Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV

Effect of smoking on subgingival microflora of patients with periodontitis in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smoking is a risk factor for periodontitis. To clarify the contribution of smoking to periodontitis, it is essential to assess the relationship between smoking and the subgingival microflora. The aim of this study was to gain an insight into the influence of smoking on the microflora of Japanese patients with periodontitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty-seven Japanese patients with chronic periodontitis (19 to 83 years old, 23 women and 44 men) were enrolled in the present study. They consisted of 30 smokers and 37 non-smokers. Periodontal parameters including probing pocket depth (PPD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) and oral hygiene status were recorded. Detection of <it>Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia, Fusobacterium nucleatum/periodonticum, Treponema denticola </it>and <it>Campylobacter rectus </it>in subgingival plaque samples was performed by polymerase chain reaction. Association between the detection of periodontopathic bacteria and smoking status was analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis and chi-square test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A statistically significant association was found between having a PPD ≥ 4 mm and detection of <it>T. denticola, P. intermedia, T. forsythia</it>, or <it>C. rectus</it>, with odds ratios ranging from 2.17 to 3.54. A significant association was noted between BOP and the detection of <it>C. rectus </it>or <it>P. intermedia</it>, and smoking, with odds ratios ranging from 1.99 to 5.62. Prevalence of <it>C. rectus </it>was higher in smokers than non-smokers, whereas that of <it>A. actinomycetemcomitans </it>was lower in smokers.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Within limits, the analysis of the subgingival microbial flora in smokers and non-smokers with chronic periodontitis suggests a relevant association between smoking and colonization by the specific periodontal pathogens including <it>C. rectus</it>.</p

Variation in the CXCR1 gene (IL8RA) is not associated with susceptibility to chronic periodontitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The chemokine receptor 1 CXCR-1 (or IL8R-alpha) is a specific receptor for the interleukin 8 (IL-8), which is chemoattractant for neutrophils and has an important role in the inflammatory response. The polymorphism rs2234671 at position Ex2+860G > C of the <it>CXCR1 </it>gene causes a conservative amino acid substitution (S276T). This single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) seemed to be functional as it was associated with decreased lung cancer risk. Previous studies of our group found association of haplotypes in the <it>IL8 </it>and in the <it>CXCR2 </it>genes with the multifactorial disease chronic periodontitis. In this study we investigated the polymorphism rs2234671 in 395 Brazilian subjects with and without chronic periodontitis.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Similar distribution of the allelic and genotypic frequencies were observed between the groups (p > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The polymorphism rs2234671 in the <it>CXCR1 </it>gene was not associated with the susceptibility to chronic periodontitis in the studied Brazilian population.</p

Impact of supragingival therapy on subgingival microbial profile in smokers versus non-smokers with severe chronic periodontitis

The aim of this study was to assess subgingival microbiological changes in smokers versus non-smokers presenting severe chronic periodontitis after supragingival periodontal therapy (ST).Non-smokers (n=10) and smokers (n=10) presenting at least nine teeth with probing pocket depth (PPD) (&#x2265;5 mm), bleeding on probing (BoP), and no history of periodontal treatment in the last 6 months were selected. Clinical parameters assessed were plaque index (PI), BoP, PPD, relative gingival margin position (rGMP) and relative clinical attachment level (rCAL). Subgingival biofilm was collected before and 21 days after ST. DNA was extracted and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with the universal primer pair, 27F and 1492R. Amplified genes were cloned, sequenced, and identified by comparison with known 16S rRNA sequences. Statistical analysis was performed by Student&#x0027;s t and Chi-Square tests (&#x03B1;=5%).Clinically, ST promoted a significant reduction in PI and PPD, and gain of rCAL for both groups, with no significant intergroup difference. Microbiologically, at baseline, data analysis demonstrated that smokers harbored a higher proportion of Porphyromonas endodontalis, Bacteroidetes sp., Fusobacterium sp. and Tannerella forsythia and a lower number of cultivated phylotypes (p&#60;0.05). Furthermore, non-smokers featured significant reductions in key phylotypes associated with periodontitis, whereas smokers presented more modest changes.Within the limits of the present study, ST promoted comparable clinical improvements in smokers and non-smokers with severe chronic periodontitis. However, in smokers, ST only slightly affected the subgingival biofilm biodiversity, as compared with non-smokers

Induction of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Regulatory T Cells during Human Hookworm Infection Modulates Antigen-Mediated Lymphocyte Proliferation

Hookworm infection is considered one of the most important poverty-promoting neglected tropical diseases, infecting 576 to 740 million people worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics. These blood-feeding nematodes have a remarkable ability to downmodulate the host immune response, protecting themselves from elimination and minimizing severe host pathology. While several mechanisms may be involved in the immunomodulation by parasitic infection, experimental evidences have pointed toward the possible involvement of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in downregulating effector T-cell responses upon chronic infection. However, the role of Tregs cells in human hookworm infection is still poorly understood and has not been addressed yet. In the current study we observed an augmentation of circulating CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in hookworm-infected individuals compared with healthy non-infected donors. We have also demonstrated that infected individuals present higher levels of circulating Treg cells expressing CTLA-4, GITR, IL-10, TGF-β and IL-17. Moreover, we showed that hookworm crude antigen stimulation reduces the number of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ T regulatory cells co-expressing IL-17 in infected individuals. Finally, PBMCs from infected individuals pulsed with excreted/secreted products or hookworm crude antigens presented an impaired cellular proliferation, which was partially augmented by the depletion of Treg cells. Our results suggest that Treg cells may play an important role in hookworm-induced immunosuppression, contributing to the longevity of hookworm survival in infected people

Primary versus early secondary referral to a specialized neurotrauma center in patients with moderate/severe traumatic brain injury: a CENTER TBI study.

BackgroundPrehospital care for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) varies with some emergency medical systems recommending direct transport of patients with moderate to severe TBI to hospitals with specialist neurotrauma care (SNCs). The aim of this study is to assess variation in levels of early secondary referral within European SNCs and to compare the outcomes of directly admitted and secondarily transferred patients.MethodsPatients with moderate and severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale ResultsA total of 1347 moderate/severe TBI patients from 53 SNCs in 18 European countries were included. Of these 1347 patients, 195 (14.5%) were admitted after early secondary referral. Secondarily referred moderate/severe TBI patients presented more often with a CT abnormality: mass lesion (52% vs. 34%), midline shift (54% vs. 36%) and acute subdural hematoma (77% vs. 65%). After adjusting for case-mix, there was a large European variation in early secondary referral, with a median OR of 1.69 between countries. Early secondary referral was not associated with functional outcome (adjusted OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.78-1.69), nor with survival at discharge (1.05, 0.58-1.90).ConclusionsAcross Europe, substantial practice variation exists in the proportion of secondarily referred TBI patients at SNCs that is not explained by case mix. Within SNCs early secondary referral does not seem to impact functional outcome and survival after stabilisation in a non-specialised hospital. Future research should identify which patients with TBI truly benefit from direct transportation

Gut microbiota and diabetes: from pathogenesis to therapeutic perspective

More than several hundreds of millions of people will be diabetic and obese over the next decades in front of which the actual therapeutic approaches aim at treating the consequences rather than causes of the impaired metabolism. This strategy is not efficient and new paradigms should be found. The wide analysis of the genome cannot predict or explain more than 10–20% of the disease, whereas changes in feeding and social behavior have certainly a major impact. However, the molecular mechanisms linking environmental factors and genetic susceptibility were so far not envisioned until the recent discovery of a hidden source of genomic diversity, i.e., the metagenome. More than 3 million genes from several hundreds of species constitute our intestinal microbiome. First key experiments have demonstrated that this biome can by itself transfer metabolic disease. The mechanisms are unknown but could be involved in the modulation of energy harvesting capacity by the host as well as the low-grade inflammation and the corresponding immune response on adipose tissue plasticity, hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance and even the secondary cardiovascular events. Secreted bacterial factors reach the circulating blood, and even full bacteria from intestinal microbiota can reach tissues where inflammation is triggered. The last 5 years have demonstrated that intestinal microbiota, at its molecular level, is a causal factor early in the development of the diseases. Nonetheless, much more need to be uncovered in order to identify first, new predictive biomarkers so that preventive strategies based on pre- and probiotics, and second, new therapeutic strategies against the cause rather than the consequence of hyperglycemia and body weight gain

Tracheal intubation in traumatic brain injury: a multicentre prospective observational study

Background We aimed to study the associations between pre- and in-hospital tracheal intubation and outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI), and whether the association varied according to injury severity. Methods Data from the international prospective pan-European cohort study, Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research for TBI (CENTER-TBI), were used (n=4509). For prehospital intubation, we excluded self-presenters. For in-hospital intubation, patients whose tracheas were intubated on-scene were excluded. The association between intubation and outcome was analysed with ordinal regression with adjustment for the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI variables and extracranial injury. We assessed whether the effect of intubation varied by injury severity by testing the added value of an interaction term with likelihood ratio tests. Results In the prehospital analysis, 890/3736 (24%) patients had their tracheas intubated at scene. In the in-hospital analysis, 460/2930 (16%) patients had their tracheas intubated in the emergency department. There was no adjusted overall effect on functional outcome of prehospital intubation (odds ratio=1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.79–1.28; P=0.96), and the adjusted overall effect of in-hospital intubation was not significant (odds ratio=0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.65–1.13; P=0.28). However, prehospital intubation was associated with better functional outcome in patients with higher thorax and abdominal Abbreviated Injury Scale scores (P=0.009 and P=0.02, respectively), whereas in-hospital intubation was associated with better outcome in patients with lower Glasgow Coma Scale scores (P=0.01): in-hospital intubation was associated with better functional outcome in patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 10 or lower. Conclusion The benefits and harms of tracheal intubation should be carefully evaluated in patients with TBI to optimise benefit. This study suggests that extracranial injury should influence the decision in the prehospital setting, and level of consciousness in the in-hospital setting. Clinical trial registration NCT02210221