We report the detection of an ultra-bright fast radio burst (FRB) from a modest, 3.4-day pilot survey with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. The survey was conducted in a wide-field ...fly's-eye configuration using the phased-array-feed technology deployed on the array to instantaneously observe an effective area of 160 deg2, and achieve an exposure totaling 13200 deg2 hr . We constrain the position of FRB 170107 to a region in size (90% containment) and its fluence to be 58 6 Jy ms. The spectrum of the burst shows a sharp cutoff above 1400 MHz, which could be due to either scintillation or an intrinsic feature of the burst. This confirms the existence of an ultra-bright ( Jy ms) population of FRBs.
Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and autosomal dominant optic atrophy (DOA) are the two most common inherited optic neuropathies and they result in significant visual morbidity among young ...adults. Both disorders are the result of mitochondrial dysfunction: LHON from primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations affecting the respiratory chain complexes; and the majority of DOA families have mutations in the OPA1 gene, which codes for an inner mitochondrial membrane protein critical for mtDNA maintenance and oxidative phosphorylation. Additional genetic and environmental factors modulate the penetrance of LHON, and the same is likely to be the case for DOA which has a markedly variable clinical phenotype. The selective vulnerability of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) is a key pathological feature and understanding the fundamental mechanisms that underlie RGC loss in these disorders is a prerequisite for the development of effective therapeutic strategies which are currently limited.
Background
APPRECIATE is a multinational, observational, retrospective, cross‐sectional study in patients treated for psoriasis with apremilast, an oral phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor.
Objectives
To ...describe the characteristics of patients with psoriasis treated with apremilast in the clinical setting, to evaluate real‐world outcomes of psoriasis treatment with apremilast and to better understand the perspectives of patients and physicians on treatment outcomes.
Methods
In six European countries, patients with chronic plaque psoriasis treated in clinical practice who could be contacted 6 (±1) months after apremilast initiation were enrolled. Patient characteristics, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were obtained from medical records when available. Outcomes were evaluated using patient/physician questionnaires.
Results
In 480 patients at treatment initiation, mean median; 95% confidence interval (CI) PASI and DLQI scores were 12.5 (10.7; 11.6–13.4) and 13.4 (13.0; 11.4–14.2), respectively. At 6 (±1) months, 72.3% of patients (n = 347) continued apremilast treatment discontinuations: lack of efficacy (13.5%), safety (11.7%), other (2.5%). In patients continuing treatment, 48.6% achieved a ≥75% reduction in PASI score; mean (95% CI) DLQI score was 5.7 (4.5–6.9), and mean (SD) Patient Benefit Index score was 2.8 (1.2). Physicians perceived clinical improvement in 75.6% of patients. Physicians’ perspective on overall success of apremilast in meeting expectations correlated with patients’ perception of treatment benefit (r = 0.691). Most commonly reported adverse events (>5% of patients) were diarrhoea, nausea and headache.
Conclusions
Patients in APPRECIATE reported high disease burden despite more moderate skin involvement than those who enrolled in clinical trials of apremilast. Findings from APPRECIATE demonstrate the real‐world value of apremilast for psoriasis treatment, as 7 of 10 patients continued therapy and showed notable improvement in disease severity and quality of life 6 (±1) months after apremilast initiation.
Linked Commentary: P. Gisondi et al. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2021; 35: 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.17067.
Many nations use ecological compensation policies to address negative impacts of development projects and achieve No Net Loss (NNL) of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, failures are widely ...reported. We use spatial simulation models to quantify potential net impacts of alternative compensation policies on biodiversity (indicated by native vegetation) and two ecosystem services (carbon storage, sediment retention) across four case studies (in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mozambique). No policy achieves NNL of biodiversity in any case study. Two factors limit their potential success: the land available for compensation (existing vegetation to protect or cleared land to restore), and expected counterfactual biodiversity losses (unregulated vegetation clearing). Compensation also fails to slow regional biodiversity declines because policies regulate only a subset of sectors, and expanding policy scope requires more land than is available for compensation activities. Avoidance of impacts remains essential in achieving NNL goals, particularly once opportunities for compensation are exhausted.
We performed the first population-based clinical and molecular genetic study of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in a population of 2,173,800 individuals in the North East of England. We ...identified 16 genealogically unrelated families who harbor one of the three primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations that cause LHON. Two of these families were found to be linked genetically to a common maternal founder. A de novo mtDNA mutation (G3460A) was identified in one family. The minimum point prevalence of visual failure due to LHON within this population was 3.22 per 100,000 (95% CI 2.47–3.97 per 100,000), and the minimum point prevalence for mtDNA LHON mutations was 11.82 per 100,000 (95% CI 10.38–13.27 per 100,000). These results indicate that LHON is not rare but has a population prevalence similar to autosomally inherited neurological disorders. The majority of individuals harbored only mutant mtDNA (homoplasmy), but heteroplasmy was detected in ∼12% of individuals. Overall, however, ∼33% of families with LHON had at least one heteroplasmic individual. The high incidence of heteroplasmy in pedigrees with LHON raises the possibility that a closely related maternal relative of an index case may not harbor the mtDNA mutation, highlighting the importance of molecular genetic testing for each maternal family member seeking advice about their risks of visual failure.
The VLA Galactic Plane Survey Stil, J. M; Taylor, A. R; Dickey, J. M ...
The Astronomical journal,
09/2006, Letnik:
132, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The VLA Galactic Plane Survey (VGPS) is a survey of H I and 21 cm continuum emission in the Galactic plane between longitude 18° and 67° with latitude coverage from |b| < 13 to |b| < 23. The survey ...area was observed with the Very Large Array in 990 pointings. Short-spacing information for the H I line emission was obtained by additional observations with the Green Bank Telescope. H I spectral line images are presented with a resolution of 1' X 1' X 1.56 km s-1 (FWHM) and an rms noise of 2 K per 0.824 km s-1 channel. Continuum images made from channels without H I line emission have 1' (FWHM) resolution. The VGPS images reveal structures of atomic hydrogen and 21 cm continuum as large as several degrees with unprecedented resolution in this part of the Galaxy. With the completion of the VGPS, it is now possible for the first time to assess the consistency between arcminute-resolution surveys of Galactic H I emission. VGPS images are compared with images from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) and the Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS). In general, the agreement between these surveys is impressive, considering the differences in instrumentation and image-processing techniques used for each survey. The differences between VGPS and CGPS images are small, 6 K (rms) in channels in which the mean H I brightness temperature in the field exceeds 80 K. A similar degree of consistency is found between the VGPS and SGPS. The agreement we find between arcminute-resolution surveys of the Galactic plane is a crucial step toward combining these surveys into a single uniform data set that covers 90% of the Galactic disk: the International Galactic Plane Survey. The VGPS data will be made available on the World Wide Web through the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre.
Aim
Colorectal surgery is associated with a high risk of adhesion formation and subsequent complications. Laparoscopic colorectal surgery reduces adhesion formation by 50%; however, the effect on ...adhesion‐related complications is still unknown. This study aims to compare differences in incidence rates of adhesion‐related readmissions after laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery.
Method
Population data from the Scottish National Health Service were used to identify patients who underwent colorectal surgery between June 2009 and June 2011. Readmissions were registered until December 2017 and categorized as being either directly or possibly related to adhesions, or as reoperations potentially complicated by adhesions. The primary outcome measure was the difference in incidence of directly adhesion‐related readmissions between the open and laparoscopic cohort.
Results
Colorectal surgery was performed in 16 524 patients; 4455 (27%) underwent laparoscopic surgery. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery were readmitted less frequently for directly adhesion‐related complications, 2.4% (95% CI 2.0%–2.8%) versus 7.5% (95% CI 7.1%–7.9%) in the open cohort. Readmissions for possibly adhesion‐related complications were less frequent in the laparoscopic cohort, 16.8% (95% CI 15.6%–18.0%) versus 21.7% (95% CI 20.9%–22.5%), as well as reoperations potentially complicated by adhesions, 9.7% (95% CI 8.9%–10.5%) versus 16.9% (95% CI 16.3%–17.5%).
Conclusion
Overall, any adhesion‐related readmissions occurred in over one in three patients after open colorectal surgery and one in four after laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Compared with open surgery, incidence rates of adhesion‐related complications decrease but remain substantial after laparoscopic surgery.
Cell contact is required for efficient transmission of human T cell leukemia virustype 1 (HTLV-I) between cells and between individuals, because naturally infected lymphocytes produce virtually no ...cell-free infectious HTLV-I particles. However, the mechanism of cell-to-cell spread of HTLV-I is not understood. We show here that cell contact rapidly induces polarization of the cytoskeleton of the infected cell to the cell-cell junction. HTLV-I core (Gag protein) complexes and the HTLV-I genome accumulate at the cell-cell junction and are then transferred to the uninfected cell. Other lymphotropic viruses, such as HIV-1, may similarly subvert normal T cell physiology to allow efficient propagation between cells.
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