High intensity tapping regime in a frustrated lattice gas model of granular compaction

In the frame of a well established lattice gas model for granular compaction, we investigate the high intensity tapping regime where a pile expands significantly during external excitation. We find that this model shows the same general trends as more sophisticated models based on molecular dynamic type simulations. In particular, a minimum in packing fraction as a function of tapping strength is observed in the reversible branch of an annealed tapping protocol.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasInstituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológico

High intensity tapping regime in a frustrated lattice gas model of granular compaction

In the frame of a well established lattice gas model for granular compaction, we investigate the high intensity tapping regime where a pile expands significantly during external excitation. We find that this model shows the same general trends as more sophisticated models based on molecular dynamic type simulations. In particular, a minimum in packing fraction as a function of tapping strength is observed in the reversible branch of an annealed tapping protocol.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Recombinant BCG Vaccines Reduce Pneumovirus-Caused Airway Pathology by Inducing Protective Humoral Immunity

The Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (hRSV) and the Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) are two pneumoviruses that are leading agents causing acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) affecting young infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients worldwide. Since these pathogens were first discovered, many approaches for the licensing of safe and effective vaccines have been explored being unsuccessful to date. We have previously described that immunization with recombinant strains of Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (rBCG) expressing the hRSV nucleoprotein (rBCG-N) or the hMPV phosphoprotein (rBCG-P) induced immune protection against each respective virus. These vaccines efficiently promoted viral clearance without significant lung damage, mainly through the induction of a T helper 1 cellular immunity. Here we show that upon viral challenge, rBCG-immunized mice developed a protective humoral immunity, characterized by production of antibodies specific for most hRSV and hMPV proteins. Further, isotype switching from IgG1 to IgG2a was observed in mice immunized with rBCG vaccines and correlated with an increased viral clearance, as compared to unimmunized animals. Finally, sera obtained from animals immunized with rBCG vaccines and infected with their respective viruses exhibited virus neutralizing capacity and protected naïve mice from viral replication and pulmonary disease. These results support the notion that the use of rBCG strains could be considered as an effective vaccination approach against other respiratory viruses with similar biology as hRSV and hMPV

Reversal of SARS-CoV2-Induced Hypoxia by Nebulized Sodium Ibuprofenate in a Compassionate Use Program

Introduction: Sodium ibuprofenate in hypertonic saline (NaIHS) administered directly to the lungs by nebulization and inhalation has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, with the potential to deliver these benefits to hypoxic patients. We describe a compassionate use program that offered this therapy to hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: NaIHS (50 mg ibuprofen, tid) was provided in addition to standard of care (SOC) to hospitalized COVID-19 patients until oxygen saturation levels of > 94% were achieved on ambient air. Patients wore a containment hood to diminish aerosolization. Outcome data from participating patients treated at multiple hospitals in Argentina between April 4 and October 31, 2020, are summarized. Results were compared with a retrospective contemporaneous control (CC) group of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with SOC alone during the same time frame from a subset of participating hospitals from Córdoba and Buenos Aires. Results: The evolution of 383 patients treated with SOC + NaIHS [56 on mechanical ventilation (MV) at baseline] and 195 CC (21 on MV at baseline) are summarized. At baseline, NaIHS-treated patients had basal oxygen saturation of 90.7 ± 0.2% (74.3% were on supplemental oxygen at baseline) and a basal respiratory rate of 22.7 ± 0.3 breath/min. In the CC group, basal oxygen saturation was 92.6 ± 0.4% (52.1% were on oxygen supplementation at baseline) and respiratory rate was 19.3 ± 0.3 breath/min. Despite greater pulmonary compromise at baseline in the NaIHS-treated group, the length of treatment (LOT) was 9.1 ± 0.2 gs with an average length of stay (ALOS) of 11.5 ± 0.3 days, in comparison with an ALOS of 13.3 ± 0.9 days in the CC group. In patients on MV who received NaIHS, the ALOS was lower than in the CC group. In both NaIHS-treated groups, a rapid reversal of deterioration in oxygenation and NEWS2 scores was observed acutely after initiation of NaIHS therapy. No serious adverse events were considered related to ibuprofen therapy. Mortality was lower in both NaIHS groups compared with CC groups. Conclusions: Treatment of COVID-19 pneumonitis with inhalational nebulized NaIHS was associated with rapid improvement in hypoxia and vital signs, with no serious adverse events attributed to therapy. Nebulized NaIHS s worthy of further study in randomized, placebo-controlled trials (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04382768).Fil: Salva, Oscar. Clínica Independencia; ArgentinaFil: Doreski, Pablo A.. Fundación Respirar; ArgentinaFil: Giler, Celia S.. Clínica Independencia; ArgentinaFil: Quinodoz, Dario C.. Sanatorio de la Cañada; ArgentinaFil: Guzmán, Lucia G.. Sanatorio de la Cañada; ArgentinaFil: Muñoz, Sonia Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Carrillo, Mariana Norma del Valle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Porta, Daniela Josefina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Ambasch, Germán. Sanatorio Privado Mayo; ArgentinaFil: Coscia, Esteban. Sanatorio Privado Mayo; ArgentinaFil: Tambini Diaz, Jorge L.. Sanatorio Privado Mayo; ArgentinaFil: Bueno, Germán D.. Sanatorio Privado Mayo; ArgentinaFil: Fandi, Jorge O.. Clínica Independencia; ArgentinaFil: Maldonado, Miriam A.. Sanatorio San Roque; ArgentinaFil: Peña Chiappero, Leandro E.. Sanatori San Roque; ArgentinaFil: Fournier, Fernando. Clínica Francesa; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Hernán A.. Sanatorio Alive; Argentina. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Quiroga, Mauro A.. Instituto Modelo de Cardiología; ArgentinaFil: Sala Mercado, Javier Agustin. Instituto Modelo de Cardiología; ArgentinaFil: Martínez Picco, Carlos. Clínica del Sol; ArgentinaFil: Beltrán, Marcelo Alejandro. Hospital Dr. Alberto Duhau; ArgentinaFil: Castillo Argañarás, Luis Fernando. Hospital Dr. Alberto Duhau; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ríos, Nicolás Martínez. Quimica Luar Srl; ArgentinaFil: Kalayan, Galia I.. Provincia de Córdoba. Ministerio de Ciencia y Técnica. Centro de Excelencia en Productos y Procesos de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Beltramo, Dante Miguel. Provincia de Córdoba. Ministerio de Ciencia y Técnica. Centro de Excelencia en Productos y Procesos de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Nestor Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; Argentina. Provincia de Córdoba. Ministerio de Ciencia y Técnica. Centro de Excelencia en Productos y Procesos de Córdoba; Argentin

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Influence of the length of hospitalisation in post-discharge outcomes in patients with acute heart failure: Results of the LOHRCA study

Objective: To investigate the relationship between length of hospitalisation (LOH) and post-discharge outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF) patients and to ascertain whether there are different patterns according to department of initial hospitalisation. Methods: Consecutive AHF patients hospitalised in 41 Spanish centres were grouped based on the LOH (15 days). Outcomes were defined as 90-day post-discharge all-cause mortality, AHF readmissions, and the combination of both. Hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted by chronic conditions and severity of decompensation, were calculated for groups with LOH >6 days vs. LOH <6 days (reference), and stratified by hospitalisation in cardiology, internal medicine, geriatrics, or short-stay units. Results: We included 8563 patients (mean age: 80 (SD = 10) years, 55.5% women), with a median LOH of 7 days (IQR 4–11): 2934 (34.3%) had a LOH 15 days. The 90-day post-discharge mortality was 11.4%, readmission 32.2%, and combined endpoint 37.4%. Mortality was increased by 36.5% (95%CI = 13.0–64.9) when LOH was 11–15 days, and by 72.0% (95%CI = 42.6–107.5) when >15 days. Conversely, no differences were found in readmission risk, and the combined endpoint only increased 21.6% (95%CI = 8.4–36.4) for LOH >15 days. Stratified analysis by hospitalisation departments rendered similar post-discharge outcomes, with all exhibiting increased mortality for LOH >15 days and no significant increments in readmission risk. Conclusions: Short hospitalisations are not associated with worse outcomes. While post-discharge readmissions are not affected by LOH, mortality risk increases as the LOH lengthens. These findings were similar across hospitalisation departments