1SXPS: A deep Swift X-ray Telescope point source catalog with light curves and spectra

We present the 1SXPS (Swift-XRT Point Source) catalog of 151,524 X-ray point-sources detected by the Swift-XRT in 8 years of operation. The catalog covers 1905 square degrees distributed approximately uniformly on the sky. We analyze the data in two ways. First we consider all observations individually, for which we have a typical sensitivity of ~3e-13 erg/cm2/s (0.3--10 keV). Then we co-add all data covering the same location on the sky: these images have a typical sensitivity of ~9e-14 erg/cm2/s (0.3--10 keV). Our sky coverage is nearly 2.5 times that of 3XMM-DR4, although the catalog is a factor of ~1.5 less sensitive. The median position error is 5.5" (90% confidence), including systematics. Our source detection method improves on that used in previous XRT catalogs and we report >68,000 new X-ray sources. The goals and observing strategy of the Swift satellite allow us to probe source variability on multiple timescales, and we find ~30,000 variable objects in our catalog. For every source we give positions, fluxes, time series (in four energy bands and two hardness ratios), estimates of the spectral properties, spectra and spectral fits for the brightest sources, and variability probabilities in multiple energy bands and timescales.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures; accepted for publication in ApJS. The accompanying website, http://www.swift.ac.uk/1SXPS is live; the Vizier entry should be available shortl

Signaling via interleukin-4, receptor alpha chain is required for successful vaccination against schistosomiasis in BALB/c mice

Radiation-attenuated (RA) schistosome larvae are potent stimulators of innate immune responses at the skin site of exposure (pinna) that are likely to be important factors in the development of Th1-mediated protective immunity. In addition to causing an influx of neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) into the dermis, RA larvae induced a cascade of chemokine and cytokine secretion following in vitro culture of pinna biopsy samples. While macrophage inflammatory protein 1 and interleukin-1 (IL-1) were produced transiently within the first few days, the Th1-promoting cytokines IL-12 and IL-18 were secreted at high levels until at least day 14. Assay of C3H/HeJ mice confirmed that IL-12 secretion was not due to lipopolysaccharide contaminants binding Toll-like receptor 4. Significantly, IL-12 p40 secretion was sustained in pinnae from vaccinated mice but not in those from nonprotected infected mice. In contrast, IL-10 was produced from both vaccinated and infected mice. This cytokine regulates IL-12-associated dermal inflammation, since in vaccinated IL-10/ mice, pinna thickness was greatly increased concurrent with elevated levels of IL-12 p40. A significant number of IL-12 p40 cells were detected as emigrants from in vitro-cultured pinnae, and most were within a population of rare large granular cells that were Ia, consistent with their being antigen-presenting cells. Labeling of IL-12 cells for CD11c, CD205, CD8, CD11b, and F4/80 indicated that the majority were myeloid DCs, although a proportion were CD11c F4/80, suggesting that macrophages were an additional source of IL-12 in the skin

The Non-Immune RIP-kb Mouse is a Useful Host for Islet Transplantation, as the Diabetes is Spontaneous, Mild and Predictable

Chemically-induced diabetic mice and spontaneously diabetic NOD mice have been valuable as recipients for experimental islet transplantation. However, their maintenance often requires parenteral insulin. Diabetogenic chemicals can be cytotoxic to the host’s immune system and to other organs some of which are often used as the transplant site. Procurement of diabetic cohorts in the NOD mouse is problematic due to variability in the age of disease onset. We show that RIP-Kb mice, which spontaneously develop non-immune diabetes due to over-expression of the H-2Kb heavy chain in beta cells, offer many advantages as islet transplant recipients. Diabetes is predictable with a relatively narrow range of onset (4 wk) and blood glucose levels (23.0± 4.0 mmol/l for 39 males at 6 weeks of age). The diabetes is mild enough so that most diabetic mice can be maintained to 40 weeks of age without parenteral insulin. This consistency of diabetes avails that outcomes of intervention can be interpreted with confidence

Successful vaccination of BALB/c mice against human hookworm (Necator americanus): the immunological phenotype of the protective response

In this murine (BALB/c) model of necatoriasis, high levels of protection against challenge infection by Necator americanus larvae (n = 300) were afforded by successive vaccinations at 14-day intervals, either subcutaneously or percutaneously, with γ-irradiated N. americanus larvae (n = 300). Percutaneous vaccination was significantly more effective than the subcutaneous route, with pulmonary larval burdens at 3 days post-infection being reduced by 97.8% vs. 89.3%, respectively, after three immunisations (p < 0.05). No worms were recovered from the intestines of thrice vaccinated mice. Two percutaneous vaccinations also reduced worm burdens, by 57% in the lungs and 98% in the intestines; p < 0.05. In vaccinated animals, lung pathology (mainly haemorrhage) following infection was greatly reduced compared with non-vaccinated animals. In vaccinated mice (but not in non-vaccinated mice) mast cells accumulated in the skin and were degranulated. RT-PCR analyses of mRNAs in the skin of vaccinated animals indicated increased expression of IL-4 relative to γ-IFN. Lymphocytes from the axillary (skin-draining) lymph nodes of vaccinated mice, stimulated in vitro with concanavalin A, exhibited enhanced secretion of IL-4 protein and a higher Il-4/γ-IFN protein ratio than lymphocytes from non-vaccinated animals. In vaccinated mice, levels of IgG1 and IgG3 (directed against larval excretory/secretory products) were elevated for the most part compared with those in non-vaccinated animals. These data demonstrate the successful vaccination of BALB/c mice against human hookworm infection and suggest that a localised Th2 response may be important for conferring protection against necatoriasis

EMDR to Treat Functional Neurological Disorder: A Review

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an established treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there is increasing evidence for its use beyond PTSD. EMDR can be effective at treating distressing memories not associated with PTSD, as well as somatic symptoms (like chronic pain), and as such could potentially be used as a treatment for patients with functional neurological disorder (FND). Searches were conducted for published peer-reviewed articles on the use of EMDR for FND. The databases selected and searched were Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, PsychINFO, PubMed, and Francine Shapiro Library. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Three relevant articles were found. The studies included are one case series and two case studies. Of the five participants included in the studies, four experienced functional non-epileptic attacks; and one experienced functional movement disorder. Four out of the five patients were successfully treated with EMDR. EMDR is potentially a useful treatment of FND, but further research, including controlled trials, is required. The authors propose that EMDR could be useful in treating patients with FND and comorbid PTSD, as well as patients without comorbid PTSD. We discuss the clinical implications and propose how EMDR could fit into the FND treatment pathway

The Extent and Coverage of Current Knowledge of Connected Health: Systematic Mapping Study

Background: This paper examines the development of the Connected Health research landscape with a view on providing a historical perspective on existing Connected Health research. Connected Health has become a rapidly growing research field as our healthcare system is facing pressured to become more proactive and patient centred. Objective: We aimed to identify the extent and coverage of the current body of knowledge in Connected Health. With this, we want to identify which topics have drawn the attention of Connected health researchers, and if there are gaps or interdisciplinary opportunities for further research. Methods: We used a systematic mapping study that combines scientific contributions from research on medicine, business, computer science and engineering. We analyse the papers with seven classification criteria, publication source, publication year, research types, empirical types, contribution types research topic and the condition studied in the paper. Results: Altogether, our search resulted in 208 papers which were analysed by a multidisciplinary group of researchers. Our results indicate a slow start for Connected Health research but a more recent steady upswing since 2013. The majority of papers proposed healthcare solutions (37%) or evaluated Connected Health approaches (23%). Case studies (28%) and experiments (26%) were the most popular forms of scientific validation employed. Diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and heart conditions are among the most prevalent conditions studied. Conclusions: We conclude that Connected Health research seems to be an established field of research, which has been growing strongly during the last five years. There seems to be more focus on technology driven research with a strong contribution from medicine, but business aspects of Connected health are not as much studied

Surface ocean carbon dioxide during the Atlantic Meridional Transect (1995–2013); evidence of ocean acidification

Here we present more than 21,000 observations of carbon dioxide fugacity in air and seawater (fCO2) along the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme for the period 1995–2013. Our dataset consists of 11 southbound and 2 northbound cruises in boreal autumn and spring respectively. Our paper is primarily focused on change in the surface-ocean carbonate system during southbound cruises. We used observed fCO2 and total alkalinity (TA), derived from salinity and temperature, to estimate dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pH (total scale). Using this approach, estimated pH was consistent with spectrophotometric measurements carried out on 3 of our cruises. The AMT cruises transect a range of biogeographic provinces where surface Chlorophyll-a spans two orders of magnitude (mesotrophic high latitudes to oligotrophic subtropical gyres). We found that surface Chlorophyll-a was negatively correlated with fCO2, but that the deep chlorophyll maximum was not a controlling variable for fCO2. Our data show clear evidence of ocean acidification across 100� of latitude in the Atlantic Ocean. Over the period 1995–2013 we estimated annual rates of change in: (a) sea surface temperature of 0.01 ± 0.05 �C, (b) seawater fCO2 of 1.44 ± 0.84 latm, (c) DIC of 0.87 ± 1.02 lmol per kg and (d) pH of �0.0013 ± 0.0009 units. Monte Carlo simulations propagating the respective analytical uncertainties showed that the latter were < 5% of the observed trends. Seawater fCO2 increased at the same rate as atmospheric CO2