Latest Updates from the AlCap Experiment

The AlCap experiment is a joint venture between the COMET and Mu2e collaborations that will measure the rate and spectrum of particles emitted after nuclear muon capture on aluminium. Both collaborations will search for the charged lepton flavour violating process of neutrinoless muon-to-electron conversion by stopping muons in an aluminium target. Knowledge of other particles emitted during this process is important. The AlCap charged particle emission data was collected at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland over two runs in 2013 and 2015. In this talk, the experiment will be described and the current status will be presented.Comment: Talk presented CIPANP2018. 8 pages, LaTeX, 9 figure

Les territoires de l’aventure au féminin 1895-1935

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A la recherche des limites, pionnière et recordwoman, Marie Marvingt (1875-1963)

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Les territoires de l’aventure au féminin 1895-1935

International audienc

12-h pretreatment with methylprednisolone versus placebo for prevention of postextubation laryngeal oedema: a randomised double-blind trial.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of corticosteroids in reducing the incidence of postextubation laryngeal oedema is controversial. We aimed to test our hypothesis that methylprednisolone started 12 h before a planned extubation could prevent postextubation laryngeal oedema. METHODS: We did a placebo-controlled, double-blind multicentre trial in 761 adults in intensive-care units. Patients who were ventilated for more than 36 h and underwent a planned extubation received intravenous 20 mg methylprednisolone (n=380) or placebo (381) 12 h before extubation and every 4 h until tube removal. The primary endpoint was occurrence of laryngeal oedema within 24 h of extubation. Laryngeal oedema was clinically diagnosed and deemed serious if tracheal reintubation was needed. Analyses were done on a per protocol and intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00199576. FINDINGS: 63 patients could not be assessed, mainly because of self-extubation (n=16) or cancelled extubation (44) between randomisation and planned extubation. 698 patients were analysed (343 in placebo group, 355 in methylprednisolone group). Methylprednisolone significantly reduced the incidence of postextubation laryngeal oedema (11 of 355, 3%vs 76 of 343, 22%, p<0.0001), the global incidence of reintubations (13 of 355, 4%vs 26 of 343, 8%, p=0.02), and the proportion of reintubations secondary to laryngeal oedema (one of 13, 8 %vs 14 of 26, 54%, p=0.005). One patient in each group died after extubation, and atelectasia occurred in one patient given methylprednisolone. INTERPRETATION: Methylprednisolone started 12 h before a planned extubation substantially reduced the incidence of postextubation laryngeal oedema and reintubation. Such pretreatment should be considered in adult patients before a planned extubation that follows a tracheal intubation of more than 36 h

Intermittent pneumatic compression to prevent venous thromboembolism in patients with high risk of bleeding hospitalized in intensive care units: the CIREA1 randomized trial.

International audiencePURPOSE: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent and serious problem in intensive care units (ICU). Anticoagulant treatments have demonstrated their efficacy in preventing VTE. However, when the bleeding risk is high, they are contraindicated, and mechanical devices are recommended. To date, mechanical prophylaxis has not been rigorously evaluated in any trials in ICU patients. METHODS: In this multicenter, open-label, randomized trial with blinded evaluation of endpoints, we randomly assigned 407 patients with a high risk of bleeding to receive intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) associated with graduated compression stockings (GCS) or GCS alone for 6 days during their ICU stay. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of a VTE between days 1 and 6, including nonfatal symptomatic documented VTE, or death due to a pulmonary embolism, or asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis detected by ultrasonography systematically performed on day 6. RESULTS: The primary outcome was assessed in 363 patients (89.2 %). By day 6, the incidence of the primary outcome was 5.6 % (10 of 179 patients) in the IPC + GCS group and 9.2 % (17 of 184 patients) in the GCS group (relative risk 0.60; 95 % confidence interval 0.28-1.28; p = 0.19). Tolerance of IPC was poor in only 12 patients (6.0 %). No intergroup difference in mortality rate was observed. CONCLUSIONS: With the limitation of a low statistical power, our results do not support the superiority of the combination of IPC + GCS compared to GCS alone to prevent VTE in ICU patients at high risk of bleeding

Precipitation as driver of carbon fluxes in 11 African ecosystems

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Chromosomal resolution reveals symbiotic virus colonization of parasitic wasp genomes

Most endogenous viruses, an important proportion of eukaryote genomes, are doomed to slowly decay. Little is known, however, on how they evolve when they confer a benefit to their host. Bracoviruses are essential for the parasitism success of parasitoid wasps, whose genomes they integrated ~103 million years ago. Here we show, from the assembly of a parasitoid wasp genome, for the first time at a chromosomal scale, that symbiotic bracovirus genes spread to and colonized all the chromosomes. Moreover, large viral clusters are stably maintained suggesting strong evolutionary constraints. Genomic comparison with another wasps revealed that this organization was already established ~53 mya. Transcriptomic analyses highlight temporal synchronization of viral gene expression, leading to particle production. Immune genes are not induced, however, indicating the virus is not perceived as foreign by the wasp. This recognition suggests that no conflicts remain between symbiotic partners when benefits to them converge