Production of exotic atoms at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

We study in details the space-time dependence of the production of muonic, pionic, and other exotic atoms by the coherent photon exchange between nuclei at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. We show that a multipole expansion of the electromagnetic interaction yields an useful insight of the bound-free production mechanism which has not been explored in the literature. Predictions for the spatial, temporal, and angular distribution, as well as the total cross sections, for the production of exotic atoms are also included.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, version published in the Physical Review

THE INFLUENCE OF TWO DIFFERENT BRACES ON LATERAL PATELLAR DISPLACEMENT – A CADAVERIC STUDY

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) often occurs in young and physically active athletes (Taunton et al., 2002, Adirim & Cheng, 2003).It is generally accepted that a cause of PFPS is a malalignment of the patellofemoral joint. Bracing supply is commonly used for the treatment of PFPS. Several studies have shown that patellar bracing and taping improved PFPS (Lun et al., 2005, Warden et al., 2008). Crossley et al. (2009) found a reduced lateral patellar displacement and a decreased mean pain (mean pain was recorded on a 100 mm visual analog scale during single-leg squats) after patellar taping. A more medial displacement of the patella and a decrease in patellofemoral stress could lead to less patellofemoral pain (Powers et al., 2004). A more medial patellar displacement could result in a more centered patella. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two different braces on the alignment of the patella

Multicenter-study of operative treatment of intraligamentous tears of the anterior cruciate ligament in children and adolescents: Comparison of four different techniques

Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament in skeletally immature patients were operated with four different methods and their outcome compared to each other. Sixty-eight patients (33 males, 35 females), mean 12.5years, were treated in four different centers from 1984 to 2001. Twenty-eight patients underwent the ACL-reconstruction with hamstring grafts, 16 patients with bone-patella-bone autografts, 12 patients with quadriceps grafts and 12 patients with facia lata. The mean follow-up was 32months. Postoperative evaluation included radiographs, KT-1000/2000 stability measurements, Lysholm score, The Tegner activity scale and IKDC score. Neither leg length discrepancy nor angular deformities were noted. Mean KT-1000 difference was 2.1mm, mean postoperative Lysholm knee score 93.3, IKDC 87% normal or nearly normal. The Tegner index decreased from 6.6 to 5.7. In total, six patients developed instability due to an adequate trauma 1year after the index operation. Two patients showed mild arthrotic changes. All but two patients were able to return to the same level of preoperative sports participation. None of the four methods studied showed major differences in outcome compared to the other. No growth disturbance could be note

Identifying content to improve risk assessment communications within the Risk Profile: Literature reviews and focus groups with expert and non-expert stakeholders

Objective: To improve consumer decision making, the results of risk assessments on food, feed, consumer products or chemicals need to be communicated not only to experts but also to non-expert audiences. The present study draws on evidence from literature reviews and focus groups with diverse stakeholders to identify content to integrate into an existing risk assessment communication (Risk Profile). Methods: A combination of rapid literature reviews and focus groups with experts (risk assessors (n = 15), risk managers (n = 8)), and non-experts (general public (n = 18)) were used to identify content and strategies for including information about risk assessment results in the “Risk Profile” from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. Feedback from initial focus groups was used to develop communication prototypes that informed subsequent feedback rounds in an iterative process. A final prototype was validated in usability tests with experts. Results: Focus group feedback and suggestions from risk assessors were largely in line with findings from the literature. Risk managers and lay persons offered similar suggestions on how to improve the existing communication of risk assessment results (e.g., including more explanatory detail, reporting probabilities for individual health impairments, and specifying risks for subgroups in additional sections). Risk managers found information about quality of evidence important to communicate, whereas people from the general public found this information less relevant. Participants from lower educational backgrounds had difficulties understanding the purpose of risk assessments. User tests found that the final prototype was appropriate and feasible to implement by risk assessors. Conclusion: An iterative and evidence-based process was used to develop content to improve the communication of risk assessments to the general public while being feasible to use by risk assessors. Remaining challenges include how to communicate dose-response relationships and standardise quality of evidence ratings across disciplines.Peer Reviewe

Altered expression of cytokines in mice infected intranasally with two syncytial variants of Herpes simplex virus type 1

Immune evasion strategies are important for the onset and the maintenance of viral infections. Many viruses have evolved mechanisms to counteract or suppress the host immune response. We have previously characterized two syncytial (syn) variants of Herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1) strain F, syn14-1 and syn17-2, obtained by selective pressure with a natural carrageenan. These variants showed a differential pathology in vaginal and respiratory mucosa infection in comparison with parental strain. In this paper, we evaluated the modulation of immune response in respiratory mucosa by these HSV-1 variants. We observed altered levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-6 in lungs of animals infected with the syn14-1 and syn17-2 variants compared with the parental strain. Also, we detected differences in the recruitment of immune cells to the lung in syn variants infected mice. Both variants exhibit one point mutation in the sequence of the gene of glycoprotein D detected in the ectodomain of syn14-1 and the cytoplasmic tail of syn17-2. Results obtained in the present study contribute to the characterization of HSV-1 syn variants and the participation of the cellular inflammatory response in viral pathogenesis.Fil: Artuso, María Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Linero, Florencia Natalia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica. Laboratorio de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gazzaniga, Silvina Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Scolaro, Luis Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica. Laboratorio de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pujol, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Wainstok, Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Carlucci, Maria Josefina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Road salt emissions: A comparison of measurements and modelling using the NORTRIP road dust emission model

AbstractDe-icing of road surfaces is necessary in many countries during winter to improve vehicle traction. Large amounts of salt, most often sodium chloride, are applied every year. Most of this salt is removed through drainage or traffic spray processes but a certain amount may be suspended, after drying of the road surface, into the air and will contribute to the concentration of particulate matter. Though some measurements of salt concentrations are available near roads, the link between road maintenance salting activities and observed concentrations of salt in ambient air is yet to be quantified. In this study the NORTRIP road dust emission model, which estimates the emissions of both dust and salt from the road surface, is applied at five sites in four Nordic countries for ten separate winter periods where daily mean ambient air measurements of salt concentrations are available. The model is capable of reproducing many of the salt emission episodes, both in time and intensity, but also fails on other occasions. The observed mean concentration of salt in PM10, over all ten datasets, is 4.2 μg/m3 and the modelled mean is 2.8 μg/m3, giving a fractional bias of −0.38. The RMSE of the mean concentrations, over all 10 datasets, is 2.9 μg/m3 with an average R2 of 0.28. The mean concentration of salt is similar to the mean exhaust contribution during the winter periods of 2.6 μg/m3. The contribution of salt to the kerbside winter mean PM10 concentration is estimated to increase by 4.1 ± 3.4 μg/m3 for every kg/m2 of salt applied on the road surface during the winter season. Additional sensitivity studies showed that the accurate logging of salt applications is a prerequisite for predicting salt emissions, as well as good quality data on precipitation. It also highlights the need for more simultaneous measurements of salt loading together with ambient air concentrations to help improve model parameterisations of salt and moisture removal processes

SPRTN protease-cleaved MRE11 decreases DNA repair and radiosensitises cancer cells

Funding Information: This work was funded by CRUK Programme Grant C5255/A23755. Acknowledgements Mass spectrometry analysis was performed in the MS laboratory at the Target discovery institute—NDM (Oxford) led by Benedikt M. Kessler. We thank Drs. Eva McGrowder and Blaz Groselj for processing of primary bladder tumour samples to produce cell-free extracts. Data availability The LC-MS/MS proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE48 partner repository with the dataset identifier PXD017964 and 10.6019/PXD017964.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Spatial and temporal variations in ammonia emissions – a freely accessible model code for Europe

Deriving a parameterisation of ammonia emissions for use in chemistry-transport models (CTMs) is a complex problem as the emission varies locally as a result of local climate and local agricultural management. In current CTMs such factors are generally not taken into account. This paper demonstrates how local climate and local management can be accounted for in CTMs by applying a modular approach for deriving data as input to a dynamic ammonia emission model for Europe. Default data are obtained from information in the RAINS system, and it is demonstrated how this dynamic emission model based on these input data improves the NH<sub>3</sub> calculations in a CTM model when the results are compared with calculations obtained by traditional methods in emission handling. It is also shown how input data can be modified over a specific target region resulting in even further improvement in performance over this domain. The model code and the obtained default values for the modelling experiments are available as supplementary information to this article for use by the modelling community on similar terms as the EMEP CTM model: the GPL licencse v3

The International Workshop on Osteoarthritis Imaging Knee MRI Segmentation Challenge: A Multi-Institute Evaluation and Analysis Framework on a Standardized Dataset

Purpose: To organize a knee MRI segmentation challenge for characterizing the semantic and clinical efficacy of automatic segmentation methods relevant for monitoring osteoarthritis progression. Methods: A dataset partition consisting of 3D knee MRI from 88 subjects at two timepoints with ground-truth articular (femoral, tibial, patellar) cartilage and meniscus segmentations was standardized. Challenge submissions and a majority-vote ensemble were evaluated using Dice score, average symmetric surface distance, volumetric overlap error, and coefficient of variation on a hold-out test set. Similarities in network segmentations were evaluated using pairwise Dice correlations. Articular cartilage thickness was computed per-scan and longitudinally. Correlation between thickness error and segmentation metrics was measured using Pearson's coefficient. Two empirical upper bounds for ensemble performance were computed using combinations of model outputs that consolidated true positives and true negatives. Results: Six teams (T1-T6) submitted entries for the challenge. No significant differences were observed across all segmentation metrics for all tissues (p=1.0) among the four top-performing networks (T2, T3, T4, T6). Dice correlations between network pairs were high (>0.85). Per-scan thickness errors were negligible among T1-T4 (p=0.99) and longitudinal changes showed minimal bias (<0.03mm). Low correlations (<0.41) were observed between segmentation metrics and thickness error. The majority-vote ensemble was comparable to top performing networks (p=1.0). Empirical upper bound performances were similar for both combinations (p=1.0). Conclusion: Diverse networks learned to segment the knee similarly where high segmentation accuracy did not correlate to cartilage thickness accuracy. Voting ensembles did not outperform individual networks but may help regularize individual models.Comment: Submitted to Radiology: Artificial Intelligence; Fixed typo