A comparative analysis of the publication behaviour of MSCA fellows

MSCA applicants from South and Eastern European countries underperform researchers from North Western Europe before receiving the grant. However, the median difference disappears by the time of the grant and in the period after this. Due to a higher number of outliers (top performers) among the researchers from North Western Europe, the mean impact scores do remain significantly higher

Mechanical vibrations of pendant liquid droplets

A simple optical deflection technique was used to monitor the vibrations of microlitre pendant droplets of deuterium oxide, formamide, and 1,1,2,2-tetrabromoethane. Droplets of different volumes of each liquid were suspended from the end of a microlitre pipette and vibrated using a small puff of nitrogen gas. A laser was passed through the droplets and the scattered light was collected using a photodiode. Vibration of the droplets resulted in the motion of the scattered beam and time-dependent intensity variations were recorded using the photodiode. These time- dependent variations were Fourier transformed and the frequencies and widths of the mechanical droplet resonances were extracted. A simple model of vibrations in pendant/sessile drops was used to relate these parameters to the surface tension, density and viscosity of the liquid droplets. The surface tension values obtained from this method were found to be in good agreement with results obtained using the standard pendant drop technique. Damping of capillary waves on pendant drops was shown to be similar to that observed for deep liquid baths and the kinematic viscosities obtained were in agreement with literature values for all three liquids studied

Caracterización de la púrpura trombótica trombocitopénica congénita mediante técnicas inmunológicas y moleculares: resultados de la colección nacional del GEPTT

CO-093 Introducción: La Púrpura Trombótica Trombocitopénica congénita (PTTc) es una enfermedad ultra-rara caracterizada por un déficit severo de la enzima ADAMTS13 como consecuencia de mutaciones heredadas de forma autosómica recesiva en el gen ADAMTS13 (9q34). En este estudio, desarrollado dentro del Grupo Cooperativo Español de PTT (GEPTT), se ha llevado a cabo la creación de una colección centralizada de muestras biológicas y su caracterización inmunológica y molecular para mejorar el diagnóstico y el manejo clínico de los pacientes. Métodos: Se incluyeron en este estudio seis pacientes con diagnóstico clínico o sospecha de PTTc de diferentes hospitales españoles. Se estudió la actividad de ADAMTS13 e inhibidores mediante la técnica ELISA con el kit “TECHNOZYM® ADAMTS-13 Activity e INH” (Technoclone). Además, se realizó test Bethesda para descartar la presencia de inhibidores no IgG. Para el estudio genético, se implementó un panel de captura (SureSelect, Agilent) dirigido a la región genómica completa, incluyendo también las regiones no codificantes, del gen ADAMTS13 (chr9: 136278459 - 136325025, hg19). Las librerías de DNA se secuenciaron con la plataforma MiSeq (Illumina®) y el posible efecto patogénico de las variantes identificadas se estudió a nivel de i) proteína, utilizando predictores de cambio de aminoácido (SIFT) y de estructura de la proteína (SwissModel) y ii) splicing, con herramientas de análisis in silico (HSF) y validación funcional in vitro mediante minigenes. En 3 casos se realizó un cariotipo molecular utilizando array de SNPs (CytoScan HD, Affymetrix) para detectar regiones de pérdida de material genético y/o de heterocigosidad (LOH). Resultados: La mediana de actividad de ..

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays beyond the turn-down around 10^17 eV as measured with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present a measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum above 100 PeV using the part of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory that has a spacing of 750 m. An inflection of the spectrum is observed, confirming the presence of the so-called second-knee feature. The spectrum is then combined with that of the 1500 m array to produce a single measurement of the flux, linking this spectral feature with the three additional breaks at the highest energies. The combined spectrum, with an energy scale set calorimetrically via fluorescence telescopes and using a single detector type, results in the most statistically and systematically precise measurement of spectral breaks yet obtained. These measurements are critical for furthering our understanding of the highest energy cosmic rays

Comparación de distintas estrategias para la predicción de muerte a corto plazo en el paciente anciano infectado

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of a post hoc lactate added to SIRS and qSOFA score to predict 30-day mortality in older non-severely dependent patients attended for infection in the Emergency Department (ED). Methods. We performed an analytical, observational, prospective cohort study including patients of 75 years of age or older, without severe functional dependence, attended for an infectious disease in 69 Spanish ED for 2-day three seasonal periods. Demographic, clinical and analytical data were collected. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality after the index event. Results. We included 739 patients with a mean age of 84.9 (SD 6.0) years; 375 (50.7%) were women. Ninety-one (12.3%) died within 30 days. The AUC was 0.637 (IC 95% 0.587-0.688; p= 2 and 0.698 (IC 95% 0.635- 0.761; p= 2. Comparing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) there was a better accuracy of qSOFA vs SIRS (p=0.041). Both scales improve the prognosis accuracy with lactate inclusion. The AUC was 0.705 (IC95% 0.652-0.758; p<0.001) for SIRS plus lactate and 0.755 (IC95% 0.696-0.814; p<0.001) for qSOFA plus lactate, showing a trend to statistical significance for the second strategy (p=0.0727). Charlson index not added prognosis accuracy to SIRS (p=0.2269) or qSOFA (p=0.2573). Conclusions. Lactate added to SIRS and qSOFA score improve the accuracy of SIRS and qSOFA to predict short-term mortality in older non-severely dependent patients attended for infection. There is not effect in adding Charlson index

Cabotegravir for HIV Prevention in Cisgender Men and Transgender Women

Background: Safe and effective long-acting injectable agents for preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are needed to increase the options for preventing HIV infection. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, noninferiority trial to compare long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA, an integrase strand-transfer inhibitor [INSTI]) at a dose of 600 mg, given intramuscularly every 8 weeks, with daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) for the prevention of HIV infection in at-risk cisgender men who have sex with men (MSM) and in at-risk transgender women who have sex with men. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive one of the two regimens and were followed for 153 weeks. HIV testing and safety evaluations were performed. The primary end point was incident HIV infection. Results: The intention-to-treat population included 4566 participants who underwent randomization; 570 (12.5%) identified as transgender women, and the median age was 26 years (interquartile range, 22 to 32). The trial was stopped early for efficacy on review of the results of the first preplanned interim end-point analysis. Among 1698 participants from the United States, 845 (49.8%) identified as Black. Incident HIV infection occurred in 52 participants: 13 in the cabotegravir group (incidence, 0.41 per 100 person-years) and 39 in the TDF-FTC group (incidence, 1.22 per 100 person-years) (hazard ratio, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.18 to 0.62). The effect was consistent across prespecified subgroups. Injection-site reactions were reported in 81.4% of the participants in the cabotegravir group and in 31.3% of those in the TDF-FTC group. In the participants in whom HIV infection was diagnosed after exposure to CAB-LA, INSTI resistance and delays in the detection of HIV infection were noted. No safety concerns were identified. Conclusions: CAB-LA was superior to daily oral TDF-FTC in preventing HIV infection among MSM and transgender women. Strategies are needed to prevent INSTI resistance in cases of CAB-LA PrEP failure