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Performance of diagnostic tests to detect respiratory viruses in older adults.
The performance of 4 laboratory methods for diagnosis of viral respiratory tract infections (RTI) in older adults was evaluated. Seventy-four nasopharyngeal (NP) swab specimens were obtained from 60 patients with RTI at a long-term care facility over 2 respiratory seasons. Sixteen specimens were positive for a respiratory virus by at least 1 method. Multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) by the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) detected 16 (100%) of the positive specimens, RVP of 24-h culture supernatant detected 8 (50%), direct fluorescent antibody testing detected 4 (25%), rapid culture detected 2 (12.5%), and rapid antigen testing detected none. For a comparison group, RVP was performed on NP swabs from 20 outpatient children with RTI. The mean fluorescence intensity by RVP was significantly lower for positive adult patients than pediatric patients (P = 0.0373). Our data suggest that older adult patients shed lower titers of viruses, necessitating a highly sensitive assay such as RT-PCR to reliably detect respiratory viral pathogens
Differential Gene Expression in Normal Human Mammary Epithelial Cells Treated with Malathion Monitored by DNA Microarrays
Organophosphate pesticides are a major source of occupational exposure in the United States. Moreover, malathion has been sprayed over major urban populations in an effort to control mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus. Previous research, reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on the genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of malathion has been inconclusive, although malathion is a known endocrine disruptor. Here, interindividual variations and commonality of gene expression signatures have been studied in normal human mammary epithelial cells from four women undergoing reduction mammoplasty. The cell strains were obtained from the discarded tissues through the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (sponsors: National Cancer Institute and National Disease Research Interchange). Interindividual variation of gene expression patterns in response to malathion was observed in various clustering patterns for the four cell strains. Further clustering identified three genes with increased expression after treatment in all four cell strains. These genes were two aldo–keto reductases (AKR1C1 and AKR1C2) and an estrogen-responsive gene (EBBP). Decreased expression of six RNA species was seen at various time points in all cell strains analyzed: plasminogen activator (PLAT), centromere protein F (CPF), replication factor C (RFC3), thymidylate synthetase (TYMS), a putative mitotic checkpoint kinase (BUB1), and a gene of unknown function (GenBank accession no. AI859865). Expression changes in all these genes, detected by DNA microarrays, have been verified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Differential changes in expression of these genes may yield biomarkers that provide insight into interindividual variation in malathion toxicity
Bi-partite entanglement entropy in integrable models with backscattering
In this paper we generalise the main result of a recent work by J. L. Cardy
and the present authors concerning the bi-partite entanglement entropy between
a connected region and its complement. There the expression of the leading
order correction to saturation in the large distance regime was obtained for
integrable quantum field theories possessing diagonal scattering matrices. It
was observed to depend only on the mass spectrum of the model and not on the
specific structure of the diagonal scattering matrix. Here we extend that
result to integrable models with backscattering (i.e. with non-diagonal
scattering matrices). We use again the replica method, which connects the
entanglement entropy to partition functions on Riemann surfaces with two branch
points. Our main conclusion is that the mentioned infrared correction takes
exactly the same form for theories with and without backscattering. In order to
give further support to this result, we provide a detailed analysis in the
sine-Gordon model in the coupling regime in which no bound states (breathers)
occur. As a consequence, we obtain the leading correction to the sine-Gordon
partition function on a Riemann surface in the large distance regime.
Observations are made concerning the limit of large number of sheets.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figure
Understanding older adults\u27 travel behaviour and mobility needs during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of the hierarchy of travel needs: a systematic review
Impact mitigation in environmental impact assessment: paper promises or the basis of consent conditions?
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