The effect of osteopathic manipulative treatment on heart rate variability: A case study in a female World Championship medaling open-water swimmer

To examine the effect of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on heart rate variability (HRV) indices in an elite open-water swimmer. A female open-water swimmer (age =28 years, height = 172 cm, body mass = 60 kg) participated in this study. The swimmer performed a daily supine HRV test routine 12 days before the 2019 open-water World Championships. OMT was administered when parasympathetic activity (based on HRV indices) was considered below normal values. The swimmer won a bronze medal in the 25 km event and placed fourth in the 10 km event, which qualified her for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Parasympathetic falls occurred three times during the taper period. After OMT, we observed a rebound of parasympathetic activity with a moderate to strong increase for High Frequency (HF) values compared with the average baseline from 10 to 150% increase of Ln HF values. OMT appeared to allow a parasympathetic rebound and increase the quality of recovery in an elite open-water swimmer who performed well during the World Championships. This case report illustrates the potential effects of OMT on autonomous nervous system activity, highlighting the possibilities to improve the quality of recovery in world-class athletes. It also shows the necessity to implement individualized training in the context of elite sports

Sedimentological control on carbonate cementation in the Luxembourg Sandstone Formation

The Luxembourg Sandstone Formation, i.e. a lower Jurassic offshore sandbar complex which was deposited in a general transgressive regime, was studied with the aim to unravel the controlling parameters and variations oil calcite cementation. This work was based on a combination of extensive fieldwork, petrographic and geochemical analyses. Cementation started with the development of acicular and equant cement. Both have been replaced in the meteoric realm by ferroan calcite cement. Elongated cemented lenses (10-100 m) are parallel to the bedding planes of cross-stratified layers. Coarse-grained cemented channels have a lensoid outline. Continuously cemented (>> 100 m) layers are present (1) as coarse-grained bioclastic rich layers in finer-grained lithologies (both sands and marls) and (2) at important lithological boundaries. Small nodules composed of sparitic to poikilotopic calcite cements, are aligned parallel to the stratification of the sandstones. The outline and distribution of the lenses is the result of an early cementation process, which affected carbonate-rich strata. Later diagenetic redistribution of unstable carbonate from the uncemented strata enhanced the early diagenetic signature. This resulted in zones containing a large amount of up to 100m elongated lenses, zones with smaller (1-10 m) lenses and zones without any lenses

A phase 3 multicenter, prospective, open-label efficacy and safety study of immune globulin (human) 10% caprylate/chromatography purified in patients with myasthenia gravis exacerbations

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder affecting neuromuscular transmission. Exacerbations may involve increasing bulbar weakness and/or sudden respiratory failure, both of which can be critically disabling. Management of MG exacerbations includes plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG); they are equally effective, but patients experience fewer side effects with IVIG. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of immune globulin caprylate/chromatography purified (IGIV-C) in subjects with MG exacerbations. Methods: This prospective, open-label, non-controlled 28-day clinical trial was conducted in adults with MG Foundation of America class IVb or V status. Subjects received IGIV-C 2 g/kg over 2 consecutive days (1 g/kg/day) and were assessed for efficacy/safety on Days 7, 14, 21, and 28. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from Baseline in quantitative MG (QMG) score to Day 14. Secondary endpoints of clinical response, Baseline to Day 14, included at least a 3-point decrease in QMG and MG Composite and a 2-point decrease in MG-activities of daily living (MG-ADL). Results: Forty-nine subjects enrolled. The change in QMG score at Day 14 was significant (p < 0.001) in the Evaluable (-6.4, n = 43) and Safety (-6.7, n = 49) populations. Among evaluable subjects, Day 14 response rates were 77, 86, and 88% for QMG, MG Composite, and MG-ADL, respectively. IGIV-C showed good tolerability with no serious adverse events. Conclusions: The results of this study show that IGIV-C was effective, safe, and well tolerated in the treatment of MG exacerbations

Optimization of the photon path length probability density function-simultaneous (PPDF-S) method and evaluation of CO 2 retrieval performance under dense aerosol conditions

The photon path length probability density function-simultaneous (PPDF-S) algorithm is effective for retrieving column-averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide (XCO 2 ) and methane (XCH 4 ) from Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) spectra in Short Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR). Using this method, light-path modification attributable to light reflection/scattering by atmospheric clouds/aerosols is represented by the modification of atmospheric transmittance according to PPDF parameters. We optimized PPDF parameters for a more accurate XCO 2 retrieval under aerosol dense conditions based on simulation studies for various aerosol types and surface albedos. We found a more appropriate value of PPDF parameters referring to the vertical profile of CO 2 concentration as a measure of a stable solution. The results show that the constraint condition of a PPDF parameter that represents the light reflectance effect by aerosols is sufficiently weak to affect XCO 2 adversely. By optimizing the constraint, it was possible to obtain a stable solution of XCO 2 . The new optimization was applied to retrieval analysis of the GOSAT data measured in Western Siberia. First, we assumed clear sky conditions and retrieved XCO 2 from GOSAT data obtained near Yekaterinburg in the target area. The retrieved XCO 2 was validated through a comparison with ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) measurements made at the Yekaterinburg observation site. The validation results showed that the retrieval accuracy was reasonable. Next, we applied the optimized method to dense aerosol conditions when biomass burning was active. The results demonstrated that optimization enabled retrieval, even under smoky conditions, and that the total number of retrieved data increased by about 70%. Furthermore, the results of the simulation studies and the GOSAT data analysis suggest that atmospheric aerosol types that affected CO 2 analysis are identifiable by the PPDF parameter value. We expect that we will be able to suggest a further improved algorithm after the atmospheric aerosol types are identified. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Russian Science Foundation: 18-11-00024Acknowledgments: The v3.0 ACOS/OCO-2 absorption coefficient (ABSCO) tables, used for the calculation of gas absorption coefficients, were provided by NASA and the ACOS/OCO-2 project. Vyacheslav Zakharov, Konstantin Gribanov, and Nikita Rokotyan thank the Russian Science Foundation for support of their research under the framework of grant 18-11-00024

Cytokine Detection and Modulation in Acute Graft vs. Host Disease in Mice

A murine model for acute lethal graft vs. host disease (GVHD) was used to study the role that a number of cytokines play in the development of lethal GVHD. In this study we focused on the role of IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α. Lethally irradiated (C57BL × CBA)F1 mice were reconstituted either with 107 allogeneic BALB/c spleen cells or with a similar number of syngeneic cells, as a control. A significant rise in serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels was found in allogeneically reconstituted mice. This is in contrast to the syngeneic control group in which no rise was seen. Serum IL-2 and IL-4 levels were below the detection limit. In the supernatant of Con A stimulated spleen cells from allogeneically reconstituted mice IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α concentrations were increased. The expression of mRNA for cytokines as detected by reverse transcription PCR was studied in spleen cells. In the allogeneic reconstituted mice the mRNA expression of IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α displayed faster kinetics compared with that in syngeneic reconstituted mice. The effect of treatment with recombinant cytokines, antibodies to cytokines and to cytokine receptors on the development of GVHD was investigated. Administration of recombinant IL-2 to allogeneically reconstituted mice strongly increased the morbidity and mortality whereas injection of IL-1α and TNF-α did not influence survival. Administration of antibodies against IL-2 or the IL-2 receptor decreased the morbidity and mortality. Anti-IL-6, anti-IFN-γ, and anti-TNF-α mAB, on the other hand, did not affect the morbidity and mortality of GVHD. The results of this study suggest successive waves of cytokine-secreting cell populations consistent with the induction of an inflammatory response in the development of acute GVH disease

Terrace Standard, March, 01, 1995

Observation has lead to a conclusion that the physics analysis jobs run by LHCb physicists on a local computing farm (i.e. non-grid) require more efficient access to the data which resides on the Grid. Our experiments have shown that the I/O bound nature of the analysis jobs in combination with the latency due to the remote access protocols (e.g. rfio, dcap) cause a low CPU efficiency of these jobs. In addition to causing a low CPU efficiency, the remote access protocols give rise to high overhead (in terms of amount of data transferred). This paper gives an overview of the concept of pre-fetching and caching of input files in the proximity of the processing resources, which is exploited to cope with the I/O bound analysis jobs. The files are copied from Grid storage elements (using GridFTP), while concurrently performing computations, inspired from a similar idea used in the ATLAS experiment. The results illustrate that this file staging approach is relatively insensitive to the original location of the data, and a significant improvement can be achieved in terms of the CPU efficiency of an analysis job. Dealing with scalability of such a solution on the Grid environment is discussed briefly

Immunomagnetic t-lymphocyte depletion (ITLD) of rat bone marrow using OX-19 monoclonal antibody

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) may be abrogated and host survival prolonged by in vitro depletion of T lymphocytes from bone marrow (BM) prior to allotransplantation. Using a mouse anti-rat pan T-lymphocyte monoclonal antibody (0×19) bound to monosized, magnetic, polymer beads, T lymphocytes were removed in vitro from normal bone marrow. The removal of the T lymphocytes was confirmed by flow cytometry. Injection of the T-lymphocyte-depleted bone marrow into fully allogeneic rats prevents the induction of GVHD and prolongs host survival. A highly efficient technique of T-lymphocyte depletion using rat bone marrow is described. It involves the binding of OX-19, a MoAb directed against all rat thy-mocytes and mature peripheral T lymphocytes, to monosized, magnetic polymer spheres. Magnetic separation of T lymphocytes after mixing the allogeneic bone marrow with the bead/OX-19 complex provides for a simple, rapid depletion of T lymphocytes from the bone marrow. In vitro studies using flow cytometry and the prevention of GVHD in a fully allogeneic rat bone marrow model have been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the depletion procedure. © 1989 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted

Validation of skeletal muscle mass assessment at the level of the third cervical vertebra in patients with head and neck cancer

Background: Low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) is associated with adverse outcomes. SMM is often assessed at the third lumbar vertebra (L3) on abdominal imaging. Abdominal imaging is not routinely performed in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). We aim to validate SMM measurement at the level of the third cervical vertebra (C3) on head and neck imaging. Material and methods: Patients with pre-treatment whole-body computed tomography (CT) between 2010 and 2018 were included. Cross-sectional muscle area (CSMA) was manually delineated at the level of C3 and L3. Correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated. Cohen's kappa was used to assess the reliability of identifying a patient with low SMM. Results: Two hundred patients were included. Correlation between CSMA at the level of C3 and L3 was good (r = 0.75, p < 0.01). Using a multivariate formula to estimate CSMA at L3, including gender, age, and weight, correlation improved (r = 0.82, p < 0.01). The agreement between estimated and actual CSMA at L3 was good (ICC 0.78, p < 0.01). There was moderate agreement in the identification of patients with low SMM based on the estimated lumbar skeletal muscle mass index (LSMI) and actual LSMI (Cohen's κ: 0.57, 95%CI 0.45–0.69). Conclusions: CSMA at C3 correlates well with CSMA at L3. There is moderate agreement in the identification of patients with low SMM based on the estimated lumbar SMI (based on measurement at C3) and actual LSMI