We have studied exclusive, radiative B meson decays to charmless mesons in 9.7x10(6) B decays accumulated with the CLEO detector. We measure B(B0-->K(*0)(892)gamma) = (4.55(+0.72)(-0. ...68)+/-0.34)x10(-5) and B(B+-->K(*+)(892)gamma) = (3.76(+0.89)(-0. 83)+/-0.28)x10(-5). We have searched for CP asymmetry in B-->K(*)(892)gamma decays and measure A(CP) = +0.08+/-0.13+/-0.03. We report the first observation of B-->K(*)(2)(1430)gamma decays with a branching fraction of (1.66(+0.59)(-0.53)+/-0.13)x10(-5). No evidence for the decays B-->rhogamma and B0-->omegagamma is found and we limit B(B-->(rho/omega)gamma)/B(B-->K(*)(892)gamma)<0.32 at 90% C.L.
Diabetic kidney disease causes significant morbidity and mortality among people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Intensive glucose and blood pressure control have thus far failed to adequately curb this ...problem and therefore a major need for novel treatment approaches exists. Multiple observations link serum uric acid levels to kidney disease development and progression in diabetes and strongly argue that uric acid lowering should be tested as one such novel intervention. A pilot of such a trial, using allopurinol, is currently being conducted by the Preventing Early Renal Function Loss (PERL) Consortium. Although the PERL trial targets T1D individuals at highest risk of kidney function decline, the use of allopurinol as a renoprotective agent may also be relevant to a larger segment of the population with diabetes. As allopurinol is inexpensive and safe, it could be cost-effective even for relatively low-risk patients, pending the completion of appropriate trials at earlier stages.
CD11c
T-bet
B cells are recognized as an important component of humoral immunity and autoimmunity. These cells can be distinguished from other B cells by their higher expression of the adenosine ...receptor 2a. Here we address whether A
receptor activation can affect CD11c
T-bet
B cells. We show that administration of the A
receptor agonist CGS-21680 depletes established CD11c
T-bet
B cells in ehrlichial-infected mice, in a B cell-intrinsic manner. Agonist treatment similarly depletes CD11c
T-bet
B cells and CD138
B cells and reduces anti-nuclear antibodies in lupus-prone mice. Agonist treatment is also associated with reduced kidney pathology and lymphadenopathy. Moreover, A
receptor stimulation depletes pathogenic lymphocytes and ameliorates disease even after disease onset, highlighting the therapeutic potential of this treatment. This study suggests that targeting the adenosine signaling pathway may provide a method for the treatment of lupus and other autoimmune diseases mediated by T-bet
B cells.
This study examined the relative effectiveness of desipramine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination in the treatment of bulimia nervosa, together with the effects of withdrawing ...medication after two different lengths of treatment.
Seventy-one patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for bulimia nervosa, recruited from an eating disorders clinic or by advertisements, were assigned at random to one of five groups: desipramine (withdrawn at 16 or 24 weeks), combined treatment (medication withdrawn at 16 or 24 weeks), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (15 sessions). All treatments were conducted individually in an outpatient clinic. The primary outcome measures were binge eating and purging rates assessed at pretreatment, 16, 24, and 32 weeks. The results were analyzed as three groups (medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and combined treatment) at 16 weeks and as five groups at subsequent assessments.
At 16 weeks, both cognitive-behavioral therapy and the combined treatment were superior to medication given for 16 weeks in reducing binge eating and purging. At 32 weeks, however, only the combined 24-week treatment was superior to medication given for 16 weeks. The combined treatment was also more effective in reducing dietary preoccupation and hunger. Continuing cognitive-behavioral therapy appeared to prevent relapse in patients withdrawn from medication at 16 weeks.
Overall, the results favor the use of a combination of medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of bulimia nervosa, with medication continued for at least 24 weeks.
Two decades ago, hypotensive trauma patients requiring emergent laparotomy had a 40% mortality. In the interim, multiple interventions to decrease hemorrhage-related mortality have been implemented ...but few have any documented evidence of change in outcomes for patients requiring emergent laparotomy. The purpose of this study was to determine current mortality rates for patients undergoing emergent trauma laparotomy.
A retrospective cohort of all adult, emergent trauma laparotomies performed in 2012 to 2013 at 12 Level I trauma centers was reviewed. Emergent trauma laparotomy was defined as emergency department (ED) admission to surgical start time in 90 minutes or less. Hypotension was defined as arrival ED systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≤90 mm Hg. Cause and time to death was also determined. Continuous data are presented as median (interquartile range IQR).
One thousand seven hundred six patients underwent emergent trauma laparotomy. The cohort was predominately young (31 years; IQR, 24-45), male (84%), sustained blunt trauma (67%), and with moderate injuries (Injury Severity Score, 19; IQR, 10-33). The time in ED was 24 minutes (IQR, 14-39) and time from ED admission to surgical start was 42 minutes (IQR, 30-61). The most common procedures were enterectomy (23%), hepatorrhaphy (20%), enterorrhaphy (16%), and splenectomy (16%). Damage control laparotomy was used in 38% of all patients and 62% of hypotensive patients. The Injury Severity Score for the entire cohort was 19 (IQR, 10-33) and 29 (IQR, 18-41) for the hypotensive group. Mortality for the entire cohort was 21% with 60% of deaths due to hemorrhage. Mortality in the hypotensive group was 46%, with 65% of deaths due to hemorrhage.
Overall mortality rate of a trauma laparotomy is substantial (21%) with hemorrhage accounting for 60% of the deaths. The mortality rate for hypotensive patients (46%) appears unchanged over the last two decades and is even more concerning, with almost half of patients presenting with an SBP of 90 mm Hg or less dying.
The objective of this study was to examine the quantity of calcium intake among adults, the sources of calcium, differences among seasons, as well as the differences between sexes, correlation with ...body mass index (BMI), and age. The study included 161 healthy volunteers from the eastern part of Croatia. Each subject completed three food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) with 150 items, at an interval of 3-4 months. The mean calcium intake for whole population for all three FFQs was 965 mg/day. At the same time, the quantity of calcium for all subjects was 14.2 mg/kg, women 14.5 mg/kg, and men 13.6 mg/kg, respectively. There was an inverse relation between calcium intake and age for men (r = -0.32 p = 0.028), but not for women. Correlation between calcium intake and BMI was negative, but not significantly. Milk and dairy products were the main source of calcium. Marginally low mean calcium intake goes to show the needful to educate the population.
Many of the failures to replicate clinical findings of treatment efficacy in more realistic field and community settings can be attributed to inappropriate research designs and other methodological ...shortcomings. In order to increase research designers' awareness of existing methodologies that may be better suited to answer the critical questions inherent in health services research on alcohol‐related issues, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) convened an expert conference with three specific goals: (1) to identify the critical issues involved in alcohol services research; (2) to develop a primer that explicated each key area; and (3) to compile the resulting primers into an accessible resource for researchers, policy makers and consumers. The 9 papers in this special supplement are the product of that conference and are organized broadly around three phases of the research process: study design and implementation, data collection and use, and the analysis and interpretation of data. A final summary paper discusses the issues and offers a synthesis of key themes as well as some direction for the future.
We have carried out a direct search in bulk matter for free fractional electric charge elementary particles using the largest mass single sample ever studied-about 17.4 mg of silicone oil. The search ...used an improved and highly automated Millikan oil drop technique. No evidence for fractional charge particles was found. The concentration of particles with fractional charge more than 0. 16e ( e being the magnitude of the electron charge) from the nearest integer charge is less than 4.71x10(-22) particles per nucleon with 95% confidence.
We present results from an analysis of B0 to rho+rho- decays using 383.6 million BB-bar pairs collected by the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$ Factory at SLAC. The measurements of ...the B0 to rho+rho- branching fraction, longitudinal polarization fraction f_L, and the CP-violating parameters S_{long} and C_{long} are: B(B0-> rho+rho-) = (25.5 +/- 2.1 (stat) +3.6/-3.9 (syst))*10^-6 f_L = 0.992 +/- 0.024 (stat) +0.026/-0.013 (syst) S_{long} = -0.17 +/- 0.20 (stat) +0.05/-0.06 (syst) C_{long} = 0.01 +/- 0.15 (stat) +/- 0.06 (syst) We determine the unitarity triangle angle alpha, using an isospin analysis of B to rhorho decays. One of the two solutions, alpha = 73.1, 117.0 degrees at 68% CL is compatible with standard model-based fits of existing data. Constraints on the unitarity triangle are also evaluated using an SU(3) symmetry based approach.
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