Publisher's Note: Isomer Shift and Magnetic Moment of the Long-Lived 1/2

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.182502.

Isomer Shift and Magnetic Moment of the Long-Lived 1/2

Collinear laser spectroscopy is performed on the _{30}^{79}Zn_{49} isotope at ISOLDE-CERN. The existence of a long-lived isomer with a few hundred milliseconds half-life is confirmed, and the nuclear spins and moments of the ground and isomeric states in ^{79}Zn as well as the isomer shift are measured. From the observed hyperfine structures, spins I=9/2 and I=1/2 are firmly assigned to the ground and isomeric states. The magnetic moment µ (^{79}Zn)=-1.1866(10)µ_{N}, confirms the spin-parity 9/2^{+} with a νg_{9/2}^{-1} shell-model configuration, in excellent agreement with the prediction from large scale shell-model theories. The magnetic moment µ (^{79m}Zn)=-1.0180(12)µ_{N} supports a positive parity for the isomer, with a wave function dominated by a 2h-1p neutron excitation across the N=50 shell gap. The large isomer shift reveals an increase of the intruder isomer mean square charge radius with respect to that of the ground state, δ⟨r_{c}^{2}⟩^{79,79m}=+0.204(6) fm^{2}, providing first evidence of shape coexistence.

Public health measures to control tuberculosis in low-income countries: ethics and human rights considerations.

In low-income countries, tuberculosis (TB) control measures should be guided by ethical concerns and human rights obligations. Control programs should consider the principles of necessity, reasonableness and effectiveness of means, proportionality, distributive justice, and transparency. Certain measures-detention, infection control, and treatment to prevent transmission-raise particular concerns. While isolation is appropriate under certain circumstances, quarantine is never an acceptable control measure for TB, and any detention must be limited by necessity and conducted humanely. States have a duty to implement hospital infection control to the extent of their available resources and to provide treatment to health care workers (HCWs) infected on the job. HCWs, in turn, have an obligation to provide care unless conditions are unreasonably and unforeseeably unsafe. Finally, states have an obligation to provide adequate access to treatment, as a means of preventing transmission, as broadly as possible and in a non-discriminatory fashion. Along with treatment, states should provide support to increase treatment adherence and retention with respect for patient privacy and autonomy. Compulsory treatment is almost never acceptable. Governments should take care to respect human rights and ethical obligations as they execute TB control programs.

Differential gene expression patterns in the autogamous plant Hordeum euclaston (Poaceae).

Sib-seedlings of 95 strains of the strictly autogamous grass Hordeum euclaston were analyzed by horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for four isoenzyme systems at a specific ontogenetic stage. We found differences in the activity of some genes among individuals of this species. Hence, an ontogenetic analysis was carried out to investigate 12 strains at five ontogenetic stages, to determine the patterns of expression of these genes during development. The differences in the presence versus absence of certain isoenzyme bands may be due to differential regulatory activation in response to environmental differences, as all plants showed the same structural genes, although these genes were active in different tissues and/or times of development. These results indicate the importance of differential gene activation in the metabolic phenotype variability of this strictly autogamous, highly homozygous species. The same structural alleles for isoenzymes showed the active form of the enzymes (phenotypic expression) to be present in different tissues and/or stages of development. Differential isoenzyme gene activation was shown to be directly responsible for the enzymatic variability (metabolic phenotype) presented by the plants, which seem to possess almost no heterozygosis.

The effect of esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily on acoustic and perception parameters of the voice in laryngopharyngeal reflux.

BACKGROUND: Randomized, placebo-controlled studies have failed to demonstrate a significant treatment effect for laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) using traditional clinical endpoints. We compared the effect of esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily (b.i.d.) vs placebo on voice and acoustic-related measures in patients with LPR. METHODS: Patients with LPR underwent endoscopy and pH testing. Subsequently, patients underwent videostroboscopic recordings of the larynx, acoustic voice and speech analysis. A voice use and quality diary and oesophageal symptom diary were completed at baseline. Thereafter, patients were randomized to esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily vs placebo for 3 months. The voice use and quality diary and oesophageal symptom dairy were repeated during the last week of treatment. Videostroboscopy and acoustic voice and speech analysis were also performed at the end of treatment. KEY RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were randomized to the esomeprazole group and 17 to the placebo group. There was no significant difference in videostroboscopic reflux finding scores from baseline to post-treatment. Acoustic measures also failed to demonstrate significant differences within the same or between groups, even when a sub-group analysis of patients with endoscopically documented oesophageal inflammation at baseline was performed. Additionally, no significant differences were found between groups when using voice use and quality diary. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: Use of more specific laryngeal functional parameters such as voice-related acoustic measures of pitch range, fundamental frequency and intensity also failed to demonstrate a significant response to proton pump inhibitor treatment as compared to placebo in patients with suspected LPR.

Measurement of H2 consumption and its role in continuous fermentative hydrogen production.

To maximise the yield from fermentative H(2) production, H(2) consumption must be minimised. This work demonstrated for the first time that H(2) consumption exists in an established continuous-flow biohydrogen system. The rate of H(2) consumption was found to be related to the concentration of CO(2), with H(2) consumption inhibited at both low and high CO(2). N(2) sparging of the continuous reactor at 31 mL/min/L-liquid increased the H(2) yield from 1.31 to 1.87 mol H(2)/mol glucose, but did not significantly change the in-situ rate of H(2) consumption (0.07-0.09 mM/h). Assuming sparging completely inhibited H(2) consumption, it could only account for 2-11% of the H(2) yield increase during sparging, based on H(2) consumption rates measured in the reactor and in vials. Therefore, H(2) consumption may be of minor concern for continuous biohydrogen systems.

Respiratory gas exchange and physiological demands during a fire fighter evaluation circuit in men and women.

We examined the oxygen uptake (VO2) and carbon dioxide output (VCO2) during completion of a circuit developed for testing fire fighters and related performance time to laboratory measures of fitness. Twenty-two healthy university students (ten women) were trained in the tasks then performed the circuit as quickly as possible. Breath-by-breath gas exchange and heart rate were continuously measured with a portable system. Median circuit time was 6:13 (min:s, 25-75% = 5:46-6:42) for men and 7:25 (25-75% = 6:49-10:21) for 8 women finishers (P = 0.023), and VO2 averaged 68 and 64% VO2max for the men and women during the circuit. Both men and women had high respiratory exchange ratios (>1.0) suggesting marked anaerobic energy contribution. Physiological variables associated with circuit time were assessed by backward stepwise regression yielding a significant model that included only peak work rate during arm cranking exercise as a function of circuit completion time across men and women combined (P < 0.001). For men, but especially for women, the time required for the simulated victim drag (68.2 kg mannequin) was positively correlated with total time to complete the other circuit elements (r = 0.51, r = 0.96 respectively). The simple correlation between circuit time and VO2max (mL/kg/min) revealed poor relationships for men (r = -0.37, P > 0.05) and women (r = 0.20, P > 0.05). These data demonstrated that upper body fitness as reflected by peak work rate during arm cranking correlated with total circuit time for the men and women in our population sample.

B lymphocyte maturation in Wegener's granulomatosis: a comparative analysis of VH genes from endonasal lesions.

BACKGROUND: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) directed against proteinase 3 (PR3) are highly specific for Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). Evidence for a pivotal role of PR3-ANCA in the induction of vasculitis has been demonstrated. B cell clusters have been observed within endonasal biopsy specimens. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether B cell selection and maturation take place in granulomatous lesions of WG. METHODS: Granulomatous lesions and the immunoglobulin (VH) gene repertoire from nasal tissue of six WG patients-two active and two smouldering localised WG (ANCA negative, restricted to respiratory tract), plus one active and one smouldering PR3-ANCA positive generalised WG-were characterised by immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, cloning, DNA sequencing and database comparison. RESULTS: B lymphocyte-rich, follicle-like areas were observed proximal to PR3 positive cells and plasma cells in granulomatous lesions; 184 VH genes from these granulomatous lesions were compared with 84 VH genes from peripheral blood of a healthy donor. The mutational pattern of VH genes from active WG resembled memory B cells. Structural homologies of VH genes from granulomatous lesions to PR3-ANCA encoding genes were detected. Significantly more genes (55%, 45%, and 53%, respectively) from active WG compared with the healthy repertoire carried mutations to negatively charged amino acids within the binding site coding regions, favouring affinity to the positively charged PR3. CONCLUSIONS: Selection and affinity maturation of potentially PR3-ANCA producing autoreactive B cells may start in granulomatous lesions, thereby contributing to disease progression from ANCA negative localised to PR3-ANCA positive generalised WG.

[Pulmonary hypertension associated with disorders of the respiratory system]. / Hypertension pulmonaire des affections respiratoires chroniques.

Pulmonary hypertension associated with disorders of the respiratory system is defined by a pulmonary artery mean pressure above 20 mmHg at rest in stable disease. The most frequent form of precapillary pulmonary hypertension is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, because of its high prevalence. Pulmonary vascular remodeling occurs in the small pulmonary arteries and is due mainly to chronic alveolar hypoxia. Pulmonary hypertension associated with disorders of the respiratory system is usually mild to moderate, with resting pulmonary artery mean pressure ranging between 20 and 35 mm Hg. It may increase markedly during sleep, exercise or exacerbation of respiratory failure, however. Abrupt postload elevation can lead to right heart failure, an indisputable indicator of prognosis. Because the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension are minimal relative to those of the chronic hypoxic lung disease, noninvasive diagnosis is difficult, particularly in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Oxygen therapy (at least 16 h/day) is currently the best treatment for this type of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

[Physiological functional tests to evaluate pulmonary arterial hypertension]. / Explorations fonctionnelles dans l'hypertension artérielle pulmonaire.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and complex disease, which requires careful diagnostic evaluation. STATE OF THE ART: Most patients have a mild decrease in lung volumes and a moderate decrease in carbon monoxide transfer factor. Mild to moderate arterial hypoxaemia, is often present, associated with a mild respiratory alkalosis. When hypoxaemia is severe, it may represent an intracardiac shunt. Right heart catheterisation is required to confirm the diagnosis and in most cases shows a significant elevation of pulmonary artery pressure due to an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance. The haemodynamic profile and the response to an acute pulmonary vasodilator challenge are determinants of prognosis. Finally, exercise capacity which is usually assessed by the six minute walk test provides an overall functional measure of disease severity, response to therapy, and progression. PERSPECTIVES: Functional evaluation of the heart using echocardiography will play an increasing role in the evaluation of PAH. CONCLUSIONS: Physiological measurements in PAH have several objectives. They form part of the diagnostic definition, allow the exclusion of other conditions and are tools for the assessment of severity, prognosis and response to therapy.

Structural and regulatory differences in amylase isoenzymes ingerminating Brazilian barley cultivars

The amylase electrophoretic patterns of 10 Brazilian brewing-barley varieties with different malting grades and diastatic power were analyzed during the 7-day germination which occurs during the malting process. Intra and inter-variety genetic variability was observed at both the structural and regulatory level. In the first few days after germination all varieties showed a few active loci, all of them with low activity. In subsequent days, new loci became active and those already detected since early germination showed increased activity. All varieties showed a continuous increase in amylase synthesis until the 3rd and/or 4th day after germination. Some varieties maintained high amylase activity until the last day of germination, while others showed a decrease in activity on the 5th or 6th day. No specific band increased or decreased its intensity independently of the others. A total of 14 loci were detected, out of which only one locus was polymorphic, indicating very low structural genetic variability, with only 2.8 per cent polymorphic loci, an average of 1.04 alleles per loci, and an average expected heterozygosity of only 0.7 per cent. The mean intra-variety Jaccard similarity coefficient complement (1 - Sj) was 0.009. The mean intra-variety difference based on regulatory differences was higher (1 - Sj = 0.17) than that obtained based on structural differences, suggesting differential gene activation. Inter-variety differentiation also showed low structural variability, with 1 - Sj = 0.026 and a Nei genetic distance (D) value of 0.0076, and a remarkable increase in divergence caused by differential gene activation (1 - Sj = 0.34). These results indicate that regulatory polymorphism is the principal agent responsible for amylase variability in the barley varieties analyzed

Infrasellar craniopharyngioma: case report.

We report a case of infrasellar craniopharyngioma in a 34 year-old woman who presented with progressive headache and diplopia. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance images showed a heterogeneous tumor originating from the sphenoid bone with ethmoid sinus and sella turcica extension. A sublabial rhinoseptal transsphenoidal surgery was performed. Craniopharyngiomas with infrasellar development are very rare. Infrasellar craniopharyngioma is uncommon, thirty-five cases has been reported in literature. The embryology, clinical features and radiographic investigation of these tumors are discussed.

Tissue engineering in space.

The purpose of this paper is to present the status of that part of the [Microgravity Application Program] project related to the study of cartilage formation from pig chondrocytes. The work carried out so far followed two lines: (i) chondrocytes were incubated for up to three weeks in the RPM; (ii) a module developed for in-vitro cartilage formation will be tested in a sounding rocket flight (MASER 9, November 2001).

[Anemia caused by vitamin B 12 deficiency in subjects aged over 75 years: new hypotheses. A study of 20 cases]. / Anémies par carence en vitamine B12 chez le sujet âgé de plus de 75 ans: nouveaux concepts. A propos de 20 observations.

PURPOSE: New hypotheses have recently been developed on vitamin B12 deficiency and the frequently observed occurrence in the elderly subject of food cobalamin malabsorption, i.e., the non-dissociation of B12 and its carrier protein (ND B12), and the possibility of rectifying this imbalance by oral crystalline B12 supplementation. The aim of this study was therefore to confirm these hypotheses in a series of patients aged over 75 years with anemia due to B12 deficiency. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out over a 5-year period on patients aged over 75 years presenting with megaloblastic anemia (hemoglobin [Hb] < 12 g/dL) and vitamin B12/cobalamin deficiency (B12 < 160 pg/mL). RESULTS: Twenty cases were analyzed. The average age of the patient population was 82.5 +/- 6 years, and the F/M sex ratio was 1:2. Mean Hb levels were 7.9 +/- 2.4 g/dL, mean serum B12 levels were 83 +/- 24 pg/mL, and mean homocysteinemic levels were 35 +/- 27 mumol/L. The diagnosis was as follows: food cobalamin malabsorption/ND B12 (n = 10), Biermer's disease/pernicious anemia (n = 5), malabsorption due to pancreatic insufficiency (n = 1), and low dietary B12 levels (n = 1). Disorders associated with ND B12 were: atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection (n = 6), antacid or biguanide intake (n = 3), alcohol abuse (n = 2), or idiopathic syndrome (n = 2). In the patients who were followed up (n = 10), i.m. (n = 5) or oral (n = 5) administration of crystalline B12 resulted in the correction of hematological abnormalities. CONCLUSION: In the elderly subject, food cobalamin/ND B12 malabsorption appears to be the main cause of B12 deficiency, and is frequently associated with atrophic gastritis. In these cases, administration of oral crystalline B12 may be an efficient means of treating this disorder.