Combining the Swift/BAT and the INTEGRAL/ISGRI observations

Current surveys of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) find only a very small fraction of AGN contributing to the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) at energies above 15 keV. Roughly 99% of the CXB is so far unresolved. In this work we address the question of the unresolved component of the CXB with the combined surveys of INTEGRAL and Swift. These two currently flying X-ray missions perform independent surveys at energies above 15 keV. Our approach is to perform the independent surveys and merge them in order to enhance the exposure time and reduce the systematic uncertainties. We do this with resampling techniques. As a result we obtain a new survey over a wide sky area of 6200 deg2 that is a factor ~4 more sensitive than the survey of Swift or INTEGRAL alone. Our sample comprises more than 100 AGN. We use the extragalactic source sample to resolve the CXB by more than a factor 2 compared to current parent surveys.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. To appear on World Scientific Vol.7 "Proceedings of the 13th ICATPP Conference on Astroparticle, Particle, Space Physics and Detectors for Physics Applications

Deeply x-raying the high-energy sky

All-sky explorations by Fermi-LAT have revolutionized our view of the gamma-ray sky. While its ongoing all-sky survey counts thousands of sources, essential issues related to the nature of unassociated sources call for sensitive all-sky surveys at hard X-ray energies that allow for their identification. We present the results of the association of the Fermi-LAT second source catalog to hard X-ray detected sources.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted JPC

Fermi-LAT Observations of the 2014 May-July outburst from 3C 454.3

A prominent outburst of the flat spectrum radio quasar 3C~454.3 was observed in 2014 June with the \emph{Fermi} Large Area Telescope. This outburst was characterized by a three-stage light-curve pattern---plateau, flare and post-flare---that occurred from 2014 May to July, in a similar pattern as observed during the exceptional outburst in 2010 November. The highest flux of the outburst reported in this paper occurred during 2014 June 7--29, showing a multiple-peak structure in the light-curves. The average flux in these 22 days was found to be $F[E > 100~\mathrm{MeV}] = (7.2 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-6}$~ph~cm$^{-2}$~s$^{-1}$, with a spectral index, for a simple power law, of $\Gamma = 2.04 \pm 0.01$. That made this outburst the first $\gamma$-ray high state of 3C~454.3 ever to be detected by \emph{Fermi} with such a hard spectrum over several days. The highest flux was recorded on 2014 June 15, in a 3 hr bin, at MJD 56823.5625, at a level of $F[E > 100~\mathrm{MeV}] = (17.6 \pm 1.9) \times 10^{-6}$~ph~cm$^{-2}$~s$^{-1}$. The rise time of one of the short subflares was found to be $T_r= 1200 \pm 700$~s at MJD = 56827, when the flux increased from 4 to 12 $\times 10^{-6}$~ph~cm$^{-2}$~s$^{-1}$. Several photons above 20 GeV were collected during this outburst, including one at 45 GeV on MJD 56827, constraining the $\gamma$-ray emission region to be located close to the outer boundary of the broad-line region, leading to fast flux variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in {\sc the astrophysical journal}: 2016 July 12}; 15 pages, 7 figures, 6 table

XMM-Newton observations of XTE J1817-330 and XTE J1856+053

The black hole candidate XTE J1817-330 was discovered in outburst on 26 January 2006 with RXTE/ASM. One year later, on 28 February 2007, another X-ray transient discovered in 1996, XTE J1856+053, was detected by RXTE during a new outburst. We report on the spectra obtained by XMM-Newton of these two black hole candidates.Comment: Replaced with corrected versio

THE INVOLVEMENT OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS DURING ONCOLOGICAL CONSULTATIONS. A STUDY TO EXPLORE THE INFORMATION NEEDS AND TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF A PRE-CONSULTATION INTERVENTION TO INCREASE THE PATIENTS INVOLVEMENT IN THE INFORMATION EXCHANGE.

Contesto: L'interesse per la comunicazione tra medico e paziente in ambito oncologico \ue8 in costante aumento, in particolare per quanto riguarda i bisogni informativi dei pazienti oncologici. Gli studi sul coinvolgimento dei pazienti mostrano che i medici adottano pochi tentativi aventi lo scopo di coinvolgere i loro pazienti, i quali, se non facilitati, chiedono poche informazioni ed esprimono pochi dubbi circa la loro condizione. D'altra parte, i pazienti che partecipano al processo decisionale dimostrano, invece, una maggiore aderenza al trattamento e hanno migliori esiti per quanto riguarda la salute. Due tecniche di intervento principali sono state testate nel tentativo di rendere i pazienti pi\uf9 consapevoli circa i loro bisogni e per incoraggiarli a fare pi\uf9 domande nel corso della consultazione. In primo luogo, essi sono stati incoraggiati, anche attraverso un processo educativo, a generare un proprio elenco di domande. In secondo luogo ai pazienti \ue8 stata fornita, invece, una lista strutturata e pre-costituita di domande basate sull\u2019evidenza, il Question Prompt Sheet (QPS). Obiettivi: L'obiettivo di questo studio \ue8 quello di valutare gli effetti di un intervento strutturato di pre-consultazione (QPS) confrontato con un semplice intervento (QL) nell\u2019aumentare il coinvolgimento dei pazienti con carcinoma mammario, attraverso un aumento delle domande. Metodi: Tutti i pazienti con cancro al seno che frequentano i servizi ambulatoriali di oncologia per la prima volta vengono assegnati in modo casuale a uno dei due gruppi di intervento. L'intervento consiste nella presentazione di un elenco di domande rilevanti, inerenti alla patologia oncologica (QPS) o nella richiesta di generare un elenco personale di domande pertinenti (QL) prima della consultazione. Questionari standardizzati vengono somministrati al baseline (prima della randomizzazione) e subito dopo la consultazione. La misura di esito primario \ue8 il numero di domande poste dai pazienti nel corso della consultazione misurato tramite l\u2019audio-registrazione della visita. Risultati: Tra tutti i pazienti (537), 143 sono stati esclusi per criteri di esclusione. Dei 394 pazienti eleggibili, 70 hanno rifiutato di partecipare allo studio, in modo che dei rimanenti 324 pazienti, 164 sono stati assegnati al gruppo QPS e 160 al gruppo QL, secondo la randomizzazione. 16 registrazioni sono state perse per motivi tecnici. Il campione finale comprendeva 308 pazienti con dati completi: 158 nel gruppo QPS e 150 nel gruppo QL. Il totale dei pazienti ha fatto in media 14 domande. I pazienti nel gruppo QPS hanno fatto in media 13 domande, mentre nel gruppo QL ne hanno fatte in media 16. La differenza tra i due bracci era statisticamente significativa (t (271) = - 1.99, p = .05). L'effetto della struttura gerarchica del campione \ue8 stata misurata mediante correlazione intra-classe (ICC). I risultati ottenuti con il modello lineare misto, tenendo conto della struttura gerarchica, mostrano che la differenza fra gli interventi ha perso di significativit\ue0 (b = 1,7; 95%; CI: - .29; 3.64 p = 9%.). Discussione: Nel nostro studio abbiamo confrontato il QPS con una domanda aperta (QL) nell\u2019altro gruppo, che pu\uf2 aver giocato un ruolo importante, tanto quanto il QPS nella preparare i pazienti, prima della consultazione, a focalizzare meglio la loro attenzione su ci\uf2 che desiderano chiedere al loro oncologo. Preparare i pazienti per la consultazione (tramite il QPS o il QL) \ue8 un modo semplice e veloce per promuovere i pazienti a fare domande e pu\uf2 migliorare la comunicazione globale tra l\u2019oncologo e il paziente.Background: The interest in communication issues regarding cancer care has steadily increased, in particular concerning the information needs of oncology patients. Studies on patient involvement show that physicians make few attempts to involve their patients who ask few questions if not facilitated. On the other hand, patients who participate in the decision making process show greater treatment adherence and have better health outcomes. Two main intervention techniques have been tested in an attempt to make patients more aware about their needs and to encourage them to make more questions during the consultation. Firstly, they have been encouraged, though a coaching process to generate their own list of questions. Secondly patients have been provided with a structured pre-prepared list of evidence based questions, a Question Prompt Sheet (QPS). Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of a pre-consultation structured intervention (QPS) compare to a simple intervention (QL) to increase the involvement of breast cancer patients by determining an increase in questioning. Methods: All patients with breast cancer who attend the Oncology Out-patient Services for the first time are randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups. The intervention consists of the presentation of a list of relevant illness-related questions (QPS) or a request to generate a list of relevant questions (QL) before the consultation. Standardised questionnaires are administered at baseline (before the randomisation) and immediately after the consultation. The main outcome measure is the number of questions asked by patients during the consultation Results: Among all patients (537), 143 were excluded for exclusion criteria. Of the 394 eligible patients, 70 refused to participate in the study, so that the remaining 324 patients, 164 were assigned to the QPS group and 160 to the QL, according to the randomization. 16 audiotapes were lost due to technical reasons so that the final sample comprised 308 patients with complete data: 158 and 150 respectively in the QPS and QL group. All Patient asked an average of 14 questions. Patients in the QPS group asked an average of 13 while in the QL group they asked an average of 16 questions. The difference between pooled arms was statistically significant (t (271) = \u2013 1.99, p = .05). The effect of hierarchical structure of the sample was measured by intra-class correlation (ICC). The results obtained by the mixed linear model, taking into account what mentioned above, show that the difference between interventions lost its significance (b = 1.7; 95%; CI: \u2013 .29; 3.64. p = 9%). Discussion: In our study we compared QPS to an open-ended question (QL) in the other group which can have played an important role as well as the QPS in preparing patients, prior the consultation, to focus better their attention to what they wish to ask their oncologist. Preparing patients for the consultation (using QPS or a QL as well) is a quick and simple way to promote patients asking questions and may improve the overall communication between oncologist and patient

Probing the Transition Between the Synchrotron and Inverse-compton Spectral Components of 1ES 1959+650

1ES 1959+650 is one of the most remarkable high-peaked BL Lacertae objects (HBL). In 2002, it exhibited a TeV gamma-ray flare without a similar brightening of the synchrotron component at lower energies. We present the results of a multifrequency campaign, triggered by the INTEGRAL IBIS detection of 1ES 1959+650. Our data range from the optical to hard X-ray energies, thus covering the synchrotron and inverse-Compton components simultaneously. We observed the source with INTEGRAL, the Swift X-Ray Telescope, and the UV-Optical Telescope, and nearly simultaneously with a ground-based optical telescope. The steep spectral component at X-ray energies is most likely due to synchrotron emission, while at soft gamma-ray energies the hard spectral index may be interpreted as the onset of the high-energy component of the blazar spectral energy distribution (SED). This is the first clear measurement of a concave X-ray-soft gamma-ray spectrum for an HBL. The SED can be well modeled with a leptonic synchrotron self-Compton model. When the SED is fitted this model requires a very hard electron spectral index of q ~ 1.85, possibly indicating the relevance of second-order Fermi acceleration.Comment: 5 pages, 2 postscript figure

Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 metabolises the human milk oligosaccharides lacto-N-tetraose and lacto-N-neo-tetraose through overlapping, yet distinct pathways

In this study, we demonstrate that the prototype B. breve strain UCC2003 possesses specific metabolic pathways for the utilisation of lacto-N-tetraose (LNT) and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), which represent the central moieties of Type I and Type II human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), respectively. Using a combination of experimental approaches, the enzymatic machinery involved in the metabolism of LNT and LNnT was identified and characterised. Homologs of the key genetic loci involved in the utilisation of these HMO substrates were identified in B. breve, B. bifidum, B. longum subsp. infantis and B. longum subsp. longum using bioinformatic analyses, and were shown to be variably present among other members of the Bifidobacterium genus, with a distinct pattern of conservation among human-associated bifidobacterial species

Biochemical analysis of cross‐feeding behaviour between two common gut commensals when cultivated on plant‐derived arabinogalactan

In this paper, we reveal and characterize cross‐feeding behaviour between the common gut commensal Bacteroides cellulosilyticus (Baccell) and certain bifidobacterial strains, including Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003, when grown on a medium containing Larch Wood Arabinogalactan (LW‐AG). We furthermore show that cross‐feeding is dependent on the release of β‐1,3‐galacto‐di/trisaccharides (β‐1,3‐GOS), and identified that the bga gene cluster of B. breve UCC2003 allows β‐1,3‐GOS metabolism. The product of bgaB is presumed to be responsible for the import of β‐1,3‐GOS, while the bgaA gene product, a glycoside hydrolase family 2 member, was shown to hydrolyse both β‐1,3‐galactobiose and β‐1,3‐galactotriose into galactose monomers. This study advances our understanding of strain‐specific syntrophic interactions between two glycan degraders in the human gut in the presence of AG‐type dietary polysaccharides