969 research outputs found
Dog Ecology and Dog Rabies Control
Dog populations, like other populations, depend on the availability of resources (food, water, and shelter). Humans either make available or deliberately withhold resources for varying proportions of dog populations. Dog-keeping practices and the duties of responsible ownership vary with the cultural setting. Dog populations often attain densities that allow the species to be a main host of rabies. The epidemiology of dog rabies is not well understood, despite the easy access to dog populations. Today dog rabies is predomina~t in developing countries. In addition to the high rate of exposure of humans to dogs, tradItional medical beliefs and practices are the most important cultural factors that lead to high numbers of cases of human rabies. Dog rabies control programs have been succe~sful in the past, but most are failing today. Program development should follow managenal principles and take into consideration the biology of dog populations as w~ll as. cultural constraints. Elimination of stray dogs IS not an effIcIent means of controllIng eIther the dog population or rabies, but it may create public awarenes
Early complications after living donor nephrectomy: analysis of the Swiss Organ Living Donor Health Registry.
We evaluated the prospectively collected data about the incidence of early peri- and postoperative complications, and potential risk factors for adverse outcomes after living kidney donation in Switzerland.
Peri- and postoperative events were prospectively recorded on a questionnaire by the local transplant teams of all Swiss transplant centres and evaluated by the Swiss Organ Living Donor Health Registry. Complications were classified according to the Clavien grading system. A total of 1649 consecutive donors between 1998 and 2015 were included in the analysis.
There was no perioperative mortality observed. The overall complication rate was 13.5%. Major complications defined as Clavien ≥3 occurred in 2.1% of donors. Obesity was not associated with any complications. Donor age >70years was associated with major complications (odds ratio [OR] 3.99) and genitourinary complications (urinary tract infection OR 5.85; urinary retention OR 6.61). There were more major complications observed in donors with laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery (p = 0.048), but an equal overall complication rate (p = 0.094).
We found a low rate of major and minor complications, independent of surgical technique, after living donor nephrectomy. There was no elevated complication rate in obese donors. In contrast, elderly donors >70 years had an elevated risk for perioperative complications
A lens-coupled scintillation counter in cryogenic environment
In this work we present an elegant solution for a scintillation counter to be
integrated into a cryogenic system. Its distinguishing feature is the absence
of a continuous light guide coupling the scintillation and the photodetector
parts, operating at cryogenic and room temperatures respectively. The prototype
detector consists of a plastic scintillator with glued-in wavelength-shifting
fiber located inside a cryostat, a Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiode (G-APD)
outside the cryostat, and a lens system guiding the scintillation light
re-emitted by the fiber to the G-APD through optical windows in the cryostat
shields. With a 0.8mm diameter multiclad fiber and a 1mm active area G-APD the
coupling efficiency of the "lens light guide" is about 50%. A reliable
performance of the detector down to 3K is demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
Action functionals of single scalar fields and arbitrary--weight gravitational constraints that generate a genuine Lie algebra
We discuss the issue initiated by Kucha\v{r} {\it et al}, of replacing the
usual Hamiltonian constraint by alternative combinations of the gravitational
constraints (scalar densities of arbitrary weight), whose Poisson brackets
strongly vanish and cast the standard constraint-system for vacuum gravity into
a form that generates a true Lie algebra. It is shown that any such
combination---that satisfies certain reality conditions---may be derived from
an action principle involving a single scalar field and a single Lagrange
multiplier with a non--derivative coupling to gravity.Comment: 26 pages, plain TE
The O(N) Model at Finite Temperature: Renormalization of the Gap Equations in Hartree and Large-N Approximation
The temperature dependence of the sigma meson and pion masses is studied in
the framework of the O(N) model. The Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis formalism is
applied to derive gap equations for the masses in the Hartree and large-N
approximations. Renormalization of the gap equations is carried out within the
cut-off and counter-term renormalization schemes. A consistent renormalization
of the gap equations within the cut-off scheme is found to be possible only in
the large-N approximation and for a finite value of the cut-off. On the other
hand, the counter-term scheme allows for a consistent renormalization of both
the large-N and Hartree approximations. In these approximations, the meson
masses at a given nonzero temperature depend in general on the choice of the
cut-off or renormalization scale. As an application, we also discuss the
in-medium on-shell decay widths for sigma mesons and pions at rest.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, typos corrected and refs. added, accepted in
Journal of Physics
How to read a next-generation sequencing report-what oncologists need to know.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of tumor cell-derived DNA/RNA to screen for targetable genomic alterations is now widely available and has become part of routine practice in oncology. NGS testing strategies depend on cancer type, disease stage and the impact of results on treatment selection. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has recently published recommendations for the use of NGS in patients with advanced cancer. We complement the ESMO recommendations with a practical review of how oncologists should read and interpret NGS reports. A concise and straightforward NGS report contains details of the tumor sample, the technology used and highlights not only the most important and potentially actionable results, but also other pathogenic alterations detected. Variants of unknown significance should also be listed. Interpretation of NGS reports should be a joint effort between molecular pathologists, tumor biologists and clinicians. Rather than relying and acting on the information provided by the NGS report, oncologists need to obtain a basic level of understanding to read and interpret NGS results. Comprehensive annotated databases are available for clinicians to review the information detailed in the NGS report. Molecular tumor boards do not only stimulate debate and exchange, but may also help to interpret challenging reports and to ensure continuing medical education
Some Applications of Thermal Field Theory to Quark-Gluon Plasma
The lecture provides a brief introduction of thermal field theory within
imaginary time formalism, the Hard Thermal Loop perturbation theory and some of
its application to the physics of the quark-gluon plasma, possibly created in
relativistic heavy ion collisions.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures : Lectures given in "Workshop on Hadron Physics"
during March 7-17, 2005, Puri, Indi
Quench Induced Vortices in the Symmetry Broken Phase of Liquid He
Motivated by the study of cosmological phase transitions, our understanding
of the formation of topological defects during spontaneous symmetry-breaking
and the associated non-equilibrium field theory has recently changed.
Experiments have been performed in superfluid He to test the new ideas
involved. In particular, it has been observed that a vortex density is seen
immediately after pressure quenches from just below the transition.
We discuss possible interpretations of these vortices, conclude they are
consistent with our ideas of vortex formation and propose a modification of the
original experiments.Comment: 29 pages, RevTeX with one EPS figur
Enhancing bacteriophage therapeutics through in situ production and release of heterologous antimicrobial effectors
Bacteriophages operate via pathogen-specific mechanisms of action distinct from conventional, broad-spectrum antibiotics and are emerging as promising alternative antimicrobials. However, phage-mediated killing is often limited by bacterial resistance development. Here, we engineer phages for target-specific effector gene delivery and host-dependent production of colicin-like bacteriocins and cell wall hydrolases. Using urinary tract infection (UTI) as a model, we show how heterologous effector phage therapeutics (HEPTs) suppress resistance and improve uropathogen killing by dual phage- and effector-mediated targeting. Moreover, we designed HEPTs to control polymicrobial uropathogen communities through production of effectors with cross-genus activity. Using phage-based companion diagnostics, we identified potential HEPT responder patients and treated their urine ex vivo. Compared to wildtype phage, a colicin E7-producing HEPT demonstrated superior control of patient E. coli bacteriuria. Arming phages with heterologous effectors paves the way for successful UTI treatment and represents a versatile tool to enhance and adapt phage-based precision antimicrobials
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