Cerium-Doped Fused-Silica Fibers as Wavelength Shifters

We have evaluated the performance of a Ce-doped fused-silica fiber as wavelength shifter coupled to a CeF$_{3}$ crystal using electron beams at CERN. The pulse shape and collection efficiency were measured using irradiated (100 kGy) and un-irradiated fibers. In addition, we evaluated the light yield of various Ce-doped fibers and explored the possibility of using them in the future, including for precision timing applications in a high-luminosity collider environment.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Technical and Environmental Aspects Continuous Fiber Production

The aim of this research is comprehensive assessment of technological and physical-chemical properties of boron-containing and boron-free E-glass, and production ecology of continuous fibers based on them

Clinical presentation of abdominal tuberculosis in HIV seronegative adults

BACKGROUND: The accurate diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis usually takes a long time and requires a high index of suspicion in clinic practice. Eighty-eight immune-competent patients with abdominal tuberculosis were grouped according to symptoms at presentation and followed prospectively in order to investigate the effect of symptomatic presentation on clinical diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS: Based upon the clinical presentation, the patients were divided into groups such as non-specific abdominal pain & less prominent in bowel habit, ascites, alteration in bowel habit, acute abdomen and others. Demographic, clinical and laboratory features, coexistence of pulmonary tuberculosis, diagnostic procedures, definitive diagnostic tests, need for surgical therapy, and response to treatment were assessed in each group. RESULTS: According to clinical presentation, five groups were constituted as non-specific abdominal pain (n = 24), ascites (n = 24), bowel habit alteration (n = 22), acute abdomen (n = 9) and others (n = 9). Patients presenting with acute abdomen had significantly higher white blood cell counts (p = 0.002) and abnormalities in abdominal plain radiographs (p = 0.014). Patients presenting with alteration in bowel habit were younger (p = 0.048). The frequency of colonoscopic abnormalities (7.5%), and need for therapeutic surgery (12.5%) were lower in patients with ascites, (p = 0.04) and (p = 0.001), respectively. There was no difference in gender, disease duration, diagnostic modalities, response to treatment, period to initial response, and mortality between groups (p > 0.05). Gastrointestinal tract alone was the most frequently involved part (38.5%), and this was associated with acid-fast bacteria in the sputum (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal tract involvement is frequent in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Although different clinical presentations of patients with abdominal tuberculosis determine diagnostic work up and need for therapeutic surgery, evidence based diagnosis and consequences of the disease does not change

Impaired IL-23-dependent induction of IFN-gamma underlies mycobacterial disease in patients with inherited TYK2 deficiency

Human cells homozygous for rare loss-of-expression (LOE) TYK2 alleles have impaired, but not abolished, cellular responses to IFN-alpha/beta (underlying viral diseases in the patients) and to IL-12 and IL-23 (underlying mycobacterial diseases). Cells homozygous for the common P1104A TYK2 allele have selectively impaired responses to IL-23 (underlying isolated mycobacterial disease). We report three new forms of TYK2 deficiency in six patients from five families homozygous for rare TYK2 alleles (R864C, G996R, G634E, or G1010D) or compound heterozygous for P1104A and a rare allele (A928V). All these missense alleles encode detectable proteins. The R864C and G1010D alleles are hypomorphic and loss-of-function (LOF), respectively, across signaling pathways. By contrast, hypomorphic G996R, G634E, and A928V mutations selectively impair responses to IL-23, like P1104A. Impairment of the IL-23-dependent induction of IFN-gamma is the only mechanism of mycobacterial disease common to patients with complete TYK2 deficiency with or without TYK2 expression, partial TYK2 deficiency across signaling pathways, or rare or common partial TYK2 deficiency specific for IL-23 signaling.ANRS Nord-Sud ; CIBSS ; CODI ; Comité para el Desarrollo de la Investigación ; Fulbright Future Scholarshi

Human IRF1 governs macrophagic IFN-γ immunity to mycobacteria

Inborn errors of human IFN-γ-dependent macrophagic immunity underlie mycobacterial diseases, whereas inborn errors of IFN-α/β-dependent intrinsic immunity underlie viral diseases. Both types of IFNs induce the transcription factor IRF1. We describe unrelated children with inherited complete IRF1 deficiency and early-onset, multiple, life-threatening diseases caused by weakly virulent mycobacteria and related intramacrophagic pathogens. These children have no history of severe viral disease, despite exposure to many viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which is life-threatening in individuals with impaired IFN-α/β immunity. In leukocytes or fibroblasts stimulated in vitro, IRF1-dependent responses to IFN-γ are, both quantitatively and qualitatively, much stronger than those to IFN-α/β. Moreover, IRF1-deficient mononuclear phagocytes do not control mycobacteria and related pathogens normally when stimulated with IFN-γ. By contrast, IFN-α/β-dependent intrinsic immunity to nine viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, is almost normal in IRF1-deficient fibroblasts. Human IRF1 is essential for IFN-γ-dependent macrophagic immunity to mycobacteria, but largely redundant for IFN-α/β-dependent antiviral immunity

SURGICAL AND RADIOLOGIC ANATOMY

Satisfactory analgesia cannot be achieved in every obturator nerve block. To attempt to improve the success rate of obturator nerve block, this study describes the detailed anatomy of the obturator region and canal. Eleven (5 female and 6 male) cadavers, totally 22 sides were dissected. Anatomical positions of the structures entering and leaving the canal were defined. The position of the obturator nerve and its branches and their relation with the obturator artery, vein, and with the internal iliac and femoral veins were investigated. A mould of the canal and a model were created. Detailed measurements were performed on the cadavers and models. The obturator canal was in the shape of a funnel compressed from superior to inferior, with anterior and posterior openings. At the entrance of the canal, the nerve lay superiorly; the artery was in the middle, and the vein lay inferiorly. The obturator nerve ran close to the lateral wall of the obturator canal. The distance of lateral wall of obturator canal to the median plane was 41.4 +/- 1.1 mm After leaving the canal, the nerve lay laterally while the anterior branch of the artery was medial. A venous plexus lay between the two structures. The presence of the branches of the obturator artery and vein alongside the obturator nerve may increase the risk of injury to these structures during anaesthetic procedures. The anterior division of the obturator nerve has a close relationship with these vessels. To provide complete analgesia, the obturator nerve should be blocked in the obturator canal or at its external orifice

Toxicity assessment of a dye industry treatment sludge

Industrial treatment sludges often contain heavy metals and a variety of other hazardous substances which can cause soil and underground water pollution. In the present work, sludge samples from a dye industry treatment plant were analysed for their heavy metal contents, and three different leaching procedures were used to assess the potential toxicity of the sludge. The sludge samples were also incinerated at 600degreesC, and the remaining inorganic residues were also tested for their leaching characteristics by using the same leaching procedures. The treatment sludge investigated in this study contained about 55 grams of Fe per kilogram of dry sludge because iron salts are used in the chemical treatment of the wastewater. Excluding iron, the decreasing order of abundance for heavy metals in the sludge samples was found to be: Zn > Mn > Cr > Cu > Ni > Pb > Co > Cd. The average concentration of each of these heavy metals varied between 25-740 mg/kg of dry sludge. The Fe content of the inorganic residues was found to be about 140 g/kg, and the heavy metal content varied between 40-2800 mg/kg. In all the leaching tests, Pb was the most readily extracted metal from the sludge, whereas from the inorganic residue, Cd was leached the most easily. The toxicity of the sludge is estimated according to pertinent legislation

The effects of incremental brightness and contrast adjustments on radiographic data: A quantitative study

PubMed ID: 15709101Objectives: To determine the border level of brightness and contrast changes in order to prevent the loss of originality of the quantitative data on digital dental radiographs. Methods: After measuring the baseline mean grey values (MGVs) of a fixed region of interest on the alveolar bone and an aluminium step wedge, incremental brightness and contrast adjustments were performed on a digital periapical radiograph. The distribution of the data was analysed to investigate the significance of the changes on radiodensitometric data after incremental increase of brightness and contrast. Results: The original MGVs were easily retrieved after brightness adjustments; however, the contrast increase led to more complicated density changes. The originality of the data was saved up to 50 units of contrast increase, but further than this limit, significant radiodensitometric changes occurred. Conclusions: Contrast adjustments should be performed cautiously when making quantitative analyses on the digital radiographs. © 2005 The British Institute of Radiology