Epstein-Barr virus and acute retinal necrosis in a 5-year-old immunocompetent child

Roberto Gallego-Pinazo1,2, Miguel Harto1, Jose J Garcia-Medina2,3, Inmaculada Serra1, Enrique España1, Maria D Pinazo-Duran2,41Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital, La Fe, Valencia, Spain; 2Ophthalmology Research Unit “Santiago Grisolia”, Valencia, Spain; 3Ophthalmology Department, Hospital La inmaculada, Huercal-Overa, Spain; 4Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Punta de Europa, Algeciras, SpainObjective: To describe a case of bilateral acute retinal necrosis syndrome (ARNS) in a 5-year-old boy.Method: A retrospective, interventional case is described in one child attending the pediatric ophthalmology section, complaining of sudden bilateral red eye and haze-impaired vision. A standardized ophthalmologic examination and specific serological probes supported the diagnosis of severe bilateral ARNS in an immunocompetent child.Results: The reduced visual acuity (<20/400), the ocular fundus signs (perivasculitis, thrombosis and retinal edema) and the positive immunoglobulin M anti-Epstein Barr virus serology, lead us to the ARNS definitive diagnosis. Antiviral therapy (Acyclovir; Zovirax®), ciclopentolate dilating eye drops, and antiplatelet treatment (acetil salicylic acid; Aspirin®) were administered until recovering the final visual acuity (20/40).Conclusions: The ARNS is an ocular disease with poor prognosis, which in turns may display better course when determining the etiopathogenic virus and selecting the appropriate and precocious therapy.Keywords: retinal necrosis, Epstein-Barr virus, antiviral serology, antiviral therap

An outdoor test facility for the Cherenkov Telescope Array mirrors

The Cherenkov Telescopes Array (CTA) is planned to be an Observatory for very high energy γ-ray astronomy and will consist of several tens of telescopes which account for a reflective surface of more than 10000 m2 . The mirrors of these telescopes will be formed by a set of facets. Different technological solutions are under test inside the CTA Consortium. Most of them involve composite structures whose behavior under real observing conditions is not yet fully tested. An outdoor test facility has been built in one of the candidate sites for CTA, in Argentina (San Antonio de los Cobres [SAC], 3600m a.s.l) in order to monitor the optical and mechanical properties of these facets exposed to the local atmospheric conditions for a given period of time. In this work we present the preliminary results of the first Middle Size Telescope (MST) mirror-monitoring campaign, started in 2013.Fil: Medina, Maria Clementina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Beatriz Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: Maya, J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: Mancilla, A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: Larrarte, Juan Jose. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Rasztocky, Emiliano. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Benitez, Martin Ezequiel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Dipold, J.. Instituto de Física de Sao Carlos; BrasilFil: Platino, Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: CTA Consortium. No especifíca;33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2013): The Astroparticle Physics ConferenceRío de JaneiroBrasilCherenkov Telescope Array Consortiu

Neonatal infrared thermography images in the hypothermic ruminant model: Anatomical-morphological-physiological aspects and mechanisms for thermoregulation

Hypothermia is one factor associated with mortality in newborn ruminants due to the drastic temperature change upon exposure to the extrauterine environment in the first hours after birth. Ruminants are precocial whose mechanisms for generating heat or preventing heat loss involve genetic characteristics, the degree of neurodevelopment at birth and environmental aspects. These elements combine to form a more efficient mechanism than those found in altricial species. Although the degree of neurodevelopment is an important advantage for these species, their greater mobility helps them to search for the udder and consume colostrum after birth. However, anatomical differences such as the distribution of adipose tissue or the presence of type II muscle fibers could lead to the understanding that these species use their energy resources more efficiently for heat production. The introduction of unconventional ruminant species, such as the water buffalo, has led to rethinking other characteristics like the skin thickness or the coat type that could intervene in the thermoregulation capacity of the newborn. Implementing tools to analyze species-specific characteristics that help prevent a critical decline in temperature is deemed a fundamental strategy for avoiding the adverse effects of a compromised thermoregulatory function. Although thermography is a non-invasive method to assess superficial temperature in several non-human animal species, in newborn ruminants there is limited information about its application, making it necessary to discuss the usefulness of this tool. This review aims to analyze the effects of hypothermia in newborn ruminants, their thermoregulation mechanisms that compensate for this condition, and the application of infrared thermography (IRT) to identify cases with hypothermia

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F

Inhibition of Glioblastoma Growth by the Thiadiazolidinone Compound TDZD-8

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.[Background]: Thiadiazolidinones (TDZD) are small heterocyclic compounds first described as non-ATP competitive inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3 beta). In this study, we analyzed the effects of 4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5- dione (TDZD-8), on murine GL261 cells growth in vitro and on the growth of established intracerebral murine gliomas in vivo. [Methodology/Principal Findings]: Our data show that TDZD-8 decreased proliferation and induced apoptosis of GL261 glioblastoma cells in vitro, delayed tumor growth in vivo, and augmented animal survival. These effects were associated with an early activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and increased expression of EGR-1 and p21 genes. Also, we observed a sustained activation of the ERK pathway, a concomitant phosphorylation and activation of ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK) and an inactivation of GSK-3 beta by phosphorylation at Ser 9. Finally, treatment of glioblastoma stem cells with TDZD-8 resulted in an inhibition of proliferation and self-renewal of these cells. [Conclusions/Significance]: Our results suggest that TDZD-8 uses a novel mechanism to target glioblastoma cells, and that malignant progenitor population could be a target of this compound.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia grant SAF2007-62811 (to A.P.-C.). CIBERNED is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. JA.M.-G. and M.S.-S. are fellows of CIBERNED. D.A.-M. is a fellow of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.Peer reviewe

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO