The Third Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars

We present 294 pulsars found in GeV data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Another 33 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) discovered in deep radio searches of LAT sources will likely reveal pulsations once phase-connected rotation ephemerides are achieved. A further dozen optical and/or X-ray binary systems co-located with LAT sources also likely harbor gamma-ray MSPs. This catalog thus reports roughly 340 gamma-ray pulsars and candidates, 10% of all known pulsars, compared to $\leq 11$ known before Fermi. Half of the gamma-ray pulsars are young. Of these, the half that are undetected in radio have a broader Galactic latitude distribution than the young radio-loud pulsars. The others are MSPs, with 6 undetected in radio. Overall, >235 are bright enough above 50 MeV to fit the pulse profile, the energy spectrum, or both. For the common two-peaked profiles, the gamma-ray peak closest to the magnetic pole crossing generally has a softer spectrum. The spectral energy distributions tend to narrow as the spindown power $\dot E$ decreases to its observed minimum near $10^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$, approaching the shape for synchrotron radiation from monoenergetic electrons. We calculate gamma-ray luminosities when distances are available. Our all-sky gamma-ray sensitivity map is useful for population syntheses. The electronic catalog version provides gamma-ray pulsar ephemerides, properties and fit results to guide and be compared with modeling results.Comment: 142 pages. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in HIV Infection Using Prospective Cohort Data from the D:A:D Study

Ristola M. on työryhmien DAD Study Grp ; Royal Free Hosp Clin Cohort ; INSIGHT Study Grp ; SMART Study Grp ; ESPRIT Study Grp jäsen.Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice. Methods and Findings A total of 17,954 HIV-positive individuals from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) study with >= 3 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values after 1 January 2004 were included. Baseline was defined as the first eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 after 1 January 2004; individuals with exposure to tenofovir, atazanavir, atazanavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir, other boosted protease inhibitors before baseline were excluded. CKD was defined as confirmed (>3 mo apart) eGFR In the D:A:D study, 641 individuals developed CKD during 103,185 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; incidence 6.2/1,000 PYFU, 95% CI 5.7-6.7; median follow-up 6.1 y, range 0.3-9.1 y). Older age, intravenous drug use, hepatitis C coinfection, lower baseline eGFR, female gender, lower CD4 count nadir, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) predicted CKD. The adjusted incidence rate ratios of these nine categorical variables were scaled and summed to create the risk score. The median risk score at baseline was -2 (interquartile range -4 to 2). There was a 1: 393 chance of developing CKD in the next 5 y in the low risk group (risk score = 5, 505 events), respectively. Number needed to harm (NNTH) at 5 y when starting unboosted atazanavir or lopinavir/ritonavir among those with a low risk score was 1,702 (95% CI 1,166-3,367); NNTH was 202 (95% CI 159-278) and 21 (95% CI 19-23), respectively, for those with a medium and high risk score. NNTH was 739 (95% CI 506-1462), 88 (95% CI 69-121), and 9 (95% CI 8-10) for those with a low, medium, and high risk score, respectively, starting tenofovir, atazanavir/ritonavir, or another boosted protease inhibitor. The Royal Free Hospital Clinic Cohort included 2,548 individuals, of whom 94 individuals developed CKD (3.7%) during 18,376 PYFU (median follow-up 7.4 y, range 0.3-12.7 y). Of 2,013 individuals included from the SMART/ESPRIT control arms, 32 individuals developed CKD (1.6%) during 8,452 PYFU (median follow-up 4.1 y, range 0.6-8.1 y). External validation showed that the risk score predicted well in these cohorts. Limitations of this study included limited data on race and no information on proteinuria. Conclusions Both traditional and HIV-related risk factors were predictive of CKD. These factors were used to develop a risk score for CKD in HIV infection, externally validated, that has direct clinical relevance for patients and clinicians to weigh the benefits of certain antiretrovirals against the risk of CKD and to identify those at greatest risk of CKD.Peer reviewe

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La collana si rivolge a un pubblico diversificato e propone un'idea di storia contemporanea globale, intesa come impegno scientifico, critico e problematico

Comparative antioxidant activity of tocotrienols and the novel chromanyl-plyisoprenyl molecule FeAox-6 in isolated membranes and intact cells.

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases and antioxidants may represent potential tools for the prevention of these diseases. Here, we investigated the antioxidant efficiency of different tocotrienol isoforms (alpha-, delta-, gamma-tocotrienols), and that of FeAox-6, a novel synthetic compound which combines, by a stable covalent bond, the chroman head of vitamin E and a polyisoprenyl sequence of four conjugated double bonds into a single molecule. The antioxidant efficiency was evaluated as the ability of the compounds to inhibit lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, heat shock protein (hsp) expression in rat liver microsomal membranes as well as in RAT-1 immortalized fibroblasts challenged with different free radical sources, including 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) (AAPH), tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tert-BOOH) and H2O2. Our results show that individual tocotrienols display different antioxidant potencies. Irrespective of the prooxidant used, the order of effectiveness was: delta-tocotrienol > gamma-tocotrienol = alpha-tocotrienol in both isolated membranes and intact cells. This is presumably due to the decreased methylation of delta-tocotrienol chromane ring, which allows the molecule to be more easily incorporated into cell membranes. Moreover, we found that FeAox-6 showed an antioxidant potency greater than that of delta-tocotrienol. Such an efficiency seems to depend on the concomitant presence of a chromane ring and a phytyl chain in the molecule, which because of four conjugated double bonds, may induce a greater mobility and a more uniform distribution within cell membrane. In view of these results, FeAox-6 represents a new potential preventive agent in chronic diseases in which oxidative stress plays a pathogenic role

Sema4D induces angiogenesis through Met recruitment by Plexin B1

Semaphorins, a large family of membrane-bound and secreted proteins, signal through their transmembrane receptors, the plexins. Semaphorins and plexins share structural homologies with scatter factor receptors, a family of tyrosine kinase receptors for which Met is the prototype. Semaphorins have been studied primarily in the developing nervous system, where they act as repelling cues in axon guidance. However, they are widely expressed in several tissues, and their role in epithelial morphogenesis has been recently established. Not much is known about their role in angiogenesis, a key step during embryonic development and adulthood. Here we demonstrate that a semaphorin, Sema4D, is angiogenic in vitro and in vivo and that this effect is mediated by its high-affinity receptor, Plexin B1. Moreover, we prove that biologic effects elicited by Plexin B1 require coupling and activation of the Met tyrosine kinase. In sum, we identify a proangiogenic semaphorin and provide insight about the signaling machinery exploited by Plexin B1 to control angiogenesis. \ua9 2005 by The American Society of Hematology