Jet production in charged current deep inelastic e⁺p scatteringat HERA

The production rates and substructure of jets have been studied in charged current deep inelastic e⁺p scattering for Q² > 200 GeV² with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 110.5 pb⁻¹. Inclusive jet cross sections are presented for jets with transverse energies E_{T}^{jet} > 5 GeV. Measurements of the mean subjet multiplicity, 〈n_{sbj}〉, of the inclusive jet sample are presented. Predictions based on parton-shower Monte Carlo models and next-to-leading-order QCD calculations are compared to the measurements. The value of α_{s} (M_{z}), determined from 〈n_{sbj}〉 at y_{cut} = 10⁻² for jets with 25 < E_{T}^{jet} < 119 GeV, is α_{s} (M_{z}) = 0.1202 ± 0.0052 (stat.)_{-0.0019}^{+0.0060} (syst.)_{-0.0053}^{+0.0065} (th.). The mean subjet multiplicity as a function of Q² is found to be consistent with that measured in NC DIS

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus proposal: Medical treatment of canine epilepsy in Europe

In Europe, the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed for dogs has grown considerably over the last years. Nevertheless, the same questions remain, which include, 1) when to start treatment, 2) which drug is best used initially, 3) which adjunctive AED can be advised if treatment with the initial drug is unsatisfactory, and 4) when treatment changes should be considered. In this consensus proposal, an overview is given on the aim of AED treatment, when to start long-term treatment in canine epilepsy and which veterinary AEDs are currently in use for dogs. The consensus proposal for drug treatment protocols, 1) is based on current published evidence-based literature, 2) considers the current legal framework of the cascade regulation for the prescription of veterinary drugs in Europe, and 3) reflects the authors’ experience. With this paper it is aimed to provide a consensus for the management of canine idiopathic epilepsy. Furthermore, for the management of structural epilepsy AEDs are inevitable in addition to treating the underlying cause, if possible

Catheter Related Bloodstream Infection (CR-BSI) in ICU Patients: Making the Decision to Remove or Not to Remove the Central Venous Catheter

Background Approximately 150 million central venous catheters (CVC) are used each year in the United States. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSI) are one of the most important complications of the central venous catheters (CVCs). Our objective was to compare the in-hospital mortality when the catheter is removed or not removed in patients with CR-BSI. Methods We reviewed all episodes of CR-BSI that occurred in our intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2000 to December 2008. The standard method was defined as a patient with a CVC and at least one positive blood culture obtained from a peripheral vein and a positive semi quantitative (\u3e15 CFU) culture of a catheter segment from where the same organism was isolated. The conservative method was defined as a patient with a CVC and at least one positive blood culture obtained from a peripheral vein and one of the following: (1) differential time period of CVC culture versus peripheral culture positivity of more than 2 hours, or (2) simultaneous quantitative blood culture with 5:1 ratio (CVC versus peripheral). Results 53 CR-BSI (37 diagnosed by the standard method and 16 by the conservative method) were diagnosed during the study period. There was a no statistically significant difference in the in-hospital mortality for the standard versus the conservative method (57% vs. 75%, p = 0.208) in ICU patients. Conclusion In our study there was a no statistically significant difference between the standard and conservative methods in-hospital mortality

Baseline JAK phosphorylation profile of peripheral blood leukocytes, studied by whole blood phosphospecific flow cytometry, is associated with 1-year treatment response in early rheumatoid arthritis

Background: We found recently that baseline signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 phosphorylation in peripheral blood CD4(+) T cells of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with treatment response to synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). This prompted us to study the baseline phosphorylation profiles of Janus kinases (JAKs) in blood leukocytes with respect to treatment response in early RA. Methods: Thirty-five DMARD-naive patients with early RA provided blood samples for whole blood flow cytometric determination of phosphorylation of JAKs in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, CD19(+) B cells, and CD14(+) monocytes. Treatment response was determined after 1 year of treatment with synthetic DMARDs, with remission defined as absence of tender and swollen joints and normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Exact logistic regression was used to investigate the association of baseline variables with treatment response. Ninety-five percent CIs of means were estimated by bias-corrected bootstrapping. Results: High JAK3 phosphorylation in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, CD19(+) B cells, and CD14(+) monocytes and low JAK2 phosphorylation in CD14(+) monocytes were significantly associated with remission following treatment with synthetic DMARDs. Conclusions: Baseline JAK phosphorylation profile in peripheral blood leukocytes may provide a means to predict treatment response achieved by synthetic DMARDs among patients with early RA.Peer reviewe

Investigating Bacterial Sources of Toxicity as an Environmental Contributor to Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration

Parkinson disease (PD) involves progressive neurodegeneration, including loss of dopamine (DA) neurons from the substantia nigra. Select genes associated with rare familial forms of PD function in cellular pathways, such as the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), involved in protein degradation. The misfolding and accumulation of proteins, such as α-synuclein, into inclusions termed Lewy Bodies represents a clinical hallmark of PD. Given the predominance of sporadic PD among patient populations, environmental toxins may induce the disease, although their nature is largely unknown. Thus, an unmet challenge surrounds the discovery of causal or contributory neurotoxic factors that could account for the prevalence of sporadic PD. Bacteria within the order Actinomycetales are renowned for their robust production of secondary metabolites and might represent unidentified sources of environmental exposures. Among these, the aerobic genera, Streptomyces, produce natural proteasome inhibitors that block protein degradation and may potentially damage DA neurons. Here we demonstrate that a metabolite produced by a common soil bacterium, S. venezuelae, caused DA neurodegeneration in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which increased as animals aged. This metabolite, which disrupts UPS function, caused gradual degeneration of all neuronal classes examined, however DA neurons were particularly vulnerable to exposure. The presence of DA exacerbated toxicity because neurodegeneration was attenuated in mutant nematodes depleted for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in DA production. Strikingly, this factor caused dose-dependent death of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, a dopaminergic line. Efforts to purify the toxic activity revealed that it is a highly stable, lipophilic, and chemically unique small molecule. Evidence of a robust neurotoxic factor that selectively impacts neuronal survival in a progressive yet moderate manner is consistent with the etiology of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Collectively, these data suggest the potential for exposures to the metabolites of specific common soil bacteria to possibly represent a contributory environmental component to PD

The dependence of dijet production on photon virtuality in ep collisions at HERA

The dependence of dijet production on the virtuality of the exchanged photon, Q^2, has been studied by measuring dijet cross sections in the range 0 < Q^2 < 2000 GeV^2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 38.6 pb^-1. Dijet cross sections were measured for jets with transverse energy E_T^jet > 7.5 and 6.5 GeV and pseudorapidities in the photon-proton centre-of-mass frame in the range -3 < eta^jet <0. The variable xg^obs, a measure of the photon momentum entering the hard process, was used to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement to the photon structure. The Q^2 dependence of the ratio of low- to high-xg^obs events was measured. Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions were found to generally underestimate the low-xg^obs contribution relative to that at high xg^obs. Monte Carlo models based on leading-logarithmic parton-showers, using a partonic structure for the photon which falls smoothly with increasing Q^2, provide a qualitative description of the data.Comment: 35 pages, 6 eps figures, submitted to Eur.Phys.J.

Beauty photoproduction measured using decays into muons in dijet events in ep collisions at s\sqrt{s}=318 GeV

The photoproduction of beauty quarks in events with two jets and a muon has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 110 pb$^{- 1}$. The fraction of jets containing b quarks was extracted from the transverse momentum distribution of the muon relative to the closest jet. Differential cross sections for beauty production as a function of the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the muon, of the associated jet and of $x_{\gamma}^{jets}$, the fraction of the photon's momentum participating in the hard process, are compared with MC models and QCD predictions made at next-to-leading order. The latter give a good description of the data.Comment: 32 pages, 6 tables, 7 figures Table 6 and Figure 7 revised September 200

Search for a narrow charmed baryonic state decaying to D^*+/- p^-/+ in ep collisions at HERA

A resonance search has been made in the D^*+/- p^-/+ invariant-mass spectrum with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 126 pb^-1. The decay channels D^*+ -> D^0 pi^+_s -> (K^- pi^+) pi^+_s and D^*+ -> D^0 pi^+_s -> (K^- pi^+ pi^+ pi^-) pi^+_s (and the corresponding antiparticle decays) were used to identify D^*+/- mesons. No resonance structure was observed in the D^*+/- p^-/+ mass spectrum from more than 60000 reconstructed D^*+/- mesons. The results are not compatible with a report of the H1 Collaboration of a charmed pentaquark, Theta^0_c.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; minor text revisions; 2 references adde

Characterization of Parameters Required for Effective Use of Tamoxifen-Regulated Recombination

Conditional gene targeting using the Cre-loxp system is a well established technique in numerous in vitro and in vivo systems. Ligand regulated forms of Cre have been increasingly used in these applications in order to gain temporal and spatial control over conditional targeting. The tamoxifen-regulated Cre variant mer-Cre-mer (mCrem) is widely utilized because of its reputation for tight regulation in the absence of its tamoxifen ligand. In the DT40 chicken B cell line, we generated an mCrem-based reversible switch for conditional regulation of a transgene, and in contrast with previous work, observed significant constitutive activity of mCrem. This prompted us to use our system for analysis of the parameters governing tamoxifen-regulated mCrem recombination of a genomic target. We find that robust mCrem expression correlates with a high level of tamoxifen-independent Cre activity, while clones expressing mCrem at the limit of western blot detection exhibit extremely tight regulation. We also observe time and dose-dependent effects on mCrem activity which suggest limitations on the use of conditional targeting approaches for applications which require tight temporal coordination of Cre action within a cell population