1,108 research outputs found
Serum MUC-1 as a marker of disease status in multiple myeloma patients receiving thalidomide - Response to Mileshkin et al.
No full textno abstrac
Constraining the geometry of the nuclear wind in PDS 456 using a novel emission model
No full textOutflows from active galactic nuclei (AGN) are often invoked to explain the
co-evolution of AGN and their host galaxies, and the scaling relations between
the central black hole mass and the bulge velocity dispersion. Nuclear winds
are often seen in the X-ray spectra through Fe K shell transitions and some of
them are called ultra fast outflows (UFOs) due to their high velocities, up to
some fractions of the speed of light. If they were able to transfer some
percentage of the AGN luminosity to the host galaxy, this might be enough to
trigger an efficient feedback mechanism. We aim to establish new constraints on
the covering fraction and on the kinematic properties of the UFO in the
powerful (L(bol) ~ 10^(47) erg/s) quasar PDS 456, an established Rosetta stone
for studying AGN feedback from disk winds. This will allow us to estimate the
mass outflow rate and the energy transfer rate of the wind, which are key
quantities to understand the potential impact on the host galaxy. We analyze
two sets of simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations taken in September
2013 and reported in Nardini et al. (2015) as having similar broadband spectral
properties. We fit the Fe K features with a P-Cygni profile between 5 and 14
keV, using a novel Monte Carlo model for the WINd Emission (WINE). We find an
outflow velocity ranging from 0.17 to 0.28 c, with a mean value of 0.23 c. We
obtain an opening angle of the wind of 71(+13,-8) deg and a covering fraction
of 0.7(+0.2,-0.3), suggesting a wide-angle outflow. We check the reliability of
the WINE model by performing extensive simulations of joint XMM-Newton and
NuSTAR observations. Furthermore, we test the accuracy of the WINE model in
recovering the geometrical properties of UFOs by simulating observations with
the forthcoming X-ray observatory ATHENA
Interactive Computer Aided Learning in the Didactic Activities of a Co-operative Virtual Classroom
No full textEpoetin-induced pure red-cell aplasia (PRCA): preliminary results from the research on adverse drug events and reports (RADAR) group.
No full textIn 2002, investigators from France reported 13 patients in whom pure red cell aplasia developed during treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin). We reviewed 208 cases of this syndrome reported worldwide. Adverse event reports describing suspected and confirmed cases of epoetin-associated PRCA in websites maintained by the manufacturers and distributors of epoetin products and other publicly available sources were reviewed. Cases were reported from countries in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the United States (US). For >95\% of the cases, EPREX had been administered subcutaneous to persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia for a mean of nine months prior to diagnosis of PRCA. For 80\% of persons with the syndrome, reversal of antibody production and recovery of reticulocytes occurred with discontinuation of epoetin and treatment with immunosuppressive agents. Patients with anemia of CKD who developed neutralizing anti-erythropoietin antibodies and pure red cell aplasia during treatment with epoetin have been identified in a number of countries. In non-US countries, switching renal dialysis patients from subcutaneous to intravenous administration of epoetin alpha and improved handling of the drug appear to have been successful strategies for reducing the occurrence of this toxicity. The decrease in cases occurred coincident with these varied changes, although it is difficult to prove causality. PRCA is a rare, but important side effect of epoetin therapy
MDM-2 oncoprotein overexpression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: association with wild-type p53 accumulation.
No full textThe MDM-2 gene encodes for a nuclear phosphoprotein that binds p53 and inhibits its ability to activate transcription by concealing the p53 activation domain. It has been suggested that MDM-2 overexpression might represent an alternative mechanism by which p53-mediated pathways are inactivated in human tumors. MDM-2 overexpression can be detected by immunohistochemical analysis as a result of gene amplification and/or increased mRNA expression. We studied MDM-2 gene amplification and protein overexpression in 46 and 50 cases, respectively, of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas previously analyzed for p53 gene alterations. Not one of the cases showed MDM-2 gene amplification, whereas MDM-2 nuclear immunoreactivity was found in 17 tumors (34\%). In 10 of these, coexpression of p53 protein was detectable in the absence of gene mutations in exons 5 through 9 (P = .03). Likewise, MDM-2 was also overexpressed in 18 (46\%) of 39 morphologically normal mucosa samples, 15 (50\%) of 30 preneoplastic lesions, and 9 (40\%) of 22 cases of severe dysplasia. Finally, we found no significant correlations between MDM-2 expression (neither per se nor in association with wild-type or mutated p53), and the evaluated clinicopathologic parameters of histologic grade, lymph node status, or clinical stage. Our results suggest that MDM-2 gene amplification might not occur in laryngeal carcinomas and that MDM-2 protein overexpression might represent an alternative mechanism by which p53 is inactivated in the early stages of laryngeal cancer tumorigenesis
Early palliative care in haematological patients: A systematic literature review
No full textBackground Early palliative care together with standard haematological care for advanced patients is needed worldwide. Little is known about its effect. The aim of the review is to synthesise the evidence on the impact of early palliative care on haematologic cancer patients' quality of life and resource use. Patients and methods A systematic review was conducted. The search terms were early palliative care or simultaneous or integrated or concurrent care and haematological or oncohaematological patients. The following databases were searched: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, CINHAL and Scopus. Additional studies were identified through cross-checking the reference articles. Studies were in the English language, with no restriction for years. Two researchers independently reviewed the titles and abstracts, and one author assessed full articles for eligibility. Results A total of 296 studies titles were reviewed. Eight articles were included in the synthesis of the results, two controlled studies provided data on the comparative efficacy of PC interventions, and six one-arm studies were included. Since data pooling and meta-analysis were not possible, only a narrative synthesis of the study results was performed. The quality of the two included comparative studies was low overall. The quality of the six non-comparative studies was high overall, without the possibility of linking the observed results to the implemented interventions. Conclusions Studies on early palliative care and patients with haematological cancer are scarce and have not been prospectively designed. More research on the specific population target, type and timing of palliative care intervention and standardisation of collected outcomes is required. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020141322
FGFR3 gene mutations associated with human skeletal disorders occur rarely in multiple myeloma.
No full textno abstract availabl
Low-grade MALT lymphoma involving multiple mucosal sites and bone marrow.
No full textMucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas are indolent neoplasms which tend to remain localized for a long time before spreading. We describe here the case of a 36-year-old woman with a low-grade MALT lymphoma involving the lung, stomach, lingual tonsil, and bone marrow at the time of diagnosis. The clonal origin of the pulmonary and bone marrow neoplastic infiltrates was assessed by means of gene rearrangement analysis. All of the involved sites were infiltrated by centrocyte- and monocytoid-like cells expressing the B-cell-associated antigens CD19 and CD20 and showed IgM lambda chain restriction; no CD5, CD10, or CD43 expression was detectable. As the patient had a history of recurrent bronchitis, and computed tomography performed 3 years before the lymphoma diagnosis had already revealed a lesion of the left lung, we conclude that the present case probably represents a pulmonary low-grade MALT lymphoma characterized by an early and unusual involvement of different mucosal sites and bone marrow
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