Search

Background: Pancreatectomy plus celiac axis resection (CAR) is performed in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The morbidity rates are high, and no survival benefit has been confirmed. It is not known at present whether it is the type of pancreatectomy, or CAR itself, that is the reason for the high complication rates. Methods: Observational retrospective multicenter study. Inclusion criteria: patient undergoing TP, PD or DP plus CAR for a pancreatic cancer. Results: Sixty-two patients who had undergone pancreatic cancer surgery (PD,TP or DP) plus CAR were studied. Group 1: 17 patients who underwent PD/TP-CAR (13TP/4PD); group 2: 45 patients who underwent DP-CAR. Groups were mostly homogeneous. Operating time was longer in the PD/TP group, while operative complications did not differ statistically in the two groups. The number of lymph nodes removed was higher in the PD/TP group (26.5 vs 17.3), and this group also had a higher positive node ratio (17.9% vs 7.6%). There were no statistical differences in total or disease-free survival between the two groups. Conclusion: It seems that CAR, and not the type of pancreatectomy, influences morbidity and mortality in this type of surgery. International multicenter studies with larger numbers of patients are now needed to validate the data presented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Venous thromboembolism is a common disease seen in the emergency department and a cause of high morbidity and mortality, constituting a major health problem. Objectives: To assess the potential benefit of follow-up ultrasound of patients who attended the emergency department with suspected superficial venous thrombosis or deep venous thrombosis and were found to have an initial negative whole-leg (or arm) ultrasound study. Methods: This retrospective study included patients aged 18 years or older who were consecutively referred to a thrombosis clinic from the emergency department, with abnormal D-dimer test and moderate to high pre-test probability of deep venous thrombosis (Well's score ≥ 1), but a negative whole-leg (or arm) ultrasound. Demographic characteristics, symptom duration, laboratory and ultrasound data were recorded. At one-week follow-up, an experienced physician repeated ultrasound, and recorded the findings. Results: From January 2017 to April 2018, 54 patients were evaluated. The mean age was 66.8 years (SD 15.0) and 63% were women. The average D-dimer was 2159.9 (SD 3772.0) ng/mL. Ultrasound abnormalities were found in 12 patients (22.2%; 95% confidence interval of 12.5 to 36.0%), with 4 patients having proximal deep venous thrombosis, distal deep venous thrombosis in 2 patients and superficial venous thrombosis in 6 patients. We did not find any significant differences in demographic characteristics, venous thromboembolism risk factors or laboratory parameters between patients with negative and positive follow-up ultrasound. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that a negative whole-leg (or arm) ultrasound in addition to an abnormal D-dimer in moderate to high deep venous thrombosis pretest probability patients, might be an insufficient diagnostic approach to exclude suspected deep venous thrombosis or superficial venous thrombosis. Confirmation of this higher than expected prevalence would support the need to repeat one-week ultrasound control in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Our aim is to determine the distribution of stellar population parameters (extinction, age, metallicity, and star formation rates) of quiescent galaxies within the rest-frame stellar mass–colour diagrams and UVJ colour–colour diagrams corrected for extinction up to z ∼ 1. These novel diagrams reduce the contamination in samples of quiescent galaxies owing to dust-reddened galaxies, and they provide useful constraints on stellar population parameters only using rest-frame colours and/or stellar mass. Methods. We set constraints on the stellar population parameters of quiescent galaxies combining the ALHAMBRA multi-filter photo-spectra with our fitting code for spectral energy distribution, MUlti-Filter FITting (MUFFIT), making use of composite stellar population models based on two independent sets of simple stellar population (SSP) models. The extinction obtained by MUFFIT allowed us to remove dusty star-forming (DSF) galaxies from the sample of red UVJ galaxies. The distributions of stellar population parameters across these rest-frame diagrams are revealed after the dust correction and are fitted by LOESS, a bi-dimensional and locally weighted regression method, to reduce uncertainty effects. Results. Quiescent galaxy samples defined via classical UVJ diagrams are typically contaminated by a ∼20% fraction of DSF galaxies. A significant part of the galaxies in the green valley are actually obscured star-forming galaxies (∼30–65%). Consequently, the transition of galaxies from the blue cloud to the red sequence, and hence the related mechanisms for quenching, seems to be much more efficient and faster than previously reported. The rest-frame stellar mass–colour and UVJ colour–colour diagrams are useful for constraining the age, metallicity, extinction, and star formation rate of quiescent galaxies by only their redshift, rest-frame colours, and/or stellar mass. Dust correction plays an important role in understanding how quiescent galaxies are distributed in these diagrams and is key to performing a pure selection of quiescent galaxies via intrinsic colours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We aim at constraining the stellar population properties of quiescent galaxies. These properties reveal how these galaxies evolved and assembled since z ∼ 1 up to the present time. Methods. Combining the ALHAMBRA multi-filter photo-spectra with the fitting code for spectral energy distribution MUFFIT (MUlti-Filter FITting), we built a complete catalogue of quiescent galaxies via the dust-corrected stellar mass vs. colour diagram. This catalogue includes stellar population properties, such as age, metallicity, extinction, stellar mass, and photometric redshift, retrieved from the analysis of composited populations based on two independent sets of simple stellar population (SSP) models. We developed and applied a novel methodology to provide, for the first time, the analytic probability distribution functions (PDFs) of mass-weighted age, metallicity, and extinction of quiescent galaxies as a function of redshift and stellar mass. We adopted different star formation histories to discard potential systematics in the analysis. Results. The number density of quiescent galaxies is found to increase since z ∼ 1, with a more substantial variation at lower stellar mass. Quiescent galaxies feature extinction AV <  0.6, with median values in the range AV = 0.15–0.3. At increasing stellar mass, quiescent galaxies are older and more metal rich since z ∼ 1. A detailed analysis of the PDFs reveals that the evolution of quiescent galaxies is not compatible with passive evolution and a slight decrease of 0.1–0.2 dex is hinted at median metallicity. The intrinsic dispersion of the age and metallicity PDFs show a dependence on stellar mass and/or redshift. These results are consistent with both sets of SSP models and assumptions of alternative star formation histories explored. Consequently, the quiescent population must undergo an evolutive pathway including mergers and/or remnants of star formation to reconcile the observed trends, where the "progenitor" bias should also be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Knowing the exact shape of the ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function (LF) of high-redshift galaxies is important to understand the star formation history of the early Universe. However, the uncertainties, especially at the faint and bright ends of the LFs, remain significant. Aims. In this paper, we study the UV LF of redshift z = 2.5 – 4.5 galaxies in 2.38 deg2 of ALHAMBRA data with I ≤ 24. Thanks to the large area covered by ALHAMBRA, we particularly constrain the bright end of the LF. We also calculate the cosmic variance and the corresponding bias values for our sample and derive their host dark matter halo masses. Methods. We have used a novel methodology based on redshift and magnitude probability distribution functions (PDFs). This methodology robustly takes into account the uncertainties due to redshift and magnitude errors, shot noise, and cosmic variance, and models the LF in two dimensions (z, MUV). Results. We find an excess of bright * M*UV ~ M UV * $\tilde{\ }M_{\rm{UV}}^{*}$ galaxies as compared to the studies based on broad-band photometric data. However, our results agree well with the LF of the magnitude-selected spectroscopic VVDS data. We measure high bias values, b ~ 8 – 10, that are compatible with the previous measurements considering the redshifts and magnitudes of our galaxies and further reinforce the real high-redshift nature of our bright galaxies. Conclusions. We call into question the shape of the LF at its bright end; is it a double power-law as suggested by the recent broad-band photometric studies or rather a brighter Schechter function, as suggested by our multi-filter analysis and the spectroscopic VVDS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a national programme for control of visceral leishmaniosis (VL) is being run in Brazil, the disease continues to spread. This programme is essentially based on culling infected dogs from endemic regions. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop other control measures against VL to deter its advance. Here, a subunit vaccine, a recombinant vaccine, an insecticide-impregnated collar and the associations between these measures were evaluated for reducing the incidence of Leishmania infection in dogs. This was through a cohort study conducted in an endemic region of Brazil, considering the incidence and time of total exposure over a period of 1 year. The incidence of VL was estimated by means of serological and molecular diagnostic tests, 180 and 360 days after the application of the control measures. The estimates of the effectiveness (EF) were not significant in any cohort. The EF of the subunit vaccine, the recombinant vaccine and the collar were 26.4%, 32.8% and 57.7% and the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval for EF were 63.7%, 67.9% and 82.5%, respectively. In conclusion, under the conditions of this study, none of the immunogens for VL control was sufficiently effective to protect dogs against infection. On the other hand, use of collars impregnated with insecticide seems to constitute a method with better prognosis, corroborating other studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The original ALHAMBRA catalogue contained over 400 000 galaxies selected using a synthetic F814W image, to the magnitude limit AB(F814W) ≈ 24.5. Given the photometric redshift depth of the ALHAMBRA multiband data ( = 0.86) and the approximately I-band selection, there is a noticeable bias against red objects at moderate redshift. We avoid this bias by creating a new catalogue selected in the Ks band. This newly obtained catalogue is certainly shallower in terms of apparent magnitude, but deeper in terms of redshift, with a significant population of red objects at z > 1. We select objects using the Ks band images, which reach an approximate AB magnitude limit Ks ≈ 22. We generate masks and derive completeness functions to characterize the sample. We have tested the quality of the photometry and photometric redshifts using both internal and external checks. Our final catalogue includes ≈95 000 sources down to Ks ≈ 22, with a significant tail towards high redshift. We have checked that there is a large sample of objects with spectral energy distributions that correspond to that of massive, passively evolving galaxies at z > 1, reaching as far as z ≈ 2.5. We have tested the possibility of combining our data with deep infrared observations at longer wavelengths, particularly Spitzer IRAC data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Biomédica is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Biomedica, A.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background and Aims The safety of foods and beverages is a prerequisite for consumers. The aim of this study is to check whether a low concentration of pesticide residues can be further reduced with the addition of a low dose of charcoal during white fermentation. Methods and Results Thirteen fungicides, boscalid, cyprodinil, fludioxonil, fenhexamide, pyrimethanil, cyazofamid, dimethomorph, fluopicolide, iprovalicarb, metrafenone, penconazole, spiroxamine and trifloxystrobin, were added together to five well-clarified and stabilised juices to reach a final fungicide concentration in juice slightly higher than that observed in bottled wines. Juices were fermented with two types of charcoal, both added at 20 and 50 mg/L. The course of fermentation was monitored, and the concentration of residual fungicides and of fermentative aromas was analysed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-MS/MS and GC-flame ionisation detector, respectively. Conclusions Charcoal removed up to 130 µg/L of fungicides. Compared with the control wines, those fermented with charcoal had 30-80% less fungicides. Only iprovalicarb was not significantly reduced. Aroma composition was not affected. Significance of the Study Low doses of charcoal added during fermentation can positively contribute to wine safety without penalising aroma and colour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consistently analyse for the first time the impact of survey depth and spatial resolution on the most used morphological parameters for classifying galaxies through non-parametric methods: Abraham and Conselice-Bershady concentration indices, Gini,M20moment of light, asymmetry, and smoothness. Three different non-local data sets are used, Advanced Large Homogeneous Area Medium Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) and Subaru/XMMNewton Deep Survey (SXDS, examples of deep ground-based surveys), and Cosmos Evolution Survey (COSMOS, deep space-based survey). We used a sample of 3000 local, visually classified galaxies, measuring their morphological parameters at their real redshifts (z ~0). Then we simulated them to match the redshift and magnitude distributions of galaxies in the non-local surveys. The comparisons of the two sets allow us to put constraints on the use of each parameter for morphological classification and evaluate the effectiveness of the commonly used morphological diagnostic diagrams. All analysed parameters suffer from biases related to spatial resolution and depth, the impact of the former being much stronger. When including asymmetry and smoothness in classification diagrams, the noise effects must be taken into account carefully, especially for ground-based surveys. M20 is significantly affected, changing both the shape and range of its distribution at all brightness levels. We suggest that diagnostic diagrams based on 2-3 parameters should be avoided when classifying galaxies in ground-based surveys, independently of their brightness; for COSMOS they should be avoided for galaxies fainter than F814 = 23.0. These results can be applied directly to surveys similar to ALHAMBRA, SXDS and COSMOS, and also can serve as an upper/lower limit for shallower/deeper ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Our goal is to estimate empirically the cosmic variance that affects merger fraction studies based on close pairs for the first time. Methods. We compute the merger fraction from photometric redshift close pairs with 10 h-1 kpc ⩽ rp ⩽ 50 h-1 kpc and Δv ⩽ 500 km s-1 and measure it in the 48 sub-fields of the ALHAMBRA survey. We study the distribution of the measured merger fractions that follow a log-normal function and estimate the cosmic variance σv as the intrinsic dispersion of the observed distribution. We develop a maximum likelihood estimator to measure a reliable σv and avoid the dispersion due to the observational errors (including the Poisson shot noise term). Results. The cosmic variance σv of the merger fraction depends mainly on (i) the number density of the populations under study for both the principal (n1) and the companion (n2) galaxy in the close pair and (ii) the probed cosmic volume Vc. We do not find a significant dependence on either the search radius used to define close companions, the redshift, or the physical selection (luminosity or stellar mass) of the samples. Conclusions. We have estimated the cosmic variance that affects the measurement of the merger fraction by close pairs from observations. We provide a parametrisation of the cosmic variance with n1, n2, and Vc, σv ∝ n-0.54 1 V-0.48 c (n2/n1)-0.37. Thanks to this prescription, future merger fraction studies based on close pairs could properly account for the cosmic variance on their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Grape maceration plays an important role in the formation of precursors of 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol ( 3MH), 3- S-glutathionyl mercaptohexan-1-ol ( GSH- 3MH) and 3- S-cysteinyl mercaptohexan-1-ol ( Cys- 3MH), but its contribution is still not well understood. The aim of this paper was to study the effect of oxygen deprivation on the concentration of these 3MH precursors during skin-contact maceration in two grape cultivars. Methods and Results Müller- Thurgau ( n = 19) and Sauvignon Blanc (32) grapes from Trentino ( Italy) were hand harvested and processed under the following conditions: reductive (air protected; 80 mg/kg sulfur dioxide, 80 mg/kg L-ascorbic acid, and 200 mg/kg dimethyl dicarbonate) and oxidative (no addition of adjuvants and air contact). After maceration, GSH- 3MH and Cys- 3MH were analysed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and isotopic dilution. Conclusions Both GSH- 3MH and Cys- 3MH were identified for the first time in Müller- Thurgau juices. Oxidative maceration increased the GSH- 3MH concentration in 16 out of 19 Müller- Thurgau and in 23 out of 32 Sauvignon Blanc juices, while Cys- 3MH was higher in 13 and 20 juices, respectively, of the two cultivars. Parametrical and non-parametrical statistical tests confirmed that oxidative maceration of Müller- Thurgau increased GSH- 3MH concentration significantly ( P < 0.01). Significance of the Study This work highlights the complexity of the mechanisms involved in the potential de novo formation of thiol precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We aim to illustrate the potentiality of the Advanced Large, Homogeneous Area, Medium-Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) survey to investigate the high-redshift universe through the detection of quasi stellar objects (QSOs) at redshifts higher than 5. Methods.We searched for QSOs candidates at high redshift by fitting an extensive library of spectral energy distributions - including active and non-active galaxy templates, as well as stars - to the photometric database of the ALHAMBRA survey (composed of 20 optical medium-band plus the 3 broad-band JHKs near-infrared filters). Results. Our selection over ≈1 square degree of ALHAMBRA data (~1/4 of the total area covered by the survey), combined with GTC/OSIRIS spectroscopy, has yielded identification of an optically faint QSO at very high redshift (z = 5:41). The QSO has an absolute magnitude of ~--24 at the 1450 Å continuum, a bolometric luminosity of ≈2 x 1046 erg s-1, and an estimated black hole mass of ≈108 M☉. This QSO adds itself to a reduced number of known UV faint sources at these redshifts. The preliminary derived space density is compatible with the most recent determinations of the high-z QSO luminosity functions. This new detection shows how ALHAMBRA, as well as forthcoming well-designed photometric surveys, can provide a wealth of information on the origin and early evolution of this kind of object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Even the spectroscopic capabilities of today's ground and space-based observatories can not keep up with the enormous flow of detections (>105 deg-2) unveiled in modem cosmological surveys as: i) would be required enormous telescope time to perform the spectroscopic follow-ups and ii) spectra remain unattainable for the fainter detected population. In the past decade, the typical accuracy of photometric redshift (photo-z) determination has drastically improved. Nowdays, it has become a perfect complement to spectroscopy, closing the gap between photometric surveys and their spectroscopic follow-ups. The photo-z precision for active galactic nuclei (AGN) has always lagged behind that for the galaxy population owing to the lack of proper templates and their intrinsic variability. Aims. Our goal is to characterize the ability of the Advanced Large, Homogeneous Area Medium-Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) survey in assigning accurate photo-z's to broad-line AGN (BLAGN) and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) based on their ALHAMBRA very-low-resolution optical-near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. This will serve as a benchmark for any future compilation of ALHAMBRA selected QSOs and the basis for the statistical analysis required to derive luminosity functions up to z ∼ 5. Methods. We selected a sample of spectroscopically identified BLAGN and QSOs and used a library of templates (including the SEDs of AGN and both normal and starburst galaxies, as well as stars) to fit the 23 photometric data points provided by ALHAMBRA in the optical and MR (20 medium-band optical filters plus the standard JHKs). Results. We find that the ALHAMBRA photometry is able to provide an accurate photo-z and spectral classification for ∼88% of the 170 spectroscopically identified BLAGN/QSOs over 2.5 deg2 in different areas of the survey and brighter than m678 = 23.5 (equivalent to rSLOAN ∼24.0). The derived photo-z accuracy is below 1% and is comparable to the most recent results in other cosmological fields that use photometric information over a wider wavelength range. The fraction of outliers (∼12%) is mainly caused by the larger photometric errors for the faintest sources and the intrinsic variability of the BLAGN/QSO population. A small fraction of outliers may have an incorrectly assigned spectroscopic redshift. Conclusions. The definition of the ALHAMBRA survey in terms of the number of filters, filter properties, areal coverage, and depth is able to provide photometric redshifts for BLAON/QSOs with a precision similar to any previous survey that makes use of medium-band optical photometry. In agreement with previous literature results, our analysis also reveals that, in the 0 < z < 4 redshift interval, very accurate photo-z can be obtained without the use of NTR broadband photometry at the expense of a slight increase in the outliers. The importance of NIR data is expected to increase at higher z (z > 4). These results are relevant for the design of future optical follow-ups of surveys containing a large fraction of BLAGN, such as many X-ray or radio surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archivos de Neurociencias is the property of Instituto Nacional de Neurologia y Neurocirugia, Departamento de Publicaciones Cientificas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)