Column CO2 Measurement From an Airborne Solid-State Double-Pulsed 2-Micron Integrated Path Differential Absorption Lidar

NASA LaRC is developing and integrating a double-Pulsed 2-micron direct detection IPDA lidar for CO2 column measurement from an airborne platform. The presentation will describe the development of the 2-micrometers IPDA lidar system and present the airborne measurement of column CO2 and will compare to in-situ measurement for various ground target of different reflectivity

Review on energy storage systems in microgrids

This work was supported in part by the European Union’s H2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant 864459 (UE-19-TALENT-864459), in part by the Spanish Government (Innovation Development and Research Office-MEC) under Research Grant ENE2016-77919, “Conciliator” Project, “B2B” Project Nuevas vías hacia la gestión descentralizada de la energía de edificio PID2019-111051RB-100, and “Torres Quevedo” Grant PTQ2019-010579, and in part by the Government of the Principality of Asturias under Grant FC-GRUPIN-IDI/2018/000241, and in part by the "Severo Ochoa” Program of Predoctoral Grants for Training in Research and University Teaching under Grant PA-13-PF-BP13-138

The global burden of injury: Incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the global burden of disease study 2013

Background The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors study used the disabilityadjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region and by country. Methods Injury mortality was estimated using the extensive GBD mortality database, corrections for illdefined cause of death and the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient data sets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories, and seven follow-up studies with patient-reported long-term outcome measures. Results In 2013, 973 million (uncertainty interval (UI) 942 to 993) people sustained injuries that warranted some type of healthcare and 4.8 million (UI 4.5 to 5.1) people died from injuries. Between 1990 and 2013 the global age-standardised injury DALY rate decreased by 31% (UI 26% to 35%). The rate of decline in DALY rates was significant for 22 cause-of-injury categories, including all the major injuries. Conclusions Injuries continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed and developing world. The decline in rates for almost all injuries is so prominent that it warrants a general statement that the world is becoming a safer place to live in. However, the patterns vary widely by cause, age, sex, region and time and there are still large improvements that need to be made

Aspects of the endothelin system in colorectal cancer

Endothelin system members including endothelin-1, endothelin-2, endothelin-3, endothelin receptors, and endothelin converting enzyme are considered major regulating factors in cancer cell biology and cancer microenvironment. Endothelins are members of the matrix metalloproteinase superfamily of proteases, which are released from pre-proteins, bind to their receptors with differential affinity, and are degraded following cellular uptake. For their structural similarity, endothelin-2 and endothelin-3 can be regarded as natural competitors for the endothelin-1 receptors and as natural antagonists of endothelin-1. Endothelin-1 is regulated at several levels, primarily at the level of transcription. Remarkably, endothelin-1 is overexpressed in colorectal cancer, and elevated plasma levels were found in colorectal cancer patients. Endothelin receptor type A has an unequal distribution in the colon, as it is over-expressed in the proximal and distal segments of the colon. Compared with normal mucosal tissue, there is high expression of endothelin receptor type A and low expression of endothelin receptor type B in colorectal cancer at all Dukes stages. By binding to endothelin receptor type A, endothelin-1 leads to down-regulation of epithelial and increased expression of mesenchymal markers. Also, endothelin-1 acts as anti-apoptotic factor through multiple pathways like PI3K-dependent AKT activation or NF-κB signaling. Members of the endothelin system might be used as cancer biomarker and from a therapeutic point of view, targeting the endothelin axis is a promising aim. In effect, potential drugs may include endothelin converting enzyme inhibitors as well as selective and non-selective antagonists of endothelin receptor types A and B.Biomedical Reviews 2014; 25: 1-13

Performance Characteristics of the 5-Ring GE Discovery Mi PET/CT Scanner Using AAPM Tg-126 Report

AIM: To report on the performance characteristics of the 5-ring GE Discovery MI PET/CT systems using the AAPM TG-126 report and compare these results to NEMA NU 2-2012 where applicable. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TG-126 testing was performed on two GE 5-Rings Discovery MI scanners. Tests performed included spatial resolution, PET/CT image-registration accuracy, sensitivity, count rate performance, accuracy of corrections, image contrast, scatter/attenuation correction, and image uniformity. All acquired data were analyzed using scanner console or free software tools as described by TG-126 and the results were then compared to published NEMA NU 2-2012 values. RESULTS: Both scanners gave similar resolution results for TG-126 and NEMA NU 2-2012 and were within manufacturer specifications. Image-registration accuracy between PET and CT using our clinical protocol showed excellent results with values ≤1 mm. Sensitivity using TG-126 was 19.43 cps/kBq while for NEMA the value was 20.73 cps/kBq. The peak noise-equivalent counting rate was 2174 kcps at 63.1 kBq/mL and is not comparable to NEMA NU 2-2012 due to differences in phantoms and methods used to measure and calculate this parameter. The accuracy of corrections for count losses for TG-126 were expressed in SUV values and found to be within 10% of the expected SUV measurement of 1. Image contrast and scatter/attenuation correction using the TG-126 method gave acceptable results. Image uniformity assessment resulted in values within the recommended ± 5% limits. CONCLUSION: These results show that the 5-ring GE Discovery MI PET/CT scanner testing using TG-126 is reproducible and has similar results to NEMA NU 2-2012 tests where applicable. We hope these results start to form the basis to compare PET/CT systems using TG-126

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus primary surgery in advanced ovarian carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced ovarian cancer should be treated by radical debulking surgery aiming at complete tumor resection. Unfortunately about 70% of the patients present with advanced disease, when optimal debulking can not be obtained, and therefore these patients gain little benefit from surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been proposed as a novel therapeutic approach in such cases. In this study, we report our results with primary surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy as treatment modalities in the specific indication of operable patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (no medical contraindication to debulking surgery). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 59 patients with stage III or IV epithelial ovarian carcinomas were evaluated between 1998 and 2003. All patients were submitted to surgical exploration aiming to evaluate tumor resectability. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given (in 27 patients) where optimal cytoreduction was not feasible. Conversely primary debulking surgery was performed when we considered that optimal cytoreduction could be achieved by the standard surgery (32 patients). RESULTS: Optimal cytoreduction was higher in the NACT group (72.2%) than the conventional group (62.4%), though not statistically significant (P = 0.5). More important was the finding that parameters of surgical aggressiveness (blood loss rates, ICU stay and total hospital stay) were significantly lower in NACT group than the conventional group. The median overall survival time was 28 months in the conventional group and 25 months in NACT group with a P value of 0.5. The median disease free survival was 19 months in the conventional group and 21 months in NACT group (P = 0.4). In multivariate analysis, the pathologic type and degree of debulking were found to affect the disease free survival significantly. Overall survival was not affected by any of the study parameters. CONCLUSION: Primary chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery in select group of patients doesn't appear to worsen the prognosis, but it permits a less aggressive surgery to be performed

Study of the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and BDNF genes in French patients with non syndromic mental deficiency

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mental deficiency has been linked to abnormalities in cortical neuronal network connectivity and plasticity. These mechanisms are in part under the control of two interacting signalling pathways, the serotonergic and the brain-derived neurotrophic (BDNF) pathways. The aim of the current paper is to determine whether particular alleles or genotypes of two crucial genes of these systems, the serotonin transporter gene (<it>SLC6A4</it>) and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (<it>BDNF</it>), are associated with mental deficiency (MD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed four functional polymorphisms (rs25531, 5-HTTLPR, VNTR, rs3813034) of the <it>SLC6A4 </it>gene and one functional polymorphism (Val66 Met) of the <it>BDNF </it>gene in 98 patients with non-syndromic mental deficiency (NS-MD) and in an ethnically matched control population of 251 individuals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found no significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies in the five polymorphisms studied in the <it>SLC6A4 </it>and <it>BDNF </it>genes of NS-MD patients versus control patients. While the comparison of the patterns of linkage disequilibrium (D') in the control and NS-MD populations revealed a degree of variability it did not, however, reach significance. No significant differences in frequencies of haplotypes and genotypes for VNTR/rs3813034 and rs25531/5-HTTLPR were observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Altogether, results from the present study do not support a role for any of the five functional polymorphisms of <it>SLC6A4 </it>and <it>BDNF </it>genes in the aetiology of NS-RM. Moreover, they suggest no epistatic interaction in NS-MD between polymorphisms in <it>BDNF </it>and <it>SLC6A4</it>. However, we suggest that further studies on these two pathways in NS-MD remain necessary.</p

Acetylcholine-loaded nanoparticles protect against doxorubicin-induced toxicity inin vitrocardiac spheroids.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used in chemotherapy, yet it significantly contributes to heart failure-associated death. Acetylcholine (ACh) is cardioprotective by enhancing heart rate variability and reducing mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation. Nonetheless, the protective role of ACh in countering DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) remains underexplored as current approaches to increasing ACh levels are invasive and unsafe for patients. In this study, we explore the protective effects of ACh against DIC through three distinct ACh administration strategies: (i) freely-suspended 100µM ACh; (ii) ACh-producing cholinergic neurons (CNs); or (iii) ACh-loaded nanoparticles (ACh-NPs). These are tested inin vitrocardiac spheroids (CSs), which have previously been shown to approximate the complex DIC. We assess ACh's protective effects by measuring the toxicity ratio (cell death/viability), contractile activity, gene expression changes via qPCR and nitric oxide (NO) signaling. Our findings show that ACh effectively attenuates DOX-induced cell death and contractile dysfunction. ACh also counteracts the DOX-induced downregulation of genes controlling myocardial fibrosis, endothelial and cardiomyocyte dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation. ACh cardioprotection against DOX is dependent on NO signaling in endothelial cells but not in cardiac myocytes or fibroblasts. Altogether, this study shows for the first time that elevating ACh levels showed a promising therapeutic approach for preventing DIC

Assessment of Sperm Morphometry in Evaluating Male Infertility

Background: Infertility is a complex issue affecting 15% of couples of reproductive age, with men accounting for 40%-50% of infertility cases. Semen analysis comprises various descriptive measures of sperm and seminal fluid to determine semen quality. Transforming qualitative descriptions of sperm deformities and shape changes into quantitative terms can aid in identifying sub-visual abnormalities. This study aimed to evaluate sperm morphometry parameters in both infertile and fertile men. Methods and Results: The study enrolled a total of 101 participants, divided into three groups: Group A included 38 subfertile patients with varicocele, Group B included 33 patients with idiopathic infertility (23 with asthenozoospermia and 10 with oligozoospermia), and Group C (the control group) included 30 healthy fertile men. The mean age of patients was 31.6±5.81, 31.3±6.0, and 29.47±4.27 years in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. Scrotal duplex examinations were performed to identify the presence of varicocele. Semen samples were collected following WHO Manual (2010). Semen dynamic and morphological analyses were conducted using CASA (Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis, MIRALAB, ISO9001, ISO13485). We found that sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm progressive motility, and sperm progressive+non-progressive motility were significantly lower in Group A and Group B than in Group C (P=0.000 in all cases); however, there were no differences between Group A and Group B regarding these parameters (Table 5). The sperm morphology index was significantly lower in Group A than in Group C (P=0.0024); no differences were found between Group B and Group C and Group B and Group A. The mean value of the sperm deformity index was significantly lower in Group A than in Group C P=0.004). Conclusion: Our study highlights the significant association between sperm morphology and male infertility in varicocele and idiopathic subfertile males