348 research outputs found
VetoFocus, a website for clinical cases of bovine diseases
VetoFocus started with the release on-line of the author’s large photo collection of clinical cases of
bovine diseases, with the help of a colleague in charge of a communication’s agency. In less than five
years, regular contributions from practitioners, academics and students supervised by academics greatly
enriched the collection. After a strict organisation of the site, cases were divided into three headings:
clinical cases, technical procedures, and a collaborative heading « I need your opinion » where diagnostic
or therapeutic questions can be posted. By the end of September 2012, the website had been
visited by 7458 registered users from some forty French-speaking and European countries. VetoFocus
offers a platform to exchange practical knowledge between veterinary practitioners, but also
between practitioners and teachers or experts, which sometimes works both waysLe point de départ de VetoFocus a été la mise en ligne de l’importante collection photographique
de cas cliniques de l’auteur, en pathologie bovine, avec l’aide d’un confrère responsable d’une agence
de communication. En moins de cinq ans, les contributions régulières de praticiens, d’universitaires
et d’étudiants encadrés par des universitaires, ont considérablement enrichi la collection. Après une
stricte organisation du site, les cas ont été divisés en trois rubriques : cas cliniques, gestes techniques
et une rubrique collaborative intitulée « J’ai besoin de votre avis » qui reçoit les questions diagnostiques
ou thérapeutiques. À la fin de septembre 2012, le site avait été consulté par 7458 inscrits depuis
une quarantaine de pays francophones et de pays européens. VetoFocus offre ainsi une plateforme
de de partage de connaissances pratiques entre vétérinaires praticiens, mais aussi entre praticiens et
enseignants ou experts et, parfois même de manière réciproqu
Molecular composition of clouds: a comparison between samples collected at tropical (Réunion Island, France) and mid-north (Puy de Dôme, France) latitudes
The composition of dissolved organic matter of cloud water has been investigated through non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry on only a few samples that were mostly collected in the Northern Hemisphere in the USA, Europe and China. There remains, therefore, a lack of measurements for clouds located in the Southern Hemisphere, under tropical conditions and influenced by forest emissions. As a matter of fact, the comparison of the composition of clouds collected in different locations is challenging since the methodology for the analysis and data treatment is not standardized. In this work, the chemical composition of three samples collected at Réunion Island (REU) during the BIO-MAÏDO field campaign, in the Indian Ocean, with influences from marine, anthropogenic and biogenic (tropical) emissions, is investigated and compared to the chemical composition of samples collected at the Puy de Dôme (PUY) observatory in France. The same methodology of analysis and data treatment was employed, producing a unique dataset for the investigation of the molecular composition of organic matter in cloud water. Besides the analysis of elemental composition, we investigated the carbon oxidation state (OSC) of dissolved organic matter, finding that overall samples collected at PUY are more oxidized than those collected at REU. Molecular formulas were also classified based on stoichiometric elemental ratios, showing the high frequency and abundance of reduced organic compounds, classified as lipids (LipidC), in this matrix, which led to a search for terpene oxidation products in cloud water samples. To better discriminate between samples collected at PUY and REU, statistical analysis (principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchical clustering) was performed on the ensemble of molecular formulas and their intensities. Samples collected at REU have a different composition from samples collected at PUY, which is mainly linked to different primary sources, the processing of organic matter in cloud water and the influence of different primary emissions at the two locations.</p
Recommended from our members
The catastrophic flash-flood event of 8–9 September 2002 in the Gard region, France: a first case study for the Cévennes–Vivarais Mediterranean Hydrometeorological Observatory
The Cévennes–Vivarais Mediterranean Hydrometeorological Observatory (OHM-CV) is a research initiative aimed at improving the understanding and modeling of the Mediterranean intense rain events that frequently result in devastating flash floods in southern France. A primary objective is to bring together the skills of meteorologists and hydrologists, modelers and instrumentalists, researchers and practitioners, to cope with these rather unpredictable events. In line with previously published flash-flood monographs, the present paper aims at documenting the 8–9 September 2002 catastrophic event, which resulted in 24 casualties and an economic damage evaluated at 1.2 billion euros (i.e., about 1 billion U.S. dollars) in the Gard region, France. A description of the synoptic meteorological situation is first given and shows that no particular precursor indicated the imminence of such an extreme event. Then, radar and rain gauge analyses are used to assess the magnitude of the rain event, which was particularly remarkable for its spatial extent with rain amounts greater than 200 mm in 24 h over 5500 km2. The maximum values of 600–700 mm observed locally are among the highest daily records in the region. The preliminary results of the postevent hydrological investigation show that the hydrologic response of the upstream watersheds of the Gard and Vidourle Rivers is consistent with the marked space–time structure of the rain event. It is noteworthy that peak specific discharges were very high over most of the affected areas (5–10 m3 s−1 km−2) and reached locally extraordinary values of more than 20 m3 s−1 km−2. A preliminary analysis indicates contrasting hydrological behaviors that seem to be related to geomorphological factors, notably the influence of karst in part of the region. An overview of the ongoing meteorological and hydrological research projects devoted to this case study within the OHM-CV is finally presented
Temporal Dynamics of Interferon Gamma Responses in Children Evaluated for Tuberculosis
BACKGROUND: Development of T-cells based-Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) assays has offered new possibilities for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active disease in adults. Few studies have been performed in children, none in France. With reference to the published data on childhood TB epidemiology in the Paris and Ile de France Region, we considered it important to evaluate the performance of IGRA (QuantiFERON TB Gold In Tube(R), QF-TB-IT) in the diagnosis and the follow-up through treatment of LTBI and active TB in a cohort of French children. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 131 children were recruited during a prospective and multicentre study (October 2005 and May 2007; Ethical Committee St Louis Hospital, Paris, study number 2005/32). Children were sampled at day 0, 10, 30, 60 (except Healthy Contacts, HC) and 90 for LTBI and HC, and a further day 120, and day 180 for active TB children. Median age was 7.4 years, with 91% of the children BCG vaccinated. LTBI and active TB children undergoing therapy produced significant higher IFNgamma values after 10 days of treatment (p = 0.035). In addition, IFNgamma values were significantly lower at the end of treatment compared to IFNgamma values at day 0, although the number of positive patients was not significantly different between day 0 and end of treatment. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: By following quantitative IFNgamma values in each enrolled child with LTBI or active TB and receiving treatment, we were able to detect an increase in the IFNgamma response at day 10 of treatment which might allow the confirmation of a diagnosis. In addition, a decline in IFNgamma values during treatment makes it possible for clinicians to monitor the effect of preventive or curative therapy
Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment
The calibration and performance of the oppositeside
flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements
of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment
are described. The algorithms have been developed using
simulated events and optimized and calibrated with
B
+ →J/ψK
+, B0 →J/ψK
∗0 and B0 →D
∗−
μ
+
νμ decay
modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions
at
√
s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside
tagging power is determined in the B
+ → J/ψK
+
channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty
is statistical and the second is systematic
Measurement of the branching fraction
The branching fraction is measured in a data sample
corresponding to 0.41 of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb
detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions
affecting the sin2 measurement from The
time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be . This is the most precise measurement to
date
Measurement of the CP-violating phase \phi s in Bs->J/\psi\pi+\pi- decays
Measurement of the mixing-induced CP-violating phase phi_s in Bs decays is of
prime importance in probing new physics. Here 7421 +/- 105 signal events from
the dominantly CP-odd final state J/\psi pi+ pi- are selected in 1/fb of pp
collision data collected at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV with the LHCb detector. A
time-dependent fit to the data yields a value of
phi_s=-0.019^{+0.173+0.004}_{-0.174-0.003} rad, consistent with the Standard
Model expectation. No evidence of direct CP violation is found.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; minor revisions on May 23, 201
Measurement of the CP-violating phase phi_s in the decay Bs->J/psi phi
We present a measurement of the time-dependent CP-violating asymmetry in B_s
-> J/psi phi decays, using data collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC.
The decay time distribution of B_s -> J/psi phi is characterized by the decay
widths Gamma_H and Gamma_L of the heavy and light mass eigenstates of the
B_s-B_s-bar system and by a CP-violating phase phi_s. In a sample of about 8500
B_s -> J/psi phi events isolated from 0.37 fb^-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7
TeV we measure phi_s = 0.15 +/- 0.18 (stat) +/- 0.06 (syst) rad. We also find
an average B_s decay width Gamma_s == (Gamma_L + Gamma_H)/2 = 0.657 +/- 0.009
(stat) +/- 0.008 (syst) ps^-1 and a decay width difference Delta Gamma_s ==
Gamma_L - Gamma_H} = 0.123 +/- 0.029 (stat) +/- 0.011 (syst) ps^-1. Our
measurement is insensitive to the transformation (phi_s,DeltaGamma_s --> pi -
phi_s, - Delta Gamma_s.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma)
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 -> phi gamma has been measured using 0.37 fb-1 of pp collisions at a
centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The
value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) = 1.12 +/- 0.08
^{+0.06}_{-0.04} ^{+0.09}_{-0.08}, where the first uncertainty is statistical,
the second systematic and the third is associated to the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (4.33 +/-
0.15) x 10^{-5}, the branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be
(3.9 +/- 0.5) x 10^{-5}, which is the most precise measurement to date.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, 2 table
Search for CP violation in decays
A model-independent search for direct CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed
decay in a sample of approximately 370,000 decays is
carried out. The data were collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 and
correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb. The normalized Dalitz
plot distributions for and are compared using four different
binning schemes that are sensitive to different manifestations of CP violation.
No evidence for CP asymmetry is found.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
- …