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BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular effects of low-level environmental radiation exposures are poorly understood. Although particulate matter (PM) has been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and elevated blood pressure (BP), the properties promoting its toxicity remain uncertain. Addressing a knowledge gap, we evaluated whether BP increased with higher exposures to radioactive components

The molecular mechanism behind affinity maturation is the introduction of point mutations in immunoglobulin (Ig) V genes, followed by the selective proliferation of B cells expressing mutants with increased affinity for antigen. An in vitro culture system was developed in which somatic hypermutation of Ig V genes was sustained in primed B cells. Cognate T cell help and cross-linking of the surface

We have identified a first group of 33 new candidates for symbiotic stars (SySt) of the accreting-only variety among the 600 255 stars so far observed by the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) high-resolution spectroscopic survey of the Southern hemisphere, more than doubling the number of those previously known. GALAH aims to high latitudes and this offers the possibility to sound the Galax

BACKGROUND: The Synergy between PCI with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial was a non-inferiority trial that compared percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using first-generation paclitaxel-eluting stents with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with de-novo three-vessel and left main coronary artery disease, and reported results up to 5 years. We now report 10-year all-cau

We review the main software and computing challenges for the Monte Carlo physics event generators used by the LHC experiments, in view of the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) physics programme. This paper has been prepared by the HEP Software Foundation (HSF) Physics Event Generator Working Group as an input to the LHCC review of HL-LHC computing, which has started in May 2020.

BackgroundNon-coding genetic variants that influence gene transcription in pancreatic islets play a major role in the susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (T2D), and likely also contribute to type 1 diabetes (T1D) risk. For many loci, however, the mechanisms through which non-coding variants influence diabetes susceptibility are unknown.ResultsWe examine splicing QTLs (sQTLs) in pancreatic islets fro

Background: Intracoronary pressure wire measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) provides decision-making guidance during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, limited data exist on the effect of FFR on long-term clinical outcomes in patients with stable angina pectoris. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the usage of FFR and all-cause m

The intestine contains some of the most diverse and complex immune compartments in the body. Here we describe a method for isolating human gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALTs) that allows unprecedented profiling of the adaptive immune system in submucosal and mucosal isolated lymphoid follicles (SM-ILFs and M-ILFs, respectively) as well as in GALT-free intestinal lamina propria (LP). SM-ILF and

Studies of the kinematics and chemical compositions of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) enable the reconstruction of the history of star formation, chemical evolution, and mass assembly of the Galaxy. Using the latest data release (DR16) of the SDSS/APOGEE survey, we identify 3090 stars associated with 46 GCs. Using a previously defined kinematic association, we break the sample down into eight se

The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping (OCCAM) survey aims to constrain key Galactic dynamical and chemical evolution parameters by the construction of a large, comprehensive, uniform, infrared-based spectroscopic data set of hundreds of open clusters. This fourth contribution from the OCCAM survey presents analysis using Sloan Digital Sky Survey/APOGEE DR16 of a sample of 128 open clust

Ancient Italic terracottas were painted before or after firing depending on their function, as suggested by previous analyses. However, concerning the votive terracottas, there seems to have been no anlayses carried out, suggesting either a fired or non fired paint. Methods and problems associated with an ongoing research on some votive terracottas from Tessennano in Southern Etruria are considere

We exploit the 7 Ms Chandra observations in the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S), the deepest X-ray survey to date, coupled with CANDELS/GOODS-S data, to measure the total X-ray emission arising from 2076 galaxies at 3.5 ≤ z < 6.5. This aim is achieved by stacking the Chandra data at the positions of optically selected galaxies, reaching effective exposure times of ≥109s.We detect significant (>3.

Introduction: Planning cranioplasty (CPL) in patients with suspected or proven post-traumatic hydrocephalus (PTH) poses a significant management challenge due to a lack of clear guidance. Research question: This project aims to create a European document to improve adherence and adapt to local protocols based on available resources and national health systems. Methods: After a thorough non-systema

Mechanical imaging (MI) uses a pressure sensor array to estimate the stiffness of lesions. Recent clinical studies have suggested that MI combined with digital mammography may reduce false positive findings and negative biopsies by over 30%. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has been adopted progressively in cancer screening. The tomographic nature of DBT improves lesion visibility by reducing ti

Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes for the current biodiversity crisis. While reversing habitat loss on agricultural land is challenging, increasing the farmland configurational heterogeneity (higher field border density) and farmland compositional heterogeneity (higher crop diversity) has been proposed to counteract some habitat loss. Here, we tested whether increased farmland

Driven by co-evolution with pathogens, host immunity continuously adapts to optimize defence against pathogens within a given environment. Recent advances in genetics, genomics and transcriptomics have enabled a more detailed investigation into how immunogenetic variation shapes the diversity of immune responses seen across domestic and wild animal species. However, a deeper understanding of the d

Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with KMT2A-gene rearrangements (KMT2A-r) have few mutations and a poor prognosis. To uncover mutations that are below the detection of standard next-generation sequencing (NGS), a combination of targeted duplex sequencing and NGS was applied on 20 infants and 7 children with KMT2A-r ALL, 5 longitudinal and 6 paired relapse samples. Of identified nonsynonym

BACKGROUND: ACURATE neo2 is a transcatheter aortic valve implantation system consisting of a self-expanding bioprosthetic valve with supra-annular leaflet position and featuring innovations to facilitate placement accuracy and reduce paravalvular regurgitation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The goal of the Early neo2 (Early neo2 Registry of the ACURATE neo2 TAVI Prosthesis) was to gather real-life data on

Individual patient data were available for all four of the randomized trials that began before 1995, and that compared adjuvant radiotherapy vs no radiotherapy following breast-conserving surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). A total of 3729 women were eligible for analysis. Radiotherapy reduced the absolute 10-year risk of any ipsilateral breast event (ie, either recurrent DCIS or invasive

The biology centered around the TGF-beta type I receptor Activin Receptor-Like Kinase (ALK)1 (encoded by ACVRL1) has been almost exclusively based on its reported endothelial expression pattern since its first functional characterization more than two decades ago. Here, in efforts to better define the therapeutic context in which to use ALK1 inhibitors, we uncover a population of tumor-associated