Pathological features of African horse sickness virus infection in IFNAR−/− mice

African Horse Sickness (AHS) is a vector-borne viral disease of equids. The disease can be highly lethal with mortality rates of up to 90% in non-immune equine populations. The clinical presentation in the equine host varies, but the pathogenesis underlying this variation remains incompletely understood. Various small animal models of AHS have been developed over the years to overcome the financial, bio-safety and logistical constraints of studying the pathology of this disease in the target species. One of the most successful small animal models is based on the use of interferon-alpha gene knock-out (IFNAR−/−) mice. In order to increase our understanding of African Horse Sickness virus (AHSV) pathogenesis, we characterised the pathology lesions of AHSV infection in IFNAR−/− mice using a strain of AHSV serotype 4 (AHSV-4). We found AHSV-4 infection was correlated with lesions in various organs; necrosis in the spleen and lymphoid tissues, inflammatory infiltration in the liver and brain, and pneumonia. Significant viral antigen staining was only detected in the spleen and brain, however. Together these results confirm the value of the IFNAR−/− mouse model for the study of the immuno-biology of AHSV infections in this particular in vivo system, and its usefulness for evaluating protective efficacy of candidate vaccines in preclinical studies

Time-related efficacy of liver cell isografts in fulminant hepatic failure

We and others have reported that dispersed liver cells transplanted into the spleen parenchyma of syngeneic rats remained functional and viable for a long time. This report describes our results with hepatocellular transplantation as a therapeutic method in a model of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) in the rat. 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200-250 g were used. The FHF was reached through an Eck's fistula with 2/3 hepatectomy at the same time. This model produced lethal hepatic failure in a highly reproducible manner. Liver cells were isolated by the collagenase method. 40 X 10(6) hepatocytes suspended in Hanks' balanced salt solution were transplanted into the spleen parenchyma 24 hr before (group 1), at the same time as (group 2), and 24 hr after (group 3) FHF was achieved. Additional sham-operated animals (groups 4 and 5) and a control group (group 6) were used. The hepatocellular transplantation markedly increased the survival of the animals with induced FHF to 80% (group 1) and 60% (group 2)--but not in group 3 (20%),--compared with 10% in the control group. This study shows that dispersed liver cells transplanted into the spleen can provide sufficient support to allow animals with lethal hepatic failure to survive and recover. Nevertheless the efficacy of transplantation is a time-related phenomenon with the FHF induction

Desarrollo de un sistema de toma de decisiones autónomo y ejemplo de aplicación a servicios de seguridad bajo demanda

Existen multitud de sistemas de adquisición de datos autónomos basados en diferentes metodologías, muchos de ellos se imparten en la educación universitaria y otros por el contrario surgen de un exhaustivo trabajo de investigación científica. Estos sistemas se aplican hoy en día en un gran número de áreas, siendo todas ellas muy diversas aunque con importantes nexos comunes. En el presente artículo se propone, a partir de un proyecto fin de carrera, un sistema autónomo de adquisición de datos y reconocimiento del entorno, con un alto índice de escalabilidad e integración a nuevos espacios. Para probar su eficacia se propone también una aplicación robotizada que utiliza estas características en el área de la seguridad, un campo en el que resultan especialmente claras las propiedades diferenciadoras del método propuesto

Serological profile of first SARS-CoV-2 reinfection cases detected within the SIREN study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the serological profile of first two SARS-CoV-2 confirmed reinfections in the national healthcare worker cohort study SARS-CoV-2 Immunity and Reinfection Evaluation (SIREN) and potentially identify correlates of protection against reinfection. METHODS: In addition to routine testing within the SIREN study, viral culture, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Total antibody testing (Anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and Anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike) were complemented by receptor binding domain indirect ELISA and neutralising antibody assays. RESULTS: The first two SARS-CoV-2 confirmed reinfections had mild symptomatic illness episodes from which infectious virus was recovered at the time of reinfection. The recovered viruses and their sequences were closely related to viruses circulating locally during the time of reinfection and serology was consistent with reinfection. Prior to reinfection, both cases had ELISA and immunoblot detectable anti-N antibodies, but lacked live virus neutralising antibody. Within days following reinfection, neutralising antibodies became detectable and anti-N and anti-S binding antibodies were boosted. CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesise that titres of neutralising antibody can be used as a correlate of protection against reinfection. Further analysis using a case-control design is essential in order to confirm this hypothesis

COEDU-IN Project: an inclusive co-educational project for teaching computational thinking and digital skills at early ages

Learning to program is the new literacy of the 21st century. Computational thinking, closely related to programming, requires thinking and solving problems with different levels of abstraction and is independent of hardware devices. The early childhood education stage provides teachers with the opportunity to lay the foundations for a comprehensive quality education using innovative tools and technologies. Educational robotics in early childhood education becomes a tool that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge to children, playfully, based on the principles of interactivity, social interrelationships, collaborative work, creativity, constructivist and constructionist learning, and a student-centered didactic approach, allowing in turn that student can acquire digital competencies and develop logical and computational thinking in an underlying way. This project explores the current state of teaching and learning computational thinking and programming in early childhood education in an inclusive manner. Moreover, the lack of diversity and inequality is particularly latent in science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Therefore, this work considers this problem and presents an inclusive coeducation approach to this new literacy, eliminating gender stereotypes and extending them to people with Down syndrome and hospitalized minors

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30