532 research outputs found
Haemophilus parasuis
The expression of chemokines (CCL-2 and CXCL-8) and cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10) was evaluated by RT-qPCR in colostrum-deprived pigs vaccinated and challenged with Haemophilus parasuis serovar 5. Two vaccines containing native proteins with affinity to porcine transferrin (NPAPTim and NPAPTit) were tested, along with two control groups: one inoculated with PBS instead of antigen (challenge group (CHG)), and another one nonimmunized and noninfected (blank group). The use of NPAPTim and NPAPTit resulted in complete protection against H. parasuis (no clinical signs and/or lesions), and both vaccines were capable of avoiding the expression of the proinflammatory molecules to levels similar to physiological values in blank group. However, overexpression of all proinflammatory molecules was observed in CHG group, mainly in the target infection tissues (brain, lungs, and spleen). High expression of CCL-2, CXCL-8, IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-6 can be considered one of the characteristics of H. parasuis infection by serovar 5
The QUIJOTE experiment: project overview and first results
QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) is a new polarimeter aimed to characterize the
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background and other Galactic and
extragalactic signals at medium and large angular scales in the frequency range
10-40 GHz. The multi-frequency (10-20~GHz) instrument, mounted on the first
QUIJOTE telescope, saw first light on November 2012 from the Teide Observatory
(2400~m a.s.l). During 2014 the second telescope has been installed at this
observatory. A second instrument at 30~GHz will be ready for commissioning at
this telescope during summer 2015, and a third additional instrument at 40~GHz
is now being developed. These instruments will have nominal sensitivities to
detect the B-mode polarization due to the primordial gravitational-wave
component if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r=0.05.Comment: To appear in "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII", Proceedings
of the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society, Teruel,
Spain (2014
Some doubts on the validity of the foreground Galactic contribution subtraction from microwave anisotropies
The Galactic foreground contamination in CMBR anisotropies, especially from
the dust component, is not easily separable from the cosmological or
extragalactic component. In this paper, some doubts will be raised concerning
the validity of the methods used to date to remove Galactic dust emission in
order to show that none of them achieves its goal.
First, I review the recent bibliography on the topic and discuss critically
the methods of foreground subtraction: the cross-correlation with templates,
analysis assuming the spectral shape of the Galactic components, the "maximum
entropy method", "internal linear combination", and "wavelet-based high
resolution fitting of internal templates". Second, I analyse the galactic
latitude dependence from WMAP data. The frequency dependence is discussed with
the data in the available literature. The result is that all methods of
subtracting the Galactic contamination are inaccurate. The galactic latitude
dependence analysis or the frequency dependence of the anisotropies in the
range 50-250 GHz put a constraint on the maximum Galactic contribution in the
power spectrum to be less than a ~10% (68% C. L.) for a ~1 degree scale, and
possibly higher for larger scales.
The origin of most of the signal in the CMBR anisotropies is not Galactic. In
any case, the subtraction of the Galaxy is not accurate enough to allow a
"precision Cosmology"; other sources of contamination (extragalactic, solar
system) are also present.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, accepted to be published in J. Astrophys. Ast
Genomic Deletion Marking an Emerging Subclone of \u3ci\u3eFrancisella tularensis\u3c/i\u3e subsp. \u3ci\u3eholarctica\u3c/i\u3e in France and the Iberian Peninsula
Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica is widely disseminated in North America and the boreal and temperate regions of the Eurasian continent. Comparative genomic analyses identified a 1.59-kb genomic deletion specific to F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from Spain and France. Phylogenetic analysis of strains carrying this deletion by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis showed that the strains comprise a highly related set of genotypes, implying that these strains were recently introduced or recently emerged by clonal expansion in France and the Iberian Peninsula
Co-infections and superinfections complicating COVID-19 in cancer patients: A multicentre, international study
Background: We aimed to describe the epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of co-infections and superinfections in onco-hematological patients with COVID-19. Methods: International, multicentre cohort study of cancer patients with COVID-19. All patients were included in the analysis of co-infections at diagnosis, while only patients admitted at least 48 h were included in the analysis of superinfections. Results: 684 patients were included (384 with solid tumors and 300 with hematological malignancies). Co-infections and superinfections were documented in 7.8% (54/684) and 19.1% (113/590) of patients, respectively. Lower respiratory tract infections were the most frequent infectious complications, most often caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Only seven patients developed opportunistic infections. Compared to patients without infectious complications, those with infections had worse outcomes, with high rates of acute respiratory distress syndrome, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and case-fatality rates. Neutropenia, ICU admission and high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were independent risk factors for infections. Conclusions: Infectious complications in cancer patients with COVID-19 were lower than expected, affecting mainly neutropenic patients with high levels of CRP and/or ICU admission. The rate of opportunistic infections was unexpectedly low. The use of empiric antimicrobials in cancer patients with COVID-19 needs to be optimized
Measurement of radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment
The measurement of the internal Rn activity in the NEXT-White
detector during the so-called Run-II period with Xe-depleted xenon is
discussed in detail, together with its implications for double beta decay
searches in NEXT. The activity is measured through the alpha production rate
induced in the fiducial volume by Rn and its alpha-emitting progeny.
The specific activity is measured to be ~mBq/m. Radon-induced electrons have also been
characterized from the decay of the Bi daughter ions plating out on the
cathode of the time projection chamber. From our studies, we conclude that
radon-induced backgrounds are sufficiently low to enable a successful NEXT-100
physics program, as the projected rate contribution should not exceed
0.1~counts/yr in the neutrinoless double beta decay sample.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables. Version accepted for publication in
JHE
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