Temperature Modulation of Electric Fields in Biological Matter

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) have become an important minimally invasive surgical technology for various applications including genetic engineering, electrochemotherapy and tissue ablation. This study explores the hypothesis that temperature dependent electrical parameters of tissue can be used to modulate the outcome of PEF protocols, providing a new means for controlling and optimizing this minimally invasive surgical procedure. This study investigates two different applications of cooling temperatures applied during PEF. The first case utilizes an electrode which simultaneously delivers pulsed electric fields and cooling temperatures. The subsequent results demonstrate that changes in electrical properties due to temperature produced by this configuration can substantially magnify and confine the electric fields in the cooled regions while almost eliminating electric fields in surrounding regions. This method can be used to increase precision in the PEF procedure, and eliminate muscle contractions and damage to adjacent tissues. The second configuration considered introduces a third probe that is not electrically active and only applies cooling boundary conditions. This second study demonstrates that in this probe configuration the temperature induced changes in electrical properties of tissue substantially reduce the electric fields in the cooled regions. This novel treatment can potentially be used to protect sensitive tissues from the effect of the PEF. Perhaps the most important conclusion of this investigation is that temperature is a powerful and accessible mechanism to modulate and control electric fields in biological tissues and can therefore be used to optimize and control PEF treatments

BODE index versus GOLD classification for explaining anxious and depressive symptoms in patients with COPD – a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety and depression are common and treatable risk factors for re-hospitalisation and death in patients with COPD. The degree of lung function impairment does not sufficiently explain anxiety and depression. The BODE index allows a functional classification of COPD beyond FEV₁. The aim of this cross-sectional study was (1) to test whether the BODE index is superior to the GOLD classification for explaining anxious and depressive symptoms; and (2) to assess which components of the BODE index are associated with these psychological aspects of COPD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>COPD was classified according to the GOLD stages based on FEV_1%predictedin 122 stable patients with COPD. An additional four stage classification was constructed based on the quartiles of the BODE index. The hospital anxiety and depression scale was used to assess anxious and depressive symptoms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of anxious and depressive symptoms was 49% and 52%, respectively. The prevalence of anxious symptoms increased with increasing BODE stages but not with increasing GOLD stages. The prevalence of depressive symptoms increased with both increasing GOLD and BODE stages. The BODE index was superior to FEV_1%predictedfor explaining anxious and depressive symptoms. Anxious symptoms were explained by dyspnoea. Depressive symptoms were explained by both dyspnoea and reduced exercise capacity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The BODE index is superior to the GOLD classification for explaining anxious and depressive symptoms in COPD patients. These psychological consequences of the disease may play a role in future classification systems of COPD.</p

Formyl Peptide Receptor as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Anxiety-Related Disorders

Formyl peptide receptors (FPR) belong to a family of sensors of the immune system that detect microbe-associated molecules and inform various cellular and sensorial mechanisms to the presence of pathogens in the host. Here we demonstrate that Fpr2/3-deficient mice show a distinct profile of behaviour characterised by reduced anxiety in the marble burying and light-dark box paradigms, increased exploratory behaviour in an open-field, together with superior performance on a novel object recognition test. Pharmacological blockade with a formyl peptide receptor antagonist, Boc2, in wild type mice reproduced most of the behavioural changes observed in the Fpr2/3(-/-) mice, including a significant improvement in novel object discrimination and reduced anxiety in a light/dark shuttle test. These effects were associated with reduced FPR signalling in the gut as shown by the significant reduction in the levels of p-p38. Collectively, these findings suggest that homeostatic FPR signalling exerts a modulatory effect on anxiety-like behaviours. These findings thus suggest that therapies targeting FPRs may be a novel approach to ameliorate behavioural abnormalities present in neuropsychiatric disorders at the cognitive-emotional interface

Genetics of Systemic Sclerosis: An Update

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by vasculopathy, immune cell activation, and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Over the past few years, a role for genetics in the susceptibility for SSc has been established. This review aims to provide an update on the progress made in the past year or so within the field of SSc genetics research. This year has been of particular interest due to the publication of a large genome-wide association study, further investigations into gene–gene interactions, and the tendency to validate genetic results in functional models

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

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

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

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