Showing papers by "University of Buenos Aires published in 2010"
TL;DR: In this article, a biennial review summarizes much of particle physics using data from previous editions, plus 2158 new measurements from 551 papers, they list, evaluate and average measured properties of gauge bosons, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons.
Abstract: This biennial Review summarizes much of particle physics. Using data from previous editions, plus 2158 new measurements from 551 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We also summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as Higgs bosons, heavy neutrinos, and supersymmetric particles. All the particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We also give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as the Standard Model, particle detectors, probability, and statistics. Among the 108 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised including those on neutrino mass, mixing, and oscillations, QCD, top quark, CKM quark-mixing matrix, V-ud & V-us, V-cb & V-ub, fragmentation functions, particle detectors for accelerator and non-accelerator physics, magnetic monopoles, cosmological parameters, and big bang cosmology.
2,788 citations
Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil1, National Autonomous University of Mexico2, University of Valencia3, National Cheng Kung University4, University of Buenos Aires5, Universidad Nacional de Asunción6, Makerere University7, University of Chile8, American University of Beirut9, Hacettepe University10, Hospital General San Juan de Dios11, Lagos University Teaching Hospital12, University of Barcelona13, University of the Philippines14, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University15, Prince of Songkla University16, Peking Union Medical College17, Royal Women's Hospital18, Kanazawa University19, Charles University in Prague20, Harvard University21, VU University Amsterdam22, Kuwait University23, Columbia University Medical Center24, University of Crete25, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki26, Central University of Venezuela27, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria28, University of Antioquia29, Medical University of Lublin30, Western Galilee Hospital31
TL;DR: HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52, and 58 should be given priority when the cross-protective effects of current vaccines are assessed, and for formulation of recommendations for the use of second-generation polyvalent HPV vaccines, according to this largest assessment of HPV genotypes to date.
Abstract: Summary Background Knowledge about the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in invasive cervical cancer is crucial to guide the introduction of prophylactic vaccines. We aimed to provide novel and comprehensive data about the worldwide genotype distribution in patients with invasive cervical cancer. Methods Paraffin-embedded samples of histologically confirmed cases of invasive cervical cancer were collected from 38 countries in Europe, North America, central South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Inclusion criteria were a pathological confirmation of a primary invasive cervical cancer of epithelial origin in the tissue sample selected for analysis of HPV DNA, and information about the year of diagnosis. HPV detection was done by use of PCR with SPF-10 broad-spectrum primers followed by DNA enzyme immunoassay and genotyping with a reverse hybridisation line probe assay. Sequence analysis was done to characterise HPV-positive samples with unknown HPV types. Data analyses included algorithms of multiple infections to estimate type-specific relative contributions. Findings 22 661 paraffin-embedded samples were obtained from 14 249 women. 10 575 cases of invasive cervical cancer were included in the study, and 8977 (85%) of these were positive for HPV DNA. The most common HPV types were 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52, and 58 with a combined worldwide relative contribution of 8196 of 8977 (91%, 95% CI 90–92). HPV types 16 and 18 were detected in 6357 of 8977 of cases (71%, 70–72) of invasive cervical cancer. HPV types 16, 18, and 45 were detected in 443 of 470 cases (94%, 92–96) of cervical adenocarcinomas. Unknown HPV types that were identified with sequence analysis were 26, 30, 61, 67, 69, 82, and 91 in 103 (1%) of 8977 cases of invasive cervical cancer. Women with invasive cervical cancers related to HPV types 16, 18, or 45 presented at a younger mean age than did those with other HPV types (50·0 years [49·6–50·4], 48·2 years [47·3–49·2], 46·8 years [46·6–48·1], and 55·5 years [54·9–56·1], respectively). Interpretation To our knowledge, this study is the largest assessment of HPV genotypes to date. HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52, and 58 should be given priority when the cross-protective effects of current vaccines are assessed, and for formulation of recommendations for the use of second-generation polyvalent HPV vaccines. Our results also suggest that type-specific high-risk HPV-DNA-based screening tests and protocols should focus on HPV types 16, 18, and 45. Funding Spanish grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Agencia de Gestio d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Marato de TV3 Foundation, and unrestricted grants from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, and Merck.
2,145 citations
Joseph Fourier University1, National University of Cordoba2, Rothamsted Research3, VU University Amsterdam4, Lancaster University5, University of Buenos Aires6, University of Duisburg-Essen7, University of Coimbra8, University of Reading9, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences10, Environmental Change Institute11
TL;DR: It is proposed that the assessment of trait–service clusters will represent a crucial step in ecosystem service monitoring and in balancing the delivery of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, services in ecosystem management.
Abstract: Managing ecosystems to ensure the provision of multiple ecosystem services is a key challenge for applied ecology. Functional traits are receiving increasing attention as the main ecological attributes by which different organisms and biological communities influence ecosystem services through their effects on underlying ecosystem processes. Here we synthesize concepts and empirical evidence on linkages between functional traits and ecosystem services across different trophic levels. Most of the 247 studies reviewed considered plants and soil invertebrates, but quantitative trait–service associations have been documented for a range of organisms and ecosystems, illustrating the wide applicability of the trait approach. Within each trophic level, specific processes are affected by a combination of traits while particular key traits are simultaneously involved in the control of multiple processes. These multiple associations between traits and ecosystem processes can help to identify predictable trait–service clusters that depend on several trophic levels, such as clusters of traits of plants and soil organisms that underlie nutrient cycling, herbivory, and fodder and fibre production. We propose that the assessment of trait–service clusters will represent a crucial step in ecosystem service monitoring and in balancing the delivery of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, services in ecosystem management.
817 citations
TL;DR: This study is a review of the recent literature on the use of natural and modified lignocellulosic residues for Cr adsorption and finds that many by-products of agriculture have proved to be suitable low cost adsorbents for Cr(VI) and Cr(III) removal from water.
782 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the ATLAS detector to detect dijet asymmetry in the collisions of lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider and found that the transverse energies of dijets in opposite hemispheres become systematically more unbalanced with increasing event centrality, leading to a large number of events which contain highly asymmetric di jets.
Abstract: By using the ATLAS detector, observations have been made of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in the collisions of lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider. In a sample of lead-lead events with a per-nucleon center of mass energy of 2.76 TeV, selected with a minimum bias trigger, jets are reconstructed in fine-grained, longitudinally segmented electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters. The transverse energies of dijets in opposite hemispheres are observed to become systematically more unbalanced with increasing event centrality leading to a large number of events which contain highly asymmetric dijets. This is the first observation of an enhancement of events with such large dijet asymmetries, not observed in proton-proton collisions, which may point to an interpretation in terms of strong jet energy loss in a hot, dense medium.
630 citations
TL;DR: A better knowledge about the nature and biological consequences of polyphenol interactions with cell components will certainly contribute to develop nutritional and pharmacological strategies oriented to prevent the onset and/or the consequences of human disease.
605 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that MSC switch M into a regulatory profile characterized by a low ability to produce inflammatory cytokines, a high ability to phagocyte apoptotic cells, and a marked increase in their susceptibility to infection by intracellular pathogens.
Abstract: In recent years it has become clear that the therapeutic properties of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are related not only to their ability to differentiate into different lineages but also to their capacity to suppress the immune response. We here studied the influence of MSC on macrophage function. Using mouse thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages (M) stimulated with LPS, we found that MSC markedly suppressed the production of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12p70 and interferon-γ while increased the production of IL-10 and IL-12p40. Similar results were observed using supernatants from MSC suggesting that factor(s) constitutively released by MSC are involved. Supporting a role for PGE2 we observed that acetylsalicylic acid impaired the ability of MSC to inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines and to stimulate the production of IL-10 by LPS-stimulated M. Moreover, we found that MSC constitutively produce PGE2 at levels able to inhibit the production of TNF-α and IL-6 by activated M. MSC also inhibited the up-regulation of CD86 and MHC class II in LPS-stimulated M impairing their ability to activate antigen-specific T CD4+ cells. On the other hand, they stimulated the uptake of apoptotic thymocytes by M. Of note, MSC turned M into cells highly susceptible to infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi increasing more than 5-fold the rate of M infection. Using a model of inflammation triggered by s.c. implantation of glass cylinders, we found that MSC stimulated the recruitment of macrophages which showed a low expression of CD86 and the MHC class II molecule Iab and a high ability to produce IL-10 and IL-12p40, but not IL-12 p70. In summary, our results suggest that MSC switch M into a regulatory profile characterized by a low ability to produce inflammatory cytokines, a high ability to phagocyte apoptotic cells, and a marked increase in their susceptibility to infection by intracellular pathogens.
528 citations
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that slow turnover of many photosynthesis-related proteins allows plants to invest resources in immediate defence needs without debilitating near term losses in photosynthetic capacity.
Abstract: To determine if damage to foliage by biotic agents, including arthropods, fungi, bacteria and viral pathogens, universally downregulates the expression of genes involved in photosynthesis, we compared transcriptome data from microarray experiments after twenty two different forms of biotic damage on eight different plant species. Transcript levels of photosynthesis light reaction, carbon reduction cycle and pigment synthesis genes decreased regardless of the type of biotic attack. The corresponding upregulation of genes coding for the synthesis of jasmonic acid and those involved in the responses to salicylic acid and ethylene suggest that the downregulation of photosynthesis-related genes was part of a defence response. Analysis of the sub-cellular targeting of co-expressed gene clusters revealed that the transcript levels of 84% of the genes that carry a chloroplast targeting peptide sequence decreased. The majority of these downregulated genes shared common regulatory elements, such as G-box (CACGTG), T-box (ACTTTG) and SORLIP (GCCAC) motifs. Strong convergence in the response of transcription suggests that the universal downregulation of photosynthesis-related gene expression is an adaptive response to biotic attack. We hypothesize that slow turnover of many photosynthetic proteins allows plants to invest resources in immediate defence needs without debilitating near term losses in photosynthetic capacity.
473 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported a measurement of the flux of cosmic rays with unprecedented precision and statistics using the Pierre Auger Observatory based on fluorescence observations in coincidence with at least one surface detector.
461 citations
University of Oxford1, University of Leicester2, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio3, Duke University4, Novartis5, Moscow State University6, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill7, University College Cork8, Federal University of São Paulo9, National Taiwan University10, The Chinese University of Hong Kong11, University of California, San Francisco12, Veterans Health Administration13, University of Bern14, University of California, San Diego15, Tulane University16, University of Sydney17, Medical University of Warsaw18, Harvard University19, Istanbul University20, University of Oslo21, University of Washington22, Monash University23, University of Eastern Finland24, University of Toronto25, University of Cape Town26, National University of Cordoba27, University of Illinois at Chicago28, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center29, Massachusetts Institute of Technology30, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens31, Utrecht University32, Umeå University33, Dresden University of Technology34, University of Liège35, Aarhus University36, University of Buenos Aires37, Masaryk University38, University of Copenhagen39, Semmelweis University40, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research41, University of Helsinki42
TL;DR: Among persons with impaired glucose tolerance and established cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors, assignment to nateglinide for 5 years did not reduce the incidence of diabetes or the coprimary composite cardiovascular outcomes.
Abstract: After adjustment for multiple testing, nateglinide, as compared with placebo, did not significantly reduce the cumulative incidence of diabetes (36% and 34%, respectively; hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.15; P = 0.05), the core composite cardiovascular outcome (7.9% and 8.3%, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.94, 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.09; P = 0.43), or the extended composite cardiovascular outcome (14.2% and 15.2%, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.93, 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.03; P = 0.16). Nateglinide did, however, increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Conclusions Among persons with impaired glucose tolerance and established cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors, assignment to nateglinide for 5 years did not reduce the incidence of diabetes or the coprimary composite cardiovascular outcomes. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00097786.)
436 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than 3.1 degrees from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the Veron-Cetty and Veron 12th catalog).
TL;DR: Lignin has a dual role affecting litter decomposition, depending on the dominant driver (biotic or abiotic) controlling carbon turnover, under photodegradative conditions, and lignin is preferentially degraded because it acts as an effective light-absorbing compound over a wide range of wavelengths.
Abstract: Plant litter decomposition is a critical step in the formation of soil organic matter, the mineralization of organic nutrients, and the carbon balance in terrestrial ecosystems. Biotic decomposition in mesic ecosystems is generally negatively correlated with the concentration of lignin, a group of complex aromatic polymers present in plant cell walls that is recalcitrant to enzymatic degradation and serves as a structural barrier impeding microbial access to labile carbon compounds. Although photochemical mineralization of carbon has recently been shown to be important in semiarid ecosystems, litter chemistry controls on photodegradative losses are not understood. We evaluated the importance of litter chemistry on photodegradation of grass litter and cellulose substrates with varying levels of lignin [cellulose-lignin (CL) substrates] under field conditions. Using wavelength-specific light attenuation filters, we found that light-driven mass loss was promoted by both UV and visible radiation. The spectral dependence of photodegradation correlated with the absorption spectrum of lignin but not of cellulose. Field incubations demonstrated that increasing lignin concentration reduced biotic decomposition, as expected, but linearly increased photodegradation. In addition, lignin content in CL substrates consistently decreased in photodegradative incubations. We conclude that lignin has a dual role affecting litter decomposition, depending on the dominant driver (biotic or abiotic) controlling carbon turnover. Under photodegradative conditions, lignin is preferentially degraded because it acts as an effective light-absorbing compound over a wide range of wavelengths. This mechanistic understanding of the role of lignin in plant litter decomposition will allow for more accurate predictions of carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems.
Washington State University1, University of Chicago2, University of Georgia3, United States Department of Agriculture4, Prescott College5, Michigan State University6, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences7, Kansas State University8, North Carolina State University9, Crops Research Institute10, Agricultural Research Service11, Texas A&M University12, Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory13, University of Buenos Aires14, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign15, Charles Sturt University16, University of Minnesota17, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center18
TL;DR: To ensure food and ecosystem security, farmers need more options to produce grains under different, generally less favorable circumstances than those under which increases in food security were achieved this past century.
Abstract: Despite doubling of yields of major grain crops since the 1950s, more than one in seven people suffer from malnutrition ( 1 ) Global population is growing; demand for food, especially meat, is increasing; much land most suitable for annual crops is already in use; and production of nonfood goods (eg, biofuels) increasingly competes with food production for land ( 2 ) The best lands have soils at low or moderate risk of degradation under annual grain production but make up only 126% of global land area (165 million km2) ( 3 ) Supporting more than 50% of world population is another 437 million km2 of marginal lands (335% of global land area), at high risk of degradation under annual grain production but otherwise capable of producing crops ( 3 ) Global food security depends on annual grains—cereals, oilseeds, and legumes—planted on almost 70% of croplands, which combined supply a similar portion of human calories ( 4 , 5 ) Annual grain production, though, often compromises essential ecosystem services, pushing some beyond sustainable boundaries ( 5 ) To ensure food and ecosystem security, farmers need more options to produce grains under different, generally less favorable circumstances than those under which increases in food security were achieved this past century Development of perennial versions of important grain crops could expand options
University of Miami1, University of São Paulo2, London Clinic3, Deakin University4, SUNY Downstate Medical Center5, University of Buenos Aires6, Mayo Clinic7, University of California, San Diego8, Tulane University9, Erasmus University Rotterdam10, University of L'Aquila11, Chonnam National University12, Albert Einstein College of Medicine13, Valparaiso University14, Case Western Reserve University15, University of California, San Francisco16, Sapienza University of Rome17, University of Malaya18
TL;DR: It is suggested that the prevalence of premature ejaculation is considerably lower than previously thought and that ongoing research will lead to a more complete understanding of the pathophysiology as well as new efficacious and safe treatments for this sexual dysfunction.
11 Aug 2010-Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section A-accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
TL;DR: The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays as discussed by the authors, which combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array.
Abstract: The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and precision of shower reconstructions.
TL;DR: This new method for assessing KCS will become the means for diagnosing the ocular component of SS in future classification criteria and is found to find 2 forms of KCS whose causes may differ.
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of analysis of cosmic-ray electrons using about 8 x 10(6) electron candidates detected in the first 12 months on-orbit by the Fermi Large Area Telescope were presented.
Abstract: We present the results of our analysis of cosmic-ray electrons using about 8 x 10(6) electron candidates detected in the first 12 months on-orbit by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This work extend ...
TL;DR: The phenotypes produced by GBH are mainly a consequence of the increase of endogenous retinoid activity, consistent with the decrease of Sonic hedgehog signaling from the embryonic dorsal midline, with the inhibition of otx2 expression and with the disruption of cephalic neural crest development.
Abstract: The broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate is widely used in agriculture worldwide. There has been ongoing controversy regarding the possible adverse effects of glyphosate on the environment and on human health. Reports of neural defects and craniofacial malformations from regions where glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are used led us to undertake an embryological approach to explore the effects of low doses of glyphosate in development. Xenopus laevis embryos were incubated with 1/5000 dilutions of a commercial GBH. The treated embryos were highly abnormal with marked alterations in cephalic and neural crest development and shortening of the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis. Alterations on neural crest markers were later correlated with deformities in the cranial cartilages at tadpole stages. Embryos injected with pure glyphosate showed very similar phenotypes. Moreover, GBH produced similar effects in chicken embryos, showing a gradual loss of rhombomere domains, reduction of the optic vesicles, and microcephaly. This suggests that glyphosate itself was responsible for the phenotypes observed, rather than a surfactant or other component of the commercial formulation. A reporter gene assay revealed that GBH treatment increased endogenous retinoic acid (RA) activity in Xenopus embryos and cotreatment with a RA antagonist rescued the teratogenic effects of the GBH. Therefore, we conclude that the phenotypes produced by GBH are mainly a consequence of the increase of endogenous retinoid activity. This is consistent with the decrease of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling from the embryonic dorsal midline, with the inhibition of otx2 expression and with the disruption of cephalic neural crest development. The direct effect of glyphosate on early mechanisms of morphogenesis in vertebrate embryos opens concerns about the clinical findings from human offspring in populations exposed to GBH in agricultural fields.
International Agency for Research on Cancer1, University of Lyon2, National Institutes of Health3, University of Iowa4, Russian Academy5, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center6, Medical University of Warsaw7, University of São Paulo8, Universidade Federal de Pelotas9, Boston University10, University of Buenos Aires11, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation12, Brown University13, New York University14, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul15, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai16, University of Utah17
TL;DR: Sexual behaviours are associated with cancer risk at the head and neck cancer subsites that have previously been associated with HPV infection.
Abstract: Author(s): Heck, Julia E; Berthiller, Julien; Vaccarella, Salvatore; Winn, Deborah M; Smith, Elaine M; Shan'gina, Oxana; Schwartz, Stephen M; Purdue, Mark P; Pilarska, Agnieszka; Eluf-Neto, Jose; Menezes, Ana; McClean, Michael D; Matos, Elena; Koifman, Sergio; Kelsey, Karl T; Herrero, Rolando; Hayes, Richard B; Franceschi, Silvia; Wunsch-Filho, Victor; Fernandez, Leticia; Daudt, Alexander W; Curado, Maria Paula; Chen, Chu; Castellsague, Xavier; Ferro, Gilles; Brennan, Paul; Boffetta, Paolo; Hashibe, Mia | Abstract: BackgroundSexual contact may be the means by which head and neck cancer patients are exposed to human papillomavirus (HPV).MethodsWe undertook a pooled analysis of four population-based and four hospital-based case-control studies from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium, with participants from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, India, Italy, Spain, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia and the USA. The study included 5642 head and neck cancer cases and 6069 controls. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) of associations between cancer and specific sexual behaviours, including practice of oral sex, number of lifetime sexual partners and oral sex partners, age at sexual debut, a history of same-sex contact and a history of oral-anal contact. Findings were stratified by sex and disease subsite.ResultsCancer of the oropharynx was associated with having a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners [OR = 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01, 1.54] and four or more lifetime oral sex partners (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.42, 3.58). Cancer of the tonsil was associated with four or more lifetime oral sex partners (OR = 3.36, 95 % CI 1.32, 8.53), and, among men, with ever having oral sex (OR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.09, 2.33) and with an earlier age at sexual debut (OR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.37, 5.05). Cancer of the base of the tongue was associated with ever having oral sex among women (OR = 4.32, 95% CI 1.06, 17.6), having two sexual partners in comparison with only one (OR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.19, 3.46) and, among men, with a history of same-sex sexual contact (OR = 8.89, 95% CI 2.14, 36.8).ConclusionsSexual behaviours are associated with cancer risk at the head and neck cancer subsites that have previously been associated with HPV infection.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of grazing on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in grasslands were investigated and the major mechanistic pathways involved were established, including changes in net primary production (NPP), changes in nitrogen stocks (nitrogen pathway), and changes in organic matter decomposition (decomposition pathway).
University of Liège1, University of Helsinki2, University of L'Aquila3, University of Brasília4, University of Oulu5, French Institute of Health and Medical Research6, Cleveland Clinic7, Université catholique de Louvain8, Erasmus University Rotterdam9, Sofia Medical University10, University of São Paulo11, University of Buenos Aires12, University of Pavia13, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine14, Royal Children's Hospital15, Leipzig University16, Max Planck Society17, University of Paris-Sud18
TL;DR: Prisposition for aggressive disease in young patients, often in a familial setting, suggests that earlier diagnosis of AIPmut pituitary adenomas may have clinical utility.
Abstract: AIP mutations (AIPmut) give rise to a pituitary adenoma predisposition that occurs in familial isolated pituitary adenomas and less often in sporadic cases. The clinical and therapeutic features of AIPmut-associated pituitary adenomas have not been studied comprehensively.
TL;DR: The data suggest that the IR phenotype and the liver transcriptional activity of PPARGC1A show a tight interaction, probably through epigenetic modifications.
TL;DR: Regional differences in age at menopause and in climacteric symptoms are important to acknowledge and lay the foundation for an informed approach to the management of menopausal symptomatology and an understanding of its impact on women's health in the different regions of the world.
Abstract: Objective To describe differences in the age of onset of menopause and in the prevalence of climacteric symptoms in different geographical areas.Design Systematic review of published data on onset of menopause and symptoms in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.Methods We identified publications by searching electronic databases, including MEDLINE (1966–October 2009) and EMBASE (1975–October 2009). Primary search criteria were age of menopause and climacteric symptoms. A sensitive analysis that excluded papers without full data was performed.Results The median age at menopause in Europe ranges from 50.1 to 52.8 years, in North America from 50.5 to 51.4 years, in Latin America from 43.8 to 53 years, and in Asia from 42.1 to 49.5 years. The frequency of vasomotor symptoms varies widely depending on the geographical region, selection of criteria, and method of symptom identification. The prevalence of such symptoms ranges from 74% of women in Europe, 36–50% in North America, 45–69% in Latin America...
TL;DR: The present review thoroughly overviews the state-of-the-art in the development of nano-based drug delivery systems for encapsulation and release of anti-TB drugs and discusses the challenges that are faced in theDevelopment of a more effective, compliant and also affordable TB pharmacotherapy.
International Agency for Research on Cancer1, King's College London2, University of California, Los Angeles3, Russian Academy4, University of São Paulo5, National Institutes of Health6, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center7, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine8, University of Iowa9, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center10, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill11, Pennsylvania State University12, University of Michigan13, Universidade Federal de Pelotas14, Boston University15, University of Buenos Aires16, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy17, University of Lausanne18, University of Milan19, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation20, Brown University21, New York University22, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul23, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart24, Institut Gustave Roussy25, French Institute of Health and Medical Research26
TL;DR: The results support that cessation of tobacco smoking and cessation of alcohol drinking protect against the development of head and neck cancer.
Abstract: Background Quitting tobacco or alcohol use has been reported to reduce the head and neck cancer risk in previous studies. However, it is unclear how many years must pass following cessation of these habits before the risk is reduced, and whether the risk ultimately declines to the level of never smokers or never drinkers.
Methods We pooled individual-level data from case–control studies in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium. Data were available from 13 studies on drinking cessation (9167 cases and 12 593 controls), and from 17 studies on smoking cessation (12 040 cases and 16 884 controls). We estimated the effect of quitting smoking and drinking on the risk of head and neck cancer and its subsites, by calculating odds ratios (ORs) using logistic regression models.
Results Quitting tobacco smoking for 1–4 years resulted in a head and neck cancer risk reduction [OR 0.70, confidence interval (CI) 0.61–0.81 compared with current smoking], with the risk reduction due to smoking cessation after ≥20 years (OR 0.23, CI 0.18–0.31), reaching the level of never smokers. For alcohol use, a beneficial effect on the risk of head and neck cancer was only observed after ≥20 years of quitting (OR 0.60, CI 0.40–0.89 compared with current drinking), reaching the level of never drinkers.
Conclusions Our results support that cessation of tobacco smoking and cessation of alcohol drinking protect against the development of head and neck cancer.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess dynamic brain connectivity in ASD focusing in the low-frequency (delta) range and found that connectivity patterns were distinct in ASD and control populations and reflected a double dissociation.
Abstract: Over the last years, increasing evidence has fuelled the hypothesis that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition of altered brain functional connectivity. The great majority of these empirical studies rely on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which has a relatively poor temporal resolution. Only a handful of studies have examined networks emerging from dynamic coherence at the millisecond resolution and there are no investigations of coherence at the lowest frequencies in the power spectrum - which has recently been shown to reflect long-range cortico-cortical connections. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess dynamic brain connectivity in ASD focusing in the low-frequency (delta) range. We found that connectivity patterns were distinct in ASD and control populations and reflected a double dissociation: ASD subjects lacked long-range connections, with a most prominent deficit in fronto-occipital connections. Conversely, individuals with ASD showed increased short-range connections in lateral-frontal electrodes. This effect between categories showed a consistent parametric dependency: as ASD severity increased, short-range coherence was more pronounced and long-range coherence decreased. Theoretical arguments have been proposed arguing that distinct patterns of connectivity may result in networks with different efficiency in transmission of information. We show that the networks in ASD subjects have less Clustering coefficient, greater Characteristic Path Length than controls -indicating that the topology of the network departs from small-world behaviour- and greater modularity. Together these results show that delta-band coherence reveal qualitative and quantitative aspects associated with ASD pathology.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed and synthesized the spatial variability of GPP and the spatial and temporal variability of RUE and its climatic controls for a wide range of vegetation types.
Abstract: Aim The controls of gross radiation use efficiency (RUE), the ratio between gross primary productivity (GPP) and the radiation intercepted by terrestrial vegetation, and its spatial and temporal variation are not yet fully understood. Our objectives were to analyse and synthesize the spatial variability of GPP and the spatial and temporal variability of RUE and its climatic controls for a wide range of vegetation types.
TL;DR: In this article, the main parameters controlling the present Chile-type and Marianas-type tectonic settings developed along the eastern Pacific region are analyzed, and the past and present Tectonic regimes in the Mesozoic Andes are compared.
Abstract: The analyses of the main parameters controlling the present Chile-type and Marianas-type tectonic settings developed along the eastern Pacific region show four different tectonic regimes: (1) a nearly neutral regime in the Oregon subduction zone; (2) major extensional regimes as the Nicaragua subduction zone developed in continental crust; (3) a Marianas setting in the Sandwich subduction zone with ocean floored back-arc basin with a unique west-dipping subduction zone and (4) the classic and dominant Chile-type under compression. The magmatic, structural and sedimentary behaviours of these four settings are discussed to understand the past tectonic regimes in the Mesozoic Andes based on their present geological and tectonic characteristics. The evaluation of the different parameters that governed the past and present tectonic regimes indicates that absolute motion of the upper plate relative to the hotspot frame and the consequent trench roll-back velocity are the first order parameters that control the deformation. Locally, the influences of the trench fill, linked to the dominant climate in the forearc, and the age of the subducted oceanic crust, have secondary roles. Ridge collisions of seismic and seismic oceanic ridges as well as fracture zone collisions have also a local outcome, and may produce an increase in coupling that reinforces compressional deformation. Local strain variations in the past and present Andes are not related with changes in the relative convergence rate, which is less important than the absolute motion relative to the Pacific hotspot frame, or changes in the thermal state of the upper plate. Changes in the slab dip, mainly those linked to steepening subduction zones, produce significant variations in the thermal state, that are important to generate extreme deformation in the foreland. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
21 Jan 2010-Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section A-accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
TL;DR: The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consists of 1600 water-Cherenkov detectors, for the study of extensive air showers (EAS) generated by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Abstract: The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consists of 1600 water-Cherenkov detectors, for the study of extensive air showers (EAS) generated by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. We describe the trigger hierarchy, from the identification of candidate showers at the level of a single detector, amongst a large background (mainly random single cosmic ray muons), up to the selection of real events and the rejection of random coincidences. Such trigger makes the surface detector array fully efficient for the detection of EAS with energy above 3 x 10(18) eV, for all zenith angles between 0 degrees and 60 degrees, independently of the position of the impact point and of the mass of the primary particle. In these range of energies and angles, the exposure of the surface array can be determined purely on the basis of the geometrical acceptance. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
TL;DR: In this paper, the duration and geographic extent of Carboniferous glacial events in southern Gondwana remain poorly constrained despite recent evidence for a more dynamic glacial history than previously considered.
Abstract: The duration and geographic extent of Carboniferous glacial events in southern Gondwana remain poorly constrained despite recent evidence for a more dynamic glacial history than previously considered. We report 10 high-precision (2! ± <0.1%) U-Pb ages for the Permian-Carboniferous Paganzo Group, NW Argentina, that redefi ne the chronostratigraphy of the late Paleozoic Paganzo and Rio Blanco Basins, and signifi cantly refi ne the timing of glacial events and climate shifts in the western region of southern Gondwana. Radiometric calibration of the Paganzo Group indicates three pulses of Carboniferous glaciation in the mid-Visean, the late Serpukhovian to earliest Bashkirian, and between the latest Bashkirian to early Moscovian. An abrupt shift in depositional style from high-sinuosity single-storied fl uvial deposits and clay-rich paleosols to low-sinuosity multi storied feldspathic fluvial deposits inter calated with eolianites and calcic paleosols is constrained to the latest Moscovian and earliest Kasimovian. These constraints indicate a relatively abrupt climate shift from humid-subhumid to nonseasonal semiarid regional climate conditions that occurred signifi cantly earlier than previously inferred (Early Permian). This period of high-latitude aridity was contemporaneous with a shift to dryland depositional environments and a major vegetation regime shift documented throughout the Pangean paleotropics in the Pennsylvanian.