Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Leveraging the Niche of Open Data for Disease Surveillance and Health Education

ObjectiveTo visualize the incidence of notifiable infectious diseasesspatially and interactively, we aimed to provide a friendly interfaceto access local epidemic information based on open data for healthprofessionals and the public.IntroductionTransparency of information on infectious disease epidemicsis crucial for not only public health workers but also the residentsin the communities. Traditionally, disease control departmentscreated official websites for displaying disease maps or epi-curveswith the confirmed case counts. The websites were usually veryformal and static, without interaction, animation, or even the aid ofspatial statistics. Therefore, we tried to take advantage of open dataand use a lightweight programming language, JavaScript, to createan interactive website, named “Taiwan Infectious Disease Map(http://ide.geohealth.tw/)“. With the website, we expect to providereal-time incidence information and related epidemiological featuresusing interactive maps and charts.MethodsThis study used infectious-disease-related open data from Taiwan’sopen data platform (http://data.gov.tw) maintained by the TaiwanCDC. It covers 70 types of infectious diseases starting from 2004, andthe latest status is updated every day. We then automatically bridgethis data into our database and calculate the age-adjusted incidencerate by annual census data and 2000 WH0 standard population.The spatial resolution is mostly at the township level, except thatresolution for sexually-transmitted infectious diseases is at the citylevel. The temporal resolution is month and year, except for denguefever, which is by week.We used R software to automatically compute incidence everyday, and also used its package named “spdep” to compute the spatialclusters of the selected infectious diseases online. In addition, weused JavaScript language, PHP, OpenLayers 3 and Highcharts toimplement interactive maps and charts. All the data and graphicalfigures from the charts viewed in this website can be downloadedfreely. The temporal animation slider can be played and paused atany time point. The health education button can directly link to anintroduction to the selected infectious disease maintained by theTaiwan CDC.ResultsThe website of the Taiwan Infectious Disease Map is displayedin Figure 1. The users can select the temporal precision, types ofinfectious diseases, spatial precision and the gender at the beginning.In this case, the left map is the spatial distribution of the cumulativeincidence of tuberculosis (TB) in 2016. The darker red color representshigher incidence. The right top panel is the ranking of TB incidenceamong 368 townships. The right middle panel is the ranking of TBincidence among 22 cities or counties. The right bottom panel is theannual TB incidence from 2004 to the current date. The highest TBincidence was 67.47 per 100,000 in 2004, and this declined sharply to15.92 per 100,000 in 2015.ConclusionsWith this user-friendly web application, the public and localpublic health workers can easily understand the current risk for theirtownships. The application can provide relevant health education forthe public to understand diseases and how to protect themselves. Thespatial clusters, gender distribution, age distribution, epi-curve andtop ten infectious diseases are all practical and important informationprovided from this website to assist in preventing and mitigating nextepidemic

Post-Treatment with Erinacine A, a Derived Diterpenoid of H. erinaceus, Attenuates Neurotoxicity in MPTP Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Hericium erinaceus, a valuable pharmaceutical and edible mushroom, contains potent bioactive compounds such as H. erinaceus mycelium (HEM) and its derived ethanol extraction of erinacine A, which have been found to regulate physiological functions in our previous study. However, HEM or erinacine A with post-treatment regimens also shows effects on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurotoxicity, but its mechanisms remain unknown. By using annexin-V–fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide staining and a 2’,7’ –dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA) staining assay, the cell death, cell viability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MMP+)-treated Neuro-2a (N2a) cells with or without erinacine A addition were measured, respectively. Furthermore, signaling molecules for regulating the p21/GADD45 cell death pathways and PAKalpha, p21 (RAC1) activated kinase 1 (PAK1) survival pathways were also detected in the cells treated with MPP+ and erinacine A by Western blots. In neurotoxic animal models of MPTP induction, the effects of HEM or erinacine A and its mechanism in vivo were determined by measuring the TH-positive cell numbers and the protein level of the substantia nigra through a brain histological examination. Our results demonstrated that post-treatment with erinacine A was capable of preventing the cytotoxicity of neuronal cells and the production of ROS in vitro and in vivo through the neuroprotective mechanism for erinacine A to rescue the neurotoxicity through the disruption of the IRE1α/TRAF2 interaction and the reduction of p21 and GADD45 expression. In addition, erinacine A treatment activated the conserved signaling pathways for neuronal survival via the phosphorylation of PAK1, AKT, LIM domain kinase 2 (LIMK2), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), and Cofilin. Similar changes in the signal molecules also were found in the substantia nigra of the MPTP, which caused TH+ neuron damage after being treated with erinacine A in the post-treatment regimens in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our data indicated a novel mechanism for post-treatment with erinacine A to protect from neurotoxicity through regulating neuronal survival and cell death pathways

Protective Effects of Hericium erinaceus Mycelium and Its Isolated Erinacine A against Ischemia-Injury-Induced Neuronal Cell Death via the Inhibition of iNOS/p38 MAPK and Nitrotyrosine

Hericium erinaceus, an edible mushroom, has been demonstrated to potentiate the effects of numerous biological activities. The aim of this study was to investigate whether H. erinaceus mycelium could act as an anti-inflammatory agent to bring about neuroprotection using a model of global ischemic stroke and the mechanisms involved. Rats were treated with H. erinaceus mycelium and its isolated diterpenoid derivative, erinacine A, after ischemia reperfusion brain injuries caused by the occlusion of the two common carotid arteries. The production of inflammatory cytokines in serum and the infracted volume of the brain were measured. The proteins from the stroke animal model (SAM) were evaluated to determine the effect of H. erinaceus mycelium. H. erinaceus mycelium reduced the total infarcted volumes by 22% and 44% at a concentration of 50 and 300 mg/kg, respectively, compared to the SAM group. The levels of acute inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor á, were all reduced by erinacine A. Levels of nitrotyrosine-containing proteins, phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) and homologous protein (CHOP) expression were attenuated by erinacine A. Moreover, the modulation of ischemia injury factors present in the SAM model by erinacine A seemed to result in the suppression of reactive nitrogen species and the downregulation of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), p38 MAPK and CHOP. These findings confirm the nerve-growth properties of Hericium erinaceus mycelium, which include the prevention of ischemic injury to neurons; this protective effect seems to be involved in the in vivo activity of iNOS, p38 MAPK and CHOP

The post-resuscitative urinalysis associate the survival of patients with non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether urine output and urinalysis results are predictive of survival and neurologic outcomes in patients with non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). METHODS: Information was obtained from 1,340 patients with non-traumatic OHCA who had achieved a sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Factors that were associated with survival in the post-resuscitative period were evaluated. The association between urine output and fluid challenge in the early resuscitative period was analyzed and compared between the survivors and the non-survivors. The results of the initial urinalysis, including the presence of proteinuria and other findings, were used to evaluate the severity of vascular protein leakage and survival. The association between proteinuria and the neurologic outcomes of the survivors was also analyzed. The clinical features of capillary leakage were examined during the post-resuscitative period. RESULTS: Of the 1,340 patients, 312 survived. A greater urine output was associated with a higher chance of survival. The initial urine output increased in proportion to the amount of fluid that was administered during early resuscitation in the emergency department for the survivors but not for the non-survivors (p<0.05). In the initial urinalysis, proteinuria was strongly associated with survival, and severe proteinuria indicated significantly poorer neurologic outcomes (p<0.05 for both comparisons). Proteinuria was associated with a risk of developing signs of capillary leakage, including body mass index gain and pitting edema (both p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The severity of proteinuria during the early post-resuscitative period was predictive of survival