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The goal of this paper is to investigate complete noncompact warped product gradient Ricci solitons. Nonexistence results, estimates for the warping function and for its gradient are proven. When the soliton is steady or expanding these nonexistence results generalize to a broader context certain estimates and rigidity obtained when studying warped product Einstein manifolds. When the soliton is shrinking, it is presented as a nonexistence theorem with no counterpart in the Einstein case, which is proved using properties of the first eigenvalue of a weighted Laplacian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many remote sensing‐based evapotranspiration (RSBET) algorithms have been proposed in the past decades and evaluated using flux tower data, mainly over North America and Europe. Model evaluation across South America has been done locally or using only a single algorithm at a time. Here, we provide the first evaluation of multiple RSBET models, at a daily scale, across a wide variety of biomes, climate zones, and land uses in South America. We used meteorological data from 25 flux towers to force four RSBET models: Priestley–Taylor Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT‐JPL), Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM), Penman–Monteith Mu model (PM‐MOD), and Penman–Monteith Nagler model (PM‐VI). ET was predicted satisfactorily by all four models, with correlations consistently higher (R2>0.6) for GLEAM and PT‐JPL, and PM‐MOD and PM‐VI presenting overall better responses in terms of percent bias (−10

Objective: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is associated with maternal cardiac remodeling and diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess and compare maternal left ventricular structure and diastolic function and levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in women with early-onset (< 34 weeks' gestation) vs those with late-onset (≥ 34 weeks' gestation) PE.Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study of 30 women with early-onset PE, 32 with late-onset PE and 23 normotensive controls. Maternal cardiac structure and diastolic function were assessed by echocardiography and plasma levels of BNP were measured by enzyme immunoassay.Results: Early- and late-onset PE were associated with increased left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness compared with normotensive controls. In women with early-onset PE, the prevalence of concentric hypertrophy (40%) and diastolic dysfunction (23%) was also significantly higher (both P < 0.05) compared with women with late-onset PE (16% for both). Maternal serum BNP levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in women with early-onset PE and correlated with relative wall thickness and left ventricular mass index.Conclusions: Early-onset PE is associated with more severe cardiac impairment than is late-onset PE, as evidenced by an increased prevalence of concentric hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and higher levels of BNP. These findings suggest that early-onset PE causes greater myocardial damage, increasing the risk of both peripartum and postpartum cardiovascular morbidity. Although these cardiovascular effects are easily identified by echocardiographic parameters and measuring BNP, further studies are needed to assess their clinical utility. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid bodies ( LBs) are intracellular accumulations of neutral lipids surrounded by a single membrane. These organelles are involved in the production of eicosanoids, which modulate immunity by either promoting or dampening inflammatory responses. Leishmania infantum, the etiological agent of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil, is an intracellular parasite that causes disease by suppressing macrophage microbicidal responses. C57 BL/6 mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages infected with L. infantum strain LcJ had higher numbers of LB+ cells ( P<.0001) and total LBs than noninfected cultures. Large (>3 μm) LBs were present inside parasitophorous vacuoles ( PVs). These results contrast with those of L. infantum-infected BALB/c macrophages, in which the only LBs are derived from parasite, not macrophage origin. Increased LBs in C57 BL/6 macrophages in close association with parasites would position host LBs where they could modulate L. infantum infection. These results imply a potential influence of the host genetics on the role of LBs in host-pathogen interactions. Overall, our data support a model in which the expression, and the role of LBs upon infection, ultimately depends on the specific combination of host-pathogen interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with genodermatosis such as Gorlin syndrome (GS) and Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) require a close follow-up for early diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of methyl-aminolevulinate (MAL) photodynamic therapy (PDT) in basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) from patients with GS and XP, and to determine the utility of reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in the diagnosis and the evaluation of therapeutic response. We included four patients with GS and two siblings with XP. Single or multiple lesions in localized areas were treated with 1-3 cycles of MAL PDT. RCM was performed before and 3 months after the treatment in target lesions in all the patients. Patients were followed up for 3 years. In XP patients, we treated 13 pigmented BCCs on the face. All the lesions responded to the treatment and six lesions showed a complete clinical clearing. In GS patients, facial or trunk areas with multiple BCCs were treated (up to 200). Complete clinical remission was obtained in 25-67% of the lesions. Some nodular and pigmented lesions failed to achieve a complete remission. RCM could identify already described confocal features for BCC. Tumour remissions could be assessed by this technique. Methyl-aminolevulinate PDT may be useful for the treatment of superficial BCC in GS and XP. In some nodular lesions, PDT may complement surgery reducing tumour size. RCM may be regarded in the future as a complementary technique in BCC for the diagnosis and post-treatment assessment to non-invasive therapeutic modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 81-year-old man was hospitalized due to a 2-year history of bloody diarrhea (four to five bowel movements per day, including nocturnal) and significant weight loss (20% body weight), associated to an occasional crampy left abdominal pain. Unlike the cardiac and neurologic forms of the disease, there are currently no specific approved therapies for the treatment of gastrointestinal wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents a study which evaluates the pharmacological and toxicological properties of the vinylic telluride derivatives. The study uses analytical grade chemicals and drugs from standard commercial suppliers and the preparation was grounded on the specification provided by other studies. Toxicity testing of the compound was conducted on Wister rats and Swiss mice following the established guidelines. The in vitro toxicity testing reveals that the compound has antioxidant potential and can reduce lipid peroxidation in control levels. It also examines its effect in Thiol oxidase, and δ-ALA-D activity and presents the results of acute exposure, open field test, food intake and water consumption, relative weight of organs, and biochemical parameters.

Upper endoscopy and video capsule enteroscopy showed an atrophic appearance of the duodenal and jejunal mucosa (Fig. (a, b, and c) ulcers; (d) erosions and granulation tissue; (e and f) marked glandular distortion and atrophy, "dysplasia-like" epithelial reaction, and marked lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. gl Considering the existence of a sprue-like enteropathy in the absence of other causes for villous atrophy, the diagnosis of olmesartan-induced enteropathy was made. Olmesartan-induced enteropathy was first described in 2012 and is characterized by seronegative villous atrophy and severe ileojejunitis in endoscopic evaluation. [Extracted from the article]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells that are uniquely capable of inducing primary immune responses. Although tumour cells may directly inhibit DC maturation, exposure to tumour products may also result in their activation. Fusions of cancer cells and DCs are being explored as cancer vaccines. The effect of tumour cell fusion on DC maturation and their functional characteristics has not been defined. In the present study, immature and mature DC generated from human CD34+ and peripheral blood precursors were fused to multiple myeloma cells in the presence of polyethylene glycol. Fusion of both immature and mature DCs with tumour cells resulted in an activated phenotype. In this regard, fusion cells expressed interleukin-12, a cytokine essential for the induction of T-helper cell type 1 immunity. In contrast to immature DCs, fusion cells also strongly expressed CC-chemokine receptor R7, which is responsible for DC migration to draining lymph nodes. Fusions generated with both immature and mature DCs also potently stimulated T-cell expression of gamma-interferon and cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing of tumour targets. These findings demonstrate that tumour cell fusion induces DC maturation and the development of an activated phenotype necessary for their effectiveness as cancer vaccines.