The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix

SARS-CoV-2-specific nasal IgA wanes 9 months after hospitalisation with COVID-19 and is not induced by subsequent vaccination

BACKGROUND: Most studies of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 focus on circulating antibody, giving limited insights into mucosal defences that prevent viral replication and onward transmission. We studied nasal and plasma antibody responses one year after hospitalisation for COVID-19, including a period when SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was introduced. METHODS: In this follow up study, plasma and nasosorption samples were prospectively collected from 446 adults hospitalised for COVID-19 between February 2020 and March 2021 via the ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. IgA and IgG responses to NP and S of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, Delta and Omicron (BA.1) variants were measured by electrochemiluminescence and compared with plasma neutralisation data. FINDINGS: Strong and consistent nasal anti-NP and anti-S IgA responses were demonstrated, which remained elevated for nine months (p < 0.0001). Nasal and plasma anti-S IgG remained elevated for at least 12 months (p < 0.0001) with plasma neutralising titres that were raised against all variants compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Of 323 with complete data, 307 were vaccinated between 6 and 12 months; coinciding with rises in nasal and plasma IgA and IgG anti-S titres for all SARS-CoV-2 variants, although the change in nasal IgA was minimal (1.46-fold change after 10 months, p = 0.011) and the median remained below the positive threshold determined by pre-pandemic controls. Samples 12 months after admission showed no association between nasal IgA and plasma IgG anti-S responses (R = 0.05, p = 0.18), indicating that nasal IgA responses are distinct from those in plasma and minimally boosted by vaccination. INTERPRETATION: The decline in nasal IgA responses 9 months after infection and minimal impact of subsequent vaccination may explain the lack of long-lasting nasal defence against reinfection and the limited effects of vaccination on transmission. These findings highlight the need to develop vaccines that enhance nasal immunity. FUNDING: This study has been supported by ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. ISARIC4C is supported by grants from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council. Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre provided infrastructure support for this research. The PHOSP-COVD study is jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation and National Institute of Health and Care Research. The funders were not involved in the study design, interpretation of data or the writing of this manuscript

Large-scale phenotyping of patients with long COVID post-hospitalization reveals mechanistic subtypes of disease

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain–gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials

STUDY ON IMPACT OF SALINE WATER INUNDATION ON FRESHWATER AQUACULTURE IN SUNDARBAN USING RISK ANALYSIS TOOLS

The impact of saline water inundation on freshwater aquaculture was evaluated through risk assessment tools. Fishponds in low-lying areas of Sagar and Basanti block are prone to saline water flooding. Respondents of Sagar block considered events like cyclone and coastal flooding as extreme risk; erratic monsoon, storm surge and land erosion as high risk; temperature rise, sea level rise, hot & extended summer and precipitation as medium risk. Likewise, in Basanti block the respondents rated cyclone as extreme risk; erratic monsoon, storm surge as high risk; temperature rise, hot & extended summer, land erosion, and precipitation as medium risk; coastal flooding and sea level rise as low risk. Fish farmers of Sagar block classified the consequences of saline water flooding like breach of pond embankment and mass mortality of fishes as extreme risk; escape of existing fish stock and diseases as high risk; entry of unwanted species, retardation of growth and deterioration of water quality as medium risk; and damage of pond environment as low risk. Farmers of Basanti block categorised breach of pond dyke, mass mortality of fishes and entry of unwanted species as extreme risk; escape of fish and diseases as high risk; retardation of growth as medium risk; deterioration of water quality and damage of pond environment as low risk. To reduce the threats against saline water ingression, farmers are taking some coping measures like increase in pond dyke height; repair and strengthening of dyke; plantation on dyke; dewatering and addition of fresh water; application of chemicals/ lime/ dung; addition of tree branches in pond for hide outs etc

Predicting Indian Ocean Cyclone Parameters Using an Artificial Intelligence Technique

Precise prediction of a cyclone track with wind speed, pressure, landfall point, and the time of crossing the land are essential for disaster management and mitigation, including evacuation processes. In this paper, we use an artificial neural network (ANN) approach to estimate the cyclone parameters. For this purpose, these parameters are obtained from the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since ANN benefits from a large number of data points, each cyclone track is divided into different segments. We use past information to predict the geophysical parameters of a cyclone. The predicted values are compared with the observations

Effect of salinity on survival and growth of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man)

Two independent experiments were performed to determine the effects of salinity on survival and growth of juvenile Macrobrachium rosenbergii, first one was to determine the median lethal salinity (MLS-5096 h) and second one was to assess the survival and growth at different sub-lethal salinities under field condition. In MLS-5096 h study 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 ppt salinities were used to initially find out the salinity tolerance range. Accordingly, a definitive salinity tolerance test was done in next phase to find out exact median lethal salinity by directly transferring the test species to 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 ppt salinity for 96 h. The median lethal salinity of M. rosenbergii was estimated at 24.6 ppt. In the second experiment, survival and growth performances of the prawn were recorded at different sub-lethal salinities viz., 5, 10, 15 and 20 ppt along with 0 ppt as control during 60 days culture period. The prawn exhibited lowest final average weight at 20 ppt salinity and significantly highest at 10 ppt salinity. Highest SGR and weight gain were obtained at 10 ppt followed by 5 ppt, 15 ppt and 0 ppt salinity but differences among treatment were not significant (P > 0.05). Survival rate of prawn varied between 91% (at 0 ppt) and 78% (at 20 ppt). The prawn grew and survived satisfactorily at 0–15 ppt salinities, implying that the species can be cultured commercially at wide salinity range. M. rosenbergii can be considered as an ideal species to promote, in view of current and future climate variables as more and more coastal areas of India are going to be vulnerable to saline water inundation

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Operations management teaching on European MBA programmes

A comprehensive review of the literature established that several investigations have been made of operations management teaching in the USA, whereas almost nothing has been published on European teaching. Therefore, an exploratory investigation was made of operations management teaching on the MBA courses of ten leading European business schools. The results show that course content is similar across schools, but there are large variations on three dimensions: the time allocated by schools to the subject; the balance between operations strategy and tools and techniques in teaching; and the level of emphasis given to service operations. The results also indicate the emerging importance of integrating operations management with other subjects in the MBA curriculum and the key challenge facing faculty - the need to raise the perceived importance of operations management. The comparison of courses will be of interest to all operations management faculty who teach core courses and particularly those who are looking for ideas on how to re-design courses