Interference effects in the H(→ γγ) + 2 jets channel at the LHC

We compute the interference between the resonant process pp → H(→ γγ) + 2 jets and the corresponding continuum background at leading order in QCD. For the Higgs signal, we include gluon fusion (GF) and vector boson fusion (VBF) production channels, while for the background we consider all tree-level contributions, including pure EW effects (O(α 4 QED)) and QCD contributions (O(α 2 QEDα 2 s )), plus the loopinduced gluon-initiated process. After convolution with the experimental mass resolution, the main effect of the interference is to shift the position of the mass peak, as in the inclusive GF case studied previously. The apparent mass shift is small in magnitude but strongly dependent on the Higgs width, potentially allowing for a measurement of, or bound on, the width itself. In the H(→ γγ) + 2 jets channel, the VBF and GF contributions generate shifts of opposite signs which largely cancel, depending on the sets of cuts used, to as little as 5 MeV (toward a lower Higgs mass). The small magnitude of the shift makes this channel a good reference mass for measuring the inclusive mass shift of around 60 MeV in the Standard Model.Fil: Coradeschi, F.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Università degli Studi di Firenze; ItaliaFil: de Florian, Daniel Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dixon, L. J.. University of Stanford; Estados Unidos. Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics; Estados UnidosFil: Fidanza Romani, Nerina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Höche, S.. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Ita, H.. Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg; AlemaniaFil: Li, Y.. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Mazzitelli, Javier Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentin

Prognostic immune markers identifying patients with severe COVID-19 who respond to tocilizumab

Introduction: A growing number of evidences suggest that the combination of hyperinflammation, dysregulated T and B cell response and cytokine storm play a major role in the immunopathogenesis of severe COVID-19. IL-6 is one of the main pro-inflammatory cytokines and its levels are increased during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several observational and randomized studies demonstrated that tocilizumab, an IL-6R blocker, improves survival in critically ill patients both in infectious disease and intensive care units. However, despite transforming the treatment options for COVID-19, IL-6R inhibition is still ineffective in a fraction of patients. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the impact of two doses of tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19 who responded or not to the treatment by analyzing a panel of cytokines, chemokines and other soluble factors, along with the composition of peripheral immune cells, paying a particular attention to T and B lymphocytes. Results: We observed that, in comparison with non-responders, those who responded to tocilizumab had different levels of several cytokines and different T and B cells proportions before starting therapy. Moreover, in these patients, tocilizumab was further able to modify the landscape of the aforementioned soluble molecules and cellular markers. Conclusions: We found that tocilizumab has pleiotropic effects and that clinical response to this drug remain heterogenous. Our data suggest that it is possible to identify patients who will respond to treatment and that the administration of tocilizumab is able to restore the immune balance through the re-establishment of different cell populations affected by SARS-COV-2 infection, highlighting the importance of temporal examination of the pathological features from the diagnosis

Robustness of dead Cas9 activators in human pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hMSCs) are clinically relevant sources for cellular therapies and for modeling human development and disease. Many stem cell-based applications rely on the ability to activate several endogenous genes simultaneously to modify cell fate. However, genetic intervention of these cells remains challenging. Several catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) proteins fused to distinct activation domains can modulate gene expression when directed to their regulatory regions by a specific single-guide RNA (sgRNA). In this study, we have compared the ability of the first-generation dCas9-VP64 activator and the second-generation systems, dCas9-SAM and dCas9-SunTag, to induce gene expression in hPSCs and hMSCs. Several stem cell lines were tested for single and multiplexed gene activation. When the activation of several genes was compared, all three systems induced specific and potent gene expression in both single and multiplexed settings, but the dCas9-SAM and dCas9-SunTag systems resulted in the highest and most consistent level of gene expression. Simultaneous targeting of the same gene with multiple sgRNAs did not result in additive levels of gene expression in hPSCs nor hMSCs. We demonstrate the robustness and specificity of second-generation dCas9 activators as tools to simultaneously activate several endogenous genes in clinically relevant human stem cells.We thank CERCA/Generalitat de Catalunya and Fundació Josep Carreras-Obra Social la Caixa for their institutional support. We thank Jose Luis Sardina (IJC, Barcelona) for technical assistance with the teratoma assays. Financial support for this work was obtained from the Catalunya Goverment (SGR330 and PERIS 2017-2019), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2016-80481-R), the European Research Council (CoG-2014-646903), and the Fundación Leo Messi to P.M.; the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC-CI-2015) and the Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII/FEDER, PI17/01028) to C.B.; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC) to L.M.F. and A.F.; and the Spanish National Research and Development Plan (ISCIII/FEDER, PI17/02303) and the AEI/MICIU EXPLORA Project (BIO2017-91272-EXP) to S.R.-P. P.M. is an investigator of the Spanish Cell Therapy Cooperative Network (TERCEL). R.T.-R. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC).S

El futuro después del COVID-19

El libro reúne ensayos de 27 autoras y autores en el contexto del inicio de la pandemia del Covid-19. Plantea diagnósticos, analiza dimensiones sociales, políticas y culturales. Y ofrece un panorama plural del debate en un momento de emergencia.Fil: Follari, Roberto Agustin. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; ArgentinaFil: Canelo, Paula Vera. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores. Universidad Metropolitana para la Educación y el Trabajo. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores; ArgentinaFil: Sztulwark, Diego. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Palermo, Vicente Antonio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: González, Horacio. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Tokatlian, Juan Gabriel. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia. Universidad de los Andes; ColombiaFil: Forster, Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Fidanza, Eduardo. Academia Nacional de Periodismo; ArgentinaFil: Boron, Atilio Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Estudios de América Latina y el Caribe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Segato, Rita Laura. Unesco; Argentina. Universidad de Brasilia; BrasilFil: Rebón, Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Centro de Estudios Avanzados; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Svampa, Maristella Noemi. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Viale, Enrique. Asociación Argentina de Abogados Ambientalistas; ArgentinaFil: Carreiras, Helena. Instituto Universitario de Lisboa; Portugal. Instituto de Defensa Nacional de Portugal; PortugalFil: Malamud, Andrés. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos. Max-planck-institut Für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte.; AlemaniaFil: Sarlo Sabajanes, Beatriz Ercilia. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barrancos, Dora Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Waisbord, Silvio Ricardo. The George Washington University; Estados Unidos. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Casullo, María Esperanza. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; Argentina. University of Richmond; Estados Unidos. University Brown; Estados UnidosFil: Mignolo, Walter. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Valdettaro, Sandra Catalina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Centro de Estudios Culturales Urbanos; ArgentinaFil: Alarcon, Cristian Francisco. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: López, María Pia Luján. No especifíca;Fil: Moreno, María. No especifíca;Fil: Maffía, Diana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; ArgentinaFil: Giunta, Andrea Graciela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Teoría e Historia del Arte "Julio E. Payró"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cabezón Cámara, Gabriela. University of California at Berkeley; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional de las Artes; ArgentinaFil: Grimson, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

3D Printing Applications in Orthopaedic Surgery: Clinical Experience and Opportunities

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a technology capable of creating solid objects based on the reproduction of computerised images. This technology offers revolutionary impacts on surgical practice, especially in prosthetic and traumatological surgery. Methods: 20 patients with proximal humeral fractures were divided into two groups, one of which involved the processing of a 3D model. The model made it possible to plan the positioning and dimensions of the implants. The results were then compared with those obtained according to the usual procedures. We also reported the irreparable case of a custom revision implants acetabular bone loss treated with a 3D-printed, custom-made implant. Results: In the processed 3D proximal humeral fracture series, in the face of time and costs expenses, surgical and X-ray times were shorter than in the control group. On the other hand, there were no differences in terms of blood loss. The patient who underwent acetabular re-prosthetic surgery in a 3B Paprosky bone loss was managed and solved with a 3D-printed, custom-made implant and reported excellent outcomes at a 1 year follow-up. Conclusion: Three-dimensional printing made it possible to create better pre-operative planning in traumatology in order to optimise surgical procedures and outcomes. It also made it possible to deal with large losses of bone stock in prosthetic revision surgery, even when reconstruction may have appeared impossible with traditional implants

3D Printing Applications in Orthopaedic Surgery: Clinical Experience and Opportunities

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a technology capable of creating solid objects based on the reproduction of computerised images. This technology offers revolutionary impacts on surgical practice, especially in prosthetic and traumatological surgery. Methods: 20 patients with proximal humeral fractures were divided into two groups, one of which involved the processing of a 3D model. The model made it possible to plan the positioning and dimensions of the implants. The results were then compared with those obtained according to the usual procedures. We also reported the irreparable case of a custom revision implants acetabular bone loss treated with a 3D-printed, custom-made implant. Results: In the processed 3D proximal humeral fracture series, in the face of time and costs expenses, surgical and X-ray times were shorter than in the control group. On the other hand, there were no differences in terms of blood loss. The patient who underwent acetabular re-prosthetic surgery in a 3B Paprosky bone loss was managed and solved with a 3D-printed, custom-made implant and reported excellent outcomes at a 1 year follow-up. Conclusion: Three-dimensional printing made it possible to create better pre-operative planning in traumatology in order to optimise surgical procedures and outcomes. It also made it possible to deal with large losses of bone stock in prosthetic revision surgery, even when reconstruction may have appeared impossible with traditional implants

A Guideline for Implementing a Robust Optimization of a Complex Multi-Stage Manufacturing Process

In the industrial production scenario, the goal of engineering is focused on the continuous improvement of the process performance by maximizing the effectiveness of the manufacturing and the quality of the products. In order to address these aims, the advanced robust process optimization techniques have been designed, implemented, and applied to the manufacturing process of ultrasound (US) probes for medical imaging. The suggested guideline plays a key role for improving a complex multi-stage manufacturing process; it consists of statistical methods applied for improving the product quality, and for achieving a higher productivity, jointly with engineering techniques oriented to problem solving. Starting from the Six Sigma approach, the high definition of the production process was analyzed through a risk analysis, and thus providing a successful implementation of the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) methodology. Therefore, the multidisciplinary analysis is carried out by applying statistical models and by detecting the latent failures by means of NDT (non-destructive testing), i.e., scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM). The presented approach, driven by the statistical analysis, allows the engineers to distinguish the potential weak points of the complex manufacturing, in order to implement the corrective actions. Furthermore, in this paper we illustrate this approach by considering a pilot study, e.g., a process of US probes for medical imaging, by detailing all the guideline steps