Securing a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and establishing means to predict outcomes to therapeutics remain formidable clinical challenges. Early diagnosis is particularly important since survival rates ...are markedly improved if tumour is detected early.
Comprehensive miRNA profiles were generated on presurgical plasma samples from 42 women with confirmed serous epithelial ovarian cancer, 36 women diagnosed with a benign neoplasm, and 23 comparably age-matched women with no known pelvic mass.
Twenty-two miRNAs were differentially expressed between healthy controls and the ovarian cancer group (P<0.05), while a six miRNA profile subset distinguished presurgical plasma from benign and ovarian cancer patients. There were also significant differences in miRNA profiles in presurgical plasma from women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who had short overall survival when compared to women with long overall survival (P<0.05).
Our preliminary data support the utility of circulating plasma miRNAs to distinguish women with ovarian cancer from those with a benign mass and identify women likely to benefit from currently available treatment for serous epithelial ovarian cancer from those who may not.
The astrophysical S-factor of the 14N(α,γ)18F reaction has been studied at range of bombarding energy 1–1.30 MeV. The 14N(α,γ)18F process is important in low energy astrophysics so that a possible ...source of energy in massive stars which have spent their hydrogen cycle. Using the Wood-saxon potential model, we have been calculated non resonances the astrophysical S-factors for the E2 transition and our results for Eα=0.0 MeV is S≈0.5 MeV.b where from experimental is measured to Eα=0.0 is S≈o.7 MeV.b (Couch et al., 1971) that in comparison with our data good agreement is achieved for the astrophysical S-factor of this process.
Mortality concern is a frequent driver of care seeking in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Data on mortality in IBS are scarce, and population-based studies have been limited in size. We ...examined mortality in IBS.
A nationwide, matched, population-based cohort study was conducted in Sweden. We identified 45,524 patients undergoing a colorectal biopsy at any of Sweden's 28 pathology departments and with a diagnosis of IBS from 2002 to 2016 according to the National Patient Register, a nationwide registry of inpatient and outpatient specialty care. We compared the mortality risk between these individuals with IBS and age- and sex-matched reference individuals (n = 217,316) from the general population and siblings (n = 53,228). In separate analyses, we examined the role of mucosal appearance for mortality in IBS. Finally, we examined mortality in 41,427 patients with IBS not undergoing a colorectal biopsy. Cox regression estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for death.
During follow-up, there were 3,290 deaths in individuals with IBS (9.4/1,000 person-years) compared with 13,255 deaths in reference individuals (7.9/1,000 person-years), resulting in an HR of 1.10 (95% confidence interval CI = 1.05-1.14). After adjustment for confounders, IBS was not linked to mortality (HR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.92-1.00). The risk estimates were neutral when patients with IBS were compared with their siblings. The underlying mucosal appearance on biopsy had only a marginal impact on mortality, and patients with IBS not undergoing a colorectal biopsy were at no increased risk of death (HR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.99-1.06).
IBS does not seem to confer an increased risk of death.
Objective To examine the association between chronic use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and risk of hip fracture.Design Prospective cohort study.Setting Nurses’ Health Study, which originally ...recruited from the 11 most populous states in the US.Participants 79 899 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study who provided data on the use of PPIs and other risk factors biennially since 2000 and were followed up to 1 June 2008.Main outcome measure Incident hip fractureResults During 565 786 person years of follow-up, we documented 893 incident hip fractures. The absolute risk of hip fracture among regular users of PPIs was 2.02 events per 1000 person years, compared with 1.51 events per 1000 person years among non-users. Compared with non-users, the risk of hip fracture among women who regularly used PPIs for at least two years was 35% higher (age adjusted hazard ratio 1.35 (95% confidence interval 1.13 to 1.62)), with longer use associated with increasing risk (Ptrend<0.01). Adjustment for risk factors, including body mass index, physical activity, and intake of calcium did not materially alter this association (hazard ratio 1.36 (1.13 to 1.63)). These associations were also not changed after accounting for reasons for PPI use. The relation between PPI use and fracture differed by smoking history (Pinteraction=0.03). Among current and former smokers, PPI use was associated with greater than 50% increase in risk of fracture, with a multivariate hazard ratio for fracture of 1.51 (1.20 to 1.91). In contrast, among women who never smoked there was no association (multivariate hazard ratio 1.06 (0.77 to 1.46)). In a meta-analysis of these results with 10 prior studies, the pooled odds ratio of hip fracture associated with PPI use was 1.30 (1.25 to 1.36).Conclusion Chronic use of PPIs is associated with increased risk of hip fracture, particularly among women with a history of smoking.
Achieving clean and quiet combustion in gas turbines is essential for improving many low-carbon energy and propulsion technologies. This often requires suppression of combustion instabilities and ...combustion generated noise in gas turbine combustors. Entropy noise is the less explored mechanism of combustion generated sound. Central to the emission of entropic sound is the survival of entropy wave during convection by the mean flow and reaching the combustor exit nozzle. Yet, the annihilation of entropy waves in this process is still poorly understood. To address this issue, the evolution of convected entropy waves in a fully-developed, cold flow inside a circular duct is investigated experimentally. Entropy waves are produced by a well-controlled electrical heater. Fast-response, miniaturized thermocouples arranged over a moveable cross-section of the duct are employed to record the state of entropy waves at different axial locations along the duct. Hydrodynamic parameters including Reynolds number and turbulence intensity are varied to investigate their effects upon the wave decay. The results show that the decay process is strongly wavelength dependent. It is found that the wave components with wavelengths larger than the duct diameter are almost unaffected by the flow and therefore remain essentially one-dimensional. However, other spectral components of the wave are subject to varying degrees of dissipation and loss of spatial correlation. Overall, the results support the recent numerical findings about the likelihood of wave survival in adiabatic flows. They further clarify the validity range of the one-dimensional assumption commonly made in the literature.
•Decay of entropy (density) waves is strongly dependent upon the convective wavelength.•Wave components longer than the duct diameter experience minimal dissipation.•Short wavelengths can be considerably dissipated and dispersed by the convecting flow.•Overall, wave one-dimensionality is an acceptable assumption in adiabatic, channel flows.
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has involved more than 159 countries and more than 5 million people worldwide. A 40-year-old man with a history of rheumatoid arthritis treated ...with prednisolone, Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs), and biologic agents was admitted with chief complaints of fever, chills, malaise, myalgia, and dyspnea. Chest computed tomography showed bilateral subsegmental atelectasis and diffuse ground-glass opacities in both lungs inducing the suspicion of COVID-19 infection. The oro-nasopharynx swab sample for COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction was positive. In addition to supportive care, lopinavir/ritonavir 400/100 mg twice daily and oseltamivir (75 mg) twice daily were started in combination with a starting dose of hydroxychloroquine (400 mg). The methotrexate dose was decreased, and the dose of prednisolone was increased to 30 mg for 10 days. Azathioprine and adalimumab were continued at previous doses. The use of biologic agents and DMARDs in rheumatic patients is a serious challenge in the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the key roles of cytokines in the promotion of the disease, the rheumatic patients may benefit from continuing their previous treatment, which may have protective effects.
This study evaluated the effects of a commercial prebiotic, Immunogen, on feed utilization, growth rate, immunity promotion and carcass composition of the common carp Cyprinus carpio fingerlings. The ...fingerlings were adopted for 2 weeks and then reared in triplicate groups in 250‐l tanks (n = 15 per tank with average initial weights of 11.12 ± 0.55 g). The fish fed on five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets containing different levels of Immunogen (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2.5 g prebiotic/kg diet) to apparent satiation thrice a day for 8 weeks. Weight gain showed no differences among the groups fed different Immunogen levels. Both feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio significantly (p < 0.05) increased with increasing Immunogen levels from 0.5 to 1.5 g/kg diet. The highest protein content (p < 0.05) was found in the fish fed a diet containing 2.5 g/kg prebiotic. Haematological parameters and plasma total protein concentration were also significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the fingerlings fed diets containing 1.5 and 2.5 g/kg prebiotic in relation to the control. The control fish contained the highest mean of total bacterial counts. The lowest mean (p < 0.05) of total bacterial counts was observed in the fish fed the diet containing 2.5 g/kg Immunogen. The present study reveals that a dietary Immunogen supplementation from 1 to 1.5 g/kg is capable to improve the feed efficiency and growth performance of C. carpio fingerlings as well as their resistance to A. hydrophila infection.
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is associated with atopic diseases including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis; however, limited data exist on the correlation between pollen-food ...allergy syndrome (PFAS) and EoE. We analyzed 346 adults with EoE treated at a single center between 2002 and 2016. Demographic and EoE-specific data including clinical features and measures of EoE disease severity and treatments were collected. The presence of other atopic diseases, family history, prevalence of peripheral eosinophilia and elevated IgE, and details of PFAS triggers were collected. Twenty six percent of the 346 subjects in our cohort had both EoE and PFAS (EoE-PFAS). Compared to subjects with EoE alone, subjects with EoE-PFAS had an increased frequency of allergic rhinitis (86.7% vs. 64.2%, P < 0.001) and family history of allergies (71.1% vs. 53.3%, P = 0.003), and comprised a higher proportion of EoE diagnoses made in the spring (Χ2 < 0.001). 43.3% of subjects with concurrent EoE and PFAS opted for treatment with elimination diet, and these measures failed to induce remission in 46.2% of cases. In most cases, elimination diet failed despite strict avoidance of PFAS trigger foods in addition to common EoE triggers including dairy, wheat, and eggs. EoE-PFAS was also associated with higher serum IgE at the time of EoE diagnosis (460.6 vs. 289.9, P < 0.019). Allergic rhinitis and a family history of food allergy were independently associated with having EoE-PFAS. The most common triggers of PFAS in adults with EoE are apples (21.1%), carrots (15.5%), and peaches (15.5%). Along with asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis, PFAS is a common allergic comorbidity that is highly associated with EoE. Further studies aimed at understanding mechanistic similarities and differences of PFAS and EoE may shed light on the pathogenesis of these closely related food allergy syndromes.
Nonresectable liver tumors can be successfully treated with radioembolization (RE) using yttrium-90 (90Y) microspheres. However, hepatocellular carcinoma's therapeutic methods are hindered primarily ...by the complex arterial morphology of the liver and its high dependence on arteries' geometry to target the tumors. Thus, this study aims to investigate the particle-fluid dynamics of yttrium-90 (90Y) loaded microspheres injected into the blood flow within a comprehensive hepatic artery system consisting of 17 daughter vessels branches. Also, the effect of particles' characteristics (size and density) with two types of commercially available 90Y microspheres, SIR-Spheres and TheraSpheres, and time infusion intervals (various release phases) were studied leading to a total of 20 investigated cases. The results demonstrated the vital influence of flow dynamics on the particles' preference to deposit in specific daughter vessels. Regardless of phase shift, except GDA, outlet 1 receives the largest portion of CHA inflow with nearly 14.5% which consequently implies the highest value of exit fraction after particles injection, and outlet 11 receives the minimum portion of CHA inflow with 1.97%. The maximum and minimum reductions of mean flow rate through the phase shift from acceleration toward minimum phase are for daughter vessels 17 and 10 with nearly 17.7% and 4.8%, respectively. The maximum percentage of particles that remains in the domain after 4 heart cycle simulation time is for glass microspheres consisting of particles with the diameter of 80μm released at t=0 sec, indicating that 25.4% of the injected particles are unable to discharge the domain. Whereas, the minimum percentage (0.16%) of remaining particles is for resin microspheres with a diameter of 20μm released at t=0 sec. Moreover, regardless of particles type, 7 daughter vessels discharge their maximum number of particles at the time point of injection associated with the minimum velocity of CHA flow rate which highlights the significant importance of minimum phase for those daughter vessels, potentially terminating tumor cells. Results exhibit that for none of the daughter vessels, the acceleration phase and peak phase (except for the GDA outlet) are proper time zones to release the 90Y microspheres, regardless of particles type. Finally, to conduct the released particles to particular vessels which are connected to tumor cells, the best radial position of the micro-catheter at the CHA inlet cross-section was identified by generating particle release maps (PRMs) for each investigated case.
PDF
