Age-Related Inflammation: the Contribution of Different Organs, Tissues and Systems. How to Face it for Therapeutic Approaches

A typical feature of ageing is a chronic, low-grade inflammation characterized by a general increase in the production of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammatory markers (“inflamm-ageing”). This status may slowly damage one or several organs, especially when unfavorable genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic alterations are concomitant, leading to an increased risk of frailty together with the onset of age-related chronic diseases. The contribution of different tissues (adipose tissue, muscle), organs (brain, liver), immune system and ecosystems (gut microbiota) to age-related inflammation (“inflamm-ageing”) will be discussed in this review in the context of its onset/progression leading to site-restricted and systemic effects. Moreover, some of the possible strategies and therapies to counteract the different sources of molecular mediators which lead to the age-related inflammatory phenotype will be presente

An overview of the design, construction and performance of large area triple-GEM prototypes for future upgrades of the CMS forward muon system

GEM detectors are used in high energy physics experiments given their good spatial resolution, high rate capability and radiation hardness. An international collaboration is investigating the possibility of covering the 1.6 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.4 region of the CMS muon endcaps with large-area triple-GEM detectors. The CMS high-eta area is actually not fully instrumented, only Cathode Strip Chamber (CSC) are installed. The vacant area presents an opportunity for a detector technology able to to cope with the harsh radiation environment; these micropattern gas detectors are an appealing option to simultaneously enhance muon tracking and triggering capabilities in a future upgrade of the CMS detector. A general overview of this feasibility study is presented. Design and construction of small (10cm x 10cm) and full-size trapezoidal (1m x 0.5m) triple-GEM prototypes is described. Results from measurements with x-rays and from test beam campaigns at the CERN SPS is shown for the small and large prototypes. Preliminary simulation studies on the expected muon reconstruction and trigger performances of this proposed upgraded muon system are reported

Regional microbial signatures positively correlate with differential wine phenotypes: evidence for a microbial aspect to terroir

Many crops display differential geographic phenotypes and sensorial signatures, encapsulated by the concept of terroir. The drivers behind these differences remain elusive, and the potential contribution of microbes has been ignored until recently. Significant genetic differentiation between microbial communities and populations from different geographic locations has been demonstrated, but crucially it has not been shown whether this correlates with differential agricultural phenotypes or not. Using wine as a model system, we utilize the regionally genetically differentiated population of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in New Zealand and objectively demonstrate that these populations differentially affect wine phenotype, which is driven by a complex mix of chemicals. These findings reveal the importance of microbial populations for the regional identity of wine, and potentially extend to other important agricultural commodities. Moreover, this suggests that long-term implementation of methods maintaining differential biodiversity may have tangible economic imperatives as well as being desirable in terms of employing agricultural practices that increase responsible environmental stewardship

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

European survey on criteria of aesthetics for periodontal evaluation: The ESCAPE study

Objective: The ESCAPE multicentre survey was designed to (a) compare the agreement of three relevant aesthetic scoring systems among different centres, and (b) evaluate the reproducibility of each question of the questionnaires. / Materials and Methods: EFP centres (n = 14) were involved in an e‐survey. Forty‐two participants (28 teachers, 14 postgraduate students) were asked to score the one‐year aesthetic outcomes of photographs using the Before–After Scoring System (BASS), the Pink Esthetic Score (PES) and the Root coverage Esthetic Score (RES). Mean values of kappa statistics performed on each question were provided to resume global agreement of each method. / Results: Between teachers, a difference of kappa ≥ 0.41 (p = .01) was found for BASS (75%) and PES (57%). Similarly, RES (84%) and PES (57%) were different (p < .001). No difference was found between BASS (75%) and RES (84%). No difference was found between students, whatever the scoring system. Questions of each scoring system showed differences in their reproducibility. / Conclusions: The outcomes of this study indicate that BASS and RES scoring systems are reproducible tools to evaluate aesthetic after root coverage therapies between different centres. Among the various variables, lack of scar, degree of root coverage, colour match and gingival margin that follows the CEJ show the best reliability

Test beam results of the GE1/1 prototype for a future upgrade of the CMS high-η muon system

Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) are an interesting technology under consideration for the future upgrade of the forward region of the CMS muon system, specifically in the 1.6 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.4 endcap region. With a sufficiently fine segmentation GEMs can provide precision tracking as well as fast trigger information. The main objective is to contribute to the improvement of the CMS muon trigger. The construction of large-area GEM detectors is challenging both from the technological and production aspects. In view of the CMS upgrade we have designed and built the largest full-size Triple-GEM muon detector, which is able to meet the stringent requirements given the hostile environment at the high-luminosity LHC. Measurements were performed during several test beam campaigns at the CERN SPS in 2010 and 2011. The main issues under study are efficiency, spatial resolution and timing performance with different inter-electrode gap configurations and gas mixtures. In this paper results of the performance of the prototypes at the beam tests will be discussed

Morphological, physiological and behavioural evaluation of a ‘Mice in Space’ housing system

Environmental conditions likely affect physiology and behaviour of mice used for life sciences research on Earth or in Space. Here, we analysed the effects of cage confinement on the weightbearing musculoskeletal system, behaviour and stress of wild-type mice (C57BL/6JRj, 30 g b.wt., total n = 24) housed for 25 days in a prototypical ground-based and fully automated life support habitat device called “Mice in Space” (MIS). Compared with control housing (individually ventilated cages) the MIS mice revealed no significant changes in soleus muscle size and myofiber distribution (type I vs. II) and quality of bone (3-D microarchitecture and mineralisation of calvaria, spine and femur) determined by confocal and micro-computed tomography. Corticosterone metabolism measured non-invasively (faeces) monitored elevated adrenocortical activity at only start of the MIS cage confinement (day 1). Behavioural tests (i.e., grip strength, rotarod, L/D box, elevated plus-maze, open field, aggressiveness) performed subsequently revealed only minor changes in motor performance (MIS vs. controls). The MIS habitat will not, on its own, produce major effects that could confound interpretation of data induced by microgravity exposure during spaceflight. Our results may be even more helpful in developing multidisciplinary protocols with adequate scenarios addressing molecular to systems levels using mice of various genetic phenotypes in many laboratories

A New Direction to Athletic Performance: Understanding the Acute and Longitudinal Responses to Backward Running

Backward running (BR) is a form of locomotion that occurs in short bursts during many overground field and court sports. It has also traditionally been used in clinical settings as a method to rehabilitate lower body injuries. Comparisons between BR and forward running (FR) have led to the discovery that both may be generated by the same neural circuitry. Comparisons of the acute responses to FR reveal that BR is characterised by a smaller ratio of braking to propulsive forces, increased step frequency, decreased step length, increased muscle activity and reliance on isometric and concentric muscle actions. These biomechanical differences have been critical in informing recent scientific explorations which have discovered that BR can be used as a method for reducing injury and improving a variety of physical attributes deemed advantageous to sports performance. This includes improved lower body strength and power, decreased injury prevalence and improvements in change of direction performance following BR training. The current findings from research help improve our understanding of BR biomechanics and provide evidence which supports BR as a useful method to improve athlete performance. However, further acute and longitudinal research is needed to better understand the utility of BR in athletic performance programs

Searches for neutral Higgs bosons in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} collisions at centre-of-mass energies from 192 to 202 GeV

Searches for neutral Higgs bosons are performed with the 237 pb^-1 of data collected in 1999 by the ALEPH detector at LEP, for centre-of-mass energies between 191.6 and 201.6 GeV. These searches apply to Higgs bosons within the context of the Standard Model and its minimal supersymmetric extension (MSSM) as well as to invisibly decaying Higgs bosons. No evidence of a signal is seen. A lower limit on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson of 107.7 GeV/c^2 at 95% confidence level is set. In the MSSM, lower limits of 91.2 and 91.6 GeV/c^2 are derived for the masses of the neutral Higgs bosons h and A, respectively. For a Higgs boson decaying invisibly and produced with the Standard Model cross section, masses below 106.4 GeV/c^2 are excluded