Enterovirus strain and type-specific differences in growth kinetics and virus-induced cell destruction in human pancreatic duct epithelial HPDE cells

Enterovirus infections have been suspected to be involved in the development of type 1 diabetes. However, the pathogenetic mechanism of enterovirus-induced type 1 diabetes is not known. Pancreatic ductal cells are closely associated with pancreatic islets. Therefore, enterovirus infections in ductal cells may also affect beta-cells and be involved in the induction of type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of different enterovirus strains to infect, replicate and produce cytopathic effect in human pancreatic ductal cells. Furthermore, the viral factors that affect these capabilities were studied. The pancreatic ductal cells were highly susceptible to enterovirus infections. Both viral growth and cytolysis were detected for several enterovirus serotypes. However, the viral growth and capability to induce cytopathic effect (cpe) did not correlate completely. Some of the virus strains replicated in ductal cells without apparent cpe. Furthermore, there were strain-specific differences in the growth kinetics and the ability to cause cpe within some serotypes. Viral adaptation experiments were carried out to study the potential genetic determinants behind these phenotypic differences. The blind-passage of non-lytic CV-B6-Schmitt strain in HPDE-cells resulted in lytic phenotype and increased progeny production. This was associated with the substitution of a single amino acid (K257E) in the virus capsid protein VP1 and the viral ability to use decay accelerating factor (DAF) as a receptor. This study demonstrates considerable plasticity in the cell tropism, receptor usage and cytolytic properties of enteroviruses and underlines the strong effect of single or few amino acid substitutions in cell tropism and lytic capabilities of a given enterovirus. Since ductal cells are anatomically close to pancreatic islets, the capability of enteroviruses to infect and destroy pancreatic ductal cells may also implicate in respect to enterovirus induced type 1 diabetes. In addition, the capability for rapid adaptation to different cell types suggests that, on occasion, enterovirus strains with different pathogenetic properties may arise from less pathogenic ancestors. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

QoS-aware trust establishment for cloud federation

Cloud federation enables inter-layer resource exchanges among multiple, heterogeneous cloud service providers. This article proposes a Quality of Service (QoS) aware trust model for effective resource allocation in response to the various user requests within the Clouds4Coordination (C4C) federation system. This QoS mainly comprises of nine parameters combined into three categories: (i) node profile, (ii) reliability, and (iii) competence. Numerical values for these parameters are computed every ‘t’ seconds for each cloud provider. All values measured over an interval Δt are further processed by the proposed model to evaluate the utility associated with a provider (referred to as a discipline in the presented case study). The decision about interacting with a discipline in a collaborative project is based on this utility value. The systems architecture, evaluation methodology, proposed model, and experimental evaluation on a practical test bed is outlined. The proposed QoS-aware trust evaluation mechanism allows selection of the most useful (based on a utility value) providers. The proposed approach can be used to support federation of cloud services across a number of different application domains

Materials for Sustainable Nuclear Energy: A European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for All Reactor Generations

Nuclear energy is presently the single major low-carbon electricity source in Europe and is overall expected to maintain (perhaps eventually even increase) its current installed power from now to 2045. Long-term operation (LTO) is a reality in essentially all nuclear European countries, even when planning to phase out. New builds are planned. Moreover, several European countries, including non-nuclear or phasing out ones, have interests in next generation nuclear systems. In this framework, materials and material science play a crucial role towards safer, more efficient, more economical and overall more sustainable nuclear energy. This paper proposes a research agenda that combines modern digital technologies with materials science practices to pursue a change of paradigm that promotes innovation, equally serving the different nuclear energy interests and positions throughout Europe. This paper chooses to overview structural and fuel materials used in current generation reactors, as well as their wider spectrum for next generation reactors, summarising the relevant issues. Next, it describes the materials science approaches that are common to any nuclear materials (including classes that are not addressed here, such as concrete, polymers and functional materials), identifying for each of them a research agenda goal. It is concluded that among these goals are the development of structured materials qualification test-beds and materials acceleration platforms (MAPs) for materials that operate under harsh conditions. Another goal is the development of multi-parameter-based approaches for materials health monitoring based on different non-destructive examination and testing (NDE&T) techniques. Hybrid models that suitably combine physics-based and data-driven approaches for materials behaviour prediction can valuably support these developments, together with the creation and population of a centralised, “smart” database for nuclear materials

Flares in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterised by relapses and remissions. This study describes the frequency, type and time to flare in a cohort of SLE patients. Methods: SLE patients with one or more “A” or “B” BILAG2004 systems meeting flare criteria (“new” or ”worse” items) and requiring an increase in immunosuppression were recruited from nine UK centres and assessed at baseline and monthly for nine months. Subsequent flares were defined as: severe (any “A” irrespective of number of “Bs”), moderate (≥2 “Bs” without any “As”) and mild (one “B”). Results: Of the 100 patients, 94% were female, 61% white Caucasians, mean age (SD) was 40.7 years (12.7) and mean disease duration (SD) 9.3 years (8.1). A total of 195 flares re-occurred in 76 patients over 781 monthly assessments (flare rate of 0.25/patient-month). There were 37 severe flares, 32 moderate flares and 126 mild flares. By month one, 22% had a mild/moderate/severe flare and 22% had a severe flare by 7 months. The median time to any “A” or “B” flare was 4 months. Severe/moderate flares tend to be in the system/s affected at baseline whereas mild flares can affect any system. Conclusion: In a population with active SLE we observed an ongoing rate of flares from early in the follow-up period with moderate-severe flares being due to an inability to fully control the disease. This real-world population study demonstrates the limitations of current treatments and provides a useful reference population from which to inform future clinical trial design

University teachers’ profiles based on digital innovativeness and instructional adaptation to COVID-19: Association with learning patterns and teacher demographics

The purpose of this study was to understand the factors behind university teachers’ ability to implement instructional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire comprised of open-ended and Likert-scale questions was administered to teachers at a Finnish university in April 2020. The sample consisted of 378 university teachers who were categorised into four groups based on their digital innovativeness and the extent to which they implemented changes to adapt their teaching practices to COVID-19 restrictions: Avoider Survival Adapters, Avoider Ambitious Adapters, Embracer Survival Adapters, and Embracer Ambitious Adapters. We examined the association between the teacher groups and their learning patterns and background characteristics. The findings showed that Embracer Ambitious Adapters have significantly more meaning-oriented and application-oriented learning patterns than Embracer Survival Adapters, though Avoider Survival Adapters have more problematic learning patterns. Furthermore, the results indicated that pedagogical training and having more teaching experience helped innovative teachers embrace more changes in their teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of discipline, the results showed that teachers working in hard disciplines (e.g., physics) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Survival Adapters group, while teachers working in soft disciplines (e.g., history) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Ambitious Adapters group. Possible interpretations of these findings and perspectives for further research are discussed.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Dry-jet wet spinning of thermally stable lignin-textile grade polyacrylonitrile fibers regenerated from chloride-based ionic liquids compounds

In this paper, we report on the use of amorphous lignin, a waste by-product of the paper industry, for the production of high performance carbon fibers (CF) as precursor with improved thermal stability and thermo-mechanical properties. The precursor was prepared by blending of lignin with polyacrylonitrile (PAN), which was previously dissolved in an ionic liquid. The fibers thus produced offered very high thermal stability as compared with the fiber consisting of pure PAN. The molecular compatibility, miscibility, and thermal stability of the system were studied by means of shear rheological measurements. The achieved mechanical properties were found to be related to the temperature-dependent relaxation time (consistence parameter) of the spinning dope and the diffusion kinetics of the ionic liquids from the fibers into the coagulation bath. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical tests (DMA) were utilized to understand in-depth the thermal and the stabilization kinetics of the developed fibers and the impact of lignin on the stabilization process of the fibers. Low molecular weight lignin increased the thermally induced physical shrinkage, suggesting disturbing effects on the semi-crystalline domains of the PAN matrix, and suppressed the chemically induced shrinkage of the fibers. The knowledge gained throughout the present paper allows summarizing a novel avenue to develop lignin-based CF designed with adjusted thermal stability

Association between Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Peridontitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease, the etiology of which remains only partially characterized. Strong evidence implicates chronic infections in the development and chronicity of autoimmune conditions. Recently, an association has been demonstrated between periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Such observations have led to the investigation of the possible role of periodontitis and oral dysbiosis in other systemic inflammatory conditions, including SLE. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is an association between SLE and periodontitis. Methods: MEDLINE via OVID, EMBASE via OVID, and PsycINFO via OVID databases were searched to identify eligible studies, screened by two independent authors and verified by a third. Studies comparing presence of periodontitis in SLE cases to controls without SLE were included. Data were extracted using a predefined table and papers were appraised using Down’s and Black tool. Mantel–Haenszel meta-analysis was performed using RevMan. Results: Eight case–control studies were included, with 487 SLE cases and a total of 1,383 participants. On meta-analysis of four studies, risk of periodontitis in SLE cases compared to controls was significantly greater with a risk ratio of 1.76 (95% CI 1.29–2.41, p = 0.0004). No statistical difference was found in individual measures of periodontitis, such as probing depth or clinical attachment loss, between SLE cases and controls. Conclusion: Our study found a statistically significant increased risk of periodontitis in patients with SLE compared to controls. This finding suggests a possible association between these two conditions. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this possible association

IRT analyses of the Swedish Dark Triad Dirty Dozen

Background: The Dark Triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) can be captured quickly with 12 items using the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (Jonason and Webster, 2010). Previous Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses of the original English Dark Triad Dirty Dozen have shown that all three subscales adequately tap into the dark domains of personality. The aim of the present study was to analyze the Swedish version of the Method: 570 individuals (nmales = 326, nfemales = 242, and 2 unreported), including university students and white-collar workers with an age range between 19 and 65 years, responded to the Swedish version of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (Garcia et al., 2017a,b).Results: Contrary to previous research, we found that the narcissism scale provided most information, followed by psychopathy, and finally Machiavellianism. Moreover, the psychopathy scale required a higher level of the latent trait for endorsement of its items than the narcissism and Machiavellianism scales. Overall, all items provided reasonable amounts of information and are thus effective for discriminating between individuals. The mean item discriminations (alphas) were 1.92 for Machiavellianism, 2.31 for narcissism, and 1.99 for psychopathy.Conclusion: This is the first study to provide IRT analyses of the Swedish version of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen. Our findings add to a growing literature on the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen scale in different cultures and highlight psychometric characteristics, which can be used for comparative studies. Items tapping into psychopathy showed higher thresholds for endorsement than the other two scales. Importantly, the narcissism scale seems to provide more information about a lack of narcissism, perhaps mirroring cultural conditions.</p

Nuclear structure and reaction studies at SPIRAL

The SPIRAL facility at GANIL, operational since 2001, is described briefly. The diverse physics program using the re-accelerated (1.2 to 25 MeV/u) beams ranging from He to Kr and the instrumentation specially developed for their exploitation are presented. Results of these studies, using both direct and compound processes, addressing various questions related to the existence of exotic states of nuclear matter, evolution of new "magic numbers", tunnelling of exotic nuclei, neutron correlations, exotic pathways in astrophysical sites and characterization of the continuum are discussed. The future prospects for the facility and the path towards SPIRAL2, a next generation ISOL facility, are also briefly presented.Comment: 48 pages, 27 figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics