing and Its Clinical Application in Prostate Cancer Management: Consensus Statements from the Hong Kong Urological Association and Hong Kong Society of Uro-Oncology

BackgroundIn recent years, indications for genetic testing in prostate cancer (PC) have expanded from patients with a family history of prostate and/or related cancers to those with advanced castration-resistant disease, and even to early PC patients for determination of the appropriateness of active surveillance. The current consensus aims to provide guidance to urologists, oncologists and pathologists working with Asian PC patients on who and what to test for in selected populations.MethodsA joint consensus panel from the Hong Kong Urological Association and Hong Kong Society of Uro-Oncology was convened over a series of 5 physical and virtual meetings. A background literature search on genetic testing in PC was performed in PubMed, ClinicalKey, EBSCOHost, Ovid and ProQuest, and three working subgroups were formed to review and present the relevant evidence. Meeting agendas adopted a modified Delphi approach to ensure that discussions proceed in a structured, iterative and balanced manner, which was followed by an anonymous voting on candidate statements. Of 5 available answer options, a consensus statement was accepted if ≥ 75% of the panelists chose “Accept Completely” (Option A) or “Accept with Some Reservation” (Option B).ResultsThe consensus was structured into three parts: indications for testing, testing methods, and therapeutic implications. A list of 35 candidate statements were developed, of which 31 were accepted. The statements addressed questions on the application of PC genetic testing data and guidelines to Asian patients, including patient selection for germline testing, selection of gene panel and tissue sample, provision of genetic counseling, and use of novel systemic treatments in metastatic castration-resistant PC patients.ConclusionThis consensus provides guidance to urologists, oncologists and pathologists working with Asian patients on indications for genetic testing, testing methods and technical considerations, and associated therapeutic implications

Transverse-Momentum Dependence of the J/psi Nuclear Modification in d+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

We present measured J/psi production rates in d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV over a broad range of transverse momentum (p_T=0-14 GeV/c) and rapidity (-2.2<y<2.2). We construct the nuclear-modification factor R_dAu for these kinematics and as a function of collision centrality (related to impact parameter for the R_dAu collision). We find that the modification is largest for collisions with small impact parameters, and observe a suppression (R_dAu<1) for p_T<4 GeV/c at positive rapidities. At negative rapidity we observe a suppression for p_T1) for p_T>2 GeV/c. The observed enhancement at negative rapidity has implications for the observed modification in heavy-ion collisions at high p_T.Comment: 384 authors, 24 pages, 19 figures, 13 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/info/data/ppg123_data.htm

Clinical relevance of the radiation dose bath in lower grade glioma, a cross-sectional pilot study on neurocognitive and radiological outcome

AIM: To investigate the clinical relevance of the radiotherapy (RT) dose bath in patients treated for lower grade glioma (LGG). METHODS: Patients (n = 17) treated with RT for LGG were assessed with neurocognitive function (NCF) tests and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and categorized in subgroups based on tumour lateralisation. RT dose, volumetric results and cerebral microbleed (CMB) number were extracted for contralateral cerebrum, contralateral hippocampus, and cerebellum. The RT clinical target volume (CTV) was included in the analysis as a surrogate for focal tumour and other treatment effects. The relationships between RT dose, CTV, NCF and radiological outcome were analysed per subgroup. RESULTS: The subgroup with left-sided tumours (n = 10) performed significantly lower on verbal tests. The RT dose to the right cerebrum, as well as CTV, were related to poorer performance on tests for processing speed, attention, and visuospatial abilities, and more CMB. In the subgroup with right-sided tumours (n = 7), RT dose in the left cerebrum was related to lower verbal memory performance, (immediate and delayed recall, r = −0.821, p = 0.023 and r = −0.937, p = 0.002, respectively), and RT dose to the left hippocampus was related to hippocampal volume (r = −0.857, p = 0.014), without correlation between CTV and NCF. CONCLUSION: By using a novel approach, we were able to investigate the clinical relevance of the RT dose bath in patients with LGG more specifically. We used combined MRI-derived and NCF outcome measures to assess radiation-induced brain damage, and observed potential RT effects on the left-sided brain resulting in lower verbal memory performance and hippocampus volume

Pig α₁-Acid Glycoprotein: Characterization and First Description in Any Species as a Negative Acute Phase Protein.

The serum protein α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), also known as orosomucoid, is generally described as an archetypical positive acute phase protein. Here, porcine AGP was identified, purified and characterized from pooled pig serum. It was found to circulate as a single chain glycoprotein having an apparent molecular weight of 43 kDa by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions, of which approximately 17 kDa were accounted for by N-bound oligosaccharides. Those data correspond well with the properties of the protein predicted from the single porcine AGP gene (ORM1, Q29014 (UniProt)), containing 5 putative glycosylation sites. A monoclonal antibody (MAb) was produced and shown to quantitatively and specifically react with all microheterogenous forms of pig AGP as analyzed by 2-D electrophoresis. This MAb was used to develop an immunoassay (ELISA) for quantification of AGP in pig serum samples. The adult serum concentrations of pig AGP were in the range of 1-3 mg/ml in a number of conventional pig breeds while it was lower in Göttingen and Ossabaw minipigs (in the 0.3 to 0.6 mg/ml range) and higher in young (2-5 days old) conventional pigs (mean: 6.6 mg/ml). Surprisingly, pig AGP was found to behave as a negative acute phase protein during a range of experimental infections and aseptic inflammation with significant decreases in serum concentration and in hepatic ORM1 expression during the acute phase response. To our knowledge this is the first description in any species of AGP being a negative acute phase protein

The FAT10- and ubiquitin-dependent degradation machineries exhibit common and distinct requirements for MHC class I antigen presentation

Like ubiquitin (Ub), the ubiquitin-like protein FAT10 can serve as a signal for proteasome-dependent protein degradation. Here, we investigated the contribution of FAT10 substrate modification to MHC class I antigen presentation. We show that N-terminal modification of the human cytomegalovirus-derived pp65 antigen to FAT10 facilitates direct presentation and dendritic cell-mediated cross-presentation of the HLA-A2 restricted pp65495–503 epitope. Interestingly, our data indicate that the pp65 presentation initiated by either FAT10 or Ub partially relied on the 19S proteasome subunit Rpn10 (S5a). However, FAT10 distinguished itself from Ub in that it promoted a pp65 response which was not influenced by immunoproteasomes or PA28. Further divergence occurred at the level of Ub-binding proteins with NUB1 supporting the pp65 presentation arising from FAT10, while it exerted no effect on that initiated by Ub. Collectively, our data establish FAT10 modification as a distinct and alternative signal for facilitated MHC class I antigen presentation

Hox cluster duplication in the basal teleost Hiodon alosoides (Osteoglossomorpha)

Large-scale—even genome-wide—duplications have repeatedly been invoked as an explanation for major radiations. Teleosts, the most species-rich vertebrate clade, underwent a “fish-specific genome duplication” (FSGD) that is shared by most ray-finned fish lineages. We investigate here the Hox complement of the goldeye (Hiodon alosoides), a representative of Osteoglossomorpha, the most basal teleostean clade. An extensive PCR survey reveals that goldeye has at least eight Hox clusters, indicating a duplicated genome compared to basal actinopterygians. The possession of duplicated Hox clusters is uncoupled to species richness. The Hox system of the goldeye is substantially different from that of other teleost lineages, having retained several duplicates of Hox genes for which crown teleosts have lost at least one copy. A detailed analysis of the PCR fragments as well as full length sequences of two HoxA13 paralogs, and HoxA10 and HoxC4 genes places the duplication event close in time to the divergence of Osteoglossomorpha and crown teleosts. The data are consistent with—but do not conclusively prove—that Osteoglossomorpha shares the FSGD

The Prognostic Role of Preoperative PSMA PET/CT in cN0M0 pN+ Prostate Cancer: A Multicenter Study

CONTEXT: Despite negative preoperative conventional imaging, up to 10% of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) harbor lymph-node involvement (LNI) at radical prostatectomy (RP). The advent of more accurate imaging modalities such as PET/CT improved the detection of LNI. However, their clinical impact and prognostic value are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of preoperative PET/CT in patients node positive (pN+) at RP. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: We retrospectively identified cN0M0 patients at conventional imaging (CT and/or MRI, and bone scan) who had pN+ PCa at RP at 17 referral centers. Patients with cN+ at PSMA/Choline PET/CT but cN0M0 at conventional imaging were also included. Systemic progression/recurrence was the primary outcome; Cox proportional hazards models were used for multivariate analysis. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We included 1163 pN+ men out of whom 95 and 100 had preoperative PSMA and/or Choline PET/CT, respectively. ISUP grade ≥4 was detected in 66.6%. Overall, 42% of patients had postoperative PSA persistence (≥0.1 ng/mL). Postoperative management included initial observation (34%), ADT (22.7%) and adjuvant RT+/-ADT (42.8%). Median follow-up was 42 months. Patients with cN+ on PSMA PET/CT had an increased risk of systemic progression (52.9% vs. 13.6% cN0 PSMA PET/CT vs. 21.5% cN0 at conventional imaging; P .05). Observation as an initial management strategy instead of adjuvant treatments was related with an increased risk of metastases (HR 1.808; 95% CI: 1.069-3.058; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: PSMA PET/CT cN+ patients with negative conventional imaging have an increased risk of systemic progression after RP compared to their counterparts with cN0M0 disease both at conventional and/or molecular imaging