Plasma harmonics Lissajous measurements

June 17-21 200

Electrical, Thermal and Optical Diagnostics of an Atmospheric Plasma Jet System

Plasma diagnostics of atmospheric plasmas is a key tool in helping to understand processing performance issues. This paper presents an electrical, optical and thermographic imaging study of the PlasmaStream atmospheric plasma jet system. The system was found to exhibit three operating modes; one constricted/localized plasma and two extended volume plasmas. At low power and helium flows the plasma is localized at the electrodes and has the electrical properties of a corona/filamentary discharge with electrical chaotic temporal structure. With increasing discharge power and helium flow the plasma expands into the volume of the tube, becoming regular and homogeneous in appearance. Emission spectra show evidence of atomic oxygen, nitric oxide and the hydroxyl radical production. Plasma activated gas temperature deduced from the rotational temperature of nitrogen molecules was found to be of order of 400 K: whereas thermographic imaging of the quartz tube yielded surface temperatures between 319 and 347 K.<br/

Joint EANM/SIOPE/RAPNO practice guidelines/SNMMI procedure standards for imaging of paediatric gliomas using PET with radiolabelled amino acids and [¹⁸F]FDG: version 1.0

Positron emission tomography (PET) has been widely used in paediatric oncology. 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) is the most commonly used radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging. For oncological brain imaging, different amino acid PET radiopharmaceuticals have been introduced in the last years. The purpose of this document is to provide imaging specialists and clinicians guidelines for indication, acquisition, and interpretation of [18F]FDG and radiolabelled amino acid PET in paediatric patients affected by brain gliomas. There is no high level of evidence for all recommendations suggested in this paper. These recommendations represent instead the consensus opinion of experienced leaders in the field. Further studies are needed to reach evidence-based recommendations for the applications of [18F]FDG and radiolabelled amino acid PET in paediatric neuro-oncology. These recommendations are not intended to be a substitute for national and international legal or regulatory provisions and should be considered in the context of good practice in nuclear medicine. The present guidelines/standards were developed collaboratively by the EANM and SNMMI with the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) Brain Tumour Group and the Response Assessment in Paediatric Neuro-Oncology (RAPNO) working group. They summarize also the views of the Neuroimaging and Oncology and Theranostics Committees of the EANM and reflect recommendations for which the EANM and other societies cannot be held responsible

Behavioral and molecular genetics of reading-related AM and FM detection thresholds

Auditory detection thresholds for certain frequencies of both amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) dynamic auditory stimuli are associated with reading in typically developing and dyslexic readers. We present the first behavioral and molecular genetic characterization of these two auditory traits. Two extant extended family datasets were given reading tasks and psychoacoustic tasks to determine FM 2 Hz and AM 20 Hz sensitivity thresholds. Univariate heritabilities were significant for both AM (h2 = 0.20) and FM (h2 = 0.29). Bayesian posterior probability of linkage (PPL) analysis found loci for AM (12q, PPL = 81 %) and FM (10p, PPL = 32 %; 20q, PPL = 65 %). Bivariate heritability analyses revealed that FM is genetically correlated with reading, while AM was not. Bivariate PPL analysis indicates that FM loci (10p, 20q) are not also associated with reading

Short-term efficacy of physical interventions in osteoarthritic knee pain. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Treatment efficacy of physical agents in osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) pain has been largely unknown, and this systematic review was aimed at assessing their short-term efficacies for pain relief. METHODS: Systematic review with meta-analysis of efficacy within 1-4 weeks and at follow up at 1-12 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: 36 randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) were identified with 2434 patients where 1391 patients received active treatment. 33 trials satisfied three or more out of five methodological criteria (Jadad scale). The patient sample had a mean age of 65.1 years and mean baseline pain of 62.9 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Within 4 weeks of the commencement of treatment manual acupuncture, static magnets and ultrasound therapies did not offer statistically significant short-term pain relief over placebo. Pulsed electromagnetic fields offered a small reduction in pain of 6.9 mm [95% CI: 2.2 to 11.6] (n = 487). Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, including interferential currents), electro-acupuncture (EA) and low level laser therapy (LLLT) offered clinically relevant pain relieving effects of 18.8 mm [95% CI: 9.6 to 28.1] (n = 414), 21.9 mm [95% CI: 17.3 to 26.5] (n = 73) and 17.7 mm [95% CI: 8.1 to 27.3] (n = 343) on VAS respectively versus placebo control. In a subgroup analysis of trials with assumed optimal doses, short-term efficacy increased to 22.2 mm [95% CI: 18.1 to 26.3] for TENS, and 24.2 mm [95% CI: 17.3 to 31.3] for LLLT on VAS. Follow-up data up to 12 weeks were sparse, but positive effects seemed to persist for at least 4 weeks after the course of LLLT, EA and TENS treatment was stopped. CONCLUSION: TENS, EA and LLLT administered with optimal doses in an intensive 2-4 week treatment regimen, seem to offer clinically relevant short-term pain relief for OAK

Suicide with psychiatric diagnosis and without utilization of psychiatric service

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Considerable attention has been focused on the study of suicides among those who have received help from healthcare providers. However, little is known about the profiles of suicide deceased who had psychiatric illnesses but made no contact with psychiatric services prior to their death. Behavioural model of health service use is applied to identify factors associated with the utilization of psychiatric service among the suicide deceased.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>With respect to completed suicide cases, who were diagnosed with a mental disorder, a comparison study was made between those who had (contact group; n = 52; 43.7%) and those who had not made any contact (non-contact group; n = 67; 56.3%) with a psychiatrist during the final six months prior to death. A <it>sample </it>of 119 deceased cases aged between 15 and 59 with at least one psychiatric diagnosis assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID I) were selected from a psychological autopsy study in Hong Kong.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The contact and non-contact group could be well distinguished from each other by "<it>predisposing</it>" variables: age group & gender, and most of the "<it>enabling"</it>, and "<it>need" </it>variables tested in this study. Multiple logistic regression analysis has found four factors are statistically significantly associated with non-contact suicide deceased: (i) having non-psychotic disorders (OR = 13.5, 95% CI:2.9-62.9), (ii) unmanageable debts (OR = 10.5, CI:2.4-45.3), (iii) being full/partially/self employed at the time of death (OR = 10.0, CI:1.6-64.1) and (iv) having higher levels of social problem-solving ability (SPSI) (OR = 2.0, CI:1.1-3.6).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The non-contact group was clearly different from the contact group and actually comprised a larger proportion of the suicide population that they could hardly be reached by usual individual-based suicide prevention efforts. For this reason, both universal and strategic suicide prevention measures need to be developed specifically in non-medical settings to reach out to this non-contact group in order to achieve better suicide prevention results.</p

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

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

Advanced backcross QTL mapping of resistance to Fusarium head blight and plant morphological traits in a Triticum macha × T. aestivum population

While many reports on genetic analysis of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in bread wheat have been published during the past decade, only limited information is available on FHB resistance derived from wheat relatives. In this contribution, we report on the genetic analysis of FHB resistance derived from Triticum macha (Georgian spelt wheat). As the origin of T. macha is in the Caucasian region, it is supposed that its FHB resistance differs from other well-investigated resistance sources. To introduce valuable alleles from the landrace T. macha into a modern genetic background, we adopted an advanced backcross QTL mapping scheme. A backcross-derived recombinant-inbred line population of 321 BC2F3 lines was developed from a cross of T. macha with the Austrian winter wheat cultivar Furore. The population was evaluated for Fusarium resistance in seven field experiments during four seasons using artificial inoculations. A total of 300 lines of the population were genetically fingerprinted using SSR and AFLP markers. The resulting linkage map covered 33 linkage groups with 560 markers. Five novel FHB-resistance QTL, all descending from T. macha, were found on four chromosomes (2A, 2B, 5A, 5B). Several QTL for morphological and developmental traits were mapped in the same population, which partly overlapped with FHB-resistance QTL. Only the 2BL FHB-resistance QTL co-located with a plant height QTL. The largest-effect FHB-resistance QTL in this population mapped at the spelt-type locus on chromosome 5A and was associated with the wild-type allele q, but it is unclear whether q has a pleiotropic effect on FHB resistance or is closely linked to a nearby resistance QTL

Two Coregulated Efflux Transporters Modulate Intracellular Heme and Protoporphyrin IX Availability in Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae is a major neonatal pathogen whose infectious route involves septicemia. This pathogen does not synthesize heme, but scavenges it from blood to activate a respiration metabolism, which increases bacterial cell density and is required for full virulence. Factors that regulate heme pools in S. agalactiae are unknown. Here we report that one main strategy of heme and protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) homeostasis in S. agalactiae is based on a regulated system of efflux using two newly characterized operons, gbs1753 gbs1752 (called pefA pefB), and gbs1402 gbs1401 gbs1400 (called pefR pefC pefD), where pef stands for ‘porphyrin-regulated efflux’. In vitro and in vivo data show that PefR, a MarR-superfamily protein, is a repressor of both operons. Heme or PPIX both alleviate PefR-mediated repression. We show that bacteria inactivated for both Pef efflux systems display accrued sensitivity to these porphyrins, and give evidence that they accumulate intracellularly. The ΔpefR mutant, in which both pef operons are up-regulated, is defective for heme-dependent respiration, and attenuated for virulence. We conclude that this new efflux regulon controls intracellular heme and PPIX availability in S. agalactiae, and is needed for its capacity to undergo respiration metabolism, and to infect the host