Sky-wave over-the-horizon radar simulation tool

This work deals with the entire process of target detection and ranging by a sky-wave over-the-horizon radar (OTHR) computational model simulation. The different processing stages of the transmitted signal along its space-time trajectory from transmission to digital signal processing are modelled. With this simulation tool a moving target present over the sea can be detected according to a set of given initial conditions together with the ionosphere model inputs and the target electromagnetic model. Initial conditions as well as the modulation and filtering options among other parameters of the model can be set easily. The present work is intended to be a further contribution to OTHR studies, providing a user-friendly tool of easy application in order to improve a radar design, facilitate its implementation, as well as for debugging algorithms and signal processing techniques.Fil: Saavedra, Zenon. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología. Departamento de Electricidad, Electrónica y Computación. Laboratorio de Telecomunicaciones; ArgentinaFil: Zimmerman, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología. Departamento de Electricidad, Electrónica y Computación. Laboratorio de Telecomunicaciones; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Miguel Angel. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología. Departamento de Electricidad, Electrónica y Computación. Laboratorio de Telecomunicaciones; ArgentinaFil: Elias, Ana Georgina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Física del Noroeste Argentino. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet Noa Sur. Instituto de Física del Noroeste Argentino; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentin

Disentangling Vacancy Oxidation on Metallicity-Sorted Carbon Nanotubes

Pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are rather inert to O$_2$ and N$_2$, which for low doses chemisorb only on defect sites or vacancies of the SWCNTs at the ppm level. However, very low doping has a major effect on the electronic properties and conductivity of the SWCNTs. Already at low O$_2$ doses (80 L), the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) O 1s signal becomes saturated, indicating nearly all the SWCNT's vacancies have been oxidized. As a result, probing vacancy oxidation on SWCNTs via XPS yields spectra with rather low signal-to-noise ratios, even for metallicity-sorted SWCNTs. We show that, even under these conditions, the first principles density functional theory calculated Kohn-Sham O 1s binding energies may be used to assign the XPS O 1s spectra for oxidized vacancies on SWCNTs into its individual components. This allows one to determine the specific functional groups or bonding environments measured. We find the XPS O 1s signal is mostly due to three O-containing functional groups on SWCNT vacancies: epoxy (C$_2$$>$O), carbonyl (C$_2$$>$C$=$O), and ketene (C$=$C$=$O), as ordered by abundance. Upon oxidation of nearly all the SWCNT's vacancies, the central peak's intensity for the metallic SWCNT sample is 60\% greater than for the semiconducting SWCNT sample. This suggests a greater abundance of O-containing defect structures on the metallic SWCNT sample. For both metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs, we find O$_2$ does not contribute to the measured XPS O~1s spectra

An observational study to evaluate three pilot programmes of retesting chlamydia-positive individuals within 6 months in the South West of England

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate 3 pilot chlamydia retesting programmes in South West England which were initiated prior to the release of new National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) guidelines recommending retesting in 2014. METHODS: Individuals testing positive between August 2012 and July 2013 in Bristol (n=346), Cornwall (n=252) and Dorset (n=180) programmes were eligible for inclusion in the retesting pilots. The primary outcomes were retest within 6 months (yes/no) and repeat diagnosis at retest (yes/no), adjusted for area, age and gender. RESULTS: Overall 303/778 (39.0%) of participants were retested within 6 months and 31/299 (10.4%) were positive at retest. Females were more likely to retest than males and Dorset had higher retesting rates than the other areas. CONCLUSIONS: More than a third of those eligible were retested within the time frame of the study. Chlamydia retesting programmes appear feasible within the context of current programmes to identify individuals at continued risk of infection with relatively low resource and time input

New variants of alpha-1-antitrypsin : structural simulations and clinical expression

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is characterized by reduced serum levels of the AAT protein and predisposes to liver and lung disease. The characterization at structural level of novel pathogenic SERPINA1 mutants coding for circulating AAT could provide novel insights into the mechanisms of AAT misfolding. The present study aimed to provide a practical framework for the identification and analysis of new AAT mutations, combining structural simulations and clinical data. We analysed a total of five mutations (four not previously described) in a total of six subjects presenting moderate to severe AATD: Gly95Alafs*18, Val210Glu, Asn247Ser, Pi*S + Asp341His and Pi*S + Leu383Phe + Lys394Ile. Clinical data, genotyping and phenotyping assays, structural mapping, and conformational characterization through molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were developed and combined. Newly discovered AAT missense variants were localized both on the interaction surface and the hydrophobic core of the protein. Distribution of mutations across the structure revealed Val210Glu at the solvent exposed s4C strand and close to the "Gate" region. Asn247Ser was located on the accessible surface, which is important for glycan attachment. On the other hand, Asp341His, Leu383Phe were mapped close to the "breach" and "shutter" regions. MD analysis revealed the reshaping of local interactions around the investigated substitutions that have varying effects on AAT conformational flexibility, hydrophobic packing, and electronic surface properties. The most severe structural changes were observed in the double- and triple-mutant (Pi*S + Asp341His and Pi*S + Leu383Phe + Lys394Ile) molecular models. The two carriers presented impaired lung function. The results characterize five variants, four of them previously unknown, of the SERPINA1 gene, which define new alleles contributing to the deficiency of AAT. Rare variants might be more frequent than expected, and therefore, in discordant cases, standardized screening of the S and Z alleles needs complementation with gene sequencing and structural approaches. The utility of computational modelling for providing supporting evidence of the pathogenicity of rare single nucleotide variations is discussed. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-022-02271-8

An HPV 16 L1-based chimeric human papilloma virus-like particles containing a string of epitopes produced in plants is able to elicit humoral and cytotoxic T-cell activity in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Even though two prophylactic vaccines against HPV are currently licensed, infections by the virus continue to be a major health problem mainly in developing countries. The cost of the vaccines limits wide-scale application in poor countries. A promising strategy for producing affordable and efficient vaccines involves the expression of recombinant immunogens in plants. Several HPV genes have been expressed in plants, including L1, which can self-assemble into virus-like particles. A plant-based, dual prophylactic/therapeutic vaccine remains an attractive possibility.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We sought to express in tomato plants chimeric HPV 16 VLPs containing L1 fused to a string of epitopes from HPV 16 E6 and E7 proteins. The L1 employed had been modified to eliminate a strong inhibitory region at the 5' end of the molecule to increase expression levels. Several tomato lines were obtained expressing either L1 alone or L1-E6/E7 from 0.05% to 0.1% of total soluble protein. Stable integration of the transgenes was verified by Southern blot. Northern and western blot revealed successful expression of the transgenes at the mRNA and protein level. The chimeric VLPs were able to assemble adequately in tomato cells. Intraperitoneal administration in mice was able to elicit both neutralizing antibodies against the viral particle and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes activity against the epitopes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this work, we report for the first time the expression in plants of a chimeric particle containing the HPV 16 L1 sequence and a string of T-cell epitopes from HPV 16 E6 and E7 fused to the C-terminus. The particles were able to induce a significant antibody and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes response. Experiments <it>in vivo </it>are in progress to determine whether the chimeric particles are able to induce regression of disease and resolution of viral infection in mice. Chimeric particles of the type described in this work may potentially be the basis for developing prophylactic/therapeutic vaccines. The fact that they are produced in plants, may lower production costs considerably.</p

Incidencias en Trichostrongylídeos en relación con los patrones de remolinos frontales en bovinos

La transmisión de los nematodes gastrointestinales trichostrongylideos de los rumiantes en pastoreo está asociada con la ingestión de sus larvas infectivas distribuidas en las pasturas. Con el objetivo de analizar si la incidencia de estas parasitosis en bovinos podría estar influenciada por la posición de los remolinos pilosos de la cabeza, fueron evaluadas las intensidades medias e Intervalos de confianza 95 % de los recuentos de huevos de nematodes por gramo de materia fecal (hpg) de 126 muestras pertenecientes a tres rodeos de bovinos Aberdeen Angus de 8 a 10 meses de edad. Los valores hallados para los animales con remolinos-altos fueron de 203.7 (155.6-259.3), 300.1 (200-440.1) y 360 (200-520), para animales con los remolinos-medios de 253.4 (173.3-360.1), 417 (216.6-600.7) y 416.7 (341.67-500) y para los animales con remolinos-bajos de 250 (186.4-318.2), 362.8 (212.5-525.5) y 433.6 (350.06-522.6) en los rodeos denominados Villegas, Zavalla y Tierra. En los tres rodeos, los bovinos con remolinos medios y bajos presentaron tendencias mayores en sus incidencias medias, mientras que en los animales con remolinos pilosos altos, las incidencias medias tendieron a ser más bajas. Otros factores, además del comportamiento, pueden influir en las intensidades del parasitismo por nematodes trichostrongylideos según los tipos de remolinos. Entender las diferencias probablemente esté asociado a explicar cómo se conforma el estilo de pastoreo en los grupos de animales en relación a cada subtipo en la zona de ingesta.Transmission of gastrointestinal nematodes from grazing ruminants is associated with the ingestion of their infective larvae distributed in pastures. In order to analyze if the incidence of parasitism in cattle could be influenced by associated to hair whorl position of the head, the mean intensities and 95% confidence intervals of nematode egg counts were evaluated by gram of fecal material (epg) of 126 samples cattle of 8 to 10 months old in three ranchs of Aberdeen Angus. The values were for animals with high whorl 203.7 (155.6-259.3), 300.1 (200-440.1) and 360 (200-520), for animals with middle whorl 253.4 (173.3-360.1), 417 (216.6)-600.7) and 416.7 (341.67-500), and for animals with low whorl 250 (186.4-318.2), 362.8 (212.5-525.5) and 433.6 (350.06-522.6) in the herds Villegas, Zavalla and Tierra. In the three rodeos, the animals with medium and low whorl presented higher trends in their mean incidences, while in animals with high hair whorl, the average incidences tended to be lower. Other factors, besides behavior, can influence the intensities of parasitism by trichostrongylid nematodes according to the types of swirls. Understanding the differences is probably associated with explaining how the grazing style is conformed in the groups of animals in relation to each subtype in the intake zone.EEA General VillegasFil: Ardusso, Gerardo L. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Lacovara, Martin Andres. Becario INTA-AUDEAS CONADEV; ArgentinaFil: Graziati, Georgina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Angulo Lewille, M. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Kleinerman, Gabriela. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Koret School of Veterinary Medicine; IsraelFil: Buffarini, Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria General Villegas; ArgentinaFil: Giudici, Claudio. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Study protocol for an observational cohort evaluating incidence and clinical relevance of perioperative elevation of high-sensitivity troponin I and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in patients undergoing lung resection

INTRODUCTION: Myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery has been defined as myocardial injury due to ischaemia, with or without additional symptoms or ECG changes occurring during or within 30 days after non-cardiac surgery and mainly diagnosed based on elevated postoperative cardiac troponin (cTn) values. In patients undergoing thoracic surgery for lung resection, only postoperative cTn elevations are seemingly not enough as an independent predictor of cardiovascular complications. After lung resection, troponin elevations may be regulated by mechanisms other than myocardial ischaemia. The combination of perioperative natriuretic peptide measurement together with high-sensitivity cTns may help to identify changes in ventricular function during thoracic surgery. Integrating both cardiac biomarkers may improve the predictive value for cardiovascular complications after lung resection. We designed our cohort study to evaluate perioperative elevation of both high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients undergoing lung resection and to establish a risk score for major cardiovascular postoperative complications. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study, including 345 patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery for lung resection. Cardiac biomarkers such as hs-TnI and NT-proBNP will be measured preoperatively and at postoperatively on days 1 and 2. We will calculate a risk score for major cardiovascular postoperative complications based on both biomarkers' perioperative changes. All patients will be followed up for 30 days after surgery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: All participating centres were approved by the Ethics Research Committee. Written informed consent is required for all patients before inclusion. Results will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national or international conference meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04749212