Intravenous immunoglobulin in acute Sydenham's chorea: A systematic review.

Abstract Sydenham's chorea (SC) is a major manifestation seen in 25% of patients with acute rheumatic fever. SC is the prototypic autoimmune neurological disorder, which has a less appreciated associated risk of psychiatric morbidity. We undertook a systematic review to examine whether the use of intravenous immunoglobulin affects clinical recovery and morbidity

Protein hydrolysates and recovery of muscle damage following eccentric exercise

Background: A whey protein hydrolysate (NatraBoost XR; WPHNB) has been shown to speed repair muscle damage. We sought to determine whether this benefit is specific to this hydrolysate to evaluate a marker for quality control. Methods: Three hydrolysates of the same whey protein isolate (WPI) were prepared (WPHNB, WPH1 and WPH2). Isometric knee extensor strength was measured in 39 sedentary male participants before and after 100 maximal eccentric contractions of the knee extensors to induce muscle damage. Participants were then randomised to consume 250 ml of flavoured water (FW, n=9), or 250 ml of FW containing 25 g of either NatraBoost XR (n=3), WPH1 (n=9), WPH2 (n=9) or WPI (n=9). Strength was reassessed over the next seven days while the supplements were consumed daily. Fibroblasts were cultured for 48 hr in the presence of the different hydrolysates, WPI, saline or fetal bovine serum to ascertain effects on cell proliferation. Results: Strength was reduced in all treatment groups after eccentric exercise (P<0.001). Strength recovered steadily over 7 days in the FW, WPI, WPH1 and WPH2 treatment groups (P<0.001), with no difference between treatments (P=0.87). WPHNB promoted faster strength recovery compared with the other treatments (P<0.001). Fibroblast proliferation was greater with WPHNB compared with saline, WPI or the other hydrolysates (P<0.001). Conclusions: Promoting recovery from muscle damage seems unique to WPHNB. In vitro fibroblast proliferation may be a useful marker for quality control. It is not clear whether effects on fibroblast proliferation contribute to the in vivo effect of WPHNB on muscle damage

A review of psychiatric co-morbidity described in genetic and immune mediated movement disorders

Psychiatric symptoms are an increasingly recognised feature of movement disorders. Recent identification of causative genes and autoantibodies has allowed detailed analysis of aetiologically homogenous subgroups, thereby enabling determination of the spectrum of psychiatric symptoms in these disorders. This review evaluates the incidence and type of psychiatric symptoms encountered in patients with movement disorders. A broad spectrum of psychiatric symptoms was identified across all subtypes of movement disorder, with depression, generalised anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder being most common. Psychosis, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were also identified, with the psychiatric symptoms often predating onset of the motor disorder. The high incidence of psychiatric symptoms across such a wide range of movement disorders suggests a degree of common or overlapping pathogenic mechanisms. Our review demonstrates the need for increased clinical awareness of such co-morbidities, which should facilitate early neuropsychiatric intervention and allied specialist treatment for patients

The Initial Mass Function in disc galaxies and in galaxy clusters: the chemo-photometric picture

The observed brightness of the Tully-Fisher relation suggests a low stellar M/L ratio and a "bottom-light" IMF in disc galaxies, but the corresponding efficiency of chemical enrichment tends to exceed the observational estimates. Either suitable tuning of the IMF slope and mass limits or metal outflows from disc galaxies must then be invoked. A standard Solar Neighbourhood IMF cannot explain the high metallicity of the hot intra-cluster medium: a different IMF must be at work in clusters of galaxies. Alternatively, if the IMF is universal and chemical enrichment is everywhere as efficient as observed in clusters, substantial loss of metals must occur from the Solar Neighbourhood and from disc galaxies in general; a "non-standard" scenario challenging our understanding of disc galaxy formation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; in Proceedings of IMF@50: the Initial Mass Function 50 years later; Corbelli, Palla and Zinnecker (eds.

Large-scale collective motion of RFGC galaxies in curved space-time

We consider large-scale collective motion of flat edge-on spiral galaxies from the Revised Flat Galaxy Catalogue (RFGC) taking into account the curvature of space-time in the Local Universe at the scale 100 Mpc/h. We analyse how the relativistic model of collective motion should be modified to provide the best possible values of parameters, the effects that impact these parameters and ways to mitigate them. Evolution of galactic diameters, selection effects, and difference between isophotal and angular diameter distances are inadequate to explain this impact. At the same time, measurement error in HI line widths and angular diameters can easily provide such an impact. This is illustrated in a toy model, which allows analytical consideration, and then in the full model using Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting velocity field is very close to that provided by the non-relativistic model of motion. The obtained bulk flow velocity is consistent with {\Lambda}CDM cosmology.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

No Effect of a Whey Growth Factor Extract during Resistance Training on Strength, Body Composition, or Hypertrophic Gene Expression in Resistance-Trained Young Men

Growth factors can be isolated from bovine milk to form a whey growth factor extract (WGFE). This study examined whether WGFE promoted activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway enabling increased lean tissue mass and strength in resistance trained men. Forty six men with \u3e6 months of resistance training (RT) experience performed 12 weeks of RT. Participants consumed 20 g/day of whey protein and were randomised to receive either 1.6 g WGFE/day (WGFE; n = 22) or 1.6 g cellulose/day (control, CONT; n = 24). The primary outcome was leg press one-repetition maximum (LP1-RM) which was assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. At baseline and 12 weeks body composition was assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, and muscle protein synthesis and gene expression were assessed (vastus lateralis biopsy) in a sub-sample (WGFE n = 10, CONT n = 10) pre- and 3 hr post-training. RT increased LP1-RM (+34.9%) and lean tissue mass (+2.3%; p \u3c 0.05) with no difference between treatments (p \u3e 0.48, treatment x time). Post-exercise P70s6k phosphorylation increased acutely, FOXO3a phosphorylation was unaltered. There were no differences in kinase signalling or gene expression between treatments. Compared with CONT, WGFE did not result in greater increases in lean tissue mass or strength in experienced resistance trained men

Evolution of the infrared luminosity density and star formation history up to z~1: preliminary results from MIPS

Using deep observations of the Chandra Deep Field South obtained with MIPS at 24mic, we present our preliminary estimates on the evolution of the infrared (IR) luminosity density of the Universe from z=0 to z~1. We find that a pure density evolution of the IR luminosity function is clearly excluded by the data. The characteristic luminosity L_IR* evolves at least by (1+z)^3.5 with lookback time, but our monochromatic approach does not allow us to break the degeneracy between a pure evolution in luminosity or an evolution in both density and luminosity. Our results imply that IR luminous systems (L_IR > 10^11 L_sol) become the dominant population contributing to the comoving IR energy density beyond z~0.5-0.6. The uncertainties affecting our measurements are largely dominated by the poor constraints on the spectral energy distributions that are used to translate the observed 24mic flux into luminosities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To be published in "Starbursts: From 30 Doradus to Lyman Break Galaxies", held in Cambridge, 6-10 September 2004, Ed. R. de Grijs & R. M. Gonzalez Delgad

Causes and clinical features of childhood encephalitis: a multicenter, prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND:We aimed to determine the contemporary causes, clinical features, and short-term outcome of encephalitis in Australian children. METHODS:We prospectively identified children (≤14 years of age) admitted with suspected encephalitis at 5 major pediatric hospitals nationally between May 2013 and December 2016 using the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) Network. A multidisciplinary expert panel reviewed cases and categorized them using published definitions. Confirmed encephalitis cases were categorized into etiologic subgroups. RESULTS:From 526 cases of suspected encephalitis, 287 children met criteria for confirmed encephalitis: 57% (95% confidence interval [CI], 52%-63%) had infectious causes, 10% enterovirus, 10% parechovirus, 8% bacterial meningoencephalitis, 6% influenza, 6% herpes simplex virus (HSV), and 6% Mycoplasma pneumoniae; 25% (95% CI, 20%-30%) had immune-mediated encephalitis, 18% acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and 6% anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis; and 17% (95% CI, 13%-21%) had an unknown cause. Infectious encephalitis occurred in younger children (median age, 1.7 years [interquartile range {IQR}, 0.1-6.9]) compared with immune-mediated encephalitis (median age, 7.6 years [IQR, 4.6-12.4]). Varicella zoster virus encephalitis was infrequent following high vaccination coverage since 2007. Thirteen children (5%) died: 11 with infectious causes (2 influenza; 2 human herpesvirus 6; 2 group B Streptococcus; 2 Streptococcus pneumoniae; 1 HSV; 1 parechovirus; 1 enterovirus) and 2 with no cause identified. Twenty-seven percent (95% CI, 21%-31%) of children showed moderate to severe neurological sequelae at discharge. CONCLUSIONS:Epidemic viral infections predominated as causes of childhood encephalitis in Australia. The leading causes include vaccine-preventable diseases. There were significant differences in age, clinical features, and outcome among leading causes. Mortality or short-term neurological morbidity occurred in one-third of cases.Philip N Britton, Russell C Dale, Christopher C Blyth, Julia E Clark, Nigel Crawford, Helen Marshall ... et al

Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies

Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade. Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models, and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies, such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc