287 research outputs found
Studies on Calf Diarrhoea in Mozambique: Prevalence of Bacterial Pathogens
The prevalence of diarrhoea in calves was investigated in 8 dairy farms in Mozambique at 4 occasions during 2 consecutive years. A total of 1241 calves up to 6 months of age were reared in the farms, and 63 (5%) of them had signs of diarrhoea. Two farms had an overall higher prevalence (13% and 21%) of diarrhoea. Faecal samples were collected from all diarrhoeal calves (n = 63) and from 330 healthy calves and analysed for Salmonella species, Campylobacter jejuni and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Salmonella spp. was isolated in only 2% of all calves. Campylobacter was isolated in 11% of all calves, irrespective of health condition, and was more frequent (25%) in one of the 2 diarrhoeal farms (p = 0.001). 80% of the isolates were identified as C. jejuni. No ETEC strains were detected among the 55 tested strains from diarrhoeal calves, but 22/55 (40%) strains from diarrhoeal calves and 14/88 (16%) strains from healthy calves carried the K99 adhesin (p = 0.001). 6,757 E. coli isolates were typed with a biochemical fingerprinting method (the PhenePlate™) giving the same E. coli diversity in healthy and diarrhoeal calves. Thus it was concluded: i) the overall prevalence of diarrhoea was low, but 2 farms had a higher prevalence that could be due to an outbreak situation, ii) Salmonella did not seem to be associated with diarrhoea, iii) Campylobacter jejuni was common at one of the 2 diarrhoeal farms and iv) ETEC strains were not found, but K99 antigen was more prevalent in E. coli strains from diarrhoeal calves than from healthy, as well as more prevalent in one diarrhoeal farm
Modelling the nucleon wave function from soft and hard processes
Current light-cone wave functions for the nucleon are unsatisfactory since
they are in conflict with the data of the nucleon's Dirac form factor at large
momentum transfer. Therefore, we attempt a determination of a new wave function
respecting theoretical ideas on its parameterization and satisfying the
following constraints: It should provide a soft Feynman contribution to the
proton's form factor in agreement with data; it should be consistent with
current parameterizations of the valence quark distribution functions and
lastly it should provide an acceptable value for the \jp \to N \bar N decay
width. The latter process is calculated within the modified perturbative
approach to hard exclusive reactions. A simultaneous fit to the three sets of
data leads to a wave function whose -dependent part, the distribution
amplitude, shows the same type of asymmetry as those distribution amplitudes
constrained by QCD sum rules. The asymmetry is however much more moderate as in
those amplitudes. Our distribution amplitude resembles the asymptotic one in
shape but the position of the maximum is somewhat shifted.Comment: 32 pages RevTex + PS-file with 5 figures in uu-encoded, compressed
fil
High-sensitivity diamond magnetometer with nanoscale resolution
We present a novel approach to the detection of weak magnetic fields that
takes advantage of recently developed techniques for the coherent control of
solid-state electron spin quantum bits. Specifically, we investigate a magnetic
sensor based on Nitrogen-Vacancy centers in room-temperature diamond. We
discuss two important applications of this technique: a nanoscale magnetometer
that could potentially detect precession of single nuclear spins and an optical
magnetic field imager combining spatial resolution ranging from micrometers to
millimeters with a sensitivity approaching few femtotesla/Hz.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figure
Physics Opportunities of e+e- Linear Colliders
We describe the anticipated experimental program of an e+e- linear collider
in the energy range 500 GeV -- 1.5 TeV. We begin with a description of current
collider designs and the expected experimental environment. We then discuss
precision studies of the W boson and top quark. Finally, we review the range of
models proposed to explain the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking and
show, for each case, the central role that the linear collider experiments will
play in elucidating this physics. (to appear in Annual Reviews of Nuclear and
Particle Science)Comment: 93 pages, latex + 23 figures; typos corrections + 1 reference adde
Autoimmunity plays a role in the onset of diabetes after 40 years of age
AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ with respect to pathophysiological factors such as beta cell function, insulin resistance and phenotypic appearance, but there may be overlap between the two forms of diabetes. However, there are relatively few prospective studies that have characterised the relationship between autoimmunity and incident diabetes. We investigated associations of antibodies against the 65 kDa isoform of GAD (GAD65) with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores and incident diabetes in adults in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct, a case-cohort study nested in the EPIC cohort. METHODS: GAD65 antibodies were analysed in EPIC participants (over 40 years of age and free of known diabetes at baseline) by radioligand binding assay in a random subcohort (n = 15,802) and in incident diabetes cases (n = 11,981). Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores were calculated. Associations between GAD65 antibodies and incident diabetes were estimated using Prentice-weighted Cox regression. RESULTS: GAD65 antibody positivity at baseline was associated with development of diabetes during a median follow-up time of 10.9 years (HR for GAD65 antibody positive vs negative 1.78; 95% CI 1.43, 2.20) after adjustment for sex, centre, physical activity, smoking status and education. The genetic risk score for type 1 diabetes but not type 2 diabetes was associated with GAD65 antibody positivity in both the subcohort (OR per SD genetic risk 1.24; 95% CI 1.03, 1.50) and incident cases (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.72, 2.26) after adjusting for age and sex. The risk of incident diabetes in those in the top tertile of the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score who were also GAD65 antibody positive was 3.23 (95% CI 2.10, 4.97) compared with all other individuals, suggesting that 1.8% of incident diabetes in adults was attributable to this combination of risk factors. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our study indicates that incident diabetes in adults has an element of autoimmune aetiology. Thus, there might be a reason to re-evaluate the present subclassification of diabetes in adulthood
Autoimmunity plays a role in the onset of diabetes after 40 years of age
AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ with respect to pathophysiological factors such as beta cell function, insulin resistance and phenotypic appearance, but there may be overlap between the two forms of diabetes. However, there are relatively few prospective studies that have characterised the relationship between autoimmunity and incident diabetes. We investigated associations of antibodies against the 65 kDa isoform of GAD (GAD65) with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores and incident diabetes in adults in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct, a case-cohort study nested in the EPIC cohort. METHODS: GAD65 antibodies were analysed in EPIC participants (over 40 years of age and free of known diabetes at baseline) by radioligand binding assay in a random subcohort (n = 15,802) and in incident diabetes cases (n = 11,981). Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores were calculated. Associations between GAD65 antibodies and incident diabetes were estimated using Prentice-weighted Cox regression. RESULTS: GAD65 antibody positivity at baseline was associated with development of diabetes during a median follow-up time of 10.9 years (HR for GAD65 antibody positive vs negative 1.78; 95% CI 1.43, 2.20) after adjustment for sex, centre, physical activity, smoking status and education. The genetic risk score for type 1 diabetes but not type 2 diabetes was associated with GAD65 antibody positivity in both the subcohort (OR per SD genetic risk 1.24; 95% CI 1.03, 1.50) and incident cases (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.72, 2.26) after adjusting for age and sex. The risk of incident diabetes in those in the top tertile of the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score who were also GAD65 antibody positive was 3.23 (95% CI 2.10, 4.97) compared with all other individuals, suggesting that 1.8% of incident diabetes in adults was attributable to this combination of risk factors. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our study indicates that incident diabetes in adults has an element of autoimmune aetiology. Thus, there might be a reason to re-evaluate the present subclassification of diabetes in adulthood
Guaranteed optimal reachability control of reaction-diffusion equations using one-sided Lipschitz constants and model reduction
We show that, for any spatially discretized system of reaction-diffusion, the
approximate solution given by the explicit Euler time-discretization scheme
converges to the exact time-continuous solution, provided that diffusion
coefficient be sufficiently large. By "sufficiently large", we mean that the
diffusion coefficient value makes the one-sided Lipschitz constant of the
reaction-diffusion system negative. We apply this result to solve a finite
horizon control problem for a 1D reaction-diffusion example. We also explain
how to perform model reduction in order to improve the efficiency of the
method
Resolving the electromagnetic mechanism of surface-enhanced light scattering at single hot spots
Light scattering at nanoparticles and molecules can be dramatically enhanced in the 'hot spots' of optical antennas, where the incident light is highly concentrated. Although this effect is widely applied in surface-enhanced optical sensing, spectroscopy and microscopy, the underlying electromagnetic mechanism of the signal enhancement is challenging to trace experimentally. Here we study elastically scattered light from an individual object located in the well-defined hot spot of single antennas, as a new approach to resolve the role of the antenna in the scattering process. We provide experimental evidence that the intensity elastically scattered off the object scales with the fourth power of the local field enhancement provided by the antenna, and that the underlying electromagnetic mechanism is identical to the one commonly accepted in surface-enhanced Raman scattering. We also measure the phase shift of the scattered light, which provides a novel and unambiguous fingerprint of surface-enhanced light scattering
Urocortin protects chondrocytes from NO-induced apoptosis: a future therapy for osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by a loss of joint mobility and pain resulting from progressive destruction and loss of articular cartilage secondary to chondrocyte death and/ or senescence. Certain stimuli including nitric oxide (NO) and the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α have been implicated in this chondrocyte death and the subsequent accelerated damage to cartilage. In this study, we demonstrate that a corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) family peptide, urocortin (Ucn), is produced by a human chondrocyte cell line, C-20/A4, and acts both as an endogenous survival signal and as a cytoprotective agent reducing the induction of apoptosis by NO but not TNF-α when added exogenously. Furthermore, treatment with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D-L-penicillamine upregulates chondrocyte Ucn expression, whereas treatment with TNF-α does not. The chondroprotective effects of Ucn are abolished by both specific ligand depletion (with an anti-Ucn antibody) and by CRF receptor blockade with the pan-CRFR antagonist α-helical CRH(9-41). CRFR expression was confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR with subsequent amplicon sequence analysis and demonstrates that C-20/A4 cells express both CRFR1 and CRFR2, specifically CRFR1α and CRFR2β. Protein expression of these receptors was confirmed by western blotting. The presence of both Ucn and its receptors in these cells, coupled with the induction of Ucn by NO, suggests the existence of an endogenous autocrine/paracrine chondroprotective mechanism against stimuli inducing chondrocyte apoptosis via the intrinsic/mitochondrial pathway
Modulation of macrophage cytokine profiles during solid tumor progression: susceptibility to Candida albicans infection
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to attain a better understanding of the interactions between opportunist fungi and their hosts, we investigated the cytokine profile associated with the inflammatory response to <it>Candida albicans </it>infection in mice with solid Ehrlich tumors of different degrees.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Groups of eight animals were inoculated intraperitoneally with 5 × 10<sup>6 </sup><it>C. albicans </it>7, 14 or 21 days after tumor implantation. After 24 or 72 hours, the animals were euthanized and intraperitoneal lavage fluid was collected. Peritoneal macrophages were cultivated and the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-10 and IL-4 released into the supernatants were measured by ELISA. Kidney, liver and spleen samples were evaluated for fungal dissemination. Tumor-free animals and animals that had only been subjected to <it>C. albicans </it>infection were used as control groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results demonstrated that the mice produced more IFN-γ and TNF-α and less IL-10, and also exhibited fungal clearance, at the beginning of tumor evolution. With the tumor progression, this picture changed: IL-10 production increased and IFN-γ and TNF-α release decreased; furthermore, there was extensive fungal dissemination.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that solid tumors can affect the production of macrophage cytokines and, in consequence, affect host resistance to opportunistic infections.</p
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