Comparison of the reliability of snap foal Ig test, Gamma-Check E test, refractometry and electrophoresis for determining the immune status of newborn foals in the first hours of life

Twenty-eight warmblood mares were monitored during their late pregnancy in the Teaching Hospital of Ghent University. The reliability of two commercial assays (enzyme immunoassay and glutaraldehyde coagulation test) used for determining the IgG concentrations of their newborn foals was tested. Mammary secretions were examined at the time of foaling (T0), and then 4 (T1) and 8 (T2) hours after foaling by refractometry and electrophoresis. The foals’ blood IgG levels were measured at T1 and T2 as a routine clinical diagnostic examination using two different commercial test kits (SNAP Foal Ig and Gamma-Check E) and T0, T1 and T2 samples were stored (at −18 °C) for immunoglobulin (Ig) determination by electrophoresis. Differences between the results of refractometry and electrophoresis occurred in 27.8% of the colostrum analyses. Some serum IgG could be detected immediately post partum (T0) in 75% of the foals, and 42.82% of the newborn foals acquired a serum concentration of more than 800 mg/dl IgG within 8 h of birth. Compared to the electrophoresis, the glutaraldehyde test scored better (85%) than the enzyme immunoassay (74%), although both are accurate and safe to use since they clearly distinguish between safe and unsafe IgG concentrations

Rapamycin attenuates hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy in mice

BACKGROUND: Chronic hypoxia induces pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and hypertrophy are important contributors to the remodeling that occurs in chronic hypoxic pulmonary vasculature. We hypothesized that rapamycin (RAPA), a potent cell cycle inhibitor, prevents pulmonary hypertension in chronic hypoxic mice. METHODS: Mice were held either at normoxia (N; 21% O(2)) or at hypobaric hypoxia (H; 0.5 atm; ~10% O(2)). RAPA-treated animals (3 mg/kg*d, i.p.) were compared to animals injected with vehicle alone. Proliferative activity within the pulmonary arteries was quantified by staining for Ki67 (positive nuclei/vessel) and media area was quantified by computer-aided planimetry after immune-labeling for α-smooth muscle actin (pixel/vessel). The ratio of right ventricle to left ventricle plus septum (RV/[LV+S]) was used to determine right ventricular hypertrophy. RESULTS: Proliferative activity increased by 34% at day 4 in mice held under H (median: 0.38) compared to N (median: 0.28, p = 0.028) which was completely blocked by RAPA (median HO+RAPA: 0.23, p = 0.003). H-induced proliferation had leveled off within 3 weeks. At this time point media area had, however, increased by 53% from 91 (N) to 139 (H, p < 0.001) which was prevented by RAPA (H+RAPA: 102; p < 0.001). RV/[LV+S] ratio which had risen from 0.17 (N) to 0.26 (H, p < 0.001) was attenuated in the H+RAPA group (0.22, p = 0.041). For a therapeutic approach animals were exposed to H for 21 days followed by 21 days in H ± RAPA. Forty two days of H resulted in a media area of 129 (N: 83) which was significantly attenuated in RAPA-treated mice (H+RAPA: 92). RV/[LV+S] ratios supported prevention of PH (N 0.13; H 0.27; H+RAPA 0.17). RAPA treatment of N mice did not influence any parameter examined. CONCLUSION: Therapy with rapamycin may represent a new strategy for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension

Sequential Surgical Procedures in Vascular Surgery Patients Are Associated With Perioperative Adverse Cardiac Events

Patients at elevated cardiovascular risk are prone to perioperative cardiovascular complications, like myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS). We have demonstrated in a mouse model of atherosclerosis that perioperative stress leads to an increase in plaque volume and higher plaque vulnerability. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a pivotal role in development and destabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. For this exploratory post-hoc analysis we identified 40 patients recruited into a prospective perioperative biomarker study, who within the inclusion period underwent sequential open vascular surgery. On the basis of protein markers measured in the biomarker study, we evaluated the perioperative inflammatory response in patients' plasma before and after index surgery as well as before and after a second surgical procedure. We also analyzed available immunohistochemistry samples to describe plaque vulnerability in patients who underwent bilateral carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in two subsequent surgical procedures. Finally, we assessed if MINS was associated with sequential surgery. The inflammatory response of both surgeries was characterized by postoperative increases of interleukin-6,−10, Pentraxin 3 and C-reactive protein with no clear-cut difference between the two time points of surgery. Plaques from CEA extracted during the second surgery contained less Tregs, as measured by Foxp3 staining, than plaques from the first intervention. The 2nd surgical procedure was associated with MINS. In conclusion, we provide descriptive evidence that sequential surgical procedures involve repeat inflammation, and we hypothesize that elevated rates of cardiovascular complications after the second procedure could be related to reduced levels of intraplaque Tregs, a finding that deserves confirmatory testing and mechanistic exploration in future populations

Thrombectomy within 8 hours after symptom onset in ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of thrombectomy for the treatment of stroke in a trial embedded within a population-based stroke reperfusion registry. METHODS: During a 2-year period at four centers in Catalonia, Spain, we randomly assigned 206 patients who could be treated within 8 hours after the onset of symptoms of acute ischemic stroke to receive either medical therapy (including intravenous alteplase when eligible) and endovascular therapy with the Solitaire stent retriever (thrombectomy group) or medical therapy alone (control group). All patients had confirmed proximal anterior circulation occlusion and the absence of a large infarct on neuroimaging. In all study patients, the use of alteplase either did not achieve revascularization or was contraindicated. The primary outcome was the severity of global disability at 90 days, as measured on the modified Rankin scale (ranging from 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]). Although the maximum planned sample size was 690, enrollment was halted early because of loss of equipoise after positive results for thrombectomy were reported from other similar trials. RESULTS Thrombectomy reduced the severity of disability over the range of the modified Rankin scale (adjusted odds ratio for improvement of 1 point, 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05 to 2.8) and led to higher rates of functional independence (a score of 0 to 2) at 90 days (43.7% vs. 28.2%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.0). At 90 days, the rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage were 1.9% in both the thrombectomy group and the control group (P = 1.00), and rates of death were 18.4% and 15.5%, respectively (P = 0.60). Registry data indicated that only eight patients who met the eligibility criteria were treated outside the trial at participating hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with anterior circulation stroke who could be treated within 8 hours after symptom onset, stent retriever thrombectomy reduced the severity of post-stroke disability and increased the rate of functional independence

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson

Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at \sqrt{s}=7\TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs(\ttbar) in $pp$ collisions at \sqrt{s}=7 \TeV is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in two different topologies: single lepton (electron $e$ or muon $\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least four jets, and dilepton ($ee$, $\mu\mu$ or $e\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. In a data sample of 2.9 pb-1, 37 candidate events are observed in the single-lepton topology and 9 events in the dilepton topology. The corresponding expected backgrounds from non-\ttbar Standard Model processes are estimated using data-driven methods and determined to be $12.2 \pm 3.9$ events and $2.5 \pm 0.6$ events, respectively. The kinematic properties of the selected events are consistent with SM \ttbar production. The inclusive top quark pair production cross-section is measured to be \sigmattbar=145 \pm 31 ^{+42}_{-27} pb where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measurement agrees with perturbative QCD calculations.Comment: 30 pages plus author list (50 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, CERN-PH number and final journal adde

Measurement of the top quark pair cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

A measurement of the cross section of top quark pair production in proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is reported. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb -1. Events with an isolated electron or muon and a τ lepton decaying hadronically are used. In addition, a large missing transverse momentum and two or more energetic jets are required. At least one of the jets must be identified as originating from a b quark. The measured cross section, σtt-=186±13(stat.)±20(syst.)±7(lumi.) pb, is in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction

Hunt for new phenomena using large jet multiplicities and missing transverse momentum with ATLAS in 4.7 fb−1 of √s=7 TeV proton-proton collisions

Results are presented of a search for new particles decaying to large numbers of jets in association with missing transverse momentum, using 4.7 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√=7TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2011. The event selection requires missing transverse momentum, no isolated electrons or muons, and from ≥6 to ≥9 jets. No evidence is found for physics beyond the Standard Model. The results are interpreted in the context of a MSUGRA/CMSSM supersymmetric model, where, for large universal scalar mass m 0, gluino masses smaller than 840 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, extending previously published limits. Within a simplified model containing only a gluino octet and a neutralino, gluino masses smaller than 870 GeV are similarly excluded for neutralino masses below 100 GeV