Observation Of A High-energy Cosmic-ray Family Caused By A Centauro-type Nuclear Interaction In The Joint Emulsion Chamber Experiment At The Pamirs

An exotic cosmic-ray family event is observed in the large emulsion chamber exposed by the joint at the Pamirs (4360 m above sea level). The family is composed of 120γ-ray-induced showers and 37 hadron-induced showers with individual visible energy exceeding 1 TeV. The decisive feature of the event is the hadron dominance: ΣEγ, ΣE(γ) h, 〈Eγ, 〈E(γ) h〉, 〈Eγ·Rγ〉 and 〈E(γ)·Rh〉 being 298 TeV, 476 TeV, 2.5 TeV, 12.9 TeV, 28.6 GeV m and 173 GeV m, respectively. Most probably the event is due to a Centauro interaction, which occured in the atmosphere at ∼700 m above the chamber. The event will constitute the second beautiful candidate for a Centauro observed at the Pamirs. © 1987.1901-2226233Bayburina, (1981) Nucl. Phys. B, 191, p. 1Lattes, Fujimoto, Hasegawa, Hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic-ray observed by emulsion chambers (1980) Physics Reports, 65, p. 151(1984) Trudy FIAN, 154, p. 1Borisov, (1984) Proc. Intern. Symp. on Cosmic rays and particle physics, p. 3. , TokyoRen, (1985) 19th Intern. Cosmic ray Conf., 6, p. 317. , La JollaYamashita, (1985) 19th Intern. Cosmic ray Conf., 6, p. 364. , La JollaTamada, (1977) Nuovo Cimento, 41 B, p. 245T. Shibata et al., to be publishedHillas, (1979) 16th Intern. Cosmic ray Conf., 6, p. 13. , KyotoBattiston, Measurement of the proton-antiproton elastic and total cross section at a centre-of-mass energy of 540 GeV (1982) Physics Letters B, 117, p. 126UA5 Collab., G.J. Alner et al., preprint CERN-EP/85-62Taylor, (1976) Phys. Rev. D, 14, p. 1217Burnett, (1984) Proc. Intern. Symp. on Cosmic rays and particle physics, p. 468. , Toky

Molecular analysis of 311 Cryptococcus neoformans isolates from a 30-month ECMM survey of cryptococcosis in Europe

During a European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) prospective survey of cryptococcosis in Europe (from July 1997 to December 1999) 655 cases were reported from 17 countries; 565 of the completed questionnaires were evaluable. Cryptococcosis was associated with HIV infection in 77% of cases (range 57.5-94%). Assessment of the laboratory data highlighted the lack of defined standard procedures for the diagnosis of cryptococcosis: the antigen test was not usually used for screening, the disease was mainly recognised when meningitis occurred (65% of patients) and, with the exception of a few cases, the extent of the infection was not investigated. Cryptococcus neoformans was the etiological agent in all of the cases except for six caused by C. gattii and four by other Cryptococcus species. A total of 311 C. neoformans strains were serotyped by Crypto Check latex agglutination, genotyped by PCR-fingerprinting using the (GACA)4 oligonucleotide as a single primer, and their mating type was determined by PCR of the STE20 alleles. Serotype A was the most represented (51% of the isolates), followed by serotype D (30%) and serotype AD (19%). PCR-fingerprinting analysis significantly increased the percentage of hybrid strains to 30%, as 6% of the serotype A and 28% of the serotype D isolates were of the VN3 or VN4 hybrid genotype. In addition, the mating type determinations revealed the MATa serotype A allele in one haploid strain and 28 hybrids, and hybrid isolates with a single mating type (four Aα and two Dα) were also identified. This is the first prospective survey to be carried out in Europe which has attempted to investigate the epidemiology of cryptococcosis and the population structure of C. neoformans, and the results obtained thus far show the widespread involvement of AD hybrid strains in C. neoformans infections. © 2006 Federation of European Microbiological Societies Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved

Polycystic kidney disease: the complete structure of the PKD1 gene and its protein

Mutations in the PKD1 gene are the most common cause of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Other PKD1-like loci on chromosome 16 are approximately 97% identical to PKD1. To determine the authentic PKD1 sequence, we obtained the genomic sequence of the PKD1 locus and assembled a PKD1 transcript from the sequence of 46 exons. The 14.5 kb PKD1 transcript encodes a 4304 amino acid protein that has a novel domain architecture. The amino-terminal half of the protein consists of a mosaic of previously described domains, including leucine-rich repeats flanked by characteristic cysteine-rich structures, LDL-A and C-type lectin domains, and 14 units of a novel 80 amino acid domain. The presence of these domains suggests that the PKD1 protein is involved in adhesive protein-protein and protein-carbohydrate interactions in the extracellular compartment. We propose a hypothesis that links the predicted properties of the protein with the diverse phenotypic features of ADPKD

Performance of Prognostic Risk Scores in Chronic Heart Failure Patients Enrolled in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Objectives: This study compared the performance of major heart failure (HF) risk models in predicting mortality and examined their utilization using data from a contemporary multinational registry. Background: Several prognostic risk scores have been developed for ambulatory HF patients, but their precision is still inadequate and their use limited. Methods: This registry enrolled patients with HF seen in participating European centers between May 2011 and April 2013. The following scores designed to estimate 1- to 2-year all-cause mortality were calculated in each participant: CHARM (Candesartan in Heart Failure-Assessment of Reduction in Mortality), GISSI-HF (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochinasi nell'Infarto Miocardico-Heart Failure), MAGGIC (Meta-analysis Global Group in Chronic Heart Failure), and SHFM (Seattle Heart Failure Model). Patients with hospitalized HF (n = 6,920) and ambulatory HF patients missing any variable needed to estimate each score (n = 3,267) were excluded, leaving a final sample of 6,161 patients. Results: At 1-year follow-up, 5,653 of 6,161 patients (91.8%) were alive. The observed-to-predicted survival ratios (CHARM: 1.10, GISSI-HF: 1.08, MAGGIC: 1.03, and SHFM: 0.98) suggested some overestimation of mortality by all scores except the SHFM. Overprediction occurred steadily across levels of risk using both the CHARM and the GISSI-HF, whereas the SHFM underpredicted mortality in all risk groups except the highest. The MAGGIC showed the best overall accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.743), similar to the GISSI-HF (AUC = 0.739; p = 0.419) but better than the CHARM (AUC = 0.729; p = 0.068) and particularly better than the SHFM (AUC = 0.714; p = 0.018). Less than 1% of patients received a prognostic estimate from their enrolling physician. Conclusions: Performance of prognostic risk scores is still limited and physicians are reluctant to use them in daily practice. The need for contemporary, more precise prognostic tools should be considered