The i-process and CEMP-r/s stars

© Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. We investigate whether the anomalous elemental abundance patterns in some of the C-enhanced metal-poor-r/s (CEMP-r/s) stars are consistent with predictions of nucleosynthesis yields from the i-process, a neutron-capture regime at neutron densities intermediate between those typical for the slow (s) and rapid (r) processes. Conditions necessary for the i-process are expected to be met at multiple stellar sites, such as the He-core and He-shell flashes in low-metallicity low-mass stars, super-AGB and post-AGB stars, as well as low-metallicity massive stars. We have found that single-exposure one-zone simulations of the i-process reproduce the abundance patterns in some of the CEMP-r/s stars much better than the model that assumes a superposition of yields from s and r-process sources. Our previous study of nuclear data uncertainties relevant to the i-process revealed that they could have a significant impact on the i-process yields obtained in our idealized one-zone calculations, leading, for example, to ∼ 0:7dex uncertainty in our predicted [Ba/La] ratio. Recent 3D hydrodynamic simulations of convection driven by a He-shell flash in post-AGB Sakurai's object have discovered a new mode of non-radial instabilities: the Global Oscillation of Shell H-ingestion. This has demonstrated that spherically symmetric stellar evolution simulations cannot be used to accurately model physical conditions for the i-process

Membros familiares e profissionais de saúde na supervisão do tratamento da tuberculose

OBJETIVO: Comparar los resultados de cura por tuberculosis entre pacientes supervisados por ele miembro familiar y por el profesional de salud. MÉTODOS: Estudio de cohorte prospectivo de 171 pacientes de Vitória, sureste de Brasil, en el período de 2004 a 2007. Cada paciente fue acompañado por seis meses hasta la finalización del tratamiento. De los pacientes estudiados, 59 pacientes tratados eran supervisados por un miembro familiar y 112 por los profesionales de salud. Fueron evaluados datos sociodemográficos y clínicos de los pacientes. Diferencias entre los grupos de estudio fueron evaluadas utilizando la prueba Chi-cuadrado o prueba t de Student al nivel de significancia de 5%. RESULTADOS: La mayoría de los sujetos de estudio presentaron bacioscopia positiva y cultivo confirmado para tuberculosis. Dos pacientes tenían serología positiva para HIV. Un número mayor de pacientes en el grupo supervisado por profesionales de salud no eran alfabetizados, comparado con aquellos pacientes del grupo supervisado por miembros familiares (p=0,01). Todos los pacientes supervisados por un familiar fueron curados, frente a 90% de los pacientes supervisados por los profesionales de salud (p=0,024). CONCLUSIONES: El éxito del tratamiento de tuberculosis fue mayor cuando se supervisó por un familiar.OBJETIVO: Comparar os resultados de cura por tuberculose entre pacientes supervisionados pelo membro familiar e pelo profissional de saúde. MÉTODOS: Estudo de coorte prospectiva de 171 pacientes de Vitória, ES, no período de 2004 a 2007. Cada paciente foi acompanhado por seis meses até a finalização do tratamento. Dos pacientes estudados, 59 pacientes tratados eram supervisionados por um membro familiar e 112 pelos profissionais de saúde. Foram avaliados dados sociodemográficos e clínicos dos pacientes. Diferenças entre os grupos de estudo foram avaliadas utilizando o teste qui-quadrado ou teste t de Student ao nivel de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: A maioria dos sujeitos do estudo apresentaram bacioscopia positiva e cultura confirmada para tuberculose. Dois pacientes tinham sorologia positiva para HIV. Um número maior de pacientes no grupo supervisionado por profissionais de saúde não eram alfabetizados, comparado com aqueles pacientes do grupo supervisionado por membros familiares (p = 0,01). Todos os pacientes supervisionados por um familiar foram curados, frente a 90% dos pacientes supervisionados pelos profissionais de saúde (p=0,024). CONCLUSÕES: O sucesso do tratamento de tuberculose foi maior quando supervisionado por um familiar.OBJECTIVE: To compare tuberculosis cure rates among patients supervised by household members or health care workers. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 171 patients treated by the program in Vitoria, Southeastern Brazil, from 2004 to 2007. Each patient was followed-up for six months until the end of the treatment. Of the patients studied, a household member supervised 59 patients and healthcare workers supervised 112 patients. Patients' sociodemographic and clinic data were analyzed. Differences between groups were assessed using chi-square test or Student's t-test. Significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: Most patients had smear positive, culture confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Two patients were HIV-positive. There were more illiterate patients in the healthcare-supervised group, in comparison to those supervised by their families (p=0.01). All patients supervised by a household member were cured compared to 90% of the patients supervised by health care workers (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Successful tuberculosis treatment was more frequent when supervised by household members

The importance of protein sources to support muscle anabolism in cancer: an expert group opinion

This opinion paper presents a short review of the potential impact of protein on muscle anabolism in cancer, which is associated with better patient outcomes. Protein source is a topic of interest for patients and clinicians, partly due to recent emphasis on the supposed non-beneficial effect of proteins; therefore, misconceptions involving animal-based (e.g., meat, fish, dairy) and plant-based (e.g., legumes) proteins in cancer are acknowledged and addressed. Although the optimal dietary amino acid composition to support muscle health in cancer is yet to be established, animal-based proteins have a composition that offers superior anabolic potential, compared to plant-derived proteins. Thus, animal-based foods should represent the majority (i.e., ≥65%) of protein intake during active cancer treatment. A diet rich in plant-derived proteins may support muscle anabolism in cancer, albeit requiring a larger quantity of protein to fulfill the optimal amino acid intake. We caution that translating dietary recommendations for cancer prevention to cancer treatment may be inadequate to support the pro-inflammatory and catabolic nature of the disease. We further caution against initiating an exclusively plant-based (i.e., vegan) diet upon a diagnosis of cancer, given the presence of elevated protein requirements and risk of inadequate protein intake to support muscle anabolism. Amino acid combination and the long-term sustainability of a dietary pattern void of animal-based foods requires careful and laborious management of protein intake for patients with cancer. Ultimately, a dietary amino acid composition that promotes muscle anabolism is optimally obtained through combination of animal- and plant-based protein sources.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The i-process and CEMP-r/s stars

© Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. We investigate whether the anomalous elemental abundance patterns in some of the C-enhanced metal-poor-r/s (CEMP-r/s) stars are consistent with predictions of nucleosynthesis yields from the i-process, a neutron-capture regime at neutron densities intermediate between those typical for the slow (s) and rapid (r) processes. Conditions necessary for the i-process are expected to be met at multiple stellar sites, such as the He-core and He-shell flashes in low-metallicity low-mass stars, super-AGB and post-AGB stars, as well as low-metallicity massive stars. We have found that single-exposure one-zone simulations of the i-process reproduce the abundance patterns in some of the CEMP-r/s stars much better than the model that assumes a superposition of yields from s and r-process sources. Our previous study of nuclear data uncertainties relevant to the i-process revealed that they could have a significant impact on the i-process yields obtained in our idealized one-zone calculations, leading, for example, to ∼ 0:7dex uncertainty in our predicted [Ba/La] ratio. Recent 3D hydrodynamic simulations of convection driven by a He-shell flash in post-AGB Sakurai's object have discovered a new mode of non-radial instabilities: the Global Oscillation of Shell H-ingestion. This has demonstrated that spherically symmetric stellar evolution simulations cannot be used to accurately model physical conditions for the i-process

H1N1pdm Influenza Infection in Hospitalized Cancer Patients: Clinical Evolution and Viral Analysis

BACKGROUND: The novel influenza A pandemic virus (H1N1pdm) caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide in 2009. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical course, duration of viral shedding, H1N1pdm evolution and emergence of antiviral resistance in hospitalized cancer patients with severe H1N1pdm infections during the winter of 2009 in Brazil. METHODS: We performed a prospective single-center cohort study in a cancer center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hospitalized patients with cancer and a confirmed diagnosis of influenza A H1N1pdm were evaluated. The main outcome measures in this study were in-hospital mortality, duration of viral shedding, viral persistence and both functional and molecular analyses of H1N1pdm susceptibility to oseltamivir. RESULTS: A total of 44 hospitalized patients with suspected influenza-like illness were screened. A total of 24 had diagnosed H1N1pdm infections. The overall hospital mortality in our cohort was 21%. Thirteen (54%) patients required intensive care. The median age of the studied cohort was 14.5 years (3-69 years). Eighteen (75%) patients had received chemotherapy in the previous month, and 14 were neutropenic at the onset of influenza. A total of 10 patients were evaluated for their duration of viral shedding, and 5 (50%) displayed prolonged viral shedding (median 23, range=11-63 days); however, this was not associated with the emergence of a resistant H1N1pdm virus. Viral evolution was observed in sequentially collected samples. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged influenza A H1N1pdm shedding was observed in cancer patients. However, oseltamivir resistance was not detected. Taken together, our data suggest that severely ill cancer patients may constitute a pandemic virus reservoir with major implications for viral propagation

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees