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- Panuzzo, P., et al.
(författare)
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Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-mass black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Gravitational waves from black-hole (BH) merging events have revealed a population of extra-galactic BHs residing in short-period binaries with masses that are higher than expected based on most stellar evolution models-And also higher than known stellar-origin black holes in our Galaxy. It has been proposed that those high-mass BHs are the remnants of massive metal-poor stars.Aims. Gaia astrometry is expected to uncover many Galactic wide-binary systems containing dormant BHs, which may not have been detected before. The study of this population will provide new information on the BH-mass distribution in binaries and shed light on their formation mechanisms and progenitors.Methods. As part of the validation efforts in preparation for the fourth Gaia data release (DR4), we analysed the preliminary astrometric binary solutions, obtained by the Gaia Non-Single Star pipeline, to verify their significance and to minimise false-detection rates in high-mass-function orbital solutions.Results. The astrometric binary solution of one source, Gaia BH3, implies the presence of a 32.70a ±a 0.82aM- BH in a binary system with a period of 11.6 yr. Gaia radial velocities independently validate the astrometric orbit. Broad-band photometric and spectroscopic data show that the visible component is an old, very metal-poor giant of the Galactic halo, at a distance of 590 pc.Conclusions. The BH in the Gaia BH3 system is more massive than any other Galactic stellar-origin BH known thus far. The low metallicity of the star companion supports the scenario that metal-poor massive stars are progenitors of the high-mass BHs detected by gravitational-wave telescopes. The Galactic orbit of the system and its metallicity indicate that it might belong to the Sequoia halo substructure. Alternatively, and more plausibly, it could belong to the ED-2 stream, which likely originated from a globular cluster that had been disrupted by the Milky Way.
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| 2. |
- Chatzikonstantinou, T, et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 severity and mortality in patients with CLL: an update of the international ERIC and Campus CLL study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Leukemia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5551 .- 0887-6924. ; 3635:312, s. 3444-3454
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be more susceptible to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to age, disease, and treatment-related immunosuppression. We aimed to assess risk factors of outcome and elucidate the impact of CLL-directed treatments on the course of COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective, international study, collectively including 941 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19. Data from the beginning of the pandemic until March 16, 2021, were collected from 91 centers. The risk factors of case fatality rate (CFR), disease severity, and overall survival (OS) were investigated. OS analysis was restricted to patients with severe COVID-19 (definition: hospitalization with need of oxygen or admission into an intensive care unit). CFR in patients with severe COVID-19 was 38.4%. OS was inferior for patients in all treatment categories compared to untreated (p < 0.001). Untreated patients had a lower risk of death (HR = 0.54, 95% CI:0.41–0.72). The risk of death was higher for older patients and those suffering from cardiac failure (HR = 1.03, 95% CI:1.02–1.04; HR = 1.79, 95% CI:1.04–3.07, respectively). Age, CLL-directed treatment, and cardiac failure were significant risk factors of OS. Untreated patients had a better chance of survival than those on treatment or recently treated.
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| 14. |
- Kaufman, M, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of the Types and Relative Quantities of IGHV Gene Mutations in Predicting Prognosis of Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in oncology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2234-943X. ; 12, s. 897280-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with CLL with mutated IGHV genes (M-CLL) have better outcomes than patients with unmutated IGHVs (U-CLL). Since U-CLL usually express immunoglobulins (IGs) that are more autoreactive and more effectively transduce signals to leukemic B cells, B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling is likely at the heart of the worse outcomes of CLL cases without/few IGHV mutations. A corollary of this conclusion is that M-CLL follow less aggressive clinical courses because somatic IGHV mutations have altered BCR structures and no longer bind stimulatory (auto)antigens and so cannot deliver trophic signals to leukemic B cells. However, the latter assumption has not been confirmed in a large patient cohort. We tried to address the latter by measuring the relative numbers of replacement (R) mutations that lead to non-conservative amino acid changes (Rnc) to the combined numbers of conservative (Rc) and silent (S) amino acid R mutations that likely do not or cannot change amino acids, “(S+Rc) to Rnc IGHV mutation ratio”. When comparing time-to-first-treatment (TTFT) of patients with (S+Rc)/Rnc ≤ 1 and >1, TTFTs were similar, even after matching groups for equal numbers of samples and identical numbers of mutations per sample. Thus, BCR structural change might not be the main reason for better outcomes for M-CLL. Since the total number of IGHV mutations associated better with longer TTFT, better clinical courses appear due to the biologic state of a B cell having undergone many stimulatory events leading to IGHV mutations. Analyses of larger patient cohorts will be needed to definitively answer this question.
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| 15. |
- Silva, L. N., et al.
(författare)
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Myricetin protects Galleria mellonella against Staphylococcus aureus infection and inhibits multiple virulence factors
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2045-2322. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen related to a variety of life-threatening infections but for which antimicrobial resistance is liming the treatment options. We report here that myricetin, but not its glycosylated form, can remarkably decrease the production of several S. aureus virulence factors, including adhesion, biofilm formation, hemolysis and staphyloxanthin production, without interfering with growth. Myricetin affects both surface proteins and secreted proteins which indicate that its action is unrelated to inhibition of the agr quorum sensing system. Analysis of virulence related gene expression and computational simulations of pivotal proteins involved in pathogenesis demonstrate that myricetin downregulates the saeR global regulator and interacts with sortase A and alpha-hemolysin. Furthermore, Myr confers a significant degree of protection against staphylococcal infection in the Galleria mellonella model. The present findings reveal the potential of Myr as an alternative multi-target antivirulence candidate to control S. aureus pathogenicity.
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| 16. |
- Trentin, Danielle S, et al.
(författare)
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Natural green coating inhibits adhesion of clinically important bacteria
- 2015
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 5, s. 8287-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite many advances, biomaterial-associated infections continue to be a major clinical problem. In order to minimize bacterial adhesion, material surface modifications are currently being investigated and natural products possess large potential for the design of innovative surface coatings. We report the bioguided phytochemical investigation of Pityrocarpa moniliformis and the characterization of tannins by mass spectrometry. It was demonstrated that B-type linked proanthocyanidins-coated surfaces, here termed Green coatings, reduced Gram-positive bacterial adhesion and supported mammalian cell spreading. The proposed mechanism of bacterial attachment inhibition is based on electrostatic repulsion, high hydrophilicity and the steric hindrance provided by the coating that blocks bacterium-substratum interactions. This work shows the applicability of a prototype Green-coated surface that aims to promote necessary mammalian tissue compatibility, while reducing bacterial colonization.
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