First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. This Letter reports results from LUX-ZEPLIN's first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with an exposure of 60 live days using a fiducial mass of 5.5 t. A profile-likelihood ratio analysis shows the data to be consistent with a background-only hypothesis, setting new limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon, spin-dependent WIMP-neutron, and spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross sections for WIMP masses above 9  GeV/c^{2}. The most stringent limit is set for spin-independent scattering at 36  GeV/c^{2}, rejecting cross sections above 9.2×10^{-48}  cm at the 90% confidence level.

Efficient Deterministic Search With Robust Loss Functions for Geometric Model Fitting

Geometric model fitting is a fundamental task in computer vision, which serves as the pre-requisite of many downstream applications. While the problem has a simple intrinsic structure where the solution can be parameterized within a few degrees of freedom, the ubiquitously existing outliers are the main challenge. In previous studies, random sampling techniques have been established as the practical choice, since optimization-based methods are usually too time-demanding. This prospective study is intended to design efficient algorithms that benefit from a general optimization-based view. In particular, two important types of loss functions are discussed, i.e., truncated and l₁ losses, and efficient solvers have been derived for both upon specific approximations. Based on this philosophy, a class of algorithms are introduced to perform deterministic search for the inliers or geometric model. Recommendations are made based on theoretical and experimental analyses. Compared with the existing solutions, the proposed methods are both simple in computation and robust to outliers. Extensive experiments are conducted on publicly available datasets for geometric estimation, which demonstrate the superiority of our methods compared with the state-of-the-art ones. Additionally, we apply our method to the recent benchmark for wide-baseline stereo evaluation, leading to a significant improvement of performance. Our code is publicly available at https://github.com/AoxiangFan/EifficientDeterministicSearch.

POS1223 DIFFERENT ANTI-SARS-CoV-2 VACCINE RESPONSE UNDER B- AND T-CELL TARGETED THERAPIES VERSUS ANTI-CYTOKINE THERAPIES IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIDES

Background

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is effective in preventing severe forms of COVID-19, but there remain concerns about a reduced vaccine response in patients suffering from inflammatory arthritides who are treated by immunosuppressive therapies.

Objectives

We analysed the impact of bDMARDs on the humoral anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response of patients followed in day hospitals.

Methods

We studied the vaccine response after a complete vaccine regimen followed in day hospital in 5 French hospitals and treated with an intravenous bDMARD between September 2019 and August 2021. After obtaining their informed consent, we included patients with an anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology. They were considered non-responders if the antibody level detected was inferior to the threshold of positivity of the kit used.

Results

205 patients were included (148 females/57 males). The median age was 64 years (Interquartile Range [IQR] 56-71). 25 were treated with tocilizumab (TCZ), 36 with abatacept (ABA), 53 with infliximab (IFX) and 91 with rituximab (RTX). When considering both patients after a complete vaccination schema (2 doses, or 1 dose in case of prior COVID-19) and those with 1 booster dose, 34 patients (16.6%) were non-responders (2 [5.9%] treated by IFX, none treated by TCZ, 9 [26.5%] treated by ABA and 23 [67.7%] treated by RTX). In multivariate analysis, the only characteristics that significantly and independently differed between responders and non-responders were last bDMARD and corticosteroid therapy at the time of 1st vaccination (Table 1). In RTX-treated patients, the delay from last infusion to 1st vaccine dose was significantly shorter in non-responders (median 4.3 IQR [2.9-6.1] months in non-responders versus 8.4 IQR [5.7-14.5] in responders, p=0.0007). Median survival, i.e. achieving a vaccine response in 50% of RTX-treated subjects, was achieved after 277 days (95CI [209-310]) in patients vaccinated with 2 or 3 doses (Figure 1). In ABA-treated patients, the delay from last infusion to 1st vaccine dose was not different between non-responders and responders.

Table 1.

Patients’ characteristics and comparisons between responders and non-responders.

All patients (n=205)Responders (n=171)Non responders (n=34)Univariate p valueMultivariatep valueAge (median [IQR]), in years64 [56-71]64 [54-70]69 [57-75.5]0.070.40Female sex, n (%)148 (72.2)125 [73.1)23 (67.7)0.53Inflammatory arthritides, n (%)0.16**0.24 Rheumatoid Arthritis156 (78.0)128 (74.9)28 (82.4)0.51 Spondyloarthritis33 (16.1)31 (18.1)2 (5.9)0.12 Others*16 (7.8)12 (5.9)4 (1.9)0.31Last bDMARDs at time of 1st vaccination, n (%)0.0004ABA/RTX versus IFX/TCZ < 0.00010.00024 Infliximab53 (25.9)51 (29.8)2 (5.9) Tocilizumab25 (12.2)25 (14.6)0 Abatacept36 (17.6)27 (15.8)9 (26.5) Rituximab91 (44.4)68 (39.8)23 (67.7)Associated treatments at time of 1st vaccination CsDMARDs, n (%)126 (61.5)107 (62.6)19(55.9)0.56 Methotrexate91 (44.4)78 (45.6)13 (38.2)0.46 Median dose in users (mg /week) [IQR]15 [10-17.5]13.8 [10-15.6]15 [13.8-20]0.07 Corticosteroids, n (%)25 (12.2)19 (11.1)6 (17.6)0.29 Median dose (mg /day) [IQR]0 [0-0]0 [0-0]0 [0-2]0.0350.016Previous COVID-19 infection, n (%)23 (11.2)21 (12.3)2 (5.9)0.38Type of vaccine, n (%)0.62 Pfizer169 (82.4)142 (83.0)27 (79.4)0.62 Moderna14 (68.3)11 (6.4)3 (8.8)0.71 Astra-Zeneca17 (8.3)15 (8.8)2 (5.9)0.74 Janssen5 (2.4)3 (1.8)2 (5.9)0.19Vaccination, n (%) Complete167 (81.5)141 (82.5)28 (16.8)0.47 Complete + 1 booster dose56 (27.3)43 (25.1)13 (38.2)0.14Figure 1.

Cumulative seropositive rate according to the interval (days) between the last course of rituximab administration and vaccination

Conclusion

ABA and RTX alter the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response and were associated with nearly all vaccine non-responses in the present study. Corticosteroid therapy was associated with a lower vaccine response regardless of its indication or the concomitant use of bMARD.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

POS0715 TREATMENT OF SLE PATIENTS WITH ZETOMIPZOMIB (KZR-616), A SELECTIVE INHIBITOR OF THE IMMUNOPROTEASOME, RESULTS IN CIRCULATING GENE EXPRESSION, PROTEIN LEVEL, AND IMMUNE CELL PHENOTYPIC CHANGES WITH POTENTIAL CORRELATIONS TO CLINICAL RESPONSE

Background

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a severe multiorgan autoimmune disease, involves dysfunction of multiple immune system components. In preclinical studies, KZR-616, a first-in-class small molecule selective inhibitor of the immunoproteasome, demonstrated pleiotropic immunomodulatory functions encompassing both innate and adaptive immune pathways1,2. In the recently completed MISSION Phase 1b trial in SLE patients (pts), KZR-616 exhibited encouraging safety, tolerability, and clinical improvements3. Preliminary biomarker analysis of the first two cohorts was previously reported4. Here, we present complete biomarker results from all cohorts in this study.

Objectives

1) To characterize biomarker changes (gene expression, circulating protein levels and immune cell phenotypes) following KZR-616 treatment. 2) To evaluate correlations between biomarker changes and treatment response to KZR-616.

Methods

The open-label Phase 1b MISSION Trial (NCT 03393013) was a 25-week trial of KZR- 616 administered subcutaneously once weekly at doses ranging from 30-75 mg for 13 weeks (W) with a 12 W follow-up. Forty-seven SLE pts with and without nephritis were enrolled with 35 completing all 25 W of study. Clinical response definitions at W13 or later were defined as either a >4 reduction of SLEDAI-2K or >50% drop in swollen joint counts (SJC) (baseline SJC>2). Biomarker samples included whole blood in RNA tubes (31 pts), cryopreserved PBMCs (15 pts), plasma (35 pts) and urine (2 pts). Whole blood RNA sequencing was performed using Illumina TruSeq. Differential expression was modelled using DESeq2. Fast pre-ranked gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed with gene sets derived from published literature. Cryopreserved PBMCs were analysed by flow cytometry to profile immune cell subtypes. Plasma protein was measured by Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) kits. Healthy volunteer (HV, N=12) samples were used to establish potential disease-related biomarker changes in patients at baseline (BL).

Results

Many gene modules were found to be altered at BL in SLE pts, relative to HV, including those representing interferon (IFN) response and B/plasma cells and changes were consistent with our prior report4. Comparisons of SLEDAI-2K responders (R) versus non-responders (NR) revealed enrichment of 193 gene modules (57 down and 136 up-regulated, padj,<0.1) at BL and 190 modules (105 down and 85 up) 4 weeks after treatment (W17). Expression of a 4-gene IFN module was enriched in SLEDAI-2K R vs NR at BL; expression of this module trended downward at W17 in R, whereas it increased over time in NR at W 5. Reduced numbers of circulating class-switched memory B cells and IgG-producing plasma cells were observed at W17 and/or W25. Plasma levels of BAFF were consistently increased at W5 but returned to BL levels by W17. Plasma levels of CD169/ SIGLEC-1, a monocyte activation marker, were higher at BL in SJC R vs. NR and were reduced after treatment in both groups. Two pts with active proliferative nephritis were enrolled into this study and both showed a reduction in levels of urine CD163 (uCD163), while plasma levels of this marker were stable.

Conclusion

Our integrative analysis indicates that KZR-616 elicits a potent effect on multiple immune pathways in SLE patients. Potential new biomarkers (gene, gene module, circulating protein) that may be useful for prediction of patient response were identified. Future biomarker studies in placebo-controlled trials may further our understanding of KZR-616 mechanism of action, patient selection and prediction of patient responses.

References

[1]Kirk, C.J. et al., Cells 2022, 11(1):9

[2]Muchamuel T, Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10).

[3]Furie R et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2021;80:595-596,

[4]Fan R, et al., Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10).

Acknowledgements

Kezar Life Sciences acknowledges the support of site investigators and patient participants in the MISSION study.

Disclosure of Interests

Andrea Fan Shareholder of: Kezar, Employee of: Kezar, Brian Tuch Consultant of: Kezar, Tony Muchamuel Shareholder of: Kezar, Employee of: Kezar, Janet Anderl Shareholder of: Kezar, Employee of: Kezar, Richard Leff Consultant of: Kezar, Noreen Henig Shareholder of: Kezar, Employee of: Kezar, Christopher Kirk Shareholder of: Kezar, Employee of: Kezar

Smoothness-Driven Consensus Based on Compact Representation for Robust Feature Matching

For robust feature matching, a popular and particularly effective method is to recover smooth functions from the data to differentiate the true correspondences (inliers) from false correspondences (outliers). In the existing works, the well-established regularization theory has been extensively studied and exploited to estimate the functions while controlling its complexity to enforce the smoothness constraint, which has shown prominent advantages in this task. However, despite the theoretical optimality properties, the high complexities in both time and space are induced and become the main obstacle of their application. In this article, we propose a novel method for multivariate regression and point matching, which exploits the sparsity structure of smooth functions. Specifically, we use compact Fourier bases for constructing the function, which inherently allows a coarse-to-fine representation. The smoothness constraint can be explicitly imposed by adopting a few low-frequency bases for representation, resulting in reduced computational complexities of the induced multivariate regression algorithm. To cope with potential gross outliers, we formulate the learning problem into a Bayesian framework with latent variables indicating the inliers and outliers and a mixture model accounting for the distribution of data, where a fast expectation-maximization solution can be derived. Extensive experiments are conducted on synthetic data and real-world image matching, and point set registration datasets, which demonstrates the advantages of our method against the current state-of-the-art methods in terms of both scalability and robustness.

POS1475-HPR EFFECT OF ARGENTINE TANGO PRACTICE ON TOTAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TIME IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM: A PILOT STUDY

Background:

Most patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatism (CIR) have a physical activity (PA) level below recommendations [1,2]. Currently, adapted structures offer a range of activities supervised by adapted physical activity educators. To the best of our knowledge, Argentinean tango is not yet offered in these structures.

Objectives:

The objective of this pilot study was to study the effect of 24 consecutive sessions of Argentinean tango on the total PA level in patients with CIR, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (AS).

Methods:

In this controlled, randomized, open-label, clinical trial with two parallel arms, patients were required to attend two tango sessions per week, 48 sessions from 0 (M0) to 6 months (M6) for the intervention group (IG) and 24 sessions from 3 months (M3) to M6 for the control group (CG). Total PA time was measured at M3 using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) [3].

Results:

A total of 27 patients (23 women) were included, including 15 with RA and 12 with AS. Mean age was 59 ± 12 years, and median disease duration was 10 years (IQR: 3-19). The majority of patients had background treatment (conventional and/or biological). At M3, 22 patients could be evaluated (11 GC patients and 11 GI patients), as 3 patients were lost to follow-up and 2 were unable to come in due to health or professional reasons. The 11 GI patients attended a median of 16 sessions (IQR: 8-22), i.e., approximately one session per week. At M3, the total PA time was not increased, regardless of the measurement method, GPAQ questionnaire (effect size and 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03 [-0.60; 0.67], p=0.91) or accelerometer (effect size and 95% CI: 0.43 [-0.37; 1.24], p=0.26), and regardless of the intensity of the PA. No significant change was found for sedentary time, disease activity, fatigue, or anxiety. However, improvements were found in body appreciation as assessed by the Body Appreciation Scale 2 questionnaire (p=0.016), balance (p=0.053), wrist bending angle (p=0.092), and shoulder amplitude (p=0.093). The few participants in this study is explained by the geographic distance of the classes and their homes, the lack of availability of patients in professional activity, fatigue, or not liking dance (mainly among men).

Conclusion:

The results of this pilot study suggest that one Argentinean tango session per week in CIR patients is more achievable than two sessions as originally planned. As the practice of classes in hospitals is constrained due to geographic distance, the sessions could be offered in adapted structures. Nevertheless, our pilot study shows that the Argentinean tango is beneficial for body appreciation in patients with CIR. A qualitative study is needed to better understand these effects.

References:

[1]Haute Autorité de Santé (2007). Rheumatoid arthritis: therapeutic aspects excluding drugs and surgery - medico-social and organizational aspects. Professional recommendations service - Medical-economic evaluation and public health service.

[2]Haute Autorité de Santé (2008). Spondylarthritis: guide - long-term condition. Good Professional Practices Department - Communication Department.

[3] Cleland CL, Hunter RF, Kee F, Cupples ME, Sallis JF, Tully MA. (2014 Dec). Validity of the global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ) in assessing levels and change in moderate-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behaviour. BMC Public Health. 10;14:1255. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1255.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Net anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus inputs in Pearl River Delta region (2008-2016)

Excess inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the main contributors of aquatic environmental deterioration. Due to the agricultural and industrial activities in the rapidly urbanized basin, the anthropogenic N and P cycle are significantly different from other regions. In this study, we took the Pearl River Delta as an example and introduced the budget list of N and P in the five survey years, including the net anthropogenic N inputs (NANI) and net anthropogenic P inputs (NAPI). The results revealed that the intensities of NANI and NAPI in this area increased from 2008 to 2010 and then decreased after 2010. The peak values were 21001 kg N km^-2yr^-1 and 4515 kg P km^-2yr^-1 for the intensities of NNAI and NAPI, respectively, while the lowest values decreased to 19186 kg N km^-2yr^-1 and 4103 kg P km^-2yr^-1 in 2016. The most important contribution of NANI and NAPI sources in this area were net N and P inputs for human food and animal feed with an average contribution of 61.41% and 76.83%, which indicated that large amounts of N and P were introduced into the environment through the food system. This study expanded the knowledge on regional environmental management from human dietary consumption, human life consumption, animal consumption and fertilizer consumption. Its reuse will be put into practice by understanding the driving factors of N and P inputs in each region of the basin, combining the urbanization characteristics.

Spatial Distributions, Sources and Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments from Ziya River System, Northern China

With the development of urbanization and industrialization, Ziya River Plain (ZYRP) had become one of the most polluted regions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in north China. The distribution of PAHs in sediments were investigated, and then their sources and risks were evaluated. The results showed that the total PAHs varied from 3372 to 92,948 μg/kg, and heavy pollution was found in the upstream. Both the isomer pair ratios of PAH and principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that fossil fuel combustion was the mainly contributes (69.1%), followed by wood and coal combustion (26.7%). The ecological risk for the whole area was moderate, with the highest risk in Niuwei River (NWR). and significant correlation was found between the ecological risk and high-molecular-weight (HMW) of PAHs (r² > 0.99, p < 0.01). Our findings would give insights into the mitigation of sedimentary PAHs pollution in north China.

Image Matching from Handcrafted to Deep Features: A Survey

As a fundamental and critical task in various visual applications, image matching can identify then correspond the same or similar structure/content from two or more images. Over the past decades, growing amount and diversity of methods have been proposed for image matching, particularly with the development of deep learning techniques over the recent years. However, it may leave several open questions about which method would be a suitable choice for specific applications with respect to different scenarios and task requirements and how to design better image matching methods with superior performance in accuracy, robustness and efficiency. This encourages us to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review and analysis for those classical and latest techniques. Following the feature-based image matching pipeline, we first introduce feature detection, description, and matching techniques from handcrafted methods to trainable ones and provide an analysis of the development of these methods in theory and practice. Secondly, we briefly introduce several typical image matching-based applications for a comprehensive understanding of the significance of image matching. In addition, we also provide a comprehensive and objective comparison of these classical and latest techniques through extensive experiments on representative datasets. Finally, we conclude with the current status of image matching technologies and deliver insightful discussions and prospects for future works. This survey can serve as a reference for (but not limited to) researchers and engineers in image matching and related fields.

The influence of age, gender and race/ethnicity on the composition of the human axillary microbiome

OBJECTIVE

The microbial community plays an important role in the generation of human axillary odour by transforming odourless natural secretions into volatile odorous molecules. A limited number of traditional culturing methods and molecular based research have been performed to characterize the human axillary microbiome in small collection sample sizes. Moreover, only a few have considered the interpersonal variations across age, gender or race/ethnicity, and none have included all three variables within one single study. The aim of this study was to characterize the axillary microbiome of healthy subjects across different age groups, genders and races/ethnicities in a large sample size.

METHODS

The underarm skin swab samples were collected from 169 healthy subjects. The axillary microbiome was analysed by IS-pro, a clinically validated high-throughput DNA fingerprinting technique.

RESULTS

The results indicate that the senior subjects (55+) tend to have a higher number of total bacterial than younger adults (of a defined age). The diversity of odour causing bacteria, e.g. corynebacteria, increases with age. Among the three races/ethnicities studied, East Asians have a unique microbial composition compared to Caucasians and Hispanics, which may contribute to the different odour profiles observed among the races/ethnicities studied.

CONCLUSION

Human axillary microbiome varies by age, gender and race/ethnicity. This study has provided an unprecedented fundamental knowledge about the axillary microbiota as a function of age, gender and race/ethnicity.

Results of a Search for Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using 2013 LUX Data

The scattering of dark matter (DM) particles with sub-GeV masses off nuclei is difficult to detect using liquid xenon-based DM search instruments because the energy transfer during nuclear recoils is smaller than the typical detector threshold. However, the tree-level DM-nucleus scattering diagram can be accompanied by simultaneous emission of a bremsstrahlung photon or a so-called "Migdal" electron. These provide an electron recoil component to the experimental signature at higher energies than the corresponding nuclear recoil. The presence of this signature allows liquid xenon detectors to use both the scintillation and the ionization signals in the analysis where the nuclear recoil signal would not be otherwise visible. We report constraints on spin-independent DM-nucleon scattering for DM particles with masses of 0.4-5  GeV/c^{2} using 1.4×10^{4}  kg day of search exposure from the 2013 data from the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment for four different classes of mediators. This analysis extends the reach of liquid xenon-based DM search instruments to lower DM masses than has been achieved previously.

A novel and environmental friendly synthetic route for hydroxypyrrolidines using zeolites

A critical step in the synthesis of the hydroxypyrrolidines, 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-l-lyxitol and 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-d-lyxitol, from the corresponding d-sugars is the synthesis of O-methyl 2,3-O-isopropylidenepentofuranoses. Instead of applying homogeneous catalysis process with conventional inorganic acid catalysts like HCl and HClO₄, it was found that heterogeneous catalysis using zeolites could be used for the one-pot synthesis of O-methyl 2,3-O-isopropylidenepentofuranoses directly from d-sugars, MeOH and acetone at mild condition. The best catalyst was H-beta zeolite containing a Si/Al molar ratio of 150, where a yield of >83% was obtained. The overall yields of the five-step procedure to 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-l-lyxitol and 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-d-lyxitol were 57% and 50%, respectively. This synthetic procedure has several advantages such as competitive overall yield, reduced number of steps, and mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, the zeolite catalyst can be easily recovered from the reaction mixture and reused with no loss of activity.

Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark-Matter-Electron Scattering from the DarkSide-50 Experiment

We present new constraints on sub-GeV dark-matter particles scattering off electrons based on 6780.0 kg d of data collected with the DarkSide-50 dual-phase argon time projection chamber. This analysis uses electroluminescence signals due to ionized electrons extracted from the liquid argon target. The detector has a very high trigger probability for these signals, allowing for an analysis threshold of three extracted electrons, or approximately 0.05 keVee. We calculate the expected recoil spectra for dark matter-electron scattering in argon and, under the assumption of momentum-independent scattering, improve upon existing limits from XENON10 for dark-matter particles with masses between 30 and 100  MeV/c^{2}.

Low-Mass Dark Matter Search with the DarkSide-50 Experiment

We present the results of a search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the mass range below 20  GeV/c^{2} using a target of low-radioactivity argon with a 6786.0 kg d exposure. The data were obtained using the DarkSide-50 apparatus at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The analysis is based on the ionization signal, for which the DarkSide-50 time projection chamber is fully efficient at 0.1  keVee. The observed rate in the detector at 0.5  keVee is about 1.5  event/keVee/kg/d and is almost entirely accounted for by known background sources. We obtain a 90% C.L. exclusion limit above 1.8  GeV/c^{2} for the spin-independent cross section of dark matter WIMPs on nucleons, extending the exclusion region for dark matter below previous limits in the range 1.8-6  GeV/c^{2}.

Haptic characterization of human skin in vivo in response to shower gels using a magnetic levitation device

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Skin products such as shower gels have a direct impact on skin health and wellness. Although qualitative haptic characterization through explicit, verbal measures in consumer studies are often sufficient for general comparison on consumer perceived skin feel, a quantitative approach is desired to characterize minute changes in skin condition in response to various skin products. Prior research has sought to characterize the haptic properties of human skin in vitro and in vivo, but very few studies have compared the haptic effects of commercial skin products having relatively similar formulations. In addition, related studies have typically utilized simple, low-precision devices and fixtures. The purpose of this study was to use a precision magnetic levitation haptic device to characterize the frictional properties of human skin in vivo before, during, and after treatment with commercially available shower gels, to capture the entire cycle of consumer experience on skin feel.

METHODS

A hybrid force-position control algorithm was used to control a precision magnetic levitation haptic device with silicone tactor to stroke the human skin (on the volar forearm) in vivo. Position and force data were collected from 32 human subjects using eight different commercially available shower gels, while stroking the skin before, during, and after treatment. The data were analyzed to produce coefficients of friction and viscous damping constant, which were used as metrics for comparing the effects of each shower gel type. Other factors investigated include skin test location, order, and subject age and gender.

RESULTS

Results showed significant differences between the effects of eight various shower gels, especially after accounting for variance between subjects. Most notably, Shower Gel four with high level of petrolatum, along with Shower Gels five and six with low levels of castoryl maleate (a skin lipid analog), as well as Shower Gel two with high levels of vegetable oils yielded higher skin coefficients of friction 20 min after treatment, indicating higher levels of skin hydration than other shower gels without either high levels of skin beneficial agents or low levels of castoryl maleate. Conversely, Shower Gel eight treatment yielded the lowest skin coefficient of friction both immediately after rinsing and 20 min after treatment. In addition, when applied to the skin as un-lathered gels, Shower Gels six and seven with acrylate polymers yielded viscous damping constants twice that of other gels, while Shower Gel three yielded the lowest. When lathered into foam on skin, Shower Gel eight yielded the highest viscous damping constant, while Shower Gel three, along with Shower Gels one and five yielded lower values than others.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that different shower gels do have significant measurable differences in their effects on skin properties, and that using a high-precision haptic device can be a useful tool for quantifying the haptic properties of skin in vivo.

The ovarian endometrioma: why is it so poorly managed? Indicators from an anonymous survey

As a tertiary referral centre for women with severe endometriosis we see a large number of patients who have endometriotic cysts, and many of these patients have been operated on by gynaecologists elsewhere in the UK. We have been surprised by the variety of approaches to their management. In order to establish the current clinical practices of endometrioma management amongst gynaecologists in the UK, we have carried out an anonymous survey. There appears to be an equal preference for open versus endoscopic surgery, even though there is considerable evidence suggesting that endoscopic surgery is superior. However, the management of endometriomas varies significantly between the two groups. In this article, we have presented the results of our survey and used them as the basis for a debate on the management of endometriomas.

Adapting pharmacokinetic properties of a humanized anti-interleukin-8 antibody for therapeutic applications using site-specific pegylation

A neutralizing anti-interleukin-(IL-)8 monoclonal antibody was humanized by grafting the complementary determining regions onto the human IgG framework. Subsequent alanine scanning mutagenesis and phage display enabled the production of an affinity matured antibody with a >100-fold improvement in IL-8 binding. Antibody fragments can be efficiently produced in Escherichia coli but have the limitation of rapid clearance rates in vivo. The Fab' fragment of the antibody was therefore modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) in order to obtain a more desirable pharmacokinetic profile. PEG (5-40 kDa) was site-specifically conjugated to the Fab' via the single free cysteine residue in the hinge region. In vitro binding and bioassays showed little or no loss of activity. The pharmacokinetic profiles of the 20 kDa, 30 kDa, 40 kDa, and 40 kDa branched PEG-Fab' molecules were evaluated in rabbits. Relative to the native Fab', the clearance rates of the PEGylated molecules were decreased by 44-175-fold. In a rabbit ear model of ischemia/reperfusion injury, all PEGylated Fab' molecules were as efficacious in reducing oedema as the original monoclonal antibody. These studies demonstrate that it is possible to customize the pharmacokinetic properties of a Fab' while retaining its antigen binding activity.

[Detection of the level of serum antigen recognized by McAbGB2 in breast cancer]

This study sought to verify the levels of serum antigen recognized by McAbGB2 (abbr. serum McAbGB2 antigen) in patients with breast cancer. We adopted the ELISA method and used McAbGB2 to detect the level of serum McAbGB2 antigen in 50 normal persons and 60 patients with breast cancer. The results showed that the level of serum McAbGB2 antigen of 17 preoperative patients with breast cancer was significantly different from that of the normal persons (P < 0.001); the rate of agreement on positivity for the 17 preoperative patients with breast cancer was 88.2% (15/17); the levels of serum McAbGB2 antigen in 8 patients among the 17 preoperative patients with breast cancer decreased from 57.5 +/- 51.3 u/ml (preoperation) to 20.6 +/- 4.98 u/ml (postoperation; the levels of serum McAbGB2 antigen in the other 43 operated patients with breast cancer almost remained normal during post-operative chemotherapy. These suggest that serum McAbGB2 antigen is a marker for breast cancer and can be used for serological diagnosis, treatment and prognosis inspection.

Antiphospholipid syndrome associated with seizures

Antiphospholipid antibodies have been associated with thrombosis, fetal wasting, and thrombocytopenia. We discuss a case of antiphospholipid syndrome with the rarely recognized presentation of generalized tonic-clonic seizure during pregnancy. This case emphasizes the need for evaluation of possible hypercoagulable states in young adults with cerebrovascular events or newly diagnosed seizures.

A study on the potential sources of air pollutants observed at Tjörn, Sweden

The Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) receptor model combines both chemical and meteorological information. In this study, PSCF was employed to identify the potential source emission regions for aerosol compositions measured at Tjörn, Sweden (58.01 ∘N, 11.36 ∘E). PSCF was for the first time applied on a European scale. One hundred and fifty-two four-day air parcel backward trajectories were combined with concentrations of sixteen elements determined in 33 coarse and fine aerosol samples. The observations were made between February 17 and March 26, 1985. The modeling results of the heavy metals V, Pb, Zn, and As are presented and compared with available emission inventory data. A number of known industrialized regions in the former USSR and Europe are found of high potential to be the emission source areas. These areas are in good agreement with the known emission information. The PSCF maps of total sulfur, Non-Seasalt-Sulfur (N.S.S.) and chlorine are also presented. High potential regions in the Arctic area exist in the PSCF map for total sulfur wheres they do not occur in that for N.S.S.

Risk assessment of environmental chemicals

Risk assessment is an evolving process, based not only upon toxicology but also upon a broad background of knowledge in fields ranging from chemistry to physiology and molecular biology and from environmental transport processes to applied statistics. Risk assessment procedures must be continually updated to reflect advances in these basic sciences. This review addresses several areas of risk assessment that are receiving heightened attention, including neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and toxicokinetics and modeling. Risk assessors must work with the scientific community at large to incorporate advances in the basic sciences into their extrapolations. A concerted attempt to better define the variability and decrease the uncertainty of hazard estimates will result in more efficient protection of the public and the environment against toxic hazards.

[The pharmacodynamics of troxipide on experimental gastric ulcers in rats]

Effects of troxipide (Ku-54) on various experimental gastric ulcers in rats were studied. Ku-54 showed a dose-dependent antiulcerous action at 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg (particularly 300 mg/kg) p.o. in water-immersion stress, pylorus ligated and acetic acid reduced rats. The effect of cimetidine (CIM) (600 mg/kg) on water-immersion stress rats was significantly higher than that of Ku-54(300 mg/kg). On the other hand, the effect of Ku-54 (300 mg/kg) was higher than that of CIM (600 mg/kg) on the pylorus ligated and acetic acid reduced groups. The antiulcerous action of Ku-54 (300 mg/kg) was not related with the content and the pH of gastric juice.

[Prevention of reserpine induced experimental gastric ulcer in rat with amoxicillin a report of preliminary controlled study]

In recent years, amoxicillin (A) has been proved very effective in clearing helicobacter pylor (HP) and promoting ulcer healing. Is the cure due solely to the clearance of HP? Forty three Wistar rats were randomized into four groups to investigate the efficacy of A in preventing the experimental ulcer induced by reserpine and compare it with that of ranitidine (R) and antacid weishuping (W). A normal saline (NS) group was used as control. The total numbers of ulcer induced per rat for the NS, W, R and A groups were 7.8 +/- 5.1, 2.2 +/- 3.2, 1.0 +/- 1.2 and 2.1 +/- 1.9, respectively. The ulcer indices were 20.8 +/- 13.2, 4.5 +/- 7.7, 2.0 +/- 3.7 and 4.5 +/- 3.9, respectively. No HP was identified. The results indicated that A, R and W were all effective in preventing reserping induced ulcer with no significant difference (P > 0.05); they were significantly more effective than NS (P < 0.05). Since A is not an antacid and no HP existed in the experimental rats, there must be a mechanism of A involved in the prevention of experimental ulcer.

Role of exposure databases in risk assessment

Risk assessments have assumed an increasingly important role in the management of risks in this country. The determination of which pollutants or public health issues are to be regulated, the degree and extent of regulation, and the priority assigned to particular problems are all areas of risk assessment that influence the country's $100 billion annual investment in environmental protection. Recent trends in public policy have brought the practice of risk assessment under greater scrutiny. As policy makers increasingly insist that specific numerical risk levels (so-called bright lines) be incorporated into regulatory decisions, the stakes for good risk assessment practice, already high, are raised even further. Enhancing the scientific basis of risk assessments was a major goal of the Workshop on Exposure Databases. In this article, we present the Risk Assessment Work Group's evaluation of the use of exposurerelated databases in risk assessment and the group's recommendations for improvement. The work group's discussion focused on the availability, suitability, and quality of data that underly exposure assessments, a critical component of risk assessment. The work group established a framework for evaluation, based on exposure scenarios typically used in regulatory decisions. The scenarios included examples from Superfund, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and other regulatory programs. These scenarios were used to illustrate current use of exposure data, to highlight gaps in existing data sources, and to discuss how improved exposure information can improve risk assessments. The work group concluded that many of the databases available are designed for purposes that do not meet exposure and risk assessment needs. Substantial gaps exist in measurements of actual human exposure and in the data necessary to model exposures, to characterize distributions of exposure, to identify high-risk groups, and to identify possible environmental inequities in exposure. The work group, on the basis of its findings, made both short-term and longer-term recommendations for improving the collection of exposure data in the future.

Metabolic effects of enteral formula feeding in alcoholic hepatitis

The etiology of malnutrition and the metabolic effect of aggressive nutritional support by enteral feeding were evaluated in patients with moderately severe alcoholic hepatitis. Among 21 patients presenting with jaundice, ascites, coagulopathy and low grade encephalopathy, the mean digestibilities (intake - fecal excretion/intake x 100) of total energy and fat were subnormal at 74.6 +/- 2.9 and 64.5 +/- 4.4%, respectively, and nitrogen balance was negative in half the patients with a mean value of +0.74 gm per day +/- 1.2. Based on initial ad libitum intake of hospital diet, patients were grouped as six patients with adequate caloric intake who underwent a repeated 3-day balance study to assess the effect of hospitalization (Group I) and eight anorectic patients who underwent a repeat balance study during constant nasoduodenal infusion of the liquid formula Isocal-HCN in an amount sufficient to provide 35 kcal per kg ideal body weight (Group II). During the initial phase of hospital tray diet, the mean digestibilities of energy, fat, protein and carbohydrate, and the mean nitrogen balance were similar in each group. The digestibilities of each diet constituent and nitrogen balance were similar in both phases of hospital tray diet in patients in Group I. On the other hand, the infusion of Isocal-HCN to patients in Group II resulted in significant increases over their baseline values in intakes of energy and protein and in digestibilities of energy, fat and protein, and in a 5-fold increase in nitrogen balance. Provision of essential nutrients by enteric infusion had no effect on fluid balance or degree of encephalopathy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Clinical and nutritional implications of radiation enteritis

The clinical and nutritional significance of radiation enteritis was assessed in eight patients with chronic diarrhea which followed curative doses of radiotherapy for pelvic malignancies. Steatorrhea, found in seven malnourished patients, was ascribed to ileal disease or previous surgery, or to bacterial contamination of the small intestine. Lactose intolerance, assessed by breath hydrogen excretion after oral lactose and by jejunal lactase levels, was found in six patients. In a subgroup of five patients, the administration of two different defined formula liquid diets by nasoduodenal infusion decreased fecal fluid and energy losses by about one-half. Compared to Vivonex-HN, the infusion of Criticare-HN was associated with greater likelihood of intestinal gas production but a three-fold greater utilization of protein. Intestinal malabsorption and malnutrition in radiation enteritis has diverse etiologies. Whereas nutritional support by liquid diet limits fecal fluid and energy losses, these diets differ significantly in clinical tolerance and biologic value.

Plasma lipid changes in young adult couples consuming polyunsaturated meats and dairy products

Twenty-five young couples consumed either a saturated or polyunsaturated fat diet for a 20-week period. The polyunsaturated beef, lamb and dairy products, high in linoleic acid, were produced by feeding ruminant animals "protected lipid" feeds which prevent hydrogenation of fats in the rumen. The experimental design provided for four dietary groups: A) saturated diet for 20 weeks; B) polyunsaturated diet for 20 weeks; C) saturated diet for 10 weeks then polyunsaturated diet for 10 weeks; and D) polyunsaturated for 10 weeks then saturated diet for 10 weeks. Polyunsaturated-to-saturated ratios (linoleic: total saturated fatty acids) for the diets were: prestudy, 0.43-0.56; saturated 0.11-0.14; polyunsaturated, 0.56-0.62. Factors other than diet that appeared to affect cholesterol responses were carefully considered. During the initial 3 weeks (regimentation period) plasma cholesterol concentration decreased in all groups irrespective of diet. This was followed by two experimental periods in which the effects of the prescribed diets were readily apparent (response periods I and II). The final 4 weeks of the study were characterized by diminishing compliance with the dietary discipline (abatement period). Subjects in each group (A,B,C,D) were subdivided into high and low on a basis of each group's initial median cholesterol level. Those in the high subgroups were very responsive to dietary changes whereas those in the low subgroups were not. Combined responses of high subjects were: polyunsaturated diet, -10.7 mg/dl (P less than 0.025), saturated diet, d8 mg/dl (P less than 0.05). Combined difference between saturated and polyunsaturated diets was 18.5 mg/dl or approximately a 10% cholesterol difference between the experimental polyunsaturated and saturated diets.