Angular and Current-Target Correlations in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Correlations between charged particles in deep inelastic ep scattering have been studied in the Breit frame with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 6.4 pb-1. Short-range correlations are analysed in terms of the angular separation between current-region particles within a cone centred around the virtual photon axis. Long-range correlations between the current and target regions have also been measured. The data support predictions for the scaling behaviour of the angular correlations at high Q2 and for anti-correlations between the current and target regions over a large range in Q2 and in the Bjorken scaling variable x. Analytic QCD calculations and Monte Carlo models correctly describe the trends of the data at high Q2, but show quantitative discrepancies. The data show differences between the correlations in deep inelastic scattering and e+e- annihilation.Comment: 26 pages including 10 figures (submitted to Eur. J. Phys. C

The efficacy of playing a virtual reality game in modulating pain for children with acute burn injuries: A randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN87413556]

BACKGROUND: The management of burn injuries is reported as painful, distressing and a cause of anxiety in children and their parents. Child's and parents' pain and anxiety, often contributes to extended time required for burns management procedures, in particular the process of changing dressings. The traditional method of pharmacologic analgesia is often insufficient to cover the burnt child's pain, and it can have deleterious side effects [1,2]. Intervention with Virtual Reality (VR) games is based on distraction or interruption in the way current thoughts, including pain, are processed by the brain. Research on adults supports the hypothesis that virtual reality has a positive influence on burns pain modulation. METHODS: This study investigates whether playing a virtual reality game, decreases procedural pain in children aged 5–18 years with acute burn injuries. The paper reports on the findings of a pilot study, a randomised trial, in which seven children acted as their own controls though a series of 11 trials. Outcomes were pain measured using the self-report Faces Scale and findings of interviews with parent/carer and nurses. RESULTS: The average pain scores (from the Faces Scale) for pharmacological analgesia only was, 4.1 (SD 2.9), while VR coupled with pharmacological analgesia, the average pain score was 1.3 (SD 1.8) CONCLUSION: The study provides strong evidence supporting VR based games in providing analgesia with minimal side effects and little impact on the physical hospital environment, as well as its reusability and versatility, suggesting another option in the management of children's acute pain

Accurate Prediction of Secreted Substrates and Identification of a Conserved Putative Secretion Signal for Type III Secretion Systems

The type III secretion system is an essential component for virulence in many Gram-negative bacteria. Though components of the secretion system apparatus are conserved, its substrates—effector proteins—are not. We have used a novel computational approach to confidently identify new secreted effectors by integrating protein sequence-based features, including evolutionary measures such as the pattern of homologs in a range of other organisms, G+C content, amino acid composition, and the N-terminal 30 residues of the protein sequence. The method was trained on known effectors from the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and validated on a set of effectors from the animal pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) after eliminating effectors with detectable sequence similarity. We show that this approach can predict known secreted effectors with high specificity and sensitivity. Furthermore, by considering a large set of effectors from multiple organisms, we computationally identify a common putative secretion signal in the N-terminal 20 residues of secreted effectors. This signal can be used to discriminate 46 out of 68 total known effectors from both organisms, suggesting that it is a real, shared signal applicable to many type III secreted effectors. We use the method to make novel predictions of secreted effectors in S. Typhimurium, some of which have been experimentally validated. We also apply the method to predict secreted effectors in the genetically intractable human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, identifying the majority of known secreted proteins in addition to providing a number of novel predictions. This approach provides a new way to identify secreted effectors in a broad range of pathogenic bacteria for further experimental characterization and provides insight into the nature of the type III secretion signal

ELISA versus PCR for diagnosis of chronic Chagas disease: systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most current guidelines recommend two serological tests to diagnose chronic Chagas disease. When serological tests are persistently inconclusive, some guidelines recommend molecular tests. The aim of this investigation was to review chronic Chagas disease diagnosis literature and to summarize results of ELISA and PCR performance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review was conducted searching remote databases (MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, SCOPUS and ISIWeb) and full texts bibliography for relevant abstracts. In addition, manufacturers of commercial tests were contacted. Original investigations were eligible if they estimated sensitivity and specificity, or reliability -or if their calculation was possible - of ELISA or PCR tests, for chronic Chagas disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Heterogeneity was high within each test (ELISA and PCR) and threshold effect was detected only in a particular subgroup. Reference standard blinding partially explained heterogeneity in ELISA studies, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 97.7% [96.7%-98.5%] and 96.3% [94.6%-97.6%] respectively. Commercial ELISA with recombinant antigens studied in phase three investigations partially explained heterogeneity, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 99.3% [97.9%-99.9%] and 97.5% [88.5%-99.5%] respectively. ELISA's reliability was seldom studied but was considered acceptable. PCR heterogeneity was not explained, but a threshold effect was detected in three groups created by using guanidine and boiling the sample before DNA extraction. PCR sensitivity is likely to be between 50% and 90%, while its specificity is close to 100%. PCR reliability was never studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both conventional and recombinant based ELISA give useful information, however there are commercial tests without technical reports and therefore were not included in this review. Physicians need to have access to technical reports to understand if these serological tests are similar to those included in this review and therefore correctly order and interpret test results. Currently, PCR should not be used in clinical practice for chronic Chagas disease diagnosis and there is no PCR test commercially available for this purpose. Tests limitations and directions for future research are discussed.</p

Angular and Current-target Correlations in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Correlations between charged particles in deep inelastic e+ p scattering have been studied in the Breit frame with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 6.4pb-1. Short-range correlations are analysed in terms of the angular separation between current-region particles within a cone centred around the virtual photon axis. Long-range correlations between the current and target regions have also been measured. The data support predictions for the scaling behaviour of the angular correlations at high Q2 and for anti-correlations between the current and target regions over a large range in Q2 and in the Bjorken scaling variable x. Analytic QCD calculations and Monte Carlo models correctly describe the trends of the data at high Q2, but show quantitative discrepancies. The data show differences between the correlations in deep inelastic scattering and e+e- annihilation

Cloning of zebrafish neurofilament cDNAs for plasticin and gefiltin: Increased mRNA expression in ganglion cells after optic nerve injury

During retinal growth and optic axon regeneration, the differential expression of the neuronal intermediate filament proteins, plasticin and gefiltin, in the goldfish visual pathway suggests that these proteins support programmed axonal growth. To investigate plasticin and gefiltin during axonogenesis, we turned to the zebrafish, a system that is more amenable to mutational analysis. As a first step, we demonstrated that the intermediate filament compositions of goldfish and zebrafish are similar. In addition, the cDNAs for zebrafish plasticin and gefiltin were cloned and characterized. Using in situ hybridization in retina, we show increased mRNA levels for these proteins following optic nerve crush. Zebrafish plasticin and gefiltin peak and return to baseline levels of expression more rapidly than in goldfish. Furthermore, in the unoperated eye of experimental fish, there was a moderate increase in the levels of plasticin and gefiltin mRNA, suggesting that soluble factors influence the expression of these proteins. The successive expression of plasticin and gefiltin suggests that these neuronal intermediate filament proteins are integral components of axonogenesis. The cloning and characterization of cDNAs for plasticin and gefiltin permit mutational analyses of these proteins during zebrafish axonogenesis