Shell correction for the stopping power of K electrons

In view of the inapplicability of the asymptotic expressions for the stopping number available in the literature at high energies, an alternative approach is taken to compute the shell correction to the stopping number of K electrons. Anholt\u27s formula (1979) for the K-shell ionization has been used to calculate the excitation function for longitudinal interaction and numerical integration over energy has been carried out to evaluate the shell correction. Comparison with other theoretical calculations is made. It is proposed that, with the inclusion of relativistic effects, an asymptotic expansion of the stopping number with a leading-term logarithmic in the energy of the incident particle would be more meaningful and might enable one to extract the relativistic contribution to the shell correction from it

Deuteron Photodissociation in Ultraperipheral Relativistic Heavy-Ion on Deuteron Collisions

In ultraperipheral relativistic deuteron on heavy-ion collisions, a photon emitted from the heavy nucleus may dissociate the deuterium ion. We find deuterium breakup cross sections of 1.38 barns for deuterium-gold collisions at a center of mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon, as studied at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and 2.49 barns for deuterium-lead collisions at a center of mass energy of 6.2 TeV, as proposed for the Large Hadron Collider. This cross section includes an energy-independent 140 mb contribution from hadronic diffractive dissociation. At the LHC, the cross section is as large as that of hadronic interactions. The estimated error is 5%. Deuteron dissociation could be used as a luminosity monitor and a `tag' for moderate impact parameter collisions.Comment: Final version, to appear in Phys. Rev. C. Diffractive dissociation included 10 pages with 3 figure

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Trends in upper gastrointestinal diagnosis over four decades in Lusaka, Zambia: a retrospective analysis of endoscopic findings

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There a shortage of robust information about profiles of gastrointestinal disease in sub-Saharan Africa. The endoscopy unit of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka has been running without interruption since 1977 and this 38-year record is largely intact. We report an analysis of endoscopic findings over this period. METHODS: Written endoscopy records from 29th September 1977 to 16th December 2014 were recovered, computerised, coded by two experienced endoscopists and analysed. Temporal trends were analysed using tables, graphs, and unconditional logistic regression, with age, sex of patient, decade, and endoscopist as independent variables to adjust for inter-observer variation. RESULTS: Sixteen thousand nine hundred fifty-three records were identified and analysed. Diagnosis of gastric ulcer rose by 22 %, and that of duodenal ulcer fell by 14 % per decade. Endoscopically diagnosed oesophageal cancer increased by 32 % per decade, but gastric cancer rose only in patients under 60 years of age (21 % per decade). Oesophageal varices were the commonest finding in patients presenting with haematemesis, increasing by 14 % per decade in that patient group. Two HIV-related diagnoses, oesophageal candidiasis and Kaposi’s sarcoma, rose from almost zero to very high levels in the 1990s but fell substantially after 2005 when anti-retroviral therapy became widely available. CONCLUSIONS: This useful dataset suggests that there are important trends in some endoscopic findings over four decades. These trends are not explained by inter-observer variation. Reasons for the divergent trends in incidence of peptic ulceration and apparent trends in diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal cancers merit further exploration

Autoimmune gastrointestinal complications in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: case series and literature review

The association of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases is rare, but has been described in the literature, mostly as case reports. However, some of these diseases may be very severe, thus a correct and early diagnosis with appropriate management are fundamental. We have analysed our data from the SLE patient cohort at University College Hospital London, established in 1978, identifying those patients with an associated autoimmune gastrointestinal disease. We have also undertaken a review of the literature describing the major autoimmune gastrointestinal pathologies which may be coincident with SLE, focusing on the incidence, clinical and laboratory (particularly antibody) findings, common aetiopathogenesis and complications

Beta-blockers have no impact on survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma prior to cancer diagnosis

Previous studies have suggested that β-adrenergic signaling may regulate the growth of various cancers. The aim of our study is to investigate the association between the incidental use of beta-blockers for various conditions on the overall survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Patients with histologically-confirmed PDAC between 2007 and 2011 were extracted from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Kaplan Meier and multivariable Cox Proportional-Hazard models were used to examine the association between beta-blocker usage before diagnosis and overall survival adjusting for appropriate confounders. As an additional analysis we also examined continuous beta-blocker use before and after diagnosis. From 2007 to 2011, 13,731 patients were diagnosed with PDAC. Of these, 7130 patients had Medicare Part D coverage in the 6-month period before diagnosis, with 2564 (36%) of these patients using beta-blockers in this period. Patients receiving beta-blockers had a mean survival time of 5.1 months compared to 6 months for non-users (p < 0.01). In multivariable analysis, beta-blockers usage was not associated with improved survival (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.04, 95%, Confidence Interval (CI) 0.98–1.1, p = 0.2). When patients were stratified by conditions with indications for beta-blocker usage, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease and cardiac arrhythmia, differences in survival were insignificant compared to non-users in all groups (p > 0.05). After stratification by receptor selectivity, this lack of association with survival persisted (p > 0.05 for all). As a subgroup analysis, looking at patients with continuous Medicare Part D coverage who used beta-blockers in the 6-month period before and after cancer diagnosis, we identified 7085 patients, of which 1750 (24.7%) had continuous beta blocker use. In multivariable analysis, continuous beta-blockers usage was associated with improved survival (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.86, 95%, Confidence Interval (CI) 0.8–0.9, p < 0.01). Beta-blocker usage before diagnosis does not confer a survival advantage in patients with PDAC, though continuous use before and after diagnosis did confer a survival advantage. Prospective studies into the mechanism for this advantage are needed

Therapeutic opportunities within the DNA damage response

The DNA damage response (DDR) is essential for maintaining the genomic integrity of the cell, and its disruption is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Classically, defects in the DDR have been exploited therapeutically in the treatment of cancer with radiation therapies or genotoxic chemotherapies. More recently, protein components of the DDR systems have been identified as promising avenues for targeted cancer therapeutics. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of the function, role in cancer and therapeutic potential of 450 expert-curated human DDR genes. We discuss the DDR drugs that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or that are under clinical investigation. We examine large-scale genomic and expression data for 15 cancers to identify deregulated components of the DDR, and we apply systematic computational analysis to identify DDR proteins that are amenable to modulation by small molecules, highlighting potential novel therapeutic targets

The landscape of somatic copy-number alteration across human cancers

available in PMC 2010 August 18.A powerful way to discover key genes with causal roles in oncogenesis is to identify genomic regions that undergo frequent alteration in human cancers. Here we present high-resolution analyses of somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) from 3,131 cancer specimens, belonging largely to 26 histological types. We identify 158 regions of focal SCNA that are altered at significant frequency across several cancer types, of which 122 cannot be explained by the presence of a known cancer target gene located within these regions. Several gene families are enriched among these regions of focal SCNA, including the BCL2 family of apoptosis regulators and the NF-κΒ pathway. We show that cancer cells containing amplifications surrounding the MCL1 and BCL2L1 anti-apoptotic genes depend on the expression of these genes for survival. Finally, we demonstrate that a large majority of SCNAs identified in individual cancer types are present in several cancer types.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, P50CA90578)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, R01CA109038))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, R01CA109467)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, P01CA085859)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, P01CA 098101)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPOREs, K08CA122833

A note on clinical presentations of amebic liver abscess: an overview from 62 Thai patients

BACKGROUND: Amebic liver abscess is a tropical disease with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Given the often nonspecific nature of the complaints related to amebic abscess, a retrospective review of patients with confirmed disease to recognize the most common patterns of presentation is useful. Here, we study the clinical presentations of 62 Thai patients with amebic liver abscess. We also compare the clinical presentations of Anti HIV seronegative and Anti HIV seropositive patients. METHODS: A retrospective case review was carried out for 62 Thai patients who had been diagnosed with amebic liver abscess. Clinical information was collected, including symptoms and signs, location and number of abscesses. The Anti HIV serology laboratory investigation was also reviewed. RESULTS: According to our study, the common clinical symptoms and signs are abdominal pain (85.5 %), fever and chills (74.2 %), and abdominal tenderness (69.4 %). The location of the abscess was predominantly in the right lobe (74.2 %), and most of patients had a single abscess (77.4 %). Similar trends in clinical presentations were observed in both Anti HIV seropositive and Anti HIV seronegative subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the clinical presentations of our amebic liver abscess patients were similar to those in previous reports. A similarity to those in the pyogenic liver abscess patients can be observed. Nevertheless, we could not detect important significant differences in the clinical presentations between Anti HIV seropositive and Anti HIV seronegative groups of patients