72 research outputs found
Radon Concentration in Urban Areas in the North and West of Morocco
Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas produced by the decay of uranium and radium. It is the second cause of cancer of the lungs after smoking. It has been present in Earth's crust since the creation of Earth. Uranium-rich rocks in the deep crust are the main source of radon. Its emanation from the ground surface varies from one point to another depending on the physical characteristics of the terrain crossed as observed in this study between North and West Morocco. A dosimetric study of those emanations was performed by using the LR-115 solid-state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) which was subsequently processed by techniques developed and calibrated in the laboratory. The study revealed high concentrations of this gas in confined spaces at ground level and, in particular, in basements and less-ventilated ground floor rooms. In order to reduce these concentrations of radon and the probability of carcinogenic attacks by these accumulations of this gas, it is recommended to ventilate these premises well. Good air circulation allows the removal of this harmful gas
Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault: Detection and Stability of Benzodiazepines in Spiked Drinks Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Benzodiazepines are detected in a significant number of drug facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA). Whilst blood and urine from the victim are routinely analysed, due to the delay in reporting DFSA cases and the short half lives of most of these drugs in blood and urine, drug detection in such samples is problematic. Consideration of the drinks involved and analysis for drugs may start to address this. Here we have reconstructed the ‘spiking’ of three benzodiazepines (diazepam, flunitrazepam and temazepam) into five drinks, an alcopop (flavoured alcoholic drink), a beer, a white wine, a spirit, and a fruit based non-alcoholic drink (J2O) chosen as representative of those drinks commonly used by women in 16–24 year old age group. Using a validated GC-MS method for the simultaneous detection of these drugs in the drinks we have studied the storage stability of the benzodiazepines under two different storage conditions, uncontrolled room temperature and refrigerator (4°C) over a 25 day period. All drugs could be detected in all beverages over this time period. Diazepam was found to be stable in all of the beverages, except the J2O, under both storage conditions. Flunitrazepam and temazepam were found not to be stable but were detectable (97% loss of temazepam and 39% loss of flunitrazepam from J2O). The recommendations from this study are that there should be a policy change and that drinks thought to be involved in DFSA cases should be collected and analysed wherever possible to support other evidence types
The minimal kinome of Giardia lamblia illuminates early kinase evolution and unique parasite biology
Background: The major human intestinal pathogen Giardia lamblia is a very early branching eukaryote with a minimal genome of broad evolutionary and biological interest. Results: To explore early kinase evolution and regulation of Giardia biology, we cataloged the kinomes of three sequenced strains. Comparison with published kinomes and those of the excavates Trichomonas vaginalis and Leishmania major shows that Giardia's 80 core kinases constitute the smallest known core kinome of any eukaryote that can be grown in pure culture, reflecting both its early origin and secondary gene loss. Kinase losses in DNA repair, mitochondrial function, transcription, splicing, and stress response reflect this reduced genome, while the presence of other kinases helps define the kinome of the last common eukaryotic ancestor. Immunofluorescence analysis shows abundant phospho-staining in trophozoites, with phosphotyrosine abundant in the nuclei and phosphothreonine and phosphoserine in distinct cytoskeletal organelles. The Nek kinase family has been massively expanded, accounting for 198 of the 278 protein kinases in Giardia. Most Neks are catalytically inactive, have very divergent sequences and undergo extensive duplication and loss between strains. Many Neks are highly induced during development. We localized four catalytically active Neks to distinct parts of the cytoskeleton and one inactive Nek to the cytoplasm. Conclusions: The reduced kinome of Giardia sheds new light on early kinase evolution, and its highly divergent sequences add to the definition of individual kinase families as well as offering specific drug targets. Giardia's massive Nek expansion may reflect its distinctive lifestyle, biphasic life cycle and complex cytoskeleton
Tracking Membrane Protein Association in Model Membranes
Membrane proteins are essential in the exchange processes of cells. In spite of great breakthrough in soluble proteins studies, membrane proteins structures, functions and interactions are still a challenge because of the difficulties related to their hydrophobic properties. Most of the experiments are performed with detergent-solubilized membrane proteins. However widely used micellar systems are far from the biological two-dimensions membrane. The development of new biomimetic membrane systems is fundamental to tackle this issue
Performance of the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter prototype to charged pion beams of 20300 GeV/c
The upgrade of the CMS experiment for the high luminosity operation of the
LHC comprises the replacement of the current endcap calorimeter by a high
granularity sampling calorimeter (HGCAL). The electromagnetic section of the
HGCAL is based on silicon sensors interspersed between lead and copper (or
copper tungsten) absorbers. The hadronic section uses layers of stainless steel
as an absorbing medium and silicon sensors as an active medium in the regions
of high radiation exposure, and scintillator tiles directly readout by silicon
photomultipliers in the remaining regions. As part of the development of the
detector and its readout electronic components, a section of a silicon-based
HGCAL prototype detector along with a section of the CALICE AHCAL prototype was
exposed to muons, electrons and charged pions in beam test experiments at the
H2 beamline at the CERN SPS in October 2018. The AHCAL uses the same technology
as foreseen for the HGCAL but with much finer longitudinal segmentation. The
performance of the calorimeters in terms of energy response and resolution,
longitudinal and transverse shower profiles is studied using negatively charged
pions, and is compared to GEANT4 predictions. This is the first report
summarizing results of hadronic showers measured by the HGCAL prototype using
beam test data.Comment: To be submitted to JINS
Response of a CMS HGCAL silicon-pad electromagnetic calorimeter prototype to 20-300 GeV positrons
The Compact Muon Solenoid Collaboration is designing a new high-granularity
endcap calorimeter, HGCAL, to be installed later this decade. As part of this
development work, a prototype system was built, with an electromagnetic section
consisting of 14 double-sided structures, providing 28 sampling layers. Each
sampling layer has an hexagonal module, where a multipad large-area silicon
sensor is glued between an electronics circuit board and a metal baseplate. The
sensor pads of approximately 1 cm are wire-bonded to the circuit board and
are readout by custom integrated circuits. The prototype was extensively tested
with beams at CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron in 2018. Based on the data
collected with beams of positrons, with energies ranging from 20 to 300 GeV,
measurements of the energy resolution and linearity, the position and angular
resolutions, and the shower shapes are presented and compared to a detailed
Geant4 simulation
The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe
A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.
The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants
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