To compare peanut-avoidance and early peanut-consumption as interventions for the prevention of peanut allergy (PA) within a randomised controlled trial.
Hydroxyethyl starches (HES) may have the potential to impact negatively on haemostasis. Recent findings suggest that side-effects on haemostasis stem not only from the physicochemical differences ...between HES, but also from the composition of the solvent. We compared the effects of a newly developed medium molecular weight (MW) and low molar substitution (MS) HES dissolved in a physiologically balanced electrolyte solution (MW 130, MS 0.42; B-HES) with a commercially available non-balanced HES (MW 130, MS 0.4; NB-HES), and with Ringer's lactate (RL) solution in vitro.
Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), factor VIII clotting activity (F VIII:C) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) activity were investigated in 48 healthy individuals. Platelet function as measured by turbidimetric platelet aggregometry and whole blood impedance aggregometry induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen and thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP), and by ADP and TRAP-induced expression of activated platelet fibrinogen receptor glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa was determined in 24 participants. Haemodilution (25% and 50%, v/v for blood coagulation analyses and 20% and 40%, v/v for platelet function studies) was performed using the two HES preparations and RL.
APTT was significantly longer and F VIII and vWF significantly lower at 25% and 50% dilutions with NB-HES compared to B-HES and RL. At 20% and 40% dilutions, ADP and TRAP-induced expression of activated platelet surface GP IIb/IIIa was significantly increased by B-HES compared to NB-HES and RL. Percentages of platelet GP IIb/IIIa expression were also significantly greater in samples diluted with B-HES than in undiluted blood. Neither the diluent (B-HES, NB-HES and RL) nor the degree of dilution (undiluted, 20% and 40% dilution) had any significant influence on ADP, collagen or TRAP-induced turbidimetric platelet aggregation or impedance platelet aggregation.
In contrast to a non-balanced 130 kDa, MS 0.4 HES (NB-HES), a 130 kDa, MS 0.42 HES preparation dissolved in a physiologically balanced electrolyte solution (B-HES) does not affect APTT, F VIII:C and vWF in vitro. Both types of HES do not affect platelet aggregation induced by ADP, collagen or TRAP. B-HES but not NB-HES increases the expression of activated platelet GP IIb/IIIa induced by ADP or TRAP.
Observations of exotic structures in the J/ψp channel, that we refer to as pentaquark-charmonium states, in Λ0b→J/ψK−p decays are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of ...3/fb acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8 TeV pp collisions. An amplitude analysis is performed on the three-body final-state that reproduces the two-body mass and angular distributions. To obtain a satisfactory fit of the structures seen in the J/ψp mass spectrum, it is necessary to include two Breit-Wigner amplitudes that each describe a resonant state. The significance of each of these resonances is more than 9 standard deviations. One has a mass of 4380±8±29 MeV and a width of 205±18±86 MeV, while the second is narrower, with a mass of 4449.8±1.7±2.5 MeV and a width of 39±5±19 MeV. The preferred JP assignments are of opposite parity, with one state having spin 3/2 and the other 5/2.
Haemorrhagic disorders must be excluded prior to any operation or other invasive procedure that has the potential to involve serious bleeding. When assessing the individual risk of bleeding, ...screening tests of hemostasis must be combined with the patient's clinical history and symptoms, and any history of bleeding must be explored under direct medical supervision using a standardized questionnaire. However, this bleeding history is neither very specific, nor is it particularly sensitive. Screening tests that have been found to be useful include platelet count, activated partial thrombo plastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT) and clottable fibrinogen. No reliable, sensitive and specific screening test is however available today to screen for platelet dysfunction or von Willebrand disease. A specialized coagulation laboratory should be involved when the bleeding history or laboratory screening indicate a potential haemorrhagic disorder.
The associated production of a Z boson or an off-shell photon $\gamma^*$ with a bottom quark in the forward region is studied using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of ...$7{\mathrm{\,Te\kern -0.1em V}}$. The Z bosons are reconstructed in the ${\text{Z}/\gamma^*}\rightarrow{\mu^{+}\mu^{-}}$ final state from muons with a transverse momentum larger than $20{\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V}}$, while two transverse momentum thresholds are considered for jets ($10{\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V}}$ and $20{\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V}}$). Both muons and jets are reconstructed in the pseudorapidity range $2.0 < \eta < 4.5$. The results are based on data corresponding to $1.0{\,{fb}^{-1}}$ recorded in 2011 with the LHCb detector. The measurement of the Z+b-jet cross-section is normalized to the Z+jet cross-section. The measured cross-sections are $ \sigma(\text{$\text{Z}/\gamma^*(\mu^{+}\mu^{-})$+b-jet}) = 330 \pm 68 (\text{stat}) \pm 58 (\text{syst}) \pm 12 (\text{lumi}) {\,{fb}}$ for ${$p_{\rm T}$}$(jet)$>10{\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V}}$, and $ \sigma(\text{$\text{Z}/\gamma^*(\mu^{+}\mu^{-})$+b-jet}) = 167 \pm 47 (\text{stat}) \pm 29 (\text{syst}) \pm 6 (\text{lumi}) {\,{fb}} $ for ${$p_{\rm T}$}$(jet)$>20{\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V}}$.
Along with the establishment of more intense chemotherapeutic regimens including fludarabine for the treatment of indolent lymphoproliferative diseases like chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), an ...increasing amount of cases with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) due to JC virus have been observed. We report a patient with CLL who developed PML parallel to the onset of fludarabine therapy. Spinal fluid was tested positive for JC virus. Despite virostatic treatment with cidofovir, neurologic symptoms were progressive and the disease ultimately fatal. The present case suggests that immunosuppression caused by chronic lymphoproliferative malignancies alone may be a factor in the development of PML. Chemotherapy with fludarabine may act as an additional trigger. The question remains whether serologic screening for JC virus in patients with chronic lymphoproliferative disease undergoing intense chemotherapy might be valuable once sufficient antiviral treatment has been established.
The isolation and nucleotide sequence determination of the 5′ flanking region of the mouse growth hormone (mGH)-encoding gene (mGH) is described. The
mGH gene consists of five exons and four introns, ...as is observed in other mammalian species. The second intron in
mGH is much smaller than its rat counterpart, thus being similar in size to human, bovine and porcine
GH. The transcription start point was determined to be a C residue 62 bp upstream from the start codon, ATG. Analysis of 1767 bp of the 5' flanking region, with respect to putative regulatory elements, revealed a TATA box, two binding sites for growth hormone factor (GHF1), a GC box (SP1), a thyroid-response element (
TRE) and a silencer (SiL) sequence motif. As expected, the
mGH promoter shows a higher degree of homology with rat, as compared to the other mammalian species like pig, cattle and human, where an overall homology exists only at the proximal promoter region
The mixing-induced CP-violating phase $\phi_s$ in ${B}^0_s$ and $\overline{B}^0_s$ decays is measured using the $J/\psi \pi^+\pi^-$ final state in data, taken from 3\,fb$^{-1}$ of integrated ...luminosity, collected with the LHCb detector in 7 and 8 TeV centre-of-mass $pp$ collisions at the LHC. A time-dependent flavour-tagged amplitude analysis, allowing for direct \CP violation, yields a value for the phase $\phi_s=70\pm 68\pm 8$\,mrad. This result is consistent with the Standard Model expectation and previous measurements.
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