378 research outputs found
Improving a Satellite Mission System by means of a Semantic Grid Architecture
The use of a semantic grid architecture can make easier the
deployment of complex applications, in which several organizations are involved and diverse resources are shared. This paper presents the application of the architecture defined in the Ontogrid project (S-OGSA) into a scenario for the analysis of the quality of the products of satellite missions
A Semantic Data Grid for Satellite Mission Quality Analysis
The combination of Semantic Web and Grid technologies and architectures cases the development of applications that share heterogeneous resource,, (data and computing elements) that belong to several organisations. The Aerospace domain has an extensive and heterogeneous network of facilities and institutions, with a strong need to share both data and computational resources for complex processing tasks. One such task is monitoring and data analysis for Satellite Missions. This paper presents a Semantic Data Grid for satellite missions, where flexibility, scalability, interoperability, extensibility and efficient development have been considered the key issues to be addressed
Diagrammatic self-energy approximations and the total particle number
There is increasing interest in many-body perturbation theory as a practical tool for the calculation of ground-state properties. As a consequence, unambiguous sum rules such as the conservation of particle number under the influence of the Coulomb interaction have acquired an importance that did not exist for calculations of excited-state properties. In this paper we obtain a rigorous, simple relation whose fulfilment guarantees particle-number conservation in a given diagrammatic self-energy approximation. Hedin's G(0)W(0) approximation does not satisfy this relation and hence violates the particle-number sum rule. Very precise calculations for the homogeneous electron gas and a model inhomogeneous electron system allow the extent of the nonconservation to be estimated
Density functional theories and self-energy approaches
A purpose-designed microarray platform (Stressgenes, Phase 1) was utilised to investigate the changes in gene expression within the liver of rainbow trout during exposure to a prolonged period of confinement. Tissue and blood samples were collected from trout at intervals up to 648 h after transfer to a standardised confinement stressor, together with matched samples from undisturbed control fish. Plasma ACTH, cortisol, glucose and lactate were analysed to confirm that the neuroendocrine response to confinement was consistent with previous findings and to provide a phenotypic context to assist interpretation of gene expression data. Liver samples for suppression subtractive hybridisation (SSH) library construction were selected from within the experimental groups comprising âearlyâ stress (2â48 h) and âlateâ stress (96â504 h). In order to reduce redundancy within the four SSH libraries and yield a higher number of unique clones an additional subtraction was carried out. After printing of the arrays a series of 55 hybridisations were executed to cover 6 time points. At 2 h, 6 h, 24 h, 168 h and 504 h 5 individual confined fish and 5 individual control fish were used with control fish only at 0 h. A preliminary list of 314 clones considered differentially regulated over the complete time course was generated by a combination of data analysis approaches and the most significant gene expression changes were found to occur during the 24 h to 168 h time period with a general approach to control levels by 504 h. Few changes in expression were apparent over the first 6 h. The list of genes whose expression was significantly altered comprised predominantly genes belonging to the biological process category (response to stimulus) and one cellular component category (extracellular region) and were dominated by so-called acute phase proteins. Analysis of the gene expression profile in liver tissue during confinement revealed a number of significant clusters. The major patterns comprised genes that were up-regulated at 24 h and beyond, the primary examples being haptoglobin, ÎČ-fibrinogen and EST10729. Two representative genes from each of the six k-means clusters were validated by qPCR. Correlations between microarray and qPCR expression patterns were significant for most of the genes tested. qPCR analysis revealed that haptoglobin expression was up-regulated approximately 8-fold at 24 h and over 13-fold by 168 h.This project was part funded by the European Commission (Q5RS-2001-02211), Enterprise Ireland and the Natural Environment Research Council of the United Kingdom
Severe manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents: from COVID-19 pneumonia to multisystem inflammatory syndrome: a multicentre study in pediatric intensive care units in Spain
Background
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C) has been described as a novel and often severe presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. We aimed to describe the characteristics of children admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) presenting with MIS-C in comparison with those admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection with other features such as COVID-19 pneumonia.
Methods
A multicentric prospective national registry including 47 PICUs was carried out. Data from children admitted with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or fulfilling MIS-C criteria (with or without SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmation) were collected. Clinical, laboratory and therapeutic features between MIS-C and non-MIS-C patients were compared.
Results
Seventy-four children were recruited. Sixty-one percent met MIS-C definition. MIS-C patients were older than non-MIS-C patients (pâ=â0.002): 9.4 years (IQR 5.5â11.8) vs 3.4 years (IQR 0.4â9.4). A higher proportion of them had no previous medical history of interest (88.2% vs 51.7%, pâ=â0.005). Non-MIS-C patients presented more frequently with respiratory distress (60.7% vs 13.3%, pâ<â0.001). MIS-C patients showed higher prevalence of fever (95.6% vs 64.3%, pâ<â0.001), diarrhea (66.7% vs 11.5%, pâ<â0.001), vomits (71.1% vs 23.1%, pâ=â0.001), fatigue (65.9% vs 36%, pâ=â0.016), shock (84.4% vs 13.8%, pâ<â0.001) and cardiac dysfunction (53.3% vs 10.3%, pâ=â0.001). MIS-C group had a lower lymphocyte count (pâ<â0.001) and LDH (pâ=â0.001) but higher neutrophil count (pâ=â0.045), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (pâ<â0.001), C-reactive protein (pâ<â0.001) and procalcitonin (pâ<â0.001). Patients in the MIS-C group were less likely to receive invasive ventilation (13.3% vs 41.4%, pâ=â0.005) but were more often treated with vasoactive drugs (66.7% vs 24.1%, pâ<â0.001), corticosteroids (80% vs 44.8%, pâ=â0.003) and immunoglobulins (51.1% vs 6.9%, pâ<â0.001). Most patients were discharged from PICU by the end of data collection with a median length of stay of 5 days (IQR 2.5â8 days) in the MIS-C group. Three patients died, none of them belonged to the MIS-C group.
Conclusions
MIS-C seems to be the most frequent presentation among critically ill children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. MIS-C patients are older and usually healthy. They show a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and shock and are more likely to receive vasoactive drugs and immunomodulators and less likely to need mechanical ventilation than non-MIS-C patients
Limits on anomalous trilinear gauge boson couplings from WW, WZ and Wgamma production in pp-bar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We present final searches of the anomalous gammaWW and ZWW trilinear gauge
boson couplings from WW and WZ production using lepton plus dijet final states
and a combination with results from Wgamma, WW, and WZ production with leptonic
final states. The analyzed data correspond to up to 8.6/fb of integrated
luminosity collected by the D0 detector in pp-bar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96
TeV. We set the most stringent limits at a hadron collider to date assuming two
different relations between the anomalous coupling parameters
Delta\kappa_\gamma, lambda, and Delta g_1^Z for a cutoff energy scale Lambda=2
TeV. The combined 68% C.L. limits are -0.057<Delta\kappa_\gamma<0.154,
-0.015<lambda<0.028, and -0.008<Delta g_1^Z<0.054 for the LEP parameterization,
and -0.007<Delta\kappa<0.081 and -0.017<lambda<0.028 for the equal couplings
parameterization. We also present the most stringent limits of the W boson
magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PL
Measurement of the photon-jet production differential cross section in collisions at \sqrt{s}=1.96~\TeV
We present measurements of the differential cross section dsigma/dpT_gamma
for the inclusive production of a photon in association with a b-quark jet for
photons with rapidities |y_gamma|< 1.0 and 30<pT_gamma <300 GeV, as well as for
photons with 1.5<|y_gamma|< 2.5 and 30< pT_gamma <200 GeV, where pT_gamma is
the photon transverse momentum. The b-quark jets are required to have pT>15 GeV
and rapidity |y_jet| < 1.5. The results are based on data corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 8.7 fb^-1, recorded with the D0 detector at the
Fermilab Tevatron Collider at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. The measured cross
sections are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations
using different sets of parton distribution functions as well as to predictions
based on the kT-factorization QCD approach, and those from the Sherpa and
Pythia Monte Carlo event generators.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory
Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for
anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The
exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly
larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support
previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an
upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic
Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from
Sagittarius . Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and
fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing
accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not
show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio
Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set
We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s
using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays
in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at
production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton
collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment
at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity.
We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the
B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2,
-1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in
agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model
value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by
other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012
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