403 research outputs found
Drivers' decision-making when attempting to cross an intersection results from choice between affordances
International audienceIn theory, a safe approach to an intersection implies that drivers can simultaneously manage two scenarios: they either choose to cross or to give way to an oncoming vehicle. In this article we formalize the critical time for safe crossing (CT cross) and the critical time for safe stopping (CT stop) to represent crossing and stopping possibilities, respectively. We describe these critical times in terms of affordances and empirically test their respective contribution to the driver's decision-making process. Using a driving simulator, three groups of participants drove cars with identical acceleration capabilities and different braking capabilities. They were asked to try to cross an intersection where there was an oncoming vehicle, if they deemed the maneuver to be safe. If not, they could decide to stop or, as a last resort, make an emergency exit. The intersections were identical among groups. Results showed that although the crossing possibilities (CT cross) were the same for all groups, there were between-group differences in crossing frequency. This suggests that stopping possibilities (CT stop) play a role in the driver's decision-making process, in addition to the crossing possibilities. These results can be accounted for by a behavioral model of decision making, and provide support for the hypothesis of choice between affordances
Intestinal amoebiasis, giardiasis and geohelminthiases: their association with other intestinal parasites and reported intestinal symptoms
In order to determine reported signs and symptoms that may predict an intestinal parasitic infection, 241 schoolchildren in western Côte d'Ivoire were interviewed with a simple questionnaire and their stool specimens were examined over several consecutive days. Special emphasis was placed on (i) assessing infections by Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar, Giardia duodenalis and by intestinal worms, (ii) looking for associations between these parasites, and (iii) looking for associations between these parasites and commonly perceived intestinal signs and symptoms. Complete questionnaire results, intestinal helminth infections derived from 4 Kato-Katz thick smears, and intestinal protozoa infections assessed on a single day by a formalin-ether concentration procedure were obtained from 209 children (87%). A logistic regression modelling approach showed that an infection with E. histolytica/E. dispar was significantly associated with an Entamoeba coli infection. However, for G. duodenalis, hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides, no association was found between any of these parasites and other intestinal parasites. In a multivariate analysis reported diarrhoea was the only symptom positively associated with an E. histolytica/E. dispar infection (P = 0·028). Its diagnostic performance showed a low sensitivity (28%), a high specificity (85%) and moderate positive and negative predictive values (52% and 67%, respectively). Surprisingly, reported ‘turning stomach' was less often reported by children infected with G. duodenalis (borderline significance, P = 0·057). It is concluded that reported diarrhoea could be a symptom worth exploring further for the rapid identification of schoolchildren infected with E. histolytica/E. dispa
Species-specific field testing of Entamoeba spp. in an area of high endemicity
Entamoeba histolytica has been separated in recent years into 2 morphologically identical species: the apathogenic E. dispar and the pathogenic E. histolytica, only the latter being pathogenic. Although various laboratory techniques allow discrimination between the 2 species there is a lack of field data about the suitability of available diagnostic tests for use in epidemiological studies and few epidemiological studies using species-specific diagnosis have been performed at community level in endemic areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of 967 schoolchildren in central Côte d'Ivoire to compare and evaluate light microscopy, 2 different antigen detection assays, and one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Microscopy and a non-specific antigen capture Entamoeba enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used for the primary screening of all children (time t0). The prevalence of the E. histolytica/E. dispar species complex at t0 was 18 · 8% by single microscopical examination and 31 · 4% using the non-specific ELISA. Approximately 2 months after the initial screening, fresh stool specimens were collected on 2 consecutive days (t1, and t2) from (i) all the children who were positive by microscopy at t0 (n = 182) and (ii) 155 randomly selected children who were negative at the primary screening. These samples were tested with a second antigen detection ELISA specific for E. histolytica (n = 238) and with a species-specific PCR assay (n = 193). The second and third examinations (t1, and t2) revealed an additional 43 infections with the species complex E. histolytica/E. dispar, so that the cumulative microscopical prevalence for t1 and t2 was 27 · 7%. The overall prevalence of E. histolytica by species-specific ELISA antigen detection was low (0 · 83%), while the prevalence of E. dispar was 15%. When analysing only microscopically positive samples by PCR (n = 129), the ratio E. histolytica: E. dispar was very low (1:46), suggesting that the vast majority of Entamoeba infections in this area were apathogenic. Both species-specific tests performed well but the ELISA was easier to use for large-scale field screenin
Design and methodology of the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS): a comprehensive prospective nationwide long-term follow-up cohort.
In Switzerland, organ procurement is well organized at the national-level but transplant outcomes have not been systematically monitored so far. Therefore, a novel project, the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS), was established. The STCS is a prospective multicentre study, designed as a dynamic cohort, which enrolls all solid organ recipients at the national level. The features of the STCS are a flexible patient-case system that allows capturing all transplant scenarios and collection of patient-specific and allograft-specific data. Beyond comprehensive clinical data, specific focus is directed at psychosocial and behavioral factors, infectious disease development, and bio-banking. Between May 2008 and end of 2011, the six Swiss transplant centers recruited 1,677 patients involving 1,721 transplantations, and a total of 1,800 organs implanted in 15 different transplantation scenarios. 10 % of all patients underwent re-transplantation and 3% had a second transplantation, either in the past or during follow-up. 34% of all kidney allografts originated from living donation. Until the end of 2011 we observed 4,385 infection episodes in our patient population. The STCS showed operative capabilities to collect high-quality data and to adequately reflect the complexity of the post-transplantation process. The STCS represents a promising novel project for comparative effectiveness research in transplantation medicine
Localized tadpoles of anomalous heterotic U(1)'s
We investigate the properties of localized anomalous U(1)'s in heterotic
string theory on the orbifold T^6/Z_3. We argue that the local four dimensional
and original ten dimensional Green-Schwarz mechanisms can be implemented
simultaneously, making the theory manifestly gauge invariant everywhere, in the
bulk and at the fixed points. We compute the shape of the Fayet-Iliopoulos
tadpoles, and cross check this derivation for the four dimensional auxiliary
fields by a direct calculation of the tadpoles of the internal gauge fields.
Finally we study some resulting consequences for spontaneous symmetry breaking,
and derive the profile of the internal gauge field background over the
orbifold.Comment: 35 pages, LaTeX, with figure
A Complete Theory of Grand Unification in Five Dimensions
A fully realistic unified theory is constructed, with SU(5) gauge symmetry
and supersymmetry both broken by boundary conditions in a fifth dimension.
Despite the local explicit breaking of SU(5) at a boundary of the dimension,
the large size of the extra dimension allows precise predictions for gauge
coupling unification, alpha_s(M_Z) = 0.118 \pm 0.003, and for Yukawa coupling
unification, m_b(M_Z) = 3.3 \pm 0.2 GeV. A complete understanding of the MSSM
Higgs sector is given; with explanations for why the Higgs triplets are heavy,
why the Higgs doublets are protected from a large tree-level mass, and why the
mu and B parameters are naturally generated to be of order the SUSY breaking
scale. All sources of d=4,5 proton decay are forbidden, while a new origin for
d=6 proton decay is found to be important. Several aspects of flavor follow
from an essentially unique choice of matter location in the fifth dimension:
only the third generation has an SU(5) mass relation, and the lighter two
generations have small mixings with the heaviest generation. The entire
superpartner spectrum is predicted in terms of only two free parameters. The
squark and slepton masses are determined by their location in the fifth
dimension, allowing a significant experimental test of the detailed structure
of the extra dimension. Lepton flavor violation is found to be generically
large in higher dimensional unified theories with high mediation scales of SUSY
breaking. In our theory this forces a common location for all three neutrinos,
predicting large neutrino mixing angles. Rates for mu -> e gamma, mu -> e e e,
mu -> e conversion and tau -> mu gamma are larger in our theory than in
conventional 4D supersymmetric GUTs. Proposed experiments probing mu -> e
transitions will probe the entire interesting parameter space of our theory.Comment: 51 pages, late
Kaluza-Klein gravitino production with a single photon at e^+ e^- colliders
In a supersymmetric large extra dimension scenario, the production of
Kaluza-Klein gravitinos accompanied by a photino at e^+ e^- colliders is
studied. We assume that a bulk supersymmetry is softly broken on our brane such
that the low-energy theory resembles the MSSM. Low energy supersymmetry
breaking is further assumed as in GMSB, leading to sub-eV mass shift in each KK
mode of the gravitino from the corresponding graviton KK mode. Since the
photino decays within a detector due to its sufficiently large inclusive decay
rate into a photon and a gravitino, the process e^+ e^- -> photino + gravitino
yields single photon events with missing energy. Even if the total cross
section can be substantial at sqrt(s)=500 GeV, the KK graviton background of
e^+ e^- -> photon + graviton is kinematically advantageous and thus much
larger. It is shown that the observable, sigma(e^-_L)-sigma(e^-_R), can
completely eliminate the KK graviton background but retain most of the KK
gravitino signal, which provides a unique and robust method to probe the
supersymmetric bulk.Comment: Reference added and typos correcte
AXL targeting reduces fibrosis development in experimental unilateral ureteral obstruction
The AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) is involved in partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inflammation - both main promoters of renal fibrosis development. The study aim was to investigate the role of AXL inhibition in kidney fibrosis due to unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Eight weeks old male C57BL/6 mice underwent UUO and were treated with oral AXL inhibitor bemcentinib (n = 22), Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI, n = 10), ACEI and bemcentinib (n = 10) or vehicle alone (n = 22). Mice were sacrificed after 7 or 15 days and kidney tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot, ELISA, Sirius Red (SR) staining, and hydroxyproline (Hyp) quantification. RNA was extracted from frozen kidney tissues and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq4000 platform. After 15 days the ligated bemcentinib-treated kidneys showed less fibrosis compared to the ligated vehicle-treated kidneys in SR analyses and Hyp quantification. Reduced IHC staining for Vimentin (VIM) and alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha SMA), as well as reduced mRNA abundance of key regulators of fibrosis such as transforming growth factor (Tgf beta), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (Mmp2), Smad2, Smad4, myofibroblast activation (Aldh1a2, Crlf1), and EMT (Snai1,2, Twist), in ligated bemcentinib-treated kidneys was compatible with reduced (partial) EMT induction. Furthermore, less F4/80 positive cells, less activity of pathways related to the immune system and lower abundance of MCP1, MCP3, MCP5, and TARC in ligated bemcentinib-treated kidneys was compatible with reduction in inflammatory infiltrates by bemcentinib treatment. The AXL RTK pathway represents a promising target for pharmacologic therapy of kidney fibrosis.Peer reviewe
Anemos : development of a next generation wind power forecasting system for the large-scale integration of onshore & offshore wind farms
International audienceThis paper presents the objectives and the research work carried out in the frame of the ANEMOS project on short-term wind power forecasting. The aim of the project is to develop accurate models that substantially outperform current state-of-the-art methods, for onshore and offshore wind power forecasting, exploiting both statistical and physical modeling approaches. The project focus on prediction horizons up to 48 hours ahead and investigates predictability of wind for higher horizons up to 7 days ahead useful i.e. for maintenance scheduling. Emphasis is given on the integration of highresolution meteorological forecasts. For the offshore case, marine meteorology is considered as well as information by satellite-radar images. An integrated software platform, ‘ANEMOS', is developed to host the various models. This system will be installed by several utilities for on-line operation at onshore and offshore wind farms for prediction at a local, regional and national scale. The applications include different terrain types and wind climates, on- and offshore cases, and interconnected or island grids. The on-line operation by the utilities will allow validation of the models and an analysis of the value of wind prediction for a competitive integration of wind energy in the developing liberalized electricity markets in the EU
Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results
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