Context. The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey is obtaining high-quality spectroscopy of some 100 000 Milky Way stars using the FLAMES spectrograph at the VLT, down to V = 19 mag, systematically ...covering all the main components of the Milky Way and providing the first homogeneous overview of the distributions of kinematics and chemical element abundances in the Galaxy. Observations of young open clusters, in particular, are giving new insights into their initial structure, kinematics, and their subsequent evolution. Aims. This paper describes the analysis of UVES and GIRAFFE spectra acquired in the fields of young clusters whose population includes pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. The analysis is applied to all stars in such fields, regardless of any prior information on membership, and provides fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters, elemental abundances, and PMS-specific parameters such as veiling, accretion, and chromospheric activity. Methods. When feasible, different methods were used to derive raw parameters (e.g. line equivalent widths) fundamental atmospheric parameters and derived parameters (e.g. abundances). To derive some of these parameters, we used methods that have been extensively used in the past and new ones developed in the context of the Gaia-ESO survey enterprise. The internal precision of these quantities was estimated by inter-comparing the results obtained by these different methods, while the accuracy was estimated by comparison with independent external data, such as effective temperature and surface gravity derived from angular diameter measurements, on a sample of benchmarks stars. A validation procedure based on these comparisons was applied to discard spurious or doubtful results and produce recommended parameters. Specific strategies were implemented to resolve problems of fast rotation, accretion signatures, chromospheric activity, and veiling. Results. The analysis carried out on spectra acquired in young cluster fields during the first 18 months of observations, up to June 2013, is presented in preparation of the first release of advanced data products. These include targets in the fields of the ρ Oph, Cha I, NGC 2264, γ Vel, and NGC 2547 clusters. Stellar parameters obtained with the higher resolution and larger wavelength coverage from UVES are reproduced with comparable accuracy and precision using the smaller wavelength range and lower resolution of the GIRAFFE setup adopted for young stars, which allows us to provide stellar parameters with confidence for the much larger GIRAFFE sample. Precisions are estimated to be ≈120 K rms in Teff, ≈0.3 dex rms in log g, and ≈0.15 dex rms in Fe/H for the UVES and GIRAFFE setups.
Despite recent advances in diagnosis and therapy, prostate cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer in the United States and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Failure of ...chemotherapies and hormone-deprivation therapies is the major cause of death in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Currently, the androgen inhibitors Enzalutamide and Abiraterone are approved for treatment of metastatic CRPC. Enzalutamide is a second-generation androgen antagonist with no agonist activity. Abiraterone is a cytochrome P450 inhibitor that blocks adrenal and intratumoral androgen production. Here we show for the first time that both Enzalutamide and Abiraterone induce immunogenic modulation in human prostate tumor cells, rendering them more sensitive to T cell-mediated lysis, and that these immunomodulatory activities are androgen receptor (AR)-dependent. In studies reported here, exposure in vitro and in vivo of human prostate carcinoma cells to Enzalutamide significantly down-regulated the anti-apoptotic NAIP gene. Functional analysis revealed that NAIP played a critical role in inducing CTL sensitivity. Amplification of AR is a major mechanism of resistance to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). Here, we show that Enzalutamide enhances sensitivity to immune-mediated killing of prostate tumor cells that overexpress AR. The immunomodulatory properties of Enzalutamide and Abiraterone provide a rationale for their use in combination with immunotherapeutic agents in CRPC, particularly for patients with minimal response to Enzalutamide or Abiraterone alone, or for patients who have developed resistance to ADT.
Background
At the beginning of the 1990s, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a project in order to create a cross-cultural instrument of quality of life assessment: the World Health ...Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL).
Purpose
This paper describes the development of the European Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-100, according to the methodology recommended by the WHO.
Method
Special attention is given to the
qualitative pilot study
, which led to the development of the Portuguese Facet Political P, and to
the empirical pilot study
and the
psychometric studies
, based on the application of the Portuguese version of the instrument to a sample of 315 subjects from the general population and 289 patients. The assessment protocol also included the Beck Depression Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory.
Results
The Portuguese version of WHOQOL-100 showed acceptable internal consistency (
α
range 0.84–0.94) and test–retest reliability in all domains (
r
range 0.67–0.86). Discriminant validity was significant for all domains, except in Spirituality. Convergent validity with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory was satisfactory for most domains.
Conclusion
The WHOQOL showed good psychometric characteristics, suggesting that the Portuguese version of WHOQOL is valid and reliable in the assessment of quality of life in Portugal.
O diagnóstico de cancro, a própria doença e os seus tratamentos têm associadas implicações físicas, psicológicas e sociais que acarretam uma redução significativa da qualidade de vida dos doentes. ...Este estudo exploratório teve como objectivo avaliar o impacto de uma doença crónica específica – a patologia tumoral do aparelho locomotor – na qualidade de vida. Para o efeito, o WHOQOL-100 foi administrado a uma amostra constituída por 30 doentes com tumor do aparelho locomotor e a um grupo de controlo de 30 indivíduos saudáveis. Os resultados obtidos revelam a existência de diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre o grupo clínico e o grupo de controlo, sugerindo o impacto negativo da patologia tumoral do aparelho locomotor na qualidade de vida global (t=2,38; p< 0,05), nos domínios físico (t=2,06; p>< .0,5) e nível de independência (t=6,51; p>< 0,001) da qualidade de vida, e alertando para a necessidade de delinear intervenções multidisciplinares que ajudem a pessoa a lidar com esta doença e com os seus tratamentos, promovendo o seu bem-estar.
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