836 research outputs found
Joint toxicity of cadmium and ionizing radiation on zooplankton carbon incorporation, growth and mobility
The risk of exposure to radioactive elements is seldom assessed considering mixture toxicity, potentially over- or underestimating biological and ecological effects on ecosystems. This study investigated how three end points, carbon transfer between phytoplankton and Daphnia magna, D. magna mobility and growth, responded to exposure to Îł-radiation in combination with the heavy metal cadmium (Cd), using the MIXTOX approach. Observed effects were compared with mixture effects predicted by concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models and with deviations for synergistic/antagonistic (S/A), dose-level (DL), and dose-ratio (DR) dependency interactions. Several patterns of response were observed depending on the end point tested. DL-dependent deviation from the IA model was observed for carbon incorporation with antagonism switching to synergism at higher doses, while the CA model indicated synergism, mainly driven by effects at high doses of Îł-radiation. CA detected antagonism regarding acute immobilization, while IA predicted DR-dependency. Both CA and IA also identified antagonism for daphnid growth. In general, effects of combinations of Îł-radiation and Cd seem to be antagonistic at lower doses, but synergistic at the higher range of the doses tested. Our results highlight the importance of investigating the effects of exposure to Îł-radiation in a multistressor context
Transvenous Lead Extraction in Patients with Cardiac Implantable Device: The Impact of Systemic and Local Infection on Clinical Outcomes. An ESCâEHRA ELECTRa (European Lead Extraction Controlled) Registry Substudy
Background: Infections of cardiac implantable devices (CIEDI) have poor outcomes despite improvement in lead extraction (TLE) procedures. Methods: To explore the influence of CIEDI on the outcomes of TLE and the differences between patients with systemic (Sy) vs. local (Lo) CIEDI, we performed a subâanalysis of the EORP ELECTRa (European Lead Extraction ConTRolled) Registry. Results: Among 3555 patients enrolled by 73 centers in 19 Countries, the indication for TLE was CIEDI in 1850: 1170 with LoâCIEDI and 680 with SyâCIEDI. Patients with CIEDI had a worse inâhospital prognosis in terms of major complications (3.57% vs. 1.71%; p = 0.0007) and mortality (2.27% vs. 0.49%; p < 0.0001). SyâCIEDI was an independent predictor of inâhospital death (H.R. 2.14; 95%CI 1.06â4.33. p = 0.0345). Patients with SyâCIEDI more frequently had an initial CIED implant and a higher prevalence of comorbidities, while subjects with LoâCIEDI had a higher prevalence of previous CIED procedures. Time from signs of CIEDI and TLE was longer for LoâCIEDI despite a shorter preâTLE antibiotic treatment. Conclusions: Patients with CIEDI have a worse inâhospital prognosis after TLE, especially for patients with SyâCIEDI. These results raise the suspicion that in a relevant group of patients CIEDI can be systemic from the beginning without progression from LoâCIEDI. Future research is needed to characterize this subgroup of patients
Orlistat after initial dietary/behavioural treatment: changes in body weight and dietary maintenance in subjects with sleep related breathing disorders
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sleep related breathing disorders (SRBD) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality and weight loss is recommended to overweight or obese patients with SRBD. However, maintenance of weight loss is difficult to achieve and strategies for weight loss maintenance is needed. Orlistat is a pharmacological agent that reduces the intestinal absorption of fat and may favour long-term weight maintenance.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To examine the change in body weight and dietary intake during a 1-year treatment with orlistat after an initial weight loss in obese subjects with SRBD. Furthermore, to explore the dietary determinants of weight maintenance during treatment with orlistat.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Men and women with SRBD aged 32-62 years (n = 63) participated in a 3-month dietary intervention to increase intake of vegetables and fruit. After an initial weight loss of 3.4 kg they achieved a mean body mass index of 34.3 ± 4.7 kg/m2. Subsequently they were treated with orlistat for 1 year. During this year, dietary and behavioural interventions to attain weight loss were provided in the course of 14 group sessions. Dietary intake, energy density and food choices were assessed with a food frequency questionnaire before and after orlistat treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With orlistat, body weight decreased by a mean of 3.5 kg (95% CI 1.5, 5.5). The dietary E% from saturated fat, intake of fatty dairy products and energy density increased after 1 year while intakes of oils, fish and vegetables decreased (all P < 0.05). After multivariate adjustments, weight loss was associated with E% protein (R2<sub>adj </sub>= 0.19 [95% CI 0.10, 0.46]), and inversely associated with E% saturated fat (R2<sub>adj </sub>= 0.20 [95% CI 0.12, 0.47]) and fatty dairy products (R2<sub>adj </sub>= 0.23 [95% CI 0.12, 0.49]).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Orlistat induced further weight loss, but dietary compliance declined with time. Increasing dietary protein and restricting saturated fat and fatty dairy products may facilitate weight loss with orlistat.</p
Production, purification and characterization of the catalytic domain of glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger
Scorpion toxins from Centruroides noxius and Tityus serrulatus. Primary structures and sequence comparison by metric analysis
The Single-Particle density of States, Bound States, Phase-Shift Flip, and a Resonance in the Presence of an Aharonov-Bohm Potential
Both the nonrelativistic scattering and the spectrum in the presence of the
Aharonov-Bohm potential are analyzed. The single-particle density of states
(DOS) for different self-adjoint extensions is calculated. The DOS provides a
link between different physical quantities and is a natural starting point for
their calculation. The consequences of an asymmetry of the S matrix for the
generic self-adjoint extension are examined.
I. Introduction
II. Impenetrable flux tube and the density of states
III. Penetrable flux tube and self-adjoint extensions
IV. The S matrix and scattering cross sections
V. The Krein-Friedel formula and the resonance
VI. Regularization
VII. The R --> 0 limit and the interpretation of self-adjoint extensions
VIII. Energy calculations
IX. The Hall effect in the dilute vortex limit
X. Persistent current of free electrons in the plane pierced by a flux tube
XI. The 2nd virial coefficient of nonrelativistic interacting anyons
XII. Discussion of the results and open questionsComment: 68 pages, plain latex, 7 figures, 3 references and one figure added
plus a few minor text correction
The association between secondhand smoke and the risk of developing acute coronary syndromes, among non-smokers, under the presence of several cardiovascular risk factors: The CARDIO2000 case-control study
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between secondhand smoke and the risk of developing a first event of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), i.e. acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina, among non-smokers, in relation to the presence of several other cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: Eight hundred and forty-eight patients with first event of ACS and 1078 cardiovascular disease-free matched controls completed a detailed questionnaire regarding their exposure to secondhand smoke, among other investigated parameters. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninetyâseven (35%) of the patients and 259 (24%) of the controls were defined as secondhand smokers. After controlling for several potential confounders, the results showed that non-smokers occasionally (< 3 time per week) exposed to cigarette smoke were associated with 26% higher risk of ACS (OR = 1.26, P-value < 0.01) compared to non-smokers not exposed to smoke, while regular exposure is associated with 99% higher risk of developing ACS (OR = 1.99, P-value < 0.001). Moreover, the previous risk increases progressively from 15% to 256% if one or more of the classical cardiovascular risk factors (i.e. hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, sedentary life and family history of premature coronary heart disease) are present. CONCLUSIONS: Consequently, this study supports the hypothesis that even occasional secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing acute coronary syndromes, especially when other risk factors are present. Given the high prevalence of cigarette smoking, the public health consequences of passive smoking with regard to coronary heart disease are important
Between the Natural and the Artificial: The Sublime Sexual Sensation of Car Crashes in J.G. Ballardâs Crash
At a time when technology progressively pushes back nature, the sexual act runs the risk of being denaturalised. The notion of the sublime, which I argue is how humans react to the machine as a surrogate for nature and as a sexual stimulus in Crash (1973), is therefore of central interest in this article. Ballard himself has described Crash as âthe first pornographic novel based on technologyâ (1973, 6). This engagement with a technologised sexuality is explored as a subjective narrative stance, which grants authenticity to the fictive alter ego, who can probe alternatives to an extra-textual reality. This narrative mode is notably potent in relation to the narratorâs estimation of the merge between sexuality and technology in the form of car crashes uniting Eros and Thanatos. I therefore suggest that Crash can be read as an attempt to localise the natural and human in a world dictated by artificiality and technology
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