The abundance of galaxy clusters in MOND: Cosmological simulations with massive neutrinos

We present a new Particle-Mesh cosmological N-body code for accurately solving the modified Poisson equation of the Quasi Linear formulation of MOND. We generate initial conditions for the Angus (2009) cosmological model, which is identical to LCDM except that the cold dark matter is switched for a single species of thermal sterile neutrinos. We set the initial conditions at z=250 for a (512 Mpc/h)^3 box with 256^3 particles and we evolve them down to z=0. We clearly demonstrate the necessity of MOND for developing the large scale structure in a hot dark matter cosmology and contradict the naive expectation that MOND cannot form galaxy clusters. We find that the correct order of magnitude of X-ray clusters (with T_X > 4.5 keV) can be formed, but that we overpredict the number of very rich clusters and seriously underpredict the number of lower mass clusters. The latter is a shortcoming of the resolution of our simulations, whereas we suggest that the over production of very rich clusters might be prevented by incorporating a MOND acceleration constant that varies with redshift and an expansion history that cannot be described by the usual Friedmann models. We present evidence that suggests the density profiles of our simulated clusters are compatible with those of observed X-ray clusters in MOND. It remains to be seen if the low mass end of the cluster mass function can be reproduced and if the high densities of dark matter in the central 20 kpc of groups and clusters of galaxies, measured in the MOND framework, can be achieved. As a last test, we computed the relative velocity between pairs of halos within 10 Mpc and find that pairs with velocities larger than 3000 km/s like the bullet cluster, can form without difficulty.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figur

Lopsidedness of cluster galaxies in modified gravity

We point out an interesting theoretical prediction for elliptical galaxies residing inside galaxy clusters in the framework of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), that could be used to test this paradigm. Apart from the central brightest cluster galaxy, other galaxies close enough to the centre experience a strong gravitational influence from the other galaxies of the cluster. This influence manifests itself only as tides in standard Newtonian gravity, meaning that the systematic acceleration of the centre of mass of the galaxy has no consequence. However, in the context of MOND, a consequence of the breaking of the strong equivalence principle is that the systematic acceleration changes the own self-gravity of the galaxy. We show here that, in this framework, initially axisymmetric elliptical galaxies become lopsided along the external field's direction, and that the centroid of the galaxy, defined by the outer density contours, is shifted by a few hundreds parsecs with respect to the densest point.Comment: accepted for publication in JCA

Comparison of E-Textile Techniques and Materials for 3D Gesture Sensor with Boosted Electrode Design

[EN] There is an interest in new wearable solutions that can be directly worn on the curved human body or integrated into daily objects. Textiles offer properties that are suitable to be used as holders for electronics or sensors components. Many sensing technologies have been explored considering textiles substrates in combination with conductive materials in the last years. In this work, a novel solution of a gesture recognition touchless sensor is implemented with satisfactory results. Moreover, three manufacturing techniques have been considered as alternatives: screen-printing with conductive ink, embroidery with conductive thread and thermosealing with conductive fabric. The main critical parameters have been analyzed for each prototype including the sensitivity of the sensor, which is an important and specific parameter of this type of sensor. In addition, user validation has been performed, testing several gestures with different subjects. During the tests carried out, flick gestures obtained detection rates from 79% to 89% on average. Finally, in order to evaluate the stability and strength of the solutions, some tests have been performed to assess environmental variations and washability deteriorations. The obtained results are satisfactory regarding temperature and humidity variations. The washability tests revealed that, except for the screen-printing prototype, the sensors can be washed with minimum degradation.This work was supported by the Spanish Government/FEDER funds (RTI2018-100910-B-C43) (MINECO/FEDER). The work presented is also funded by the Conselleria d'Economia Sostenible, Sectors Productius i Treball, through IVACE (Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial) and cofounded by ERDF funding from the EU. Application No.: IMAMCI/2020/1Ferri Pascual, J.; Llinares Llopis, R.; Martinez, G.; Lidon-Roger, JV.; Garcia-Breijo, E. (2020). Comparison of E-Textile Techniques and Materials for 3D Gesture Sensor with Boosted Electrode Design. Sensors. 20(8):1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20082369S11920

Genome-wide detection of intervals of genetic heterogeneity associated with complex traits

Motivation: Genetic heterogeneity, the fact that several sequence variants give rise to the same phenotype, is a phenomenon that is of the utmost interest in the analysis of complex phenotypes. Current approaches for finding regions in the genome that exhibit genetic heterogeneity suffer from at least one of two shortcomings: (i) they require the definition of an exact interval in the genome that is to be tested for genetic heterogeneity, potentially missing intervals of high relevance, or (ii) they suffer from an enormous multiple hypothesis testing problem due to the large number of potential candidate intervals being tested, which results in either many false positives or a lack of power to detect true intervals. Results: Here, we present an approach that overcomes both problems: it allows one to automatically find all contiguous sequences of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the genome that are jointly associated with the phenotype. It also solves both the inherent computational efficiency problem and the statistical problem of multiple hypothesis testing, which are both caused by the huge number of candidate intervals. We demonstrate on Arabidopsis thaliana genome-wide association study data that our approach can discover regions that exhibit genetic heterogeneity and would be missed by single-locus mapping. Conclusions: Our novel approach can contribute to the genome-wide discovery of intervals that are involved in the genetic heterogeneity underlying complex phenotypes. Availability and implementation: The code can be obtained at: http://www.bsse.ethz.ch/mlcb/research/bioinformatics-and-computational-biology/sis.html. Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics onlin

Biomarker qualification at the European Medicines Agency: a review of biomarker qualification procedures from 2008 to 2020

Regulatory qualification of biomarkers facilitates their harmonised use across drug developers, enabling more personalised medicine. This study reviews various aspects of the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) biomarker qualification procedure, including frequency and outcome, common challenges, and biomarker characteristics. Our findings provide insights into EMA's biomarker qualification process and will thereby support future applications. All biomarker-related "Qualification of Novel Methodologies for Medicine Development" procedures that started from 2008 to 2020 were included. Procedural data were extracted from relevant documents and analysed descriptively. In total, 86 biomarker qualification procedures were identified, of which 13 resulted in qualified biomarkers. Whereas initially many biomarker qualification procedures were linked to a single company and specific drug development program, a shift was observed to qualification efforts by consortia. Most biomarkers were proposed (n=45) and qualified (n=9) for use in patient selection, stratification, and enrichment, followed by efficacy biomarkers (37 proposed, 4 qualified). Overall, many issues were raised during qualification procedures, mostly related to biomarker properties and assay validation (in 79% and 77% of all procedures, respectively). Issues related to the proposed context of use and rationale were least common, yet, were still raised in 54% of all procedures. While few qualified biomarkers are currently available, procedures focus increasingly on biomarkers for general use instead of those linked to specific drug compounds. The issues raised during qualification procedures illustrate the thorough discussions taking place between applicants and regulators - highlighting aspects that need careful consideration and underlining the importance of an appropriate validation strategy

Clinical relevance of monitoring serum levels of adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in daily practice

[Objectives]: We aimed to assess the usefulness of measuring serum levels of adalimumab (ADL) and anti-ADL antibodies in 57 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with ADL for at least 3 months in daily practice. [Methods]: All patients received concomitant disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). Receiver-operator characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to obtain the cut-off value of ADL for low disease activity (DAS28-ESR ≤3.2). [Results]: Anti-ADL antibodies were detected in 4 (7%) patients with a mean (SD) DAS28 score of 4.6 (0.9). Patients with positive anti-ADL antibodies had significantly lower levels of ADL and higher DAS28 scores than those with negative antibodies. Patients with DAS28 ≤3.2 as compared with patients with DAS28 >3.2 showed significantly better SDAI score, higher serum concentrations of ADL and none of them showed anti-ADL antibodies. The cut-off of serum level of ADL for DAS28 11.3 mg/L. Patients in the medium group were closed to clinical remission (median DAS28 2.7) and patients in the high group were on clinical remission (DAS28 2.1). [Conclusion]: Serum levels of ADL should be maintained >4.3 mg/L. In patients with ADL levels >11.3 mg/L, a decrease of the dose of ADL or an increase in the interval between doses may be planned. The presence of anti-ADL antibodies was associated with a loss of clinical efficacy of ADL.Peer Reviewe

An investigation into CLIL-related sections of EFL coursebooks : issues of CLIL inclusion in the publishing market

The current ELT global coursebook market has embraced CLIL as a weak form of bilingual education and an innovative component to include in General English coursebooks for EFL contexts. In this paper I investigate how CLIL is included in ELT coursebooks aimed at teenaged learners, available to teachers in Argentina. My study is based on the content analysis of four series which include a section advertised as CLIL-oriented. Results suggest that such sections are characterised by (1) little correlation between featured subject specific content and school curricula in L1, (2) oversimplification of contents, and (3) dominance of reading skills development and lower-order thinking tasks. Through this study, I argue that CLIL components become superficial supplements rather than a meaningful attempt to promote weak forms of bilingual education

En vurdering av lakselusinfestasjonen i produksjonsområdene i 2018 og 2019 - Basert på data fra den nasjonale overvåkingen av lakselus på vill laksefisk (NALO)

Sammendrag Lakselus er en ektoparasitt som lever av mucus, skinn, muskel og blod til laksefisk. Er antall lakselus høyt vil dette negativt påvirke vill laksefisk. For å estimere smittepresset av lakselus på vill laksefisk undersøkes smittepresset både med fangst av vill laksefisk samt at smittepresset estimeres basert på koblede biologisk-hydrodynamiske modeller. For å estimere smittepresset i fjordene og langs kysten under smoltutvandringen, gjennomføres årlig en undersøkelse basert på fangst av sjøørret og sjørøye med garn og ruse av lakselus på vill laksefisk på 3-6 stasjoner i hver av de 13 produksjonsområdene. Det er i tillegg både i 2018 og 2019 trålt i 6 fjordsystemer (Boknafjorden, Hardangerfjorden, Sognefjorden, Romsdalsfjorden, Trondheimsfjorden og i Altafjorden), i 2019 er det i tillegg trålt noe i Nordfjord, på Møre og i Namsen. Det er også benyttet vaktbur hvor det settes ut oppdrettssmolt i noen av samme fjordene som det tråles i, samt i Namsen/Vikna området. Denne rapporten summerer dataene fra 2018 og 2019, og er i stor grad basert på data innsamlet gjennom NALO. Posisjonene er vist i disse rapportene. Rapportene kan lastes ned her: https://www.hi.no/radgivning/akvakultur/nb-no.publishedVersio

New cryptosporidium genotypes in HIV-infected persons.

Using DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, we identified four distinct Cryptosporidium genotypes in HIV-infected patients: genotype 1 (human), genotype 2 (bovine) Cryptosporidium parvum, a genotype identical to C. felis, and one identical to a Cryptosporidium sp. isolate from a dog. This is the first identification of human infection with the latter two genotypes

Primera caracterización molecular de Leishmania infantum en pacientes con leishmaniosis visceral de la Provincia de Misiones, Argentina

Introducción. La leishmaniosis cutánea por Leishmania braziliensis ha sidotradicionalmente endémica en Argentina y se han sido descritos casos de compromiso visceral después de una leishmaniosis cutánea inicial. La leishmaniosis visceral emergió en Argentina en el año 2006 en la ciudad de Posadas, provincia de Misiones, afectando tanto a humanos como a perros. Objetivo. Identificar el agente etiológico a nivel de especie de los pacientes diagnosticados con leishmaniosis visceral en Misiones y describir sus características clínico-epidemiológicas.Materiales y métodos. Se estudió una serie de 24 pacientes con diagnóstico confirmado de leishmaniosis visceral en la provincia de Misiones en el período 2009 al 2016. Para la identificación de Leishmania spp., los pacientes fueron sometidos a estudios diagnósticos indirectos (serológicos) y directos (microscopía, detección de ADN y secuenciación). También, se estudiaron variables como edad, sexo, lugar de residencia, y signos y síntomas clínicos indicativos de leishmaniosis visceral. Resultados. De los 24 pacientes estudiados, 18 (75 %) eran hombres y 6 (25 %) eran menores de cuatro años. La manifestación clínica más frecuente fue el síndrome febril prolongado en 21 (87,5 %) de los pacientes, seguido de esplenomegalia en 17 (70,8 %). Se identificó la especie Leishmania infantum en todos los pacientes estudiados. Conclusión. Este hallazgo constituye la primera identificación de la especie L. infantum en pacientes autóctonos de la provincia de Misiones. El estudio evidenció la importancia de la PCR para el manejo epidemiológico de la leishmaniosis visceral en Argentina