134 research outputs found
Detectors and cryostat design for the SuMIRe Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS)
We describe the conceptual design of the camera cryostats, detectors, and
detector readout electronics for the SuMIRe Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS)
being developed for the Subaru telescope. The SuMIRe PFS will consist of four
identical spectrographs, each receiving 600 fibers from a 2400 fiber robotic
positioner at the prime focus. Each spectrograph will have three channels
covering wavelength ranges 3800 {\AA} - 6700 {\AA}, 6500 {\AA} - 10000 {\AA},
and 9700 {\AA} - 13000 {\AA}, with the dispersed light being imaged in each
channel by a f/1.10 vacuum Schmidt camera. In the blue and red channels a pair
of Hamamatsu 2K x 4K edge-buttable CCDs with 15 um pixels are used to form a 4K
x 4K array. For the IR channel, the new Teledyne 4K x 4K, 15 um pixel,
mercury-cadmium-telluride sensor with substrate removed for short-wavelength
response and a 1.7 um cutoff will be used. Identical detector geometry and a
nearly identical optical design allow for a common cryostat design with the
only notable difference being the need for a cold radiation shield in the IR
camera to mitigate thermal background. This paper describes the details of the
cryostat design and cooling scheme, relevant thermal considerations and
analysis, and discusses the detectors and detector readout electronics
Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in European Wildlife
Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known colonizer and cause of infection among
animals and it has been described from numerous domestic and wild animal
species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the molecular
epidemiology of S. aureus in a convenience sample of European wildlife and to
review what previously has been observed in the subject field. 124 S. aureus
isolates were collected from wildlife in Germany, Austria and Sweden; they
were characterized by DNA microarray hybridization and, for isolates with
novel hybridization patterns, by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The
isolates were assigned to 29 clonal complexes and singleton sequence types
(CC1, CC5, CC6, CC7, CC8, CC9, CC12, CC15, CC22, CC25, CC30, CC49, CC59, CC88,
CC97, CC130, CC133, CC398, ST425, CC599, CC692, CC707, ST890, CC1956, ST2425,
CC2671, ST2691, CC2767 and ST2963), some of which (ST2425, ST2691, ST2963)
were not described previously. Resistance rates in wildlife strains were
rather low and mecA-MRSA isolates were rare (n = 6). mecC-MRSA (n = 8) were
identified from a fox, a fallow deer, hares and hedgehogs. The common cattle-
associated lineages CC479 and CC705 were not detected in wildlife in the
present study while, in contrast, a third common cattle lineage, CC97, was
found to be common among cervids. No Staphylococcus argenteus or
Staphylococcus schweitzeri-like isolates were found. Systematic studies are
required to monitor the possible transmission of human- and livestock-
associated S. aureus/MRSA to wildlife and vice versa as well as the possible
transmission, by unprotected contact to animals. The prevalence of S.
aureus/MRSA in wildlife as well as its population structures in different
wildlife host species warrants further investigation
The tropical Atlantic observing system
The tropical Atlantic is home to multiple coupled climate variations covering a wide
range of timescales and impacting societally relevant phenomena such as continental
rainfall, Atlantic hurricane activity, oceanic biological productivity, and atmospheric
circulation in the equatorial Pacific. The tropical Atlantic also connects the southern and northern branches of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and receives
freshwater input from some of the world’s largest rivers. To address these diverse,
unique, and interconnected research challenges, a rich network of ocean observations
has developed, building on the backbone of the Prediction and Research Moored Array
in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA). This network has evolved naturally over time and out of
necessity in order to address the most important outstanding scientific questions and
to improve predictions of tropical Atlantic severe weather and global climate variability
and change. The tropical Atlantic observing system is motivated by goals to understand
and better predict phenomena such as tropical Atlantic interannual to decadal variability
and climate change; multidecadal variability and its links to the meridional overturning
circulation; air-sea fluxes of CO2 and their implications for the fate of anthropogenic CO2;
the Amazon River plume and its interactions with biogeochemistry, vertical mixing, and
hurricanes; the highly productive eastern boundary and equatorial upwelling systems;
and oceanic oxygen minimum zones, their impacts on biogeochemical cycles and
marine ecosystems, and their feedbacks to climate. Past success of the tropical
Atlantic observing system is the result of an international commitment to sustained
observations and scientific cooperation, a willingness to evolve with changing research
and monitoring needs, and a desire to share data openly with the scientific community
and operational centers. The observing system must continue to evolve in order to
meet an expanding set of research priorities and operational challenges. This paper
discusses the tropical Atlantic observing system, including emerging scientific questions
that demand sustained ocean observations, the potential for further integration of the
observing system, and the requirements for sustaining and enhancing the tropical
Atlantic observing system
Real-time plasma state monitoring and supervisory control on TCV
In ITER and DEMO, various control objectives related to plasma control must be simultaneously achieved by the plasma control system (PCS), in both normal operation as well as off-normal conditions. The PCS must act on off-normal events and deviations from the target scenario, since certain sequences (chains) of events can precede disruptions. It is important that these decisions are made while maintaining a coherent prioritization between the real-time control tasks to ensure high-performance operation. In this paper, a generic architecture for task-based integrated plasma control is proposed. The architecture is characterized by the separation of state estimation, event detection, decisions and task execution among different algorithms, with standardized signal interfaces. Central to the architecture are a plasma state monitor and supervisory controller. In the plasma state monitor, discrete events in the continuous-valued plasma state are modeled using finite state machines. This provides a high-level representation of the plasma state. The supervisory controller coordinates the execution of multiple plasma control tasks by assigning task priorities, based on the finite states of the plasma and the pulse schedule. These algorithms were implemented on the TCV digital control system and integrated with actuator resource management and existing state estimation algorithms and controllers. The plasma state monitor on TCV can track a multitude of plasma events, related to plasma current, rotating and locked neoclassical tearing modes, and position displacements. In TCV experiments on simultaneous control of plasma pressure, safety factor profile and NTMs using electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and current drive (ECCD), the supervisory controller assigns priorities to the relevant control tasks. The tasks are then executed by feedback controllers and actuator allocation management. This work forms a significant step forward in the ongoing integration of control capabilities in experiments on TCV, in support of tokamak reactor operation
COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study
Background:
The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms.
Methods:
International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms.
Results:
‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country.
Interpretation:
This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men
Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022).
INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes.
RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes.
TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570
Abord anticipé des proches pour la recherche d'opposition au don d'organes chez les patients en coma grave secondaire à un accident vasculaire cérébral avec décision de limitation active des traitements de réanimation (évaluation des pratiques professionnelles à partir d'un questionnaire)
Introduction : Les recommandations formalisées d'expert (RFE) publiées en 2010 par la SRLF sur la prise en charge des AVC (nouveau-né exclu) ont abordé les questions portant sur la décision de LAT et la place du don d'organes (DO). Cette étude a évalué les pratiques professionnelles concernant le DO dans la prise en charge d'un patient en coma grave secondaire à un AVC et la connaissance de ces RFE. Matériels et méthodes: Les médecins réanimateurs et urgentistes du SRA Grand-Ouest ont été sollicités par un questionnaire en ligne anonyme du 1er février au 31 mars 2013. Résultats : Mille cent trente-deux questionnaires ont été envoyés et 395 étaient exploitables. Deux cent quatre-vingt-douze médecins (74%) avaient déjà pris en charge un patient en coma grave secondaire à un AVC dans l'optique exclusive d'un prélèvement d'organes dont 83% (n=146) des médecins de centres hospitaliers (CH) et 67% (n=146) des médecins de centres hospitaliers universitaires (CHU) (p<0,001). La spécialisation des filières en CHU, un intérêt fort à très fort vis-à-vis du DO moindre en CHU (59% vs 75%, p < 0.05), une formation sur l'entretien à la demande de don (EDD) (19% vs 40%, p<0,001) et sur la LAT (84% vs 96%, p< 0.05) moindres en CHU sont des éléments de réponses pour expliquer ces résultats. De même, les séniors urgentistes (SU) ont moins d'expérience que les séniors réanimateurs (SR) (72% vs 91%) à prendre en charge ce type de patient (p<0.001). Soixante-et-onze pour cent des médecins ont déjà réalisé un EDD avant l'annonce du décès. Paradoxalement, 24% des SU ont toujours réalisé l'EDD avant l'annonce du décès contre 7% des SR alors que seuls 16% des SU avaient le sentiment d'avoir suffisamment d'expérience pour mener un EDD (SR 62%, p<0,01). 82%(n=343) des répondeurs avaient déjà participé à une LAT. Sur les 351 séniors ayant participé à une formation LAT; les SR à (50%, n=65) étaient plus nombreux à avoir été formés que les SU (37%, n=66, p=0,027).Les RFE étaient connues par 62% des médecins, 88% les jugeaient applicables dans leur pratique quotidienne. Les principaux freins institutionnels à leur mise en place étaient le manque de moyen matériel, le défaut de formation, le manque de temps et l'absence de consensus. Conclusion : La prise en charge d'un patient en coma grave secondaire à un AVC et dans l'optique exclusive d'un prélèvement d'organes est une pratique professionnelle fréquente mais variable d'un établissement à l'autre. Elle reste fragile en raison du manque d'expérience et de formation exprimés par les professionnels en charge de ce type de patient. Les RFE peuvent aider à structurer au sein d'un établissement cette prise en charge.NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocSudocFranceF
Propositions pour une versions inter-opérable du protocole /eXplicit Control Protocol/ dans des réseaux hétérogènes à haut débit.
LYON-ENS Sciences (693872304) / SudocSudocFranceF
Wind-induced variability in larval retention in a coral reef system: a biophysical modelling study in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia
In the present work, a biophysical dispersal model is used to understand the role of the physical environment in determining reef fish larval dispersal patterns in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia. We focus on a reef fish species, the humbug damselfish Dascyllus aruanus, to investigate seasonal variability of simulated larval retention at the scale of a reef patch and at the scale of the lagoon, and to explore links between larval retention and wind variability. The model shows that retention exhibits considerable temporal variability and periodically reaches values much larger than anticipated. Non-zero larval settlement occurs over a large part of the lagoon. Nevertheless, settlement values decrease quickly away from the natal reef and mean dispersal distances are of order 25-35 km. Cross-correlation analyses indicate that weather conditions characterized by strong south east trade winds lead to low retention rates at both local (reef) and regional (lagoon) scales. By contrast, subtropical weather conditions characterized by weak winds result in high retention rates. These results suggest that large-scale weather regimes can be used as proxies for larval retention of the humbug damselfish in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia. Nevertheless, relatively small mean dispersal distances suggest that meta-population dynamics occur on relatively small spatial scales
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