The vagus nerve (VN) is a link between the brain and the gut. The VN is a mixed nerve with anti‐inflammatory properties through the activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis by its ...afferents and by activating the cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway through its efferents. We have previously shown that VN stimulation (VNS) improves colitis in rats and that the vagal tone is blunted in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. We thus performed a pilot study of chronic VNS in patients with active CD. Seven patients under VNS were followed up for 6 months with a primary endpoint to induce clinical remission and a secondary endpoint to induce biological (CRP and/or fecal calprotectin) and endoscopic remission and to restore vagal tone (heart rate variability). Vagus nerve stimulation was feasible and well‐tolerated in all patients. Among the seven patients, two were removed from the study at 3 months for clinical worsening and five evolved toward clinical, biological, and endoscopic remission with a restored vagal tone. These results provide the first evidence that VNS is feasible and appears as an effective tool in the treatment of active CD.
Vagus nerve stimulation is feasible and appears as an interesting tool in the treatment of active Crohn's disease (CD) but further investigation in a larger longitudinal cohort of CD patients is warranted. Our aim was to perform a pilot study of chronic vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients with active CD. Seven patients under VNS were followed up for 6 months with a primary endpoint to induce clinical, biological, and endoscopic remission and to restore vagal tone. Vagus nerve stimulation was well‐tolerated in all patients. Five patients evolved toward clinical, biological, and endoscopic remission with a restored vagal tone.
Many areas of the Earth's crust deform by distributed extensional faulting and complex fault interactions are often observed. Geodetic data generally indicate a simpler picture of continuum ...deformation over decades but relating this behaviour to earthquake occurrence over centuries, given numerous potentially active faults, remains a global problem in hazard assessment. We address this challenge for an array of seismogenic faults in the central Italian Apennines, where crustal extension and devastating earthquakes occur in response to regional surface uplift. We constrain fault slip-rates since ~18 ka using variations in cosmogenic
Cl measured on bedrock scarps, mapped using LiDAR and ground penetrating radar, and compare these rates to those inferred from geodesy. The
Cl data reveal that individual faults typically accumulate meters of displacement relatively rapidly over several thousand years, separated by similar length time intervals when slip-rates are much lower, and activity shifts between faults across strike. Our rates agree with continuum deformation rates when averaged over long spatial or temporal scales (10
yr; 10
km) but over shorter timescales most of the deformation may be accommodated by <30% of the across-strike fault array. We attribute the shifts in activity to temporal variations in the mechanical work of faulting.
ChemCam is a remote sensing instrument suite on board the “Curiosity” rover (NASA) that uses Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to provide the elemental composition of soils and rocks at the ...surface of Mars from a distance of 1.3 to 7 m, and a telescopic imager to return high resolution context and micro-images at distances greater than 1.16 m. We describe five analytical capabilities: rock classification, quantitative composition, depth profiling, context imaging, and passive spectroscopy. They serve as a toolbox to address most of the science questions at Gale crater. ChemCam consists of a Mast-Unit (laser, telescope, camera, and electronics) and a Body-Unit (spectrometers, digital processing unit, and optical demultiplexer), which are connected by an optical fiber and an electrical interface. We then report on the development, integration, and testing of the Mast-Unit, and summarize some key characteristics of ChemCam. This confirmed that nominal or better than nominal performances were achieved for critical parameters, in particular power density (>1 GW/cm
2
). The analysis spot diameter varies from 350 μm at 2 m to 550 μm at 7 m distance. For remote imaging, the camera field of view is 20 mrad for 1024×1024 pixels. Field tests demonstrated that the resolution (∼90 μrad) made it possible to identify laser shots on a wide variety of images. This is sufficient for visualizing laser shot pits and textures of rocks and soils. An auto-exposure capability optimizes the dynamical range of the images. Dedicated hardware and software focus the telescope, with precision that is appropriate for the LIBS and imaging depths-of-field. The light emitted by the plasma is collected and sent to the Body-Unit via a 6 m optical fiber. The companion to this paper (Wiens et al.
this issue
) reports on the development of the Body-Unit, on the analysis of the emitted light, and on the good match between instrument performance and science specifications.
The Sheep Mountain anticline (Wyoming, USA) is a well-exposed asymmetric, basement-cored anticline that formed during the Laramide orogeny in the early Tertiary. In order to unravel the history of ...strain during folding, we carried out combined anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), anisotropy of P-wave velocity (APWV) and Fry strain analyses. The results are compared to previously published stress–strain data from calcite twins at the microscopic scale and from fracture sets at the mesoscopic scale, and are used to discuss the kinematics and mechanics of forced folding. The results obtained in sandstone and carbonate lithologies demonstrate a good agreement between (1) the principal axes of the AMS and APWV tensors, (2) stress–strain tensors derived from calcite twins, (3) Fry strain axes and mesoscopic fracture sets. Furthermore, these tensors are coaxial with the main structural trends of the anticline. The differences between AMS and APWV fabrics on one hand, and the differential stress values of the forelimb and the backlimb on the other hand, emphasize how the macroscopic asymmetry of Sheep Mountain anticline affects the strain pattern at the microscopic scale. The data set presented in this paper offers a consistent mechanical scenario for the development of Sheep Mountain anticline.
The use of accumulation bioindicator to assess metal bioavailability has mainly concerned individual species. This work addresses this issue at the plant community level. Metal content within ...different species from plant communities found at three contaminated and one uncontaminated site was compared. Results showed that for two contaminated sites, leaf metals concentrations were comparable to those in plants from control site, i.e. approx (mg/kg) 0.1 Cd, 0.2 Cr, 9.2 Cu, 1.8 Ni, 0.5 Pb and 42 Zn. Only plants from the third site showed higher metal contents, ranging from 1.5- to 8-fold those of the control community. This contrasted with ammonium acetate–EDTA extractions, which indicated a very high “availability” of metals at the three sites, as compared to the control site. Thus, metal content in plant communities provided accurate information on actual transfer toward the ensemble of vegetation, which could be used to establish site-specific “fingerprints” of metal bioavailability.
► Metal contents in plant communities from three contaminated sites were analyzed. ► Metals in plants were not related to total or extractable contents in soil. ► Plants from two out of the three contaminated sites had normal metal contents. ► Metal contents in plant communities provided a fingerprint of metal bioavailability.
Plant communities as accumulation bioindicators of trace metal bioavailability in contaminated soils.
This study investigates the partitioning of U and Th between molten metal and silicate liquid (DU and DTh) during Earth’s core-mantle differentiation. We report new Th partition coefficients between ...chondritic silicate melt and various Fe-rich alloys in the system Fe-Ni-C-S-Si as determined by experiments in a multi-anvil apparatus at 3–8 GPa, 2073–2373 K, and oxygen fugacities from 1.5 to 5 log units below the iron-wüstite (IW) buffer. By compiling all existing data on molten metal-silicate liquid partitioning of U and Th, we develop global models of U and Th partitioning between the mantle and core throughout Earth’s accretion. The calculated concentrations in the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) are in agreement with previous studies (UBSE = 11.42 ± 0.45 ppb and ThBSE = 43.20 ± 1.73 ppb), whereas the contents of these radioactive elements in the Earth’s core remain negligible. Compared to recent geochemical estimations, the calculated (Th/U)BSE supports EL rather than EH enstatite chondrites as the reduced building blocks of the Earth. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Th is much more sensitive than U to the oxygen content of the metallic phase. To reproduce the Th/U ratio of the BSE within its uncertainties, the oxygen content of the Earth’s core must be lower than 4.0 wt%. By combining other existing constraints, this suggests that the core contains 2.0–4.0 wt% O. The calculations of U and Th concentrations and Th/U in the BSE developed herein can be used as new constraints for determining the concentrations of other refractory lithophile elements in the BSE as soon as their metal-silicate partition coefficients are well constrained over the conditions of core segregation.
Pedological and botanical characteristics of a former metallurgical landfill were examined to assess the risks of heavy metals mobility and to evaluate remediation feasibility. In addition to very ...high heavy metals levels (Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn), the soil was characterized by a lack of clear horizonation, a relatively high pH, a high mineral and organic carbon contents, a low nitrogen level and a high C/N ratio. A two step sequential extraction showed that heavy metals were poorly labile (i.e. not soluble in diluted CaCl2), indicating that their leaching under natural conditions was probably very low. However, extraction with DTPA generated significant amounts of metals (mainly Pb and Cu), suggesting they were potentially mobilizable. A botanical survey of the area showed a biodiverse plant community (28 species and 11 families), with no obvious toxicity symptoms. Measurements of metal contents in dominant species confirmed that they were closely similar to those reported for species growing in unpolluted environments. Consequently, for an effective site restoration, indigenous species could be well suited to cope with local conditions in a phytostabilization strategy.
Heavy metals at a former metallurgical landfill are not leachable and poorly phytoavailable.
Purpose
GANEA2 study was designed to assess accuracy and safety of sentinel lymph node (SLN) after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients.
Methods
Early breast cancer patients ...treated with NAC were included. Before NAC, patients with cytologically proven node involvement were allocated into the pN1 group, other patient were allocated into the cN0 group. After NAC, pN1 group patients underwent SLN and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND); cN0 group patients underwent SLN and ALND only in case of mapping failure or SLN involvement. The main endpoint was SLN false negative rate (FNR). Secondary endpoints were predictive factors for remaining positive ALND and survival of patients treated with SLN alone.
Results
From 2010 to 2014, 957 patients were included. Among the 419 patients from the cN0 group treated with SLN alone, one axillary relapse occurred during the follow-up. Among pN1 group patients, with successful mapping, 103 had a negative SLN. The FNR was 11.9% (95% CI 7.3–17.9%). Multivariate analysis showed that residual breast tumor size after NAC ≥ 5 mm and lympho-vascular invasion remained independent predictors for involved ALND. For patients with initially involved node, with negative SLN after NAC, no lympho-vascular invasion and a remaining breast tumor size 5 mm, the risk of a positive ALND is 3.7% regardless the number of SLN removed.
Conclusion
In patients with no initial node involvement, negative SLN after NAC allows to safely avoid an ALND. Residual breast tumor and lympho-vascular invasion after NAC allow identifying patients with initially involved node with a low risk of ALND involvement.
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