Search

We report the flux and spectral variability of PG 1553+113 on intra-night (IDV) to short-term timescales using BVRI data collected over 91 nights from 28 February to 8 November 2019 employing ten optical telescopes: three in Bulgaria, two each in India and Serbia, and one each in Greece, Georgia, and Latvia. We monitored the blazar quasi-simultaneously for 16 nights in the V and R bands and 8 nights in the V, R, I bands and examined the light curves (LCs) for intra-day flux and colour variations using two powerful tests: the power-enhanced F-test and the nested ANOVA test. The source was found to be significantly (> 99%) variable in 4 nights out of 27 in R-band, 1 out of 16 in V-band, and 1 out of 6 nights in I-band. No temporal variations in the colours were observed on IDV timescale. During the course of these observations the total variation in R-band was 0.89 mag observed. We also investigated the spectral energy distribution (SED) using B, V, R, and I band data. We found optical spectral indices in the range of 0.878+-0.029 to 1.106+-0.065 by fitting a power law to these SEDs of PG 1553+113. We found that the source follows a bluer-when-brighter trend on IDV timescales. We discuss possible physical causes of the observed spectral variability., 13 pages,8 figures, 7 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Soy isoflavone consumption may protect against breast cancer development. We conducted a phase IIB trial of soy isoflavone supplementation to examine its effect on breast epithelial proliferation and other biomarkers in the healthy high-risk breast. One hundred and twenty-six consented women underwent a random fine-needle aspiration (rFNA); those with 4,000 or more epithelial cells were randomized to a double-blind 6-month intervention of mixed soy isoflavones (PTIG-2535) or placebo, followed by repeat rFNA. Cells were examined for Ki-67 labeling index and atypia. Expression of 28 genes related to proliferation, apoptosis, and estrogenic effect was measured using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. Hormone and protein levels were measured in nipple aspirate fluid (NAF). All statistical tests were two-sided. Ninety-eight women were evaluable for Ki-67 labeling index. In 49 treated women, the median Ki-67 labeling index was 1.18 at entry and 1.12 post intervention, whereas in 49 placebo subjects, it was 0.97 and 0.92 (P for between-group change: 0.32). Menopausal stratification yielded similar results between groups, but within premenopausal soy-treated women, Ki-67 labeling index increased from 1.71 to 2.18 (P = 0.04). We saw no treatment effect on cytologic atypia or NAF parameters. There were significant increases in the expression of 14 of 28 genes within the soy, but not the control group, without significant between-group differences. Plasma genistein values showed excellent compliance. A 6-month intervention of mixed soy isoflavones in healthy, high-risk adult Western women did not reduce breast epithelial proliferation, suggesting a lack of efficacy for breast cancer prevention and a possible adverse effect in premenopausal women. Cancer Prev Res; 5(2); 309–19. ©2012 AACR.

PDF file - 44K, Hormone and protein concentrations in nipple aspiration fluid (NAF) samples

PDF file - 42K, Changes in cellular parameters for equol producers compared to control women, shown as the differences in post-intervention and baseline values

Purpose: Therapeutic strategies to enhance the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy have not been explored. Motexafin gadolinium is a novel anticancer agent that targets redox-dependent pathways and enhances sensitivity of tumor cells to ionizing radiation.Experimental Design: We did preclinical studies examining motexafin gadolinium combined with rituximab and/or radiation in lymphoma cells. We subsequently completed a phase I clinical trial combining escalating doses of motexafin gadolinium concurrently with standard [90Y]ibritumomab tiuxetan for patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.Results: In HF1 lymphoma cells, motexafin gadolinium and rituximab resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity (combination index, 0.757) through a mitochondrial-mediated caspase-dependent pathway, whereas cell death in Ramos and SUDHL4 cells was additive. Motexafin gadolinium/rituximab combined with radiation (1-3 Gy) resulted in additive apoptosis. Twenty-eight of 30 patients were evaluable on the phase I clinical trial. Median age was 65 years (47-87 years), and histologies were marginal-zone (n = 1), mantle-cell (n = 3), diffuse large cell (n = 6), and follicular lymphoma (n = 18). Of all patients, 86% were rituximab refractory. Therapy was well tolerated, and no dose-limiting toxicity was seen. Overall response rate was 57% [complete remission (CR), 43%], with median time–to–treatment failure of 10 months (1-48+ months) and median duration-of-response of 17 months. Of note, all responses were documented at 4 weeks. Furthermore, in rituximab-refractory follicular lymphoma (n = 14), overall response rate was 86% (CR, 64%), with a median time–to–treatment failure of 14 months (2-48+ months).Conclusions: This represents the first report of a novel agent to be combined safely concurrently with radioimmunotherapy. Furthermore, tumor responses with [90Y]ibritumomab tiuxetan/motexafin gadolinium were prompt with a high rate of CRs, especially in rituximab-refractory follicular lymphoma. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(20):6462–71)

Supplementary Data from The Novel Expanded Porphyrin, Motexafin Gadolinium, Combined with [90Y]Ibritumomab Tiuxetan for Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Preclinical Findings and Results of a Phase I Trial

Composite hydrogels samples consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate/butyl acrylate/2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (poly-OH) and up to 60% reduced graphene oxide (rGO) containing rGO were synthesized. The method of coupled thermally induced self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO) platelets within a polymer matrix and in situ chemical reduction of GO was applied. The synthesized hydrogels were dried using the ambient pressure drying (APD) and freeze-drying (FD) methods. The effects of the weight fraction of rGO in the composites and the drying method on the textural, morphological, thermal, and rheological properties were examined for the dried samples. The obtained results indicate that APD leads to the formation of non-porous xerogels (X) of high bulk density (D), while FD results in the formation of highly porous aerogels (A) with low D. An increase in the weight fraction of rGO in the composite xerogels leads to an increase in D, specific surface area (SA), pore volume (Vp), average pore diameter (dp), and porosity (P). With an increase in the weight fraction of rGO in A-composites, the D values increase while the values of SP, Vp, dp, and P decrease. Thermo-degradation (TD) of both X and A composites takes place through three distinct steps: dehydration, decomposition of residual oxygen functional group, and polymer chain degradation. The thermal stabilities (TS) of the X-composites and X-rGO are higher than those of the A-composites and A-rGO. The values of the storage modulus (E’) and the loss modulus (E”) of the A-composites increase with the increase in their weight fraction of rGO.

In 2021 BL Lacertae underwent an extraordinary activity phase, which was intensively followed by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) Collaboration. We present the WEBT optical data in the BVRI bands acquired at 36 observatories around the world. In mid 2021 the source showed its historical maximum, with R = 11.14. The light curves display many episodes of intraday variability, whose amplitude increases with source brightness, in agreement with a geometrical interpretation of the long-term flux behaviour. This is also supported by the long-term spectral variability, with an almost achromatic trend with brightness. In contrast, short-term variations are found to be strongly chromatic and are ascribed to energetic processes in the jet. We also analyse the optical polarimetric behaviour, finding evidence of a strong correlation between the intrinsic fast variations in flux density and those in polarisation degree, with a time delay of about 13 h. This suggests a common physical origin. The overall behaviour of the source can be interpreted as the result of two mechanisms: variability on time scales greater than several days is likely produced by orientation effects, while either shock waves propagating in the jet, or magnetic reconnection, possibly induced by kink instabilities in the jet, can explain variability on shorter time scales. The latter scenario could also account for the appearance of quasi-periodic oscillations, with periods from a few days to a few hours, during outbursts, when the jet is more closely aligned with our line of sight and the time scales are shortened by relativistic effects., Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Recent studies of TiO2/TiS2 nanostructures with various morphologies have been reported, usually showing improved properties with applications from electronics and catalysis to solar cells and medicine. However, there is a limited number of studies on the crystal structures of TiO2/TiS2 compounds with corresponding properties. In this research, relevant crystal structures of TiO1–x S x (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1) solid solutions were investigated using an ab initio method. For each composition, crystal structures adopting anatase, rutile and CdI2 structure type were calculated on LDA-PZ and GGA-PBE levels of theory. Novel phase transitions and predicted structures are presented, and apart from several interesting metastable structures, a very interesting pressure-induced phase transition is found in the TiOS compound. Furthermore, electronic properties were studied through the dependence of semiconducting properties on dopant concentration. The first description of the electronic properties of the mixed TiO1–x S x compounds in crystal form has been presented, followed by a detailed study of the structure–property relationship, which will possibly have numerous industrial and technological applications.

The subject of this paper is the revisit of the Chebyshev (equiripple) and Papoulis (monotonic or staircase) low-pass filter in order to compare. It can be stated the fair comparison of Papoulis and Chebyshev filters cannot be found in the available literature. At the beginning, it is shown that ripple parameter may be used in order the Chebyshev filter to obtain a magnitude response having less passband ripple than the standard Chebyshev response. At the same time, the passband edge frequency is preserved at 3 dB. Further, the unified approach to design odd and even degree Papoulis filters is explained. For the purpose of comparison, the Chebyshev filter as a counterpart of the Papoulis filter is introduced. Thus obtained Chebyshev filter has the same stop band insertion loss, group delay and transient response as Papoulis filter. However, its passband performance is much better. It is shown that Chebyshev filter counterpart offers a better solution than Papoulis filter in all applications, except in ones applications where is required that passband attenuation to have a staircase shape.

Background The International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 are an international legal instrument adopted by World Health Organization General Assembly to strengthen global health security and empower the countries to prevent and respond to public health threats. Methods This study was done within the Joint Action on Strengthened International Health Regulations and Preparedness in the EU (SHARP JA) with the aim to assess the strengths and weaknesses in preparedness and IHR implementation in order to develop and improve countries’ IHR capacities. Desk-based review and analysis of available data from the States Parties Annual Report tool (SPAR) from 2019 were done. Data (for 13 IHR capacities with 24 indicators) were analyzed for 15 countries participating in SHARP JA with gross national income (GNI) less than 90% of the EU average. Results The overall capacity for IHR implementation in low GNI countries is 69%, ranging from 33% in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 84% in Spain. The highest capacities are recognized in the area of Legislation and financing - 78%, IHR Coordination & NFP Functions - 77%, Food Safety - 76%, and Health service provision - 76%. The weak areas with the need for further improvement are recorded in the Points of entry (PoE) - 51%, Risk Communication - 52%, Chemical events - 60%, National health emergency framework - 65%, Surveillance - 66%, and Human Resources - 67%. The overall IHR capacity of low GNI countries is lower compared to the SHARP JA countries and the European average (76% and 73% respectively). Conclusions The results have shown the strongest and the weakest points of the IHR implementation in low GNI countries. This indicates the need for capacity building and further development in identified areas (Points of entry, Risk Communication, Chemical events, National health emergency framework, Surveillance, and Human Resources). Key messages • The assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in preparedness and IHR implementation is the key prerequisite for identifying countries’ needs for their capacity enhancement. • Special attention should be given to the strengthening low GNI countries’ capacities.

Background Access to safe drinking water in schools is essential for a good health, wellbeing, learning and dignity of pupils. The rural schools are most frequently connected to the rural water supply system or own water supply source, where the monitoring of drinking water quality is scarced. The study was conducted in the rural regions in Serbia in 2016, aiming at assessing drinking water quality and sanitary conditions of school water supply facilities. Methods In total 238 school facilities, including 108 in Šumadija and 130 in Pomoravlje District were investigated using laboratory testing of drinking water and sanitary inspection. Results Study revealed that 32% of analysed samples showed microbiological faecal contamination with bacteria E. coli, while 52% of samples showed physico-chemical non-compliance with the national standards, where higher nitrates were the most common cause. Overall non-compliance of drinking water from school rural water supply systems amounted to 66% of tested water samples. This study also showed the main technical shortcomings of school water supply facilities and distribution networks such as the lack of fencing of the water source, damaged or absence of drainage channels from the well concrete floor and poor construction characteristics of wells. Conclusions The results of this study, particularly presence of E. coli in drinking water may affect pupils’ health and is a consequence of poor sanitary conditions and maintenance of small rural drinking water supply systems and individual wells. It is necessary to provide continuous disinfection of water available in schools and to undertake measures for technical improvements in order to provide better sanitary protection of water sources and other water supply facilities in rural schools. Key messages • Drinking water quality in schools is vital for children public health. • Raise awareness of local community on drinking water safety and enforce continuous monitoring of drinking water quality in small rural water supply systems in schools.

Collaborative projects imply a wide variety of skills, ranging from technical abilities to teamwork and problem-solving attitudes. Innovative teaching programmes focused on the use and promotion of open-source geospatial tools represent a key element in developing such transversal abilities. OpenStreetMap (OSM) brings into play open and collaborative dynamics that build a critical ecosystem where single contributions are part of collective intelligence. This initiative led to the foundation of structured contributors groups such as PoliMappers, the first European YouthMappers chapter based in Politecnico di Milano (Italy). Pursuing the objective to build a responsible student-led community of Free and Open Source Software users, in 2021 PoliMappers organised the course entitled “Collaborative and Humanitarian Mapping”. The programme is structured into 7 meetings and aims to introduce university students to the OSM environment with a focus on the potential of open data and related geospatial tools, especially in the humanitarian field. It has seen the participation of the World Food Programme, Open Knowledge Foundation, TECHO Colombia, IMM Design Lab, Map for Future, UN Mappers, Spazio Vita Niguarda Onlus, Ledha Milano, AUS Niguarda Onlus and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. Enrolled attendants’ contributions have been assessed with tools for quality review and statistics. Also, Q&As and suggestions to the attendants have been collected to detect common issues. The paper presents the course, from the design to the assessment of the students’ activities, and the lessons learned in this experience in such a way to provide some guidance to those who want to organize similar initiatives.

We present the results of optical photometric observations of three extreme TeV blazars, 1ES 0229$+$200, 1ES 0414$+$009, and 1ES 2344$+$514, taken with two telescopes (1.3 m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope, and 1.04 m Sampuranand Telescope) in India and two (1.4 m Milankovi\'{c} telescope and 60 cm Nedeljkovi\'{c} telescope) in Serbia during 2013--2019. We investigated their flux and spectral variability on diverse timescales. We examined a total of 36 intraday $R-$band light curves of these blazars for flux variations using the power-enhanced {\it F}-test and the nested ANOVA test. No significant intraday variation was detected on 35 nights, and during the one positive detection the amplitude of variability was only 2.26 per cent. On yearly timescales, all three blazars showed clear flux variations in all optical wavebands. The weighted mean optical spectral index ($\alpha_{BR}$), calculated using $B - R$ color indices, for 1ES 0229$+$200 was 2.09 $\pm$ 0.01. We also estimated the weighted mean optical spectral indices of 0.67 $\pm$ 0.01 and 1.37 $\pm$ 0.01 for 1ES 0414$+$009, and 1ES 2344$+$514, respectively, by fitting a single power-law ($F_{\nu} \propto \nu^{-\alpha}$) in their optical ({\it VRI}) spectral energy distributions. A bluer-when-brighter trend was only detected in the blazar 1ES 0414$+$009. We briefly discuss different possible physical mechanisms responsible for the observed flux and spectral changes in these blazars on diverse timescales., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS journal

High concentrations of hydrophobic MFI zeolite (26.0–51.3 wt%) were successfully embedded in poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) network in simple, one-pot synthesis of PMAA-MFI composite hydrogels. The effects of zeolite concentration regarding pure PMAA xerogel, for all of the investigated properties (primary structural parameters, morphological properties, water swelling ability, thermal degradation mechanism and stability, and mechanical properties) were determined and discussed. The PMAA-MFI composite hydrogels had remarkably higher density than PMAA xerogel (1660/1420 kg m−3), higher crosslinking density (29/1.0 × 10−4), improved mechanics in the dry and swollen state (up to 4.9 times higher storage modulus) and lower swelling degree (42/420 g g−1), average molar mass between the network crosslinks (3.6/110 × 104 g mol−1), and distance between the macromolecular chains (64/710 nm). Despite high zeolite concentration, the composites kept porous hydrogel structure with uniformly dispersed zeolite particles. FTIR spectra disclosed the existence of functional groups of PMAA network and MFI zeolite that interacted mutually and led to increased crosslinking density. The effect of zeolite concentration on the thermal degradation mechanism was established. The composition-properties correlations were determined and described by the adequate linear or power law equations revealing the additive nature of the composites and the fractal structure of the networks. These correlations enable the achievement of desired properties by simple adjustment of the initial composition, i.e. zeolite concentration. Therefore, this work presents the base for further development of tailor-made PMAA-MFI composite hydrogels aimed for specific application.

The pathophysiological mechanisms of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are not well elucidated. It is assumed that oxidative stress and inflammation are the key underlying culprits for its onset and progression. To gain deeper insight into these processes, we have evaluated several oxidative stress parameters, inflammation markers [i.e., high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), serum amyloid A1 (SAA1)], soluble programmed cell death-ligand 1 (sPD-L1), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in IPF patients.Biochemistry analyses were done in 30 consecutive IPF patients and 30 age and gender-matched healthy control group (CG).IPF patients had significantly higher advanced oxidation protein products (p0.001), pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance (p=0.010), total oxidative status (p0.001), and ischemia modified albumin (p0.001) compared to CG. Lower total antioxidant status and total sulfhydryl groups (tSGH) and significantly higher sPD-L1, hsCRP (p0.001 for all), SAA1 proteins (p=0.014) and [25(OH)D] severe deficiency [11.0 (9.6-15.1) nmol/L] in IPF patients compared to CG were observed. Paraoxonase 1 activity and hsCRP level were lower, while tSHG and sPD-L1 were higher in IPF patients with more severe disease (i.e., II+III stage compared to I stage, p0.05 for all).IPF patients are in a state of profound oxidative stress compared to healthy people. The inflammatory component of the disease was confirmed by higher hsCRP and SAA1, but lower [25(OH)D] in IPF than in healthy people. Also, higher levels of sPD-L1 in patients with IPF compared to healthy individuals suggest that sPD-L1 may have a significant role in immune response in IPF.