Intermediate window observable for the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon g−2g-2 from O(a)(a) improved Wilson quarks

Following the publication of the new measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, the discrepancy between experiment and the theory prediction from the g−2 theory initiative has increased to 4.2σ. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict values for the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution that are larger than the data-driven estimates, bringing the Standard Model prediction closer to the experimental measurement. Euclidean time windows in the time-momentum representation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon g−2 can help clarify the discrepancy between the phenomenological and lattice predictions. We present our calculation of the intermediate distance window contribution using Nf=2+1 flavors of O(a) improved Wilson quarks. We employ ensembles at six lattice spacings below 0.1fm and pion masses down to the physical value. We present a detailed study of the continuum limit, using two discretizations of the vector current and two independent sets of improvement coefficients. Our result at the physical point displays a tension of 3.9σ with a recent evaluation of the intermediate window based on the data-driven method

Influence of auxin and its polar transport inhibitor on the development of somatic embryos in Digitalis trojana

The present study reports the role of auxin and its transport inhibitor during the establishment of an efficient and optimized protocol for the somatic embryogenesis in Digitalis trojana Ivan. Hypocotyl segments (5 mm long) were placed vertically in the Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with three sets [indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) alone or 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) alone or IAA-TIBA combination] of formulations of plant growth regulators, to assess their differential influence on induction and proliferation of somatic embryos (SEs). IAA alone was found to be the most effective, at a concentration of 0.5 mg/l, inducing similar to 10 SEs per explant with 52% induction frequency. On the other hand, the combination of 0.5 mg/l of IAA and 1 mg/l of TIBA produced significantly fewer (similar to 3.6 SEs) and abnormal (enlarged, oblong, jar and cup-shaped) SEs per explant with 24% induction frequency in comparison to that in the IAA alone. The explants treated with IAA-TIBA exhibited a delayed response along with the formation of abnormal SEs. Our study revealed that IAA induces high-frequency SE formation when used singly, but the frequency gradually declines when IAA was coupled with increasing levels of TIBA. Eventually, our findings bring new insights into the roles of auxin and its polar transport in somatic embryogenesis of D. trojana

Utility of the Tourniquet Test and the White Blood Cell Count to Differentiate Dengue among Acute Febrile Illnesses in the Emergency Room

Dengue often presents with non-specific clinical signs, and given the current paucity of accurate, rapid diagnostic laboratory tests, identifying easily obtainable bedside markers of dengue remains a priority. Previous studies in febrile Asian children have suggested that the combination of a positive tourniquet test (TT) and leucopenia can distinguish dengue from other febrile illnesses, but little data exists on the usefulness of these tests in adults or in the Americas. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the TT and leucopenia (white blood cell count <5000/mm3) in identifying dengue as part of an acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance study conducted in the Emergency Department of Saint Luke's Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico. From September to December 2009, 284 patients presenting to the ED with fever for 2–7 days and no identified source were enrolled. Participants were tested for influenza, dengue, leptospirosis and enteroviruses. Thirty-three (12%) patients were confirmed as having dengue; 2 had dengue co-infection with influenza and leptospirosis, respectively. An infectious etiology was determined for 141 others (136 influenza, 3 enterovirus, 2 urinary tract infections), and 110 patients had no infectious etiology identified. Fifty-two percent of laboratory-positive dengue cases had a positive TT versus 18% of patients without dengue (P<0.001), 87% of dengue cases compared to 28% of non-dengue cases had leucopenia (P<0.001). The presence of either a positive TT or leucopenia correctly identified 94% of dengue patients. The specificity and positive predictive values of these tests was significantly higher in the subset of patients without pandemic influenza A H1N1, suggesting improved discriminatory performance of these tests in the absence of concurrent dengue and influenza outbreaks. However, even during simultaneous AFI outbreaks, the absence of leucopenia combined with a negative tourniquet test may be useful to rule out dengue

Culex pipiens, an Experimental Efficient Vector of West Nile and Rift Valley Fever Viruses in the Maghreb Region

West Nile fever (WNF) and Rift Valley fever (RVF) are emerging diseases causing epidemics outside their natural range of distribution. West Nile virus (WNV) circulates widely and harmlessly in the old world among birds as amplifying hosts, and horses and humans as accidental dead-end hosts. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) re-emerges periodically in Africa causing massive outbreaks. In the Maghreb, eco-climatic and entomologic conditions are favourable for WNV and RVFV emergence. Both viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the Culex pipiens complex. We evaluated the ability of different populations of Cx. pipiens from North Africa to transmit WNV and the avirulent RVFV Clone 13 strain. Mosquitoes collected in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia during the summer 2010 were experimentally infected with WNV and RVFV Clone 13 strain at titers of 107.8 and 108.5 plaque forming units/mL, respectively. Disseminated infection and transmission rates were estimated 14–21 days following the exposure to the infectious blood-meal. We show that 14 days after exposure to WNV, all mosquito st developed a high disseminated infection and were able to excrete infectious saliva. However, only 69.2% of mosquito strains developed a disseminated infection with RVFV Clone 13 strain, and among them, 77.8% were able to deliver virus through saliva. Thus, Cx. pipiens from the Maghreb are efficient experimental vectors to transmit WNV and to a lesser extent, RVFV Clone 13 strain. The epidemiologic importance of our findings should be considered in the light of other parameters related to mosquito ecology and biology

Twenty two cases of canine neural angiostronglyosis in eastern Australia (2002-2005) and a review of the literature

Cases of canine neural angiostrongylosis (NA) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluations in the peer-reviewed literature were tabulated. All cases were from Australia. A retrospective cohort of 59 dogs was contrasted with a series of 22 new cases where NA was diagnosed by the presence of both eosinophilic pleocytosis and anti-Angiostrongylus cantonensis immunloglobulins (IgG) in CSF, determined by ELISA or Western blot. Both cohorts were drawn from south east Queensland and Sydney. The retrospective cohort comprised mostly pups presented for hind limb weakness with hyperaesthesia, a mixture of upper motor neurone (UMN) and lower motor neurone (LMN) signs in the hind limbs and urinary incontinence. Signs were attributed to larval migration through peripheral nerves, nerve roots, spinal cord and brain associated with an ascending eosinophilic meningo-encephomyelitis. The contemporary cohort consisted of a mixture of pups, young adult and mature dogs, with a wider range of signs including (i) paraparesis/proprioceptive ataxia (ii) lumbar and tail base hyperaesthesia, (iii) multi-focal central nervous system dysfunction, or (iv) focal disease with neck pain, cranial neuropathy and altered mentation. Cases were seen throughout the year, most between April and July (inclusive). There was a preponderance of large breeds. Often littermates, or multiple animals from the same kennel, were affected simultaneously or sequentially. A presumptive diagnosis was based on consistent signs, proximity to rats, ingestion/chewing of slugs or snails and eosinophilic pleocytosis. NA was diagnosed by demonstrating anti-A. cantonensis IgG in CSF. Detecting anti-A. cantonensis IgG in serum was unhelpful because many normal dogs (20/21 lb dogs; 8/22 of a hospital population) had such antibodies, often at substantial titres. Most NA cases in the contemporary series (19/22) and many pups (16/38) in the retrospective cohort were managed successfully using high doses of prednisolone and opioids. Treatment often included antibiotics administered in case protozoan encephalomyelitis or translocated bacterial meningitis was present. Supportive measures included bladder care and physiotherapy. Several dogs were left with permanent neural deficits. Dogs are an important sentinel species for NA. Human cases and numerous cases in tawny frogmouths were reported from the same regions as affected dogs over the study period

The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Papua New Guinea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA) is more prevalent than previously thought and contributes to patient's suffering from knee OA. Synthesis of prevalence data can provide estimates of the burden of PF OA

Standard Model parameters in the heavy quark sector from three-flavor lattice QCD

Die große Bandbreite an Energieskalen, welche in Observablen die Charm- und Bottom-Quarks beinhalten vorhanden sind, führt zu theoretischen und numerischen Herausforderungen in Gitterrechnungen. In unserer Arbeit legen wir die Grundlagen um Standardmodellparameter im Sektor schwerer Quarks der Drei-Flavor QCD zu bestimmen. Wir verbessern die diskretisierte Theorie nichtperturbativ um systematische Unsicherheiten in der Bestimmung der Charm-Quarkmasse auf Grundlage von Gitterrechnungen mit 2+1 dynamischen Quarkflavors zu minimieren. Im b-Quarksektor verwenden wir die effektive Theorie schwerer Quarks (HQET) um starke Wechselwirkungen mit schweren Quarks zu beschreiben. Wir bereiten die Renormierung der effektiven Theorie zur ersten Ordnung mittels eines Matchings mit QCD in kleinem Volumen vor und extrahieren niederenergetische Kopplungskonstanten der chiralen Störungstheorie schwerer Mesonen, welche eine effektive Theorie der Physik der schwer-leichten Mesonen darstellt.The large spread of energy scales which are present in observables involving charm and bottom quarks leads to theoretical and numerical challenges in lattice calculations. In our work, we lay the foundations to determine Standard Model parameters in the heavy quark sector of three-flavor QCD. We perform a non-perturbative improvement of the discretized theory to minimize systematic uncertainties in the determination of the mass of the charm quark from lattice simulations with 2+1 dynamical flavors. In the b quark sector, we use Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET) to describe strong interactions involving the heavy quark. We prepare the renormalization of the effective theory to next-to-leading order via a non-perturbative finite-volume matching with QCD and extract low-energy couplings of Heavy Meson Chiral Perturbation Theory, an effective theory describing the physics of heavy-light mesons