Remote Inspection, Measurement and Handling for LHC

Personnel access to the LHC tunnel will be restricted to varying extents during the life of the machine due to radiation, cryogenic and pressure hazards. The ability to carry out visual inspection, measurement and handling activities remotely during periods when the LHC tunnel is potentially hazardous offers advantages in terms of safety, accelerator down time, and costs. The first applications identified were remote measurement of radiation levels at the start of shut-down, remote geometrical survey measurements in the collimation regions, and remote visual inspection during pressure testing and initial machine cool-down. In addition, for remote handling operations, it will be necessary to be able to transmit several real-time video images from the tunnel to the control room. The paper describes the design, development and use of a remotely controlled vehicle to demonstrate the feasibility of meeting the above requirements in the LHC tunnel. Design choices are explained along with operating experience to-date and future development plans

Affinity purification of human DNA repair/transcription factor TFIIH using epitope-tagged xeroderma pigmentosum B protein

TFIIH is a high molecular weight complex with a remarkable dual function in nucleotide excision repair and initiation of RNA polymerase II transcription. Mutations in the largest subunits, the XPB and XPD helicases, are associated with three inherited disorders: xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne's syndrome, and trichothiodystrophy. To facilitate the purification and biochemical characterization of this intricate complex, we generated a cell line stably expressing tagged XPB, allowing the

Tradução e validação para a língua portuguesa da escala de graduação da síndrome das pernas inquietas do Grupo Internacional do Estudo da Síndrome das Pernas Inquietas

BACKGROUND: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a chronic sensory-motor disorder characterized by unpleasant limb sensations and an irresistible urge to move. The International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group developed the Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale (IRLS) to assess the severity of RLS symptoms. The objective of this study was to translate and validate the IRLS into Brazilian Portuguese. METHOD: The IRLS was translated into Brazilian Portuguese, analyzed, back translated to English, and compared to the original version. It was applied to 10 patients for cultural verification. The language was adjusted and the final version was administered to 30 patients (13 male, mean age 58.88±14.82). RESULTS: There was correlation among the IRLS evaluation of three experts. Many linguistic adaptations were required to achieve cultural adequacy and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient showed reliability of 80%. CONCLUSION: IRLS was translated, adapted, and validated to Brazilian Portuguese language, showing good reliability and validity.INTRODUÇÃO: A síndrome das pernas inquietas (SPI) é uma doença crônica, sensório-motora, caracterizada por sensações desagradáveis nos membros e uma urgência em movimentá-los. O Grupo Internacional de Estudos da Síndrome das Pernas Inquietas desenvolveu a Escala de Graduação da Síndrome das Pernas Inquietas (EGSPI) para avaliar a gravidade dos sintomas da SPI. OBJETIVO: Traduzir, adaptar culturalmente e validar a EGSPI para o português do Brasil. MÉTODO: A escala foi vertida para o português, analisada, vertida novamente para o inglês e comparada com a versão original. Foi aplicada em 10 pacientes para adequação cultural. A linguagem foi ajustada e a versão final foi aplicada em 30 pacientes (13 homens, idade média de 58,88±14,82). RESULTADOS: Houve correlação da aplicação da escala entre três avaliadores. Foram necessárias adaptações lingüísticas para adequação cultural e o alfa de Chronbach mostrou confiabilidade de 80%. CONCLUSÃO: A EGSPI foi traduzida, adequada e validada para o português do Brasil, com boa validade e confiabilidade.Federal University of São Paulo Department of NeurologyFederal University of São Paulo Department of MedicineFederal University of São Paulo Hospital São Paulo Sleep LaboratoryUNIFESP, Department of NeurologyUNIFESP, Department of MedicineUNIFESP, Hospital São Paulo Sleep LaboratorySciEL

Oral anticoagulant therapy at hospital admission associates with lower mortality in older COVID-19 patients with atrial fibrillation. An insight from the Covid Registry

FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Type of funding sources: None. ONBEHALF: the GeroCovid Investigators Introduction. Atrial fibrillation (AF), the arrhythmia most frequently diagnosed in older patients, associates with serious, thrombo-embolic, complications and high mortality. COVID-19 severely affects aged subjects, determining an important prothrombotic status. Purpose. Aim of this study was to evaluate mortality-related factors in older AF patients with COVID-19.  Methods. We included 806 in-hospital COVID-19 patients aged 60 years or more hospitalized between March 1st and June 6th 2020 and enrolled in a multicenter observational study. Results. The prevalence of AF was 21.8%. In-hospital mortality was higher in the AF group (36.9 vs. 27.5%; p = 0.015). Among AF patients, those who survived were younger (81 ± 8 vs. 84 ± 7 years; p = 0.002), had a lower CHA2DS2-VASc score (3.9 ± 1.6 vs. 4.4 ± 1.3; p = 0.02) and were more frequently treated with oral anticoagulants at admission (63.1 vs. 32.3%; p < 0.001) than those who died in hospital. At multivariable logistic regression analysis, lower age (p = 0.042), a better functional profile (p = 0.007), less severe COVID-19 manifestations at admission (p = 0.001), and the use of Vitamin K antagonists (OR = 0.16, 95%CI: 0.03-0.84; p = 0.031) or DOACs (OR = 0.22, 95%CI: 0.08-0.56; p = 0.002), compared to antiplatelet therapy or no treatment at all, were associated with a lower chance of in-hospital death. Conclusions. AF is a prevalent condition and a severity factor in older COVID-19 patients. Advanced age, dependency and severe clinical manifestations of disease characterized older AF subjects with a worse prognosis. Interestingly, pre-admission anticoagulant therapy correlated positively with in-hospital survival

Psychological Well-Being of Older Adults With Cognitive Deterioration During Quarantine: Preliminary Results From the GeroCovid Initiative

Objectives: The spread of COVID-19 has undeniably unsettled the social, psychological and emotional life of the entire world population. Particular attention should be paid to older adults with dementia, given their vulnerability to emotional stressors. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the impact of the first wave quarantine related to Covid-19 on psychological and affective well-being of older adults with mild/major neurocognitive disorders and of their caregivers.Methods: Data on participants' assessment before the quarantine (PREQ) were retrospectively collected. Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia were recruited from different Centers for Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Italy. During the quarantine, psychological and affective well-being were evaluated by phone through the administrations of scales measuring anxiety and depression (DASS), perceived stress (PSS), coping strategies (COPE) and the caregivers' burden (CBI). The scales' results were compared across participants' PREQ cognitive level (Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE ≥25, 23–24, and ≤ 22) with multiple linear regression models.Results: The sample included 168 patients (64% women) with a mean age of 79 ± 7 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, more severe cognitive impairment was independently associated with higher DASS and PSS score, and poorer coping strategies (p &lt; 0.05). Cognitive functioning was also inversely associated with CBI.Conclusions: The impact of the quarantine on the psycho-affective well-being of individuals with MCI and dementia and on caregivers' burden varies according to the PREQ cognitive functioning with more severely impaired patients having worse outcomes

Modelling pathogen load dynamics to elucidate mechanistic determinants of host-Plasmodium falciparum interactions

During infection, increasing pathogen load stimulates both protective and harmful aspects of the host response. The dynamics of this interaction are hard to quantify in humans, but doing so could improve understanding of mechanisms of disease and protection. We sought to model the contributions of parasite multiplication rate and host response to observed parasite load in individual subjects with Plasmodium falciparum malaria, using only data obtained at the time of clinical presentation, and then to identify their mechanistic correlates. We predicted higher parasite multiplication rates and lower host responsiveness in severe malaria cases, with severe anemia being more insidious than cerebral malaria. We predicted that parasite growth-inhibition was associated with platelet consumption, lower expression of CXCL10 and type-1 interferon-associated genes, but increased cathepsin G and matrix metallopeptidase 9 expression. We found that cathepsin G and matrix metallopeptidase 9 directly inhibit parasite invasion into erythrocytes. Parasite multiplication rate was associated with host iron availability and higher complement factor H levels, lower expression of gametocyte-associated genes but higher expression of translation-associated genes in the parasite. Our findings demonstrate the potential of using explicit modelling of pathogen load dynamics to deepen understanding of host-pathogen interactions and identify mechanistic correlates of protection