Estimation of trigger rates, data rates and data volumes for CTA and observations of SNR RX J0852.0−4622 with H.E.S.S.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit zwei Aspekten der Gammastrahlungsastronomie. Einerseits studiert sie die Anforderungen an das zukünftige CTA-Observatorium für Gammastrahlung und präsentiert insbesondere Abschätzungen der Datenmengen, die während des Betriebs des Observatoriums anfallen werden. Für das größere CTA-Teleskopfeld auf der Südhalbkugel werden demnach eine Triggerate von 13 kHz und Datenraten von bis zu 2500 MB/s erwartet. Unter der Annahme, dass 15% der Zeit für Beobachtungen genutzt werden können, ergibt sich in 15 Jahren ein Datenvolumen von bis zu 165 PB. Die Implementation eines entsprechenden Systems zur Datenerfassung und -speicherung stellt eine Herausforderung dar, die jedoch mit existierenden Technik bewältigt werden kann. Andererseits befasst sie sich mit dem Supernovaüberrest RX J0852.0-4622 (auch bekannt als Vela Junior), präsentiert die Ergebnisse einer Analyse von Daten, die mit dem H.E.S.S.-Experiment genommen wurden, und geht der Frage nach, ob RX J0852.0-4622 ein kosmischer Teilchenbeschleuniger ist. Dabei erlauben die präzisen Messungen eine im Vergleich zu früheren Veröffentlichungen verbesserte Bestimmung der Eigenschaften der emittierenden Teilchenpopulation. Es ergibt sich, dass das Energiespektrum von RX J0852.0-4622 ein Potenzgesetz ist, das zu hohen Energien hin mit einer Abschneideenergie von 7.2 TeV exponentiell unterdrückt wird. Abschließend wird anhand von Simulation gezeigt, dass CTA die Abschneideenergie von RX J0852.0-4622 signifikant besser bestimmen können wird. Diese genauere Vermessung des Energiespektrums sollte dazu beitragen, den hadronischen oder leptonischen Charakter der Emission aufzuklären.This work focuses on two different aspects of gamma-ray astronomy. On the one hand, it studies the instrumental challenge posed by the future CTA Observatory by estimating the amount of data to be collected. Based on an analysis of simulated data, the more demanding southern array is expected to have an array trigger rate of 13 kHz, a data rate of up to 2500 MB/s and a data volume after 15 yr of operation and assuming a duty cycle of 15% of up to 165 PB. The design of the data acquisition and storage systems will be a challenge but should be manageable with existing technologies. On the other hand, it studies supernova remnants, by presenting analysis results of the gamma-ray data of the RX J0852.0-4622 supernova remnant (commonly known as Vela Junior) measured with the operating H.E.S.S. experiment and interpreting them in order to check the plausibility of RX J0852.0-4622 being a cosmic ray accelerator. The more precise measurements permit a better determination of the parent particle population properties with respect to previous publications. More precisely, a clear curvature of the spectrum of RX J0852.0-4622 is measured with an exponential energy cut-off at 7.2 TeV. Finally, the analysis of simulated data shows that CTA should be able to significantly improve the determination of the spectral energy cut-off of RX J0852.0-4622, which should help in identifying the nature of the gamma-ray emission

Evaluación de la eficacia de las intervenciones psicoeducativas en los trastornos del espectro autista

Este proyecto ha sido financiado por el Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias del Instituto de Salud Carlos III en el Programa de Promoción de la Investigación Biomédica y en Ciencias de la Salud para la realización de estudios de investigaciones sobre evaluación de tecnologías sanitarias e investigación en servicios de salud en el marco del Plan Nacional I+D+I 2004-2007, durante el año 2007, con el número de proyecto PI 07/90613.El objetivo prioritario de la presente revisión sistemática es analizar el esta doactual del conocimiento en relación a las intervenciones psicoeducativas en atención temprana en niños con un diagnóstico del espectro autista. Para ello se pretenden analizar las revisiones sistemáticas publicadas entre enero de 2000 y enero de 2009, y cuyo objetivo prioritario haya sido evaluar la efectividad y/o la eficacia de las intervenciones psicoeducativas para la mejora de cualquiera de los síntomas del espectro autista. Teniendo en cuenta este objetivo global, se pueden desprender del mismo algunos objetivos específicos que nos permitirán hacer un análisis pormenorizado de los resultados obtenidos a partir de la literatura

Neurologic outcomes of toxic oil syndrome patients 18 years after the epidemic.

Toxic oil syndrome (TOS) resulted from consumption of rapeseed oil denatured with 2% aniline and affected more than 20,000 persons. Eighteen years after the epidemic, many patients continue to report neurologic symptoms that are difficult to evaluate using conventional techniques. We conducted an epidemiologic study to determine whether an exposure to toxic oil 18 years ago was associated with current adverse neurobehavioral effects. We studied a case group of 80 adults exposed to toxic oil 18 years ago and a referent group of 79 adult age- and sex-frequency-matched unexposed subjects. We interviewed subjects for demographics, health status, exposures to neurotoxicants, and responses to the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), Programa Integrado de Exploracion Neuropsicologica (PIEN), and Goldberg depression questionnaires and administered quantitative neurobehavioral and neurophysiologic tests by computer or trained nurses. The groups did not differ with respect to educational background or other critical variables. We examined associations between case and referent groups and the neurobehavioral and neurophysiologic outcomes of interest. Decreased distal strength of the dominant and nondominant hands and increased vibrotactile thresholds of the fingers and toes were significantly associated with exposure to toxic oil. Finger tapping, simple reaction time latency, sequence B latency, symbol digit latency, and auditory digit span were also significantly associated with exposure. Case subjects also had statistically significantly more neuropsychologic symptoms compared with referents. Using quantitative neurologic tests, we found significant adverse central and peripheral neurologic effects in a group of TOS patients 18 years after exposure to toxic oil when compared with a nonexposed referent group. These effects were not documented by standard clinical examination and were found more frequently in women

National rare diseases registry in Spain: pilot study of the Spanish Rare Diseases Registries Research Network (SpainRDR)

Supplement 7th European Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products (ERCD 2014)Background The development of a national Rare Diseases (RD) registry in Spain was launched in 2012 with the project SpainRDR, supported by the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC). SpainRDR includes two different strategies: patient registries addressed to patient outcome research and population-based registries addressed to epidemiologic research, health and social planning [1]. The pilot study aims to detect the difficulties of developing the national and population-based RD registry

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

All-cause mortality in the cohorts of the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS) compared with the general population: 1997Ł2010

Abstract Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has produced significant changes in mortality of HIVinfected persons. Our objective was to estimate mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios and excess mortality rates of cohorts of the AIDS Research Network (RIS) (CoRIS-MD and CoRIS) compared to the general population. Methods: We analysed data of CoRIS-MD and CoRIS cohorts from 1997 to 2010. We calculated: (i) all-cause mortality rates, (ii) standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and (iii) excess mortality rates for both cohort for 100 personyears (py) of follow-up, comparing all-cause mortality with that of the general population of similar age and gender. Results: Between 1997 and 2010, 8,214 HIV positive subjects were included, 2,453 (29.9%) in CoRIS-MD and 5,761 (70.1%) in CoRIS and 294 deaths were registered. All-cause mortality rate was 1.02 (95% CI 0.91-1.15) per 100 py, SMR was 6.8 (95% CI 5.9-7.9) and excess mortality rate was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) per 100 py. Mortality was higher in patients with AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, and those from CoRIS-MD cohort (1997. Conclusion: Mortality among HIV-positive persons remains higher than that of the general population of similar age and sex, with significant differences depending on the history of AIDS or HCV coinfection