Inégalités d'interpolation géodésique sur les groupes de Heisenberg

In this Note, we present geodesic versions of the Borell–Brascamp–Lieb, Brunn–Minkowski and entropy inequalities on the Heisenberg group Hn. Our arguments use the Riemannian approximation of Hn combined with optimal mass-transportation techniquesDans cette Note, nous présentons des versions géodésiques des inégalités de Borell–Brascamp–Lieb et de Brunn–Minkowski, et des inégalités d'entropie sur le groupe de Heisenberg Hn. Nos démonstrations s'appuient sur l'approximation riemannienne de Hn et sur des techniques de transport optimal

Co-Administration of Proton Pump Inhibitors May Negatively Affect the Outcome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated with Vedolizumab

Concomitant medications may alter the effect of biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease. The aim was to investigate the effect of proton pump inhibitors on remission rates in patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with the gut-selective vedolizumab. Patients from the Hungarian nationwide, multicenter vedolizumab cohort were selected for post hoc analysis. Primary outcomes were the assessment of clinical response and endoscopic and clinical remission at weeks 14 and 54. Secondary outcomes were the evaluation of the combined effect of concomitant steroid therapy and other factors, such as smoking, on remission. A total of 108 patients were identified with proton pump inhibitor data from 240 patients in the original cohort. Patients on steroids without proton pump inhibitors were more likely to have a clinical response at week 14 than patients on concomitant PPI (95% vs. 67%, p = 0.005). Non-smokers with IBD treated with VDZ were more likely to develop a clinical response at week 14 than smokers, particularly those not receiving PPI compared with patients on co-administered PPI therapy (81% vs. 53%, p = 0.041, and 92% vs. 74%, p = 0.029, respectively). We found that the use of PPIs in patients treated with VDZ may impair the achievement of response in certain subgroups. Unnecessary PPI prescriptions should be avoided

Location and type of isocitrate dehydrogenase mutations influence clinical characteristics and disease outcome of acute myeloid leukemia

Background: Mutations of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 are novel common genetic alterations identified in acute myeloid leukemia. Aims: To investigate the frequency, clinical associations and prognostic effect of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations together, followed by a detailed investigation of particular mutations. Methods: A consecutive cohort of 376 patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia were enrolled to compare clinical characteristics. Prognostic impact was analyzed for 314 patients younger than 60 years treated with curative intention. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations were screened using allele-specific PCR and high resolution melting, followed by a confirmatory sequencing. Results: Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 and 2 mutations were mutually exclusive, detected in 8.5% and 7.5% of the cases respectively. Presence of mutations was associated with older age (p=0.001), higher platelet count (p=0.001), intermediate risk karyotype (p<0.0001), nucleophosmin1 mutation (p=0.022), and with lower mRNA expression level of ABCG2 gene (p=0.006), as compared to mutation negative cases. Remission, relapse rates and overall survival were not different in IDH-mutation positive patients. Interestingly, particular mutations differred in association with nucleophosmin1 mutation: co-occurrence was observed in 14.3% of R132C vs. 70% of R132H carriers (p=0.02); and in 47.4% of R140Q vs. 0% R172K carriers (p=0.02) of IDH1 and IDH2 genes, respectively. R132H negatively influenced overall survival compared to isocitrate dehidrogenase 1 and 2 negative (p=0.02) or to R132C (p=0.019) patients. Conclusions: IDH mutations are frequent recurrent mutations in acute myeloid leukemia. Although a general common pathogenetic role is proposed, our results indicate that differences in clinical characteristics and treatment outcome may exist among disctinct mutations of both genes

COMPARISON OF THE PERFORMANCE OF A TRAINED AND AN UNTRAINED SENSORY PANEL ON SWEETCORN VARIETIES WITH THE PANELCHECK SOFTWARE

In this paper the results of trained and untrained sensory panels are compared on five Hungarian commercial sweet corn samples. The two evaluations were carried out in a sensory laboratory (ISO 6658:2005), with the same experimental design, with two replicates, and the panels consisted of 10 panelists. In both cases the panels assembled the profiles of the samples according to the vocabulary chosen by the trained panelists. The results show that the untrained panel has higher standard deviation, weaker repeatability and less significant parameters (ISO/DIS 11132). However 10 of the 17 sensory attributes were significant in the case of the untrained panel, the trained panel has 15 significant parameters with lower standard deviation and good repeatability. During the statistical investigation we focused on the panel performance and used the PanelCheck open source software package to achieve this goal. We followed the workflow suggested by the researchers of the Nofima, the developers of the PanelCheck. According to the examined parameters the trained panel has better discrimination ability (F values) for attributes ’yellow color’, ’hue’, roughness’, ’freshness’, ’juiciness’, ’tenderness’. There was not an attribute evaluated by the untrained panel where all the panel members reached the line representing the 5% significance level. Furthermore the trained panel has better agreement between its assessors (Tucker-1 plots) and the repeatability is much better according to the MSE plots. This examination confirms that it is necessary to train the panels in order to get reliable and consistent results

The structure of Fe(III) ions in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions from EXAFS and Mossbauer spectroscopy

To establish the structure of ferric ions in strongly alkaline (pH > 13) environments, aqueous NaOH solutions supersaturated with respect to Fe(III) and the solid ferric-hydroxo complex salts precipitating from them have been characterized with a variety of experimental techniques. From UV measurements, in solutions of pH > 13, only one kind of Fe(III)-hydroxo complex species was found to be present. The micro crystals obtained from such solutions were proven to be a new, so far unidentified solid phase. Mossbauer spectra of the quick-frozen solution and that of the complex salt indicated a highly symmetrical ferric environment in both systems From the EXAFS and XANES spectra, the environment of the ferric ion in these solutions (both native and quick-frozen) and in the complex salt was found to be different. In the complex salt, the bond lengths are consistent with an octahedral coordination around the ferric centres. In solution, the coordination geometry of Fe(III) is most probably tetrahedral. Our results demonstrate that in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions, ferric ions behave very similarly to other structurally related tervalent ions, like Al(III) or Ga(III)

Multinuclear Complex Formation between Ca(II) and Gluconate Ions in Hyperalkaline Solutions

Alkaline solutions containing polyhydroxy carboxylates and Ca(II) are typical in cementitious radioactive waste repositories. Gluconate (Gluc(-)) is a structural and functional representative of these sugar carboxylates. In the current study, the structure and equilibria of complexes forming in such strongly alkaline solutions containing Ca2+ and gluconate have been studied. It was found that Gluc(-) significantly increases the solubility of portlandite (Ca(OH)(2)(s)) under these conditions and Ca2+ complexes of unexpectedly high stability are formed. The mononuclear (CaGluc(+) and [CaGlucOH](0)) complexes were found to be minor species, and predominant multinuclear complexes were identified. The formation of the neutral [Ca(2)Gluc(OH)(3)](0) (log beta(213) = 8.03) and [Ca(3)Gluc(2)(OH)(4)](0) (log beta(324) = 12.39) has been proven via H-2/Pt-electrode potentiometric measurements and was confirmed via XAS, H-1 NMR, ESI-MS, conductometry, and freezing-point depression experiments. The binding sites of Gluc- were identified from multinuclear NMR measurements. Besides the carboxylate group, the O atoms on the second and third carbon atoms were proved to be the most probable sites for Ca2+ binding. The suggested structure of the trinuclear complex was deduced from ab initio calculations. These observations are of relevance in the thermodynamic modeling of radioactive waste repositories, where the predominance of the binuclear Ca2+ complex, which is a precursor of various high-stability ternary complexes with actinides, is demonstrated

Severe Fatigue and Memory Impairment Are Associated with Lower Serum Level of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Patients with Post-COVID Symptoms

Background: Post-COVID manifestation is defined as persistent symptoms or long-term complications beyond 4 weeks from disease onset. Fatigue and memory impairment are common post-COVID symptoms. We aimed to explore associations between the timeline and severity of post-COVID fatigue and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Methods: Fatigue and memory impairment were assessed in a total of 101 post-COVID subjects using the Chalder fatigue scale (CFQ-11) and a visual analogue scale. Using the bimodal scoring system generated from CFQ-11, a score ≥4 was defined as severe fatigue. Serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (anti-S-Ig) and nucleocapsid (anti-NC-Ig) antibodies were examined at two time points: 4–12 weeks after onset of symptoms, and beyond 12 weeks. Results: The serum level of anti-S-Ig was significantly higher in patients with non-severe fatigue compared to those with severe fatigue at 4–12 weeks (p = 0.006) and beyond 12 weeks (p = 0.016). The serum level of anti-NC-Ig remained high in patients with non-severe fatigue at both time points. In contrast, anti-NC-Ig decreased significantly in severe fatigue cases regardless of the elapsed time (4–12 weeks: p = 0.024; beyond 12 weeks: p = 0.005). The incidence of memory impairment was significantly correlated with lower anti-S-Ig levels (−0.359, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: The systemic immune response reflected by antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 is strongly correlated with the severity of post-COVID fatigue