432 research outputs found
B-cell activating factor (BAFF) plasma level at the time of chronic GvHD diagnosis is a potential predictor of non-relapse mortality
Biological markers for risk stratification of chronic GvHD (cGvHD) could improve the care of patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Increased plasma levels of B-cell activating factor (BAFF), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 (CXCL9) and elafin have been associated with the diagnosis, but not with outcome in patients with cGvHD. We evaluated the association between levels of these soluble proteins, measured by ELISA at the time of cGvHD diagnosis and before the initiation of therapy, with non-relapse-mortality (NRM). Based on the log-transformed values, factor levels were divided into tertiles defined respectively as low, intermediate, and high levels. On univariable analysis, BAFF levels were significantly associated with NRM, whereas CXCL9 and elafin levels were not. Both low (â©œ2.3âng/mL, hazard ratio (HR)=5.8, P=0.03) and high (>5.7âng/mL, HR=5.4, P=0.03) BAFF levels were associated with a significantly higher NRM compared with intermediate BAFF level. The significant effect of high or low BAFF levels persisted in multivariable analysis. A subset of cGvHD patients had persistently low BAFF levels. In conclusion, our data show that BAFF levels at the time of cGvHD diagnosis are associated with NRM, and also are potentially useful for risk stratification. These results warrant confirmation in larger studies
Axial-flexural coupled vibration and buckling of composite beams using sinusoidal shear deformation theory
A finite element model based on sinusoidal shear deformation theory is developed to study vibration and buckling analysis of composite beams with arbitrary lay-ups. This theory satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of beam without using shear correction factors. Besides, it has strong similarity with EulerâBernoulli beam theory in some aspects such as governing equations, boundary conditions, and stress resultant expressions. By using Hamiltonâs principle, governing equations of motion are derived. A displacement-based one-dimensional finite element model is developed to solve the problem. Numerical results for cross-ply and angle-ply composite beams are obtained as special cases and are compared with other solutions available in the literature. A variety of parametric studies are conducted to demonstrate the effect of fiber orientation and modulus ratio on the natural frequencies, critical buckling loads, and load-frequency curves as well as corresponding mode shapes of composite beams
Efeitos da quitosana no desenvolvimento in vitro de videiras cv. merlot e no crescimento micelial do fungo elsinoe ampelina.
Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar o efeito da quitosana no desenvolvimento in vitro de plĂąntulas de videira cv. Merlot e sua atividade antifĂșngica sobre Elsinoe ampelina. No primeiro experimento, explantes da cultivar Merlot foram transferidos para meio de cultura DSD1, acrescido das concentraçÔes 0; 25; 50,100; 150 e 200 mg L-1 de quitosana. ApĂłs 90 dias de cultivo in vitro, as plĂąntulas foram avaliadas quanto ao nĂșmero de raĂzes e de folhas, porcentagem de enraizamento e brotação, comprimento de raĂzes e de parte aĂ©rea, massa fresca da planta. No segundo experimento, incorporou-se Ă s concentraçÔes 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 e 300 mg L-1 de quitosana ao meio BDA, onde inoculou-se o fungo. Posteriormente, avaliou-se o crescimento micelial aos 6 e 9 dias de incubação a 25Âș C no
escuro. No primeiro experimento para as variåveis comprimento médio da parte aérea, massa fresca da planta inteira, porcentagem de enraizamento e porcentagem de estacas brotadas houve decréscimo linear em função das concentraçÔes de quitosana. No segundo experimento, houve efeito linear negativo em função das concentraçÔes crescentes de quitosana, sendo que a inibição do crescimento
micelial foi de 81,7%, demonstrando o grande potencial do uso de quitosana no controle da antracnose da videira
Signatures of Supernova Neutrino Oscillations into Extra Dimensions
We consider the mixing of muon and tau neutrinos with sterile fermion fields
propagating in extra dimensions in the context of core collapse supernova
physics, extending the analysis of the electron neutrino case done in a
previous work. We show that the potentially dramatic modifications to the
supernova evolution are prevented by a mechanism of feedback, so that no severe
bounds on the parameters of the extra dimensions need to be imposed.
Nevertheless, the supernova core evolution is significantly modified. We
discuss the consequences on the delayed explosion mechanism and the
compatibility with the SN1987A signal. Then, for the cases of both nu_{mu,tau}
and nu_e mixing with bulk fermions, we analyse the distinctive features of the
signal on Earth.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; v2: minor changes, matches published versio
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