Euclid Space Mission: building the sky survey

The Euclid space mission proposes to survey 15000 square degrees of the extragalactic sky during 6 years, with a step-and-stare technique. The scheduling of observation sequences is driven by the primary scientific objectives, spacecraft constraints, calibration requirements and physical properties of the sky. We present the current reference implementation of the Euclid survey and on-going work on survey optimization.Comment: to appear in Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 306, "Statistical Challenges in 21st Century Cosmology", A.F. Heavens, J.-L. Starck & A. Krone-Martins, ed

Euclid space mission: a cosmological challenge for the next 15 years

Euclid is the next ESA mission devoted to cosmology. It aims at observing most of the extragalactic sky, studying both gravitational lensing and clustering over $\sim$15,000 square degrees. The mission is expected to be launched in year 2020 and to last six years. The sheer amount of data of different kinds, the variety of (un)known systematic effects and the complexity of measures require efforts both in sophisticated simulations and techniques of data analysis. We review the mission main characteristics, some aspects of the the survey and highlight some of the areas of interest to this meetingComment: to appear in Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 306, 2014, "Statistical Challenges in 21st Century Cosmology", A.F. Heavens, J.-L. Starck & A. Krone-Martins, ed

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in patients before, during, and after SARS-CoV-2 infection

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) were constantly under the scientific spotlight, but most studies evaluated ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression levels in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of both proteins before, during, and after-infection. For that, nasopharyngeal samples from 26 patients were used to measure ACE2/TMPRSS2 ex-pression via qPCR. Symptomatic patients presented lower ACE2 expression levels before and after the infection than those in asymptomatic patients; however, these levels increased during SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, symptomatic patients presented higher expression levels of TMPRSS2 pre-infection, which decreased in the following periods. In summary, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression levels are potential risk factors for the development of symptomatic COVID-19, and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 potentially modulates those levels

Situação da cobertura vacinal de imunobiológicos no período de 2009-2014

Aim: to check the status of vaccination coverage in the three political and administrative levels in the period from 2009-2014. Method: historical series study. The information used was available in the Computer Department of Health System related to biopharmaceuticals: Tuberculosis, Route Human Virus, Hepatitis B, Polio, MMR Fever Amarelae. Results: It was found that, in Brazil, the covers are stable, keeping immunobiologicals above the target during the period. In the State there was an increase of vaccination coverage of all biopharmaceuticals from 2013 on. The municipality from Rio Grande do Sul followed the design of the country and the state in coverage in the period from 2009-2011, declining in the last two years. Conclusion: the analyzed vaccination coverage were mostly similar among the three spheres. However, from 2012 to 2013, the municipality’s coverage dropped down. The heterogeneity of the covers points as necessary the definition of strategies able to direct the actions of nursing to the prevention of immunopreventable diseases.Objetivo: verificar la situación de las coberturas de vacunación en las tres esferas político-administrativa en el periodo de 2009-2014. Método: estudio de serie histórica, basado en los datos disponibles en el Departamento de Informática del Sistema Único de Salud referentes a los inmunobiologicos: Tuberculosis, Ruta Virus Humano, Hepatitis B, Poliomielitis, Fiebre Amarilla y Tríplice Viral. Resultados: en el Brasil se constató que las coberturas son estables, manteniendo los inmunobiologicos arriba de la meta durante el periodo. En el Estado hubo aumento de la cobertura de vacunación de todos inmunobiologicos a partir de 2013. El municipio gaucho acompañó el delineamiento del País y del Estado en las coberturas de 2009-2011, decreciendo en los últimos dos años. Conclusión: las coberturas de vacunación analizadas estuvieron, en su mayoría, similares entre las tres esferas, sin embargo de 2012 para 2013, la cobertura del municipio cayó. La heterogeneidad de las coberturas indica como necesaria la definición de estrategias eficaces en el direccionamiento de las acciones de enfermería para la prevención de las enfermedades por medio de la vacunación.Objetivo: verificar a situação das coberturas vacinais nas três esferas político-administrativas no período de 2009-2014. Método: estudo de série histórica, utilizando dados do Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde: Tuberculose, Rota Vírus Humano, Hepatite B, Poliomielite, Febre Amarela e Tríplice Viral. Resultados: no Brasil se constatou que as coberturas são estáveis, mantendo os imunobiológicos acima da meta durante o período. No Estado houve aumento da cobertura vacinal de todos imunobiológicos a partir de 2013. O município gaúcho acompanhou o delineamento do País e do Estado nas coberturas no período de 2009-2011, decaindo nos últimos dois anos. Conclusões: as coberturas vacinais analisadas estiveram em sua maioria semelhantes entre as três esferas, no entanto de 2012 para 2013, a cobertura do município caiu. A heterogeneidade de coberturas aponta como necessária a definição de estratégias capazes de direcionar as ações de enfermagem à prevenção das doenças imunopreveníveis

Pituitary insufficiency after operation of supratentorial intra- and extraaxial tumors outside of the sellar–parasellar region?

Recent studies investigating pituitary function after non-sellar brain tumor surgery showed that up to 38.2% of patients have pituitary insufficiency (PI). It has been assumed that the operation causes the PI, but preoperative hormone testing, which would have been necessary to prove this assumption, was not performed. The objective of this study is to answer the question if indeed microsurgery is the culprit of PI in patients with operatively treated non-sellar brain tumors. In this prospective trial, 54 patients with supratentorial non-sellar tumors were included. The basal levels of cortisol, prolactin, testosterone, estrogen, IGF-1, fT3, fT4, STH, TSH, ACTH, FSH, and LH were recorded preoperatively on days 1 and 7 after surgery. If basal hormone screening revealed an abnormality, a releasing hormone assay was performed. Before surgery, 24 of the 54 patients (44.4%) already had PI. Additional 25 patients showed either hypocortisolism or hypothyreoidism. As those patients had been pre-treated with dexamethasone and l-thyroxine, these findings were considered not to represent PI but drug effects. Hormone testing on days 1 and 7 after surgery revealed no changes. With 44.4% PI is a frequent finding in brain tumor patients already before surgery. The factors causing preoperative PI remain yet to be identified. The endocrine results after surgery are unchanged which rules out that surgery is the cause of PI

Beyond Gross-Pitaevskii Mean Field Theory

A large number of effects related to the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) can be understood in terms of lowest order mean field theory, whereby the entire system is assumed to be condensed, with thermal and quantum fluctuations completely ignored. Such a treatment leads to the Gross-Pitaevskii Equation (GPE) used extensively throughout this book. Although this theory works remarkably well for a broad range of experimental parameters, a more complete treatment is required for understanding various experiments, including experiments with solitons and vortices. Such treatments should include the dynamical coupling of the condensate to the thermal cloud, the effect of dimensionality, the role of quantum fluctuations, and should also describe the critical regime, including the process of condensate formation. The aim of this Chapter is to give a brief but insightful overview of various recent theories, which extend beyond the GPE. To keep the discussion brief, only the main notions and conclusions will be presented. This Chapter generalizes the presentation of Chapter 1, by explicitly maintaining fluctuations around the condensate order parameter. While the theoretical arguments outlined here are generic, the emphasis is on approaches suitable for describing single weakly-interacting atomic Bose gases in harmonic traps. Interesting effects arising when condensates are trapped in double-well potentials and optical lattices, as well as the cases of spinor condensates, and atomic-molecular coupling, along with the modified or alternative theories needed to describe them, will not be covered here.Comment: Review Article (19 Pages) - To appear in 'Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Theory and Experiment', Edited by P.G. Kevrekidis, D.J. Frantzeskakis and R. Carretero-Gonzalez (Springer Verlag

Code Status Discussions Between Attending Hospitalist Physicians and Medical Patients at Hospital Admission

BackgroundBioethicists and professional associations give specific recommendations for discussing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).ObjectiveTo determine whether attending hospitalist physicians' discussions meet these recommendations.DesignCross-sectional observational study on the medical services at two hospitals within a university system between August 2008 and March 2009.ParticipantsAttending hospitalist physicians and patients who were able to communicate verbally about their medical care.Main measuresWe identified code status discussions in audio-recorded admission encounters via physician survey and review of encounter transcripts. A quantitative content analysis was performed to determine whether discussions included elements recommended by bioethicists and professional associations. Two coders independently coded all discussions; Cohen's kappa was 0.64-1 for all reported elements.Key resultsAudio-recordings of 80 patients' admission encounters with 27 physicians were obtained. Eleven physicians discussed code status in 19 encounters. Discussions were more frequent in seriously ill patients (OR 4, 95% CI 1.2-14.6), yet 66% of seriously ill patients had no discussion. The median length of the code status discussions was 1 min (range 0.2-8.2). Prognosis was discussed with code status in only one of the encounters. Discussions of patients' preferences focused on the use of life-sustaining interventions as opposed to larger life goals. Descriptions of CPR as an intervention used medical jargon, and the indication for CPR was framed in general, as opposed to patient-specific scenarios. No physician quantitatively estimated the outcome of or provided a recommendation about the use of CPR.ConclusionsCode status was not discussed with many seriously ill patients. Discussions were brief, and did not include elements that bioethicists and professional associations recommend to promote patient autonomy. Local and national guidelines, research, and clinical practice changes are needed to clarify and systematize with whom and how CPR is discussed at hospital admission

CICATRIZAÇÃO DE LESÃO INFECCIOSA EM PACIENTE COM DOENÇA CRÔNICA NA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA: ESTUDO DE CASO

Introdução: Doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT) dificultam a cicatrização de feridas. A Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica (HAS), por exemplo, causa alterações microvasculares que geram hipóxia tecidual, inibindo a atividade fagocitária e possibilitando infecções por menor atividade leucocitária. É necessário, portanto, uma abordagem eficaz para a cicatrização destas lesões, prevenindo agravos de saúde. Objetivo: Relatar o caso de cicatrização de uma lesão infecciosa em um paciente com DCNT. Metodologia: Estudo de caso sobre paciente feminina, 64 anos, com HAS, que após cirurgia no joelho, apresentou deiscência e infecção local na ferida operatória, iniciando o tratamento da lesão com a Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS) após alta hospitalar. Resultados: Realizaram-se treze curativos a domicílio, semanalmente, pela equipe de enfermagem da UBS. Utilizou-se hidrofibra com prata e hidrogel, proporcionando redução da carga microbiana. Foi possível otimizar recursos e acelerar o processo de cicatrização, pois esta cobertura permite menos trocas, desbridamento autolítico e gerenciamento de meio úmido. Dessa forma, notou-se redução de carga microbiana e infecciosa, e aparecimento de tecido viável para efetiva cicatrização após 100 dias. Durante todo o período, foi realizado controle medicamentoso da HAS, e avaliação em conjunto com a equipe médica sobre a necessidade de antibioticoterapia, que não foi necessária. Considerações Finais: Relatou-se a cicatrização de uma lesão infecciosa em um paciente com DCNT. Destaca-se a correta escolha de coberturas que, junto ao controle da HAS, proporcionaram a cicatrização completa da lesão infectada. Recomenda-se mais estudos de casos como este, visando contribuir com a escolha correta de coberturas Palavras-chave: Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica; Curativo; Lesão

Use of RNAlater in fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) reduces the fluorescence from GFP but not from DsRed

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Flow cytometry utilizes signals from fluorescent markers to separate targeted cell populations for gene expression studies. However, the stress of the FACS process could change normal gene expression profiles. RNAlater could be used to stop such changes in original gene expression profiles through its ability to denature RNase and other proteins. The normal conformational structure of fluorescent proteins must be maintained in order to fluoresce. Whether or not RNAlater would affect signals from different types of intrinsic fluorescent proteins is crucial to its use in flow cytometry; this question has not been investigated in detail.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>To address this question, we analyzed the effect of RNAlater on fluorescence intensity of GFP, YFP, DsRed and small fluorescent molecules attached to secondary antibodies (Cy2 and Texas-Red) when used in flow cytometry. FACS results were confirmed with fluorescence microscopy. Our results showed that exposure of YFP and GFP containing cells to RNAlater reduces the intensity of their fluorescence to such an extent that separation of such labeled cells is difficult if not impossible. In contrast, signals from DsRed2, Cy2 and Texas-Red were not affected by RNAlater treatment. In addition, the background fluorescence and clumping of dissociated cells are altered by RNAlater treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>When considering gene expression studies using cell sorting with RNAlater, DsRed is the fluorescent protein of choice while GFP/YFP have severe limitations because of their reduced fluorescence. It is necessary to examine the effects of RNAlater on signals from fluorescent markers and the physical properties (e.g., clumping) of the cells before considering its use in cell sorting.</p