197 research outputs found
Screening of internationally adopted children
Currently, we have no local generally agreed guidelines for the examination of children adopted overseas. Out of 163 adopted children, who were brought into Malta between January 1991 and June 1992, 140 (86%) were seen at the children’s Outpatient Department, St. Luke’s Hospital. They were clinically examined and screened for hepatitis, H.I.V. infection, syphilis and tuberculosis. The results obtained showed that screening revealed important illness in a considerable number of these children. Standardised mandatory screening tests should be introduced for all internationally adopted children.peer-reviewe
The magnetoelectrochemical switch
In the field of spintronics, the archetype solid-state two-terminal device is the spin valve, where the resistance is controlled by the magnetization configuration. We show here how this concept of spin-dependent switch can be extended to magnetic electrodes in solution, by magnetic control of their chemical environment. Appropriate nanoscale design allows a huge enhancement of the magnetic force field experienced by paramagnetic molecular species in solutions, which changes between repulsive and attractive on changing the electrodes' magnetic orientations. Specifically, the field gradient force created within a sub-100-nm-sized nanogap separating two magnetic electrodes can be reversed by changing the orientation of the electrodes' magnetization relative to the current flowing between the electrodes. This can result in a breaking or making of an electric nanocontact, with a change of resistance by a factor of up to 103. The results reveal how an external field can impact chemical equilibrium in the vicinity of nanoscale magnetic circuits
Hybrid paramagnon phonon modes at elevated temperatures in EuTiO3
EuTiO3 (ETO) has recently experienced an enormous revival of interest because
of its possible multiferroic properties which are currently in the focus of
research. Unfortunately ETO is an unlikely candidate for enlarged
multifunctionality since the mode softening - typical for ferroelectrics -
remains incomplete, and the antiferromagnetic properties appear at 5.5K only.
However, a strong coupling between lattice and Eu spins exists and leads to the
appearance of a magnon-phonon-hybrid mode at elevated temperatures as evidenced
by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), muon spin rotation ({\mu}SR)
experiments and model predictions based on a coupled spin-polarizability
Hamiltonian. This novel finding supports the notion of strong
magneto-dielectric (MD) effects being realized in ETO and opens new strategies
in material design and technological applications.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Muon spin rotation and relaxation in magnetic materials
A review of the muon spin rotation and relaxation (SR) studies on
magnetic materials published from July 1993 is presented. It covers the
investigation of magnetic phase diagrams, of spin dynamics and the analysis of
the magnetic properties of superconductors. We have chosen to focus on selected
experimental works in these different topics. In addition, a list of published
works is provided.Comment: Review article, 59 pages, LaTeX with IoP macro
Inhibition of IL-1beta improves Glycaemia in a Mouse Model for Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common diseases associated with pregnancy, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Based on the well documented role of inflammation in type 2 diabetes, the aim was to investigate the role of inflammation in GDM. We established a mouse model for GDM on the basis of its two major risk factors, obesity and aging. In these GDM mice, we observed increased Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) expression in the uterus and the placenta along with elevated circulating IL-1β concentrations compared to normoglycemic pregnant mice. Treatment with an anti-IL-1β antibody improved glucose-tolerance of GDM mice without apparent deleterious effects for the fetus. Finally, IL-1β antagonism showed a tendency for reduced plasma corticosterone concentrations, possibly explaining the metabolic improvement. We conclude that IL-1β is a causal driver of impaired glucose tolerance in GDM
Asteroids' physical models from combined dense and sparse photometry and scaling of the YORP effect by the observed obliquity distribution
The larger number of models of asteroid shapes and their rotational states
derived by the lightcurve inversion give us better insight into both the nature
of individual objects and the whole asteroid population. With a larger
statistical sample we can study the physical properties of asteroid
populations, such as main-belt asteroids or individual asteroid families, in
more detail. Shape models can also be used in combination with other types of
observational data (IR, adaptive optics images, stellar occultations), e.g., to
determine sizes and thermal properties. We use all available photometric data
of asteroids to derive their physical models by the lightcurve inversion method
and compare the observed pole latitude distributions of all asteroids with
known convex shape models with the simulated pole latitude distributions. We
used classical dense photometric lightcurves from several sources and
sparse-in-time photometry from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff,
Catalina Sky Survey, and La Palma surveys (IAU codes 689, 703, 950) in the
lightcurve inversion method to determine asteroid convex models and their
rotational states. We also extended a simple dynamical model for the spin
evolution of asteroids used in our previous paper. We present 119 new asteroid
models derived from combined dense and sparse-in-time photometry. We discuss
the reliability of asteroid shape models derived only from Catalina Sky Survey
data (IAU code 703) and present 20 such models. By using different values for a
scaling parameter cYORP (corresponds to the magnitude of the YORP momentum) in
the dynamical model for the spin evolution and by comparing synthetics and
observed pole-latitude distributions, we were able to constrain the typical
values of the cYORP parameter as between 0.05 and 0.6.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, January 15, 201
Oleate but not stearate induces the regulatory phenotype of myeloid suppressor cells
Tumor infiltrating myeloid cells play contradictory roles in the tumor
development. Dendritic cells and classical activated macrophages support anti-
tumor immune activity via antigen presentation and induction of pro-
inflammatory immune responses. Myeloid suppressor cells (MSCs), for instance
myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) or tumor associated macrophages play
a critical role in tumor growth. Here, treatment with sodium oleate, an
unsaturated fatty acid, induced a regulatory phenotype in the myeloid
suppressor cell line MSC-2 and resulted in an increased suppression of
activated T cells, paralleled by increased intracellular lipid droplets
formation. Furthermore, sodium oleate potentiated nitric oxide (NO) production
in MSC-2, thereby increasing their suppressive capacity. In primary polarized
bone marrow cells, sodium oleate (C18:1) and linoleate (C18:2), but not
stearate (C18:0) were identified as potent FFA to induce a regulatory
phenotype. This effect was abrogated in MSC-2 as well as primary cells by
specific inhibition of droplets formation while the inhibition of de novo FFA
synthesis proved ineffective, suggesting a critical role for exogenous FFA in
the functional induction of MSCs. Taken together our data introduce a new
unsaturated fatty acid-dependent pathway shaping the functional phenotype of
MSCs, facilitating the tumor escape from the immune system
GYNOCARE Update: Modern Strategies to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare Gynecologic Tumors—Current Challenges and Future Directions
More than 50% of all gynecologic tumors can be classified as rare (defined as an incidence of ≤6 per 100,000 women) and usually have a poor prognosis owing to delayed diagnosis and treatment. In contrast to almost all other common solid tumors, the treatment of rare gynecologic tumors (RGT) is often based on expert opinion, retrospective studies, or extrapolation from other tumor sites with similar histology, leading to difficulty in developing guidelines for clinical practice. Currently, gynecologic cancer research, due to distinct scientific and technological challenges, is lagging behind. Moreover, the overall efforts for addressing these challenges are fragmented across different European countries and indeed, worldwide. The GYNOCARE, COST Action CA18117 (European Network for Gynecological Rare Cancer Research) programme aims to address these challenges through the creation of a unique network between key stakeholders covering distinct domains from concept to cure: basic research on RGT, biobanking, bridging with industry, and setting up the legal and regulatory requirements for international innovative clinical trials. On this basis, members of this COST Action, (Working Group 1, “Basic and Translational Research on Rare Gynecological Cancer”) have decided to focus their future efforts on the development of new approaches to improve the diagnosis and treatment of RGT. Here, we provide a brief overview of the current state-of-the-art and describe the goals of this COST Action and its future challenges with the aim to stimulate discussion and promote synergy across scientists engaged in the fight against this rare cancer worldwide
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