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A first introduction is presented to the comparison between classical and relativistic gravitational effects related to planetary shape characterization. The Earth and the giant planets are the examples considered. The analysis is mainly devoted to relativistic and classical predictions of periastron shifts for equatorial or almost equatorial orbits around the Earth and the giant planets, which can be used as tools for determinations of the shape and density distribution. The ratios between relativistic (up to the Lense–Thirring order correction) and classical (resulting from the harmonic expansion) effects and their dependence on the orbit parameters are analyzed in order to identify the conditions improving the possibility to resolve mixed effects. In a complementary approach, predictions for freely falling test particles from relativistic corrections and classical harmonic expansions of the Earth and other planets are compared within the same shape characterization framework.

In this article, we study thin shells of matter connecting charged black string geometries with different values of the corresponding parameters. We analyze the matter content and the mechanical stability of the shells undergoing perturbations that preserve the cylindrical symmetry. Two different global configurations are considered: an interior geometry connected to an exterior one at the surface where the shell is placed, and two exterior geometries connected by a wormhole throat located at the shell position.

PurposeTo compare the safety of on- vs off-clamp robotic partial nephrectomy (RAPN).Methods302 patients with RENAL masses ≤ 10 were randomized to undergo on-clamp (150) vs off-clamp (152) RAPN (CLOCK trial—ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02287987) at seven institutions by one experienced surgeon per institution. Intra-operative data, complications, and positive surgical margins were compared.ResultsDue to a relevant rate of shift from the assigned treatment, the per-protocol analysis only was considered and the data from 129 on-clamp vs 91 off-clamp RAPNs analyzed. Tumor size (off-clamp vs on-clamp, 2.2 vs 3.0 cm, p < 0.001) and RENAL score (5 vs 6, p < 0.001) significantly differed. At univariate analysis, no differences were found regarding intra-operative estimated blood loss (off- vs on-clamp, 100 vs 100 ml, p = 0.7), post-operative complications rate (19% vs 26%, p = 0.2), post-operative anemia (Hb decrease > 2.5 g/dl 26% vs 27%, p = 0.9; transfusion rate 3.4% vs 6.3%, p = 0.5; re-intervention due to bleeding 1.1% vs 4%, p = 0.4), acute kidney injury (4% vs 6%, p = 0.8), and positive surgical margins (3.5% vs 8.2%, p = 0.1). At multivariate analysis accounting for tumor diameter and complexity, considering the on-clamp group as the reference category, a significant difference was noted in the off-clamp group exclusively for blood loss (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.09–0.52, p = 0.008).ConclusionsThe on-clamp and off-clamp approaches for RAPN showed a comparable safety profile.

In this article we study spherical thin-shell wormholes in five-dimensional Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet gravity. We show that configurations supported by non-exotic matter, that is matter satisfying the weak energy condition, are possible at the same time that traversability problems associated with strong radial tides at the throat can be avoided when suitable values of the parameters are adopted. Our construction is performed in such a way that it also allows for the admissible behaviour of the geometry in the whole spacetime.

Treatments given to cancer patients can cause negative side effects. For example, a treatment known as androgen deprivation therapy – which is used to reduce male sex hormone levels in prostate cancer patients – can lead to increased body fat percentage and decreased bone density. These adverse effects can have further negative impacts on patient health, such as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and fractures from falls from standing height or less, respectively. Understanding how androgen deprivation therapy contributes to these negative side effects may help clinicians better manage care and outcomes for patients with prostate cancer. Follicle stimulating hormone (or FSH for short) has roles in male and female reproduction but has also been linked to changes in body composition. For example, elevated FSH levels are associated with higher total fat body mass in post-menopausal women. While androgen deprivation therapy is known to alter FSH blood levels, the impact of this change in prostate cancer patients was not well understood. To investigate the effect of androgen deprivation therapy on FSH levels and body composition, Bergamini et al. used X-ray technology to measure total fat body mass in prostate cancer patients before and after undergoing 12 months of androgen deprivation therapy. The findings showed that patient FSH blood levels significantly decreased after 12 months of treatment. Higher FSH blood levels strongly correlated with increased total fat body mass after 12 months of treatment. The findings of this clinical trial suggest that FSH blood levels impact the body composition of patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy. As a result, FSH blood levels may be a suitable biomarker for identifying patients that are more likely to develop obesity and are therefore at greater risk of complications such as cardiovascular disease.

DNA adducts are considered an integrate measure of carcinogen exposure and the initial step of carcinogenesis. Their levels in more accessible peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) mirror that in the bladder tissue. In this study we explore whether the formation of PBL DNA adducts may be associated with bladder cancer (BC) risk, and how this relationship is modulated by genetic polymorphisms, environmental and occupational risk factors for BC. These complex interrelationships, including direct and indirect effects of each variable, were appraised using the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Within the framework of a hospital-based case/control study, study population included 199 BC cases and 213 non-cancer controls, all Caucasian males. Data were collected on lifetime smoking, coffee drinking, dietary habits and lifetime occupation, with particular reference to exposure to aromatic amines (AAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). No indirect paths were found, disproving hypothesis on association between PBL DNA adducts and BC risk. DNA adducts were instead positively associated with occupational cumulative exposure to AAs (p = 0.028), whereas XRCC1 Arg 399 (p<0.006) was related with a decreased adduct levels, but with no impact on BC risk. Previous findings on increased BC risk by packyears (p<0.001), coffee (p<0.001), cumulative AAs exposure (p = 0.041) and MnSOD (p = 0.009) and a decreased risk by MPO (p<0.008) were also confirmed by SEM analysis. Our results for the first time make evident an association between occupational cumulative exposure to AAs with DNA adducts and BC risk, strengthening the central role of AAs in bladder carcinogenesis. However the lack of an association between PBL DNA adducts and BC risk advises that these snapshot measurements are not representative of relevant exposures. This would envisage new scenarios for biomarker discovery and new challenges such as repeated measurements at different critical life stages.

Background: Urothelial bladder cancers (UBCs) are distinct in two main molecular subtypes, namely basal and luminal type. Subtypes are also diverse in term of immune contexture, providing a rationale for patient selection to immunotherapy. Methods: By digital microscopy analysis of a muscle-invasive BC (MIBC) cohort, we explored the density and clinical significance of CD66b+ tumor-associated-neutrophils (TAN) and CD3+ T cells. Bioinformatics analysis of UBC datasets and gene expression analysis of UBC cell lines were additionally performed. Results: Basal type BC contained a significantly higher density of CD66b+ TAN compared to the luminal type. This finding was validated on TCGA, GSE32894 and GSE124305 datasets by computing a neutrophil signature. Of note, basal-type MIBC display a significantly higher level of chemokines (CKs) attracting neutrophils. Moreover, pro-inflammatory stimuli significantly up-regulate CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL8 in 5637 and RT4 UBC cell lines and induce neutrophil chemotaxis. In term of survival, a high density of T cells and TAN was significantly associated to a better outcome, with TAN density showing a more limited statistical power and following a non-linear predicting model. Conclusions: TAN are recruited in basal type MIBC by pro-inflammatory CKs. This finding establishes a groundwork for a better understanding of the UBC immunity and its relevance.

The problem of time is a central feature of quantum cosmology: differing from ordinary quantum mechanics, in cosmology there is nothing \"outside\" the system which plays the role of clock, and this makes difficult the obtention of a consistent quantization. A possible solution is to assume that a subset of the variables describing the state of the universe can be a clock for the remaining of the system. Following this line, in this book a new proposal consisting in the previous identification of time by means of gauge fixation is applied to the quantization of homogeneous cosmological models. Both path integral and canonical formulations are studied for relativistic and string cosmologies; in particular, a complete chapter about low energy string cosmology is included. The required basic concepts (as for example the Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity) are reviewed, so that the book can be of interest not only for a researcher but also for a student.

In this article we theoretically construct circular thin-shell wormholes in a 2 + 1 -dimensional spacetime. The construction is symmetric with respect to the throat. We present a general formalism for the study of the mechanical stability under perturbations preserving the circular symmetry of the configurations, adopting a linearized equation of state for the exotic matter at the throat. We apply the formalism to several examples.