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Purpose: To assess the feasibility of performing same-day vascular flow redistribution and Yttrium-90 radioembolization (90Y-RE) for hepatic malignancies.Materials and Methods: From November 2015 to February 2019, patients undergoing same-day hepatic flow redistribution during work-up angiography, 99mTechnetium-labeled macroaggregated albumin (99mTc-MAA) SPECT/CT and 90Y microsphere-RE, were recruited. Within 18 h following the delivery of 90Y resin microspheres, an 90Y-PET/CT study was performed. According to patients' vascular anatomy, flow redistribution was performed by microcoil embolization of extrahepatic branches (group A), intrahepatic non-tumoral vessels (group B) and intrahepatic tumoral arteries (group C). The accumulation of 99mTc-MAA particles and microspheres in the redistributed areas was qualitatively evaluated using a 5-point visual scale (grade 1 = < 25% accumulation; grade 5 = 100% accumulation). Differences in the distribution of microspheres among groups were assessed with Mann-Whitney U test.Results: Twenty-two patients were treated for primary (n = 17) and secondary (n = 5) hepatic malignancies. The MAA-SPECT/CT showed uptake in all the redistributed areas. Regarding the accumulation of microspheres within the redistributed segments in all the groups, perfusion patterns were classified as 2 in 1 case, 4 in 6 cases and 5 in 15 cases. No statistically significant differences were observed between groups A and B-C (U value = 34, p = 0.32) and between groups B and C (U value = 26, p = 0.7). Mean predicted absorbed doses by the tumoral and normal hepatic tissues were 163.5 ± 131.2 Gy and 60.4 ± 69.3 Gy, respectively. Mean total procedure time (from work-up angiography to 90Y delivery) was 401 ± 0.055 min.Conclusion: Performing same-day redistribution of the arterial hepatic flow to the target and 90Y-microsphere delivery is feasible in the treatment of liver tumors. Clinical Trials Registry NCT03380130. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) waste reached 250,000 metric tonnes by the end of 2016 and is expected to increase considerably in the future. Hence, adequate end-of-life (EoL) management for PV modules must be developed. Today, most of the EoL modules go to landfill, mainly because recycling processes for PV modules are not yet economically feasible and regulation in most countries is not yet well established. Nevertheless, several methods for recycling PV modules are under development. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology that quantifies the environmental impacts of a process or a product. An attributional LCA was undertaken to compare landfill, incineration, reuse and recycling (mechanical, thermal and chemical routes) of EoL crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar modules, based on a combination of real process data and assumptions. The results show that recovery of materials from solar modules results in lower environmental impacts compared to other EoL scenarios, considering our assumptions. The impacts could be even lower with the adoption of more complex processes that can reclaim more materials. Although recycling processes can achieve good recycling rates and recover almost all materials from solar modules, attention must be paid to the use of toxic substances during the chemical routes of recycling and to the distance to recycling centres due to the impacts of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ISHP (Ion Source Hydrogen Positive) project consists of a highly versatile ECR type ion source. It has been built for several purposes, on the one hand, to serve as a workbench to test accelerator related technologies and validate in-house made developments, at the first stages. On the other hand, to design an ion source valid as the first step in an actual LINAC. Since this paper is focused on the control system of ISHP, besides the ion source, all the hardware and its control architecture is presented. Nowadays the ion source is able to generate a pulse of positive ions of Hydrogen from 2~\mu\s to a few ms range with a repetition rate ranging from 1~Hz to 50~Hz with a maximum of 45~mA of current. Furthermore, the first experiments with White Rabbit (WR) synchronization system are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyzes Harsanyi power solutions for cooperative games in which partial cooperation is based on union stable systems. These structures contain as particular cases the widely studied communication graph games and permission structures, among others. In this context, we provide axiomatic characterizations of the Harsanyi power solutions which distribute the Harsanyi dividends proportional to weights determined by a power measure for union stable systems. Moreover, the well-known Myerson value is exactly the Harsanyi power solution for the equal power measure, and on a special subclass of union stable systems the position value coincides with the Harsanyi power solution obtained for the influence power measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements of spectral global and diffuse ultraviolet (UV) irradiance, and of spectral actinic flux were made jointly with determinations of cloud properties during a two- month experimental campaign that took place in southern Italy in May-June 2010. The cloud modification factor (CMF) which is the ratio between the incoming radiation under cloudy and in cloud-free conditions, was obtained for the global (direct plus diffuse) and diffuse components of the irradiance, and for the actinic flux in the UV spectral range for overcast conditions. Measurements of the diffuse irradiance and actinic flux CMFs are very scarce, and are particularly important to characterize the radiation field and verify the behaviour of radiative transfer models in cloudy conditions. In addition to measurements, one-dimensional radiative transfer simulations are used to investigate the cloud influence on the spectral solar UV radiation. The analysis shows that the wavelength dependence of CMF for the global irradiance is mainly due to the normalization for cloud-free conditions. The CMF for the diffuse irradiance and for the actinic flux displays a strong dependence on the solar zenith angle. This dependence appears to be mainly driven by the large role played by the zenith radiation in overcast conditions. Radiative transfer model determinations of CMF satisfactorily reproduce observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erythemal ultraviolet (UVER) irradiation was reconstructed at nine Spanish locations, with series starting around 1950 in five of these places. Each series was checked by applying homogeneity tests in order to discard nonhomogeneous series. Available series were used to create an averaged Iberian Peninsula UVER series. Results indicate that annual UVER irradiation in the Iberian Peninsula increased by 155Jm-2 (6.5%) between 1950 and 2011 due to the decrease observed in atmospheric ozone rather than changes in aerosol and clouds. By contrast, annual UVER irradiation increased by 135 Jm-2 (5.6%) between 1985 and 2011, mainly due to changes in aerosol and clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Why are female mice that lack a functional p27 protein infertile? SUMMARY ANSWER The absence of a functional p27 leads to a dramatic increase in the number of multi-oocyte follicles (MOFs) in juvenile female mice; p27 would promote the individualization of follicles favoring the development of fertile eggs. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY p27−/− female mice are infertile. p27 suppresses excessive follicular endowment and activation and promotes follicular atresia in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ovaries from wild type (WT) and p27Kip1 mutant mice aged 2, 4 and 12 weeks were subjected to immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence. The slides with whole organs serially sectioned were scanned and examined by image analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Compared with WT, p27Kip1 mutant pre-pubertal mice had a greater number of oocytes, a greater number of growing follicles and a greater number of MOFs. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05), particularly in the case of MOFs (P > 0.001). The unusually large number of MOFs in juvenile p27-deficient mice is a novel observation. In WT mice p27 protein remains present in the oocyte nucleus but gradually decreases in the ooplasm during follicular growth, while granulosa cells show dynamic, follicle stage-related changes. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION These results have been obtained in mice and they cannot be directly extrapolated to humans. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The dramatic increase in the numbers of MOFs in juvenile p27 mutants has not been previously reported. The number of MOFs declines sharply as the mice become sexually mature, pointing to their negative selection. These findings open a new approach to the study of sterility. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS This study has been funded by the Basque Government, Dept. of Health grant 2007111063 and Dept. of Industry (Saiotek) grant S-PC11UN008. Jairo Perez-Sanz was the recipient of a grant from Fundación Jesús de Gangoiti Barrera. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a study of a strong desert dust episode over the Iberian Peninsula, and its effect on the spectral ultraviolet (UV) irradiance in Granada, Spain. Remote sensing measurements, forecast models, and synoptic analysis are used to identify a Saharan desert dust outbreak that affected the Iberian Peninsula starting 20 July 2009. Additionally, a Bentham DMc150 spectroradiometer is employed to obtain global, direct and diffuse spectral UV irradiances every 15 minutes in Granada. The desert dust caused a large attenuation of the direct UV irradiance (up to 55%), while the diffuse UV irradiance increased up to 40% at 400 nm. The UVSPEC/LibRadtran radiative transfer model is used to study the spectral dependence of the experimental UV irradiance ratios (ratios of spectral irradiance for the day with the highest aerosol load to that measured in days with low-moderate load). The spectral increase or decrease of the UV direct irradiance ratios depends on a new parameter: a threshold wavelength. The spectral dependence of the UV diffuse irradiance ratio can be explained because under the influence of the intense dust outbreak, the Mie scattering by aerosols at shorter wavelengths is stronger than the Rayleigh scattering by gases. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of the aerosol absorption properties shows a substantial attenuation of UV spectral irradiance with a weak spectral dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the calibration of an all-sky camera in obtaining sky radiances at three wavelengths from hemispherical sky images. The study used an All-Sky Imager, a sunphotometer, and a radiative transfer model. Results show that there were absolute differences between 2% and 15% on the camera radiances for pixels near the Sun and the high scattering angles.

Biologically active ultraviolet (UVER, 280-400 nm) and global (300-3000 nm) solar irradiances have been recorded and analysed in a rural area in Valladolid (Spain) for a period of 49 months between June 2002 and December 2008. UVER daily measurements follow the pattern of the solar elevation angle and maximum hourly average irradiances occur in July, 0.20 Wm−2 and minimum, 0.03 Wm−2, in December at noon; the total accumulated UVER along a year reaches 1470 kJm−2. The temporal evolution of the erythemal ultraviolet radiation and its distribution under different sky conditions have been studied, being 25% clear, 57% partly cloudy and 18% overcast days. The most representative statistical characteristics of the hourly and daily UVER data have been evaluated for different sky conditions and the fundamental indices show symmetry with respect to solar noon. Maximum values may be considered as representative of the UVER characteristics in the area, whereas the minimum values are not significant, mainly during summertime. The UVER records show quite stable values in the analysed period, particularly along the months of July. The isoline-set of the first four moment distribution of the hourly UVER values has been plotted and the relative gradients are shown. The results are compared with the values obtained in other stations. The UVER cloud attenuation through the atmosphere shows that the transmitted percentage increases from winter to summer and a maximum value of 10% was achieved in July and a minimum of 30% in winter and spring. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drying of sawdust was studied in a conical spouted bed pilot plant in order to adapt this feed for the pyrolysis process. Air at different temperatures was used and the effect of sawdust particle size and operating gas velocity was studied. Batch operation was performed with no internal device and with nonporous and open-sided draft tubes in order to ascertain the optimum configuration of the contactor. Although the nonporous draft tube required the lowest minimum spouting velocity, its performance was poor due to deficient gas–solid contact. Configurations with open-sided draft tubes and with no internal devices had higher efficiencies because of their better contacts. An increase in air temperature resulted in a reduction in drying time but the operating conditions need to be fine-tuned to ensure proper energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which proposes a calibration technique for deriving three-wavelength spectral sky radiances in Granada, Spain. The study applies calibration matrices in the study of multiple sky conditions including cloudless, overcast and partially cloudy. It also uses radiative transfer model in performing the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the aforementioned sky images.

This paper deals with cooperative games in which only certain coalitions are allowed to form. There have been previous models developed to confront the problem of nonfeasible coalitions. Games restricted by a communication graph are games in which the feasible coalitions are those that induce connected subgraphs. Another type of model is determined by the positions of the players in a so-called permission structure. In this paper, the restrictions to the cooperation are given by a combinatorial structure called an augmenting system which generalizes antimatroid structure and the system of Connected subgraphs of a graph. Furthermore, the class of augmenting systems includes the conjunctive and disjunctive systems derived from a permission structure. The value is a generalization of the Myerson value for games restricted by graphs and the Shapley value for gaines restricted by permission structures. The main results of the paper are the characterization of the value a for augmenting structures by using component efficiency, loop-null and balanced contributions, and another characterization by consistency of this value. Furthermore, we implement a direct algorithm to compute this value by using the outputs of the original game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to identify additional diabetes susceptibility markers in the MHC that could be responsible for the differential diabetogenicity of different HLA-DR3 CEHs. High-resolution SNP genotyping of the MHC was carried out in 15 type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients and 39 non-diabetic controls, homozygous for DR3-DQ2 and with one copy of the A*30-B*18-MICA*4-F1C30-DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201-DPB1*0202 HLA haplotype. Significantly associated SNPs were replicated in an independent sample of 554 T1D patients and 841 controls without HLA matching. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay was used to show a functional effect of an associated SNP. Seven SNPs showed evidence of association in the initial discovery experiment. Upon replication, only rs419434 (upstream HLA-DOA gene) remained significant. A functional variant (rs432375) in complete LD with rs419434 was shown to affect USF-1 binding and could be responsible for the association signal in the region. We have identified a new susceptibility locus within the MHC with a modest contribution to T1D (OR=1.93; CI: 1.52–2.44; P=10−8) that is independent of HLA-DRB1 locus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Loss of spinal inhibitory mechanisms is thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of abnormal pain states, including neuropathic pain. By using an evoked spinal field potential technique, the hypothesis was tested here that decreased spinal GABAergic control underlies poor response to morphine (MOR) that often accompanies neuropathic pain. Therefore, field potentials evoked by electrical peripheral nerve stimulation during spinal superfusion with MOR were recorded in rats rendered neuropathic by a spinal nerve ligation (SNL) procedure, and compared to responses recorded in naïve rats. MOR effects on evoked field potentials were then assessed in rats in which spinal GABAergic inhibition had been acutely reduced by treatment with GABA(A) and GABA(B) receptor-antagonists. In naïve animals, field potentials evoked by peripheral C fibre-input were significantly decreased by spinal superfusion with 1 microM MOR, whereas those elicited by Adelta fibre input were reduced to a lesser extent also (10 microM, p < 0.05). Nine to eleven days after surgery,animals subjected to SNL exhibited significantly reduced thresholds to plantar stimulation with von Frey filaments. In electrophysiological experiments, a small but significant decrease of the IC50 value (2.17 +/- 0.38 microM) for MOR was found in rats subjected to SNL, relative to naïve rats (8.65 +/- 0.76 microM). In contrast, MOR failed to reduce field potentials evoked by peripheral Adelta fibre-activation at any dose tested (up to 1 mM). C fibre- and Adelta fibre-evoked spinal field potentials disinhibited by prior application of the GABA(B) or GABA(A) receptor-antagonists CGP35348 (1 mM) or bicuculline (50 microM), respectively, were both significantly reduced by MOR, with IC50 values not significantly differing from those in naïve animals. Two-way analysis of variance revealed no interaction of MOR with either CGP354348 (p = 0.42) or BIC (p = 0.14). Evidence is presented here that injury to the primary afferent system results in significant changes in the ability of spinal MOR to depress field potentials evoked by peripheral input. However, the present findings do not support a pathogenic role for decreased GABAergic inhibition in such changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to study a one-point solution concept for bicooperative games. For these games introduced by Bilbao (Cooperative Games on Combinatorial Structures, ) , we define a one-point solution called the Shapley value, since this value can be interpreted in a similar way to the classical Shapley value for cooperative games. The main result of the paper is an axiomatic characterization of this value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interior operator games arose by abstracting some properties of several types of cooperative games (for instance: peer group games, big boss games, clan games and information market games). This reason allow us to focus on different problems in the same way. We introduced these games in Bilbao et al. (Ann. Oper. Res. 137:141–160, ) by a set system with structure of antimatroid, that determines the feasible coalitions, and a non-negative vector, that represents a payoff distribution over the players. These games, in general, are not convex games. The main goal of this paper is to study under which conditions an interior operator game verifies other convexity properties: 1-convexity, k-convexity ( k≥2 ) or semiconvexity. But, we will study these properties over structures more general than antimatroids: the interior operator structures. In every case, several characterizations in terms of the gap function and the initial vector are obtained. We also find the family of interior operator structures (particularly antimatroids) where every interior operator game satisfies one of these properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) participate in the first line of immune defense through antigen pattern recognition, and ligands include exogenous and host-derived molecules. Coding variants in TLR4 have been associated with autoimmune diseases like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Our aim was to determine whether these polymorphisms are associated with celiac disease (CD). Two coding single nucleotide polymorphisms of TLR4 (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) were genotyped in 95 family trios with CD as well as in 186 patients and 186 unrelated controls. There were no differences in allele, genotype or haplotype distribution, or transmission between patient and control groups. Our results do not support association of these TLR4 variants with CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies two classical solution concepts for the structure of bicooperative games. First, we define the core and the Weber set of a bicooperative game and prove that the core is always contained in the Weber set. Next, we introduce a special class of bicooperative games, the so-called bisupermodular games, and show that these games are the only ones in which the core and the Weber set coincide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Neonatal diabetes is a rare disease characterized by hyperglycaemia within the first 3 months of life and requiring insulin treatment; it can either be transient (TNDM) or permanent (PNDM). Alterations at band 6q24 and heterozygous activating mutations in KCNJ11, the gene encoding the pore-forming subunit of the KATP channel, can cause neonatal diabetes. Aims We screened the 6q24 region, KCNJ11, GCK, FOXP3 and IPF1 genes for mutations in families with PNDM or TNDM to establish a phenotype–genotype correlation. Methods Twenty-two patients with neonatal diabetes were recruited. Inclusion criteria were insulin-treated diabetes diagnosed within the first 3 months and insulin treatment for at least 15 days. Clinical data were recorded in a questionnaire. Results We identified 17 genetic alterations in our patients: six alterations at the 6q24 band associated with TNDM and nine mutations in KCNJ11, five of which were novel. The analysis for a phenotype–genotype correlation showed that patients with 6q24 alterations had a lower birth weight and were diagnosed earlier than patients with KCNJ11 mutations. At follow-up of the TNDM patients with genetic alterations, 43% developed diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance in later life (one with 6q24 duplication and two with N48D and E227K mutations at KCNJ11 gene). Furthermore, half the first-degree relatives who carried a genetic alteration but who had not suffered from neonatal diabetes were diagnosed with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance before the age of 30 years. Conclusions KCNJ11 mutations are common in both TNDM and PNDM and are associated with a higher birth weight compared with patients with 6q24 abnormalities. Patients with TNDM should be screened for abnormalities in glucose metabolism in adult life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide scans have detected linkage to celiac disease (CD) in several genomic locations, including 19q13.4. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes map to the region and encode receptors of natural killer (NK) cells and certain T cells that modulate cytolitic activity through interactions with HLA class I ligands, participating in the innate immune response. We performed KIR genotyping in a group of 70 CD patients of Basque origin and compared gene content, genotype and haplotype frequencies to ethnically matched blood-donors. The frequency of gene combination KIR2DL5B+/KIR2DL5A− was significantly higher in the disease group, and this result was confirmed in a second group of 343 CD patients and 160 controls of Spanish origin, suggesting an implication of this ‘unexpressed’ gene with increased susceptibility to CD (combined OR of 3.63 (95% CI: 1.76–7.51; P=0.0004)), possibly due to the lack of an efficient inhibitory signal. Our results support the role of the KIR gene cluster in celiac disease and replicate the CD-susceptibility locus at 19q13.4.Genes and Immunity (2007) 8, 171–176. doi:10.1038/sj.gene.6364367; published online 11 January 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major susceptibility locus for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) maps to the human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) class II region in the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6p21. In southern European populations, like the Basques, the greatest risk to T1D is associated with DR3 homo- and heterozygosity and is comparable to that of DR3/DR4, the highest risk genotype in northern European populations. Celiac disease (CD) is another DR3-associated autoimmune disorder showing certain overlap with T1D that has been explained by the involvement of common genetic determinants, a situation more frequent in DR3-rich populations, like the Basques. As both T1D- and CD-associated HLA alleles are part of conserved extended haplotypes (CEH), we compared DR3-homozygous T1D and CD patients to determine whether CEHs were equally distributed between both disorders or there was a differential contribution of different haplotypes. We observed a very pronounced distribution bias (P<10−5) of the two major DR3 CEHs, with DR3-B18 predominating in T1D and DR3-B8 in CD. Additionally, high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of the complete CEH [A*30-B*18-MICA*4-F1C30-DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201-DPB1*0202] revealed extraordinary conservation throughout the 4.9 Mbp analyzed supporting the existence of additional diabetogenic variants (other than HLA-DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201), conserved within the DR3-B18 CEH (but not in other DR3 haplotypes) that could explain its enhanced diabetogenicity.Genes and Immunity (2006) 7, 550–554. doi:10.1038/sj.gene.6364328; published online 24 August 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we study situations in which communication among the players is not complete and it is represented by a family of subsets of the set of players. Although several models of partial cooperation have been proposed, we shall follow a model derived from the work of Faigle and Kern. We define the games on convex geometries and introduce marginal worth vectors and quasi-supermodular games. Furthermore, we analyze some properties of the marginal operators on the space of games on convex geometries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study a new class of cooperative games called interior operator games. These games are additive games restricted by antimatroids. We consider several types of cooperative games as peer group games, big boss games, clan games and information market games and show that all of them are interior operator games. Next, we analyze the properties of these games and compute the Shapley, Banzhaf and Tijs values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multiple sclerosis (MS) usually appears isolated from other autoimmune disorders, an overlap with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been described in Sardinia, where T1DM-associated haplotype HLA-B18- DR3-DQ2 contributes to MS risk. To determine whether in our population MS patients show signs of pancreatic autoimmunity and share this haplotype, sera from 49 MS patients were tested for GAD, IA2, and CPH autoantibodies, and MICA exon 5 polymorphism was genotyped in 30 patients. Pancreatic autoimmune markers were not present among MS patients, nor was any MICA allele associated with MS. Overall, there is no evidence supporting a T1DM/MS overlap in our population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 1 diabetes is associated with autoimmune responses against insulin, with insulin autoantibodies (IAA) being a hallmark of the disease. Genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes is polygenic and includes the INS VNTR-IDDM2 locus, which has been shown to regulate the expression of insulin in the pancreas and thymus. In order to determine whether insulin autoimmunity could be attributed to a genetic susceptibility conferred by the INS-VNTR (IDDM2) locus, we studied the frequency of INS-VNTR alleles and the presence of IAA in 90 patients with new-onset type 1 diabetes. IAA were detected in 49 of 67 class I/I individuals and 19 of 23 class III/X patients, indicating that there is no association between the INS VNTR-IDDM2-susceptible allele and humoral autoimmunity against insulin. This finding does not support the hypothesis of an allele-specific tolerance induction that could determine susceptibility toward autoimmunity against the insulin protein and subsequently the development of type 1 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MHC class I chain-related gene A (MICA), a putative independent susceptibility gene in autoimmune diseases, encodes a surface protein present in epithelial cells that binds to NKG2D, an activating receptor of NK, αβ and γδ T cells, and could function as a stress-inducible activator of the innate immune response. There is no evidence of a long-term implication of MICA in the celiac autoimmune process. However, it could be that gliadin activation of MICA occurs only during the initial stages of the disease. In order to determine whether MICA is activated in response to gliadin in patients with celiac disease (CD), small intestinal mucosa biopsy from ten long-standing celiac patients on a gluten-free diet and from five non-celiac individuals were incubated with and without gliadin for 4 h. Total RNA was purified and MICA, IPNG and NKG2D mRNA were quantified by fluorescent real-time RT-PCR. Expression levels were calculated relative to GAPDH. MICA expression was detected in both patients and controls, but incubation with gliadin induced a strong increase in samples from the treated CD group compared with the non-CD controls (P=0.028), while no differences were observed for IPNG or NKG2D mRNA levels. The gliadin-provoked over- expression of MICA in "normalized" tissues from CD patients suggests a role for this stress-induced activator of the immune response in the early stages of organ-specific autoimmune destruction, probably preceding the onset of inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Addison's disease (AD) is an autoimmune disorder caused by the destruction of the adrenal gland by the lymphocytes in genetically susceptible individuals. The contribution of HLA genes to the genetic risk to AD has been known for a long time; however, non-HLA genetic factors are likely to be required for the development of the disease. Several studies have associated the CD28/CTLA4 region on chromosome 2q33 with the disease in different populations. The cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 ( CTLA4 ) gene encodes a receptor involved in the control of T cell proliferation and mediates T cell apoptosis. Aim : To determine the contribution of two polymorphisms of the CTLA4 to the disease; the A/G dimorphism at position +49 in exon 1 and the (AT) n microsatellite in the 3′ untranslated region of exon 3. Patients : Fifty seven patients with autoimmune AD (autoimmunity for anti 21-hydroxylase was confirmed) and 111 unrelated healthy subjects from the general populations were analyzed as controls. Methods : Restriction enzyme digestion of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified genomic DNA for the A/G dimorphism and PCR followed by high-resolution electrophoresis for the (AT) n microsatellite. For disease association studies, the case-control approach was used. Results : The frequency of the A allele of 49 A/G polymorphism was 65.79% in the patients compared with 72.07% in the control group. These differences were not significant. Analysis of the (AT) n polymorphism identified 19 different alleles, ranging from 262 to 308 bp in length, but no allele was significantly associated with the disease. Conclusions : Our results did not show any evidence of association of any of the CTLA4 gene polymorphisms with the disease. This might result from population-specific differences in genetic and environmental susceptibility to AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study cooperation structures with the following property: given any two feasible coalitions with non-empty intersection, its union is a feasible coalition again. TU-games restricted by union stable systems generalize graph-restricted games and games with permission structures. A study about the differences between the position value in union stable systems and hypergraph communication situations is given. Moreover, some computational aspects related to position value in union stable systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative games on antimatroids are cooperative games in which coalition formation is restricted by a combinatorial structure which generalizes permission structures. These games group several well-known families of games which have important applications in economics and politics. The current paper establishes axioms that determine the restricted Banzhaf value for cooperative games on antimatroids. The set of given axioms generalizes the axiomatizations given for the Banzhaf permission values. We also give an axomatization of the restricted Banzhaf value for the smaller class of poset antimatroids. Finally, we apply the above results to auction situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multilinear extension of a cooperative game was introduced by Owen in 1972. In this contribution we study the Lovász extension for cooperative games by using the marginal worth vectors and the dividends. First, we prove a formula for the marginal worth vectors with respect to compatible orderings. Next, we consider the direct market generated by a game. This model of utility function, proposed by Shapley and Shubik in 1969, is the concave biconjugate extension of the game. Then we obtain the following characterization: The utility function of a market game is the Lovász extension of the game if and only if the market game is supermodular. Finally, we present some preliminary problems about the relationship between cooperative games and combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in the management of complications of portal hypertension such as variceal hemorrhage and ascites is well established. However, TIPS has a limited patency due to dysfunction consisting in occlusion or stenosis of the intrahepatic tract or stenosis of the outflow hepatic vein. Timing of dysfunction cannot be predicted, so routine surveillance and percutaneous intervention are continuously required to maintain TIPS patency. Trans-shunt venography is the gold standard technique in TIPS evaluation, but it is expensive and invasive. Doppler ultrasound (DU) has been the most commonly used noninvasive tool in TIPS patency. Despite many reported series, its role remains controversial. After more than 10 years of experience with TIPS, we followed our patients with DU and trans-shunt venography to establish Doppler criteria of dysfunction and its accuracy in assessing shunt dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]