Development of a decision support tool to facilitate primary care management of patients with abnormal liver function tests without clinically apparent liver disease [HTA03/38/02]. Abnormal Liver Function Investigations Evaluation (ALFIE)

Liver function tests (LFTs) are routinely performed in primary care, and are often the gateway to further invasive and/or expensive investigations. Little is known of the consequences in people with an initial abnormal liver function (ALF) test in primary care and with no obvious liver disease. Further investigations may be dangerous for the patient and expensive for Health Services. The aims of this study are to determine the natural history of abnormalities in LFTs before overt liver disease presents in the population and identify those who require minimal further investigations with the potential for reduction in NHS costs

Diverse tick-borne microorganisms identified in free-living ungulates in Slovakia

Background: Free-living ungulates are hosts of ixodid ticks and reservoirs of tick-borne microorganisms in central Europe and many regions around the world. Tissue samples and engorged ticks were obtained from roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, mouflon, and wild boar hunted in deciduous forests of south-western Slovakia. DNA isolated from these samples was screened for the presence of tick-borne microorganisms by PCR-based methods. Results: Ticks were found to infest all examined ungulate species. The principal infesting tick was Ixodes ricinus, identified on 90.4% of wildlife, and included all developmental stages. Larvae and nymphs of Haemaphysalis concinna were feeding on 9.6% of wildlife. Two specimens of Dermacentor reticulatus were also identified. Ungulates were positive for A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found to infect 96.1% of cervids, 88.9% of mouflon, and 28.2% of wild boar, whereas Theileria spp. was detected only in cervids (94.6%). Importantly, a high rate of cervids (89%) showed mixed infections with both these microorganisms. In addition to A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp., Rickettsia helvetica, R. monacensis, unidentified Rickettsia sp., Coxiella burnetii, "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis", Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) and Babesia venatorum were identified in engorged I. ricinus. Furthermore, A. phagocytophilum, Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. were detected in engorged H. concinna. Analysis of 16S rRNA and groEL gene sequences revealed the presence of five and two A. phagocytophilum variants, respectively, among which sequences identified in wild boar showed identity to the sequence of the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). Phylogenetic analysis of Theileria 18S rRNA gene sequences amplified from cervids and engorged I. ricinus ticks segregated jointly with sequences of T. capreoli isolates into a moderately supported monophyletic clade. Conclusions: The findings indicate that free-living ungulates are reservoirs for A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp. and engorged ixodid ticks attached to ungulates are good sentinels for the presence of agents of public and veterinary concern. Further analyses of the A. phagocytophilum genetic variants and Theileria species and their associations with vector ticks and free-living ungulates are required.Fil: Kazimírová, Mária. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Hamšíková, Zuzana. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Spitalská, Eva. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; EslovaquiaFil: Minichová, Lenka. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; EslovaquiaFil: Mahríková, Lenka. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Caban, Radoslav. Široká ; EslovaquiaFil: Sprong, Hein. National Institute for Public Health and Environment.Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology; Países BajosFil: Fonville, Manoj. National Institute for Public Health and Environment.Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology; Países BajosFil: Schnittger, Leonhard. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Patobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Kocianová, Elena. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; Eslovaqui

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Cavities for Quantum Fluids Experiments

The union of quantum fluids research with nanoscience is rich with opportunities for new physics. The relevant length scales in quantum fluids, 3He in particular, are comparable to those possible using microfluidic and nanofluidic devices. In this article, we will briefly review how the physics of quantum fluids depends strongly on confinement on the microscale and nanoscale. Then we present devices fabricated specifically for quantum fluids research, with cavity sizes ranging from 30 nm to 11 microns deep, and the characterization of these devices for low temperature quantum fluids experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic