1,073 research outputs found
Behavioural Effects of the Shelter Design on Male Guinea Pigs
To improve the welfare of group-housed male guinea pigs during the acclimatization period, which is whenĀ social groups are formed, different designs of shelters were tested, one shelter having one entrance to a singleĀ compartment ā a Box for group hiding ā and the other having individual entrances to a compartmentĀ in the cage ā a Garage for single hiding. Both were studied to evaluate whether they had any affect on theĀ behavioral levels. Behavioural and weight data were collected during five of the seven days of the acclimatizationĀ period. Data were tested against the Mann-Whitney U and Variance Analysis test. Results demonstratedĀ that males in cages with the garage spent more time inside the shelter (P =0.0004), while males inĀ cages with the box spent more time resting (P =0.000), feeding (P =0.0043) and drinking (P =0.0022) onĀ the open floor, and yet there was no difference in individual weight between treatments at the end of theĀ study. Males in cages with garage experienced a more rapid establishment of the social hierarchy (P =Ā 0.0024) by being involved with a lower number of social interactions. The conclusion from the presentĀ study is considered to show that males in cages with the garage were able to avoid unnecessarily high levelsĀ of stress and aggression caused by territorial defence while the hierarchy was established.
Orthogonal Linear Combinations of Gaussian Type Orbitals
The set of Gaussian Type Orbitals g(n1,n2,n3) of order (n+1)(n+2)/2, of
common n=n1+n2+n3<=7, common center and exponential, is customized to define a
set of 2n+1 linear combinations t(n,m) (-n<=m<=n) such that each t(n,m) depends
on the azimuthal and polar angle of the spherical coordinate system like the
real or imaginary part of the associated Spherical Harmonic. (Results cover
both Hermite and Cartesian Gaussian Type Orbitals.) Overlap, kinetic energy and
Coulomb energy matrix elements are presented for generalized basis functions of
the type r^s*t(n,m) (s=0,2,4,...). In addition, normalization integrals int
|g(n1,n2,n3)|d^3r are calculated up to n=7 and normalization integrals int
|r^s*t(n,m)|d^3r up to n=5.Comment: 13 pages, no figures, REVTeX4. Corrected eqs. (23) and (C4
Utility of oropharyngeal real-time PCR for S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae for diagnosis of pneumonia in adults.
Efst Ć” sĆĆ°unni er hƦgt aĆ° nĆ”lgast greinina Ć heild sinni meĆ° Ć¾vĆ aĆ° smella Ć” hlekkinn To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the pageor click on the hyperlink at the To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field top of the page marked FilesA lack of sensitive tests and difficulties obtaining representative samples contribute to the challenge in identifying etiology in pneumonia. Upper respiratory tract swabs can be easily collected and analyzed with real-time PCR (rtPCR). Common pathogens such as S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae can both colonize and infect the respiratory tract, complicating the interpretation of positive results. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected (nā=ā239) prospectively from adults admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Analysis with rtPCR targeting S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae was performed and results compared with sputum cultures, blood cultures, and urine antigen testing for S. pneumoniae. Different Ct cutoff values were applied to positive tests to discern colonization from infection. Comparing rtPCR with conventional testing for S. pneumoniae in patients with all tests available (nā=ā57) resulted in: sensitivity 87Ā %, specificity 79Ā %, PPV 59Ā % and NPV 94Ā %, and for H. influenzae (nā=ā67): sensitivity 75Ā %, specificity 80Ā %, PPV 45Ā % and NPV 94Ā %. When patients with prior antimicrobial exposure were excluded sensitivity improved: 92Ā % for S. pneumoniae and 80Ā % for H. influenzae. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated for S. pneumoniae: AUCā=ā0.65 (95Ā % CI 0.51-0.80) and for H. influenzae: AUCā=ā0.86 (95Ā % CI 0.72-1.00). Analysis of oropharyngeal swabs using rtPCR proved both reasonably sensitive and specific for diagnosing pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae. This method may be a useful diagnostic adjunct to other methods and of special value in patients unable to provide representative lower airway samples.Icelandic Center for Research
Rannis
Landspitali University Hospital Science Fund
University of Iceland Research Fun
CSF Biomarkers in Patients With COVID-19 and Neurologic Symptoms: A Case Series
OBJECTIVE: To explore whether hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 and neurologic symptoms have evidence of CNS infection, inflammation and injury using CSF biomarker measurements. METHODS: We assessed CSF SARS-CoV-2 RNA along with CSF biomarkers of intrathecal inflammation (CSF white blood cell count, neopterin, Ī²2-microglobulin (Ī²2M) and immunoglobulin G-index), blood-brain-barrier (BBB) integrity (albumin ratio), and axonal injury (CSF neurofilament light chain protein [NfL]) in 6 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 and neurologic symptoms who had undergone a diagnostic lumbar puncture. Neurologic symptoms and signs included features of encephalopathies (4/6), suspected meningitis (1/6) and dysgeusia (1/6). SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by rtPCR analysis of nasopharyngeal swabs. RESULTS: SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the plasma of 2 patients (Cycle threshold [Ct] value 35.0-37.0) and in CSF at low levels (Ct 37.2, 38.0, 39.0) in 3 patients in one but not in a second rtPCR assay. CSF neopterin (median, 43.0 nmol/L) and Ī²2-microglobulin (median, 3.1 mg/L) were increased in all. Median IgG-index (0.39), albumin ratio (5.35) and CSF white blood cell count (<3 cells/ĀµL) were normal in all, while CSF NfL was elevated in 2 patients. CONCLUSION: Our results on patients with COVID-19 and neurologic symptoms suggest an unusual pattern of marked CSF inflammation in which soluble markers were increased but white cell response and other immunologic features typical of CNS viral infections were absent. While our initial hypothesis centered on CNS SARS-CoV-2 invasion, we could not convincingly detect SARS-CoV-2 as the underlying driver of CNS inflammation. These features distinguish COVID-19 CSF from other viral CNS infections, and raise fundamental questions about the CNS pathobiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Neurochemical evidence of astrocytic and neuronal injury commonly found in COVID-19
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has an impact on the CNS by measuring plasma biomarkers of CNS injury. METHODS: We recruited 47 patients with mild (n = 20), moderate (n = 9), or severe (n = 18) COVID-19 and measured 2 plasma biomarkers of CNS injury by single molecule array, neurofilament light chain protein (NfL; a marker of intra-axonal neuronal injury) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp; a marker of astrocytic activation/injury), in samples collected at presentation and again in a subset after a mean of 11.4 days. Cross-sectional results were compared with results from 33 age-matched controls derived from an independent cohort. RESULTS: The patients with severe COVID-19 had higher plasma concentrations of GFAp (p = 0.001) and NfL (p < 0.001) than controls, while GFAp was also increased in patients with moderate disease (p = 0.03). In patients with severe disease, an early peak in plasma GFAp decreased on follow-up (p < 0.01), while NfL showed a sustained increase from first to last follow-up (p < 0.01), perhaps reflecting a sequence of early astrocytic response and more delayed axonal injury. CONCLUSION: We show neurochemical evidence of neuronal injury and glial activation in patients with moderate and severe COVID-19. Further studies are needed to clarify the frequency and nature of COVID-19-related CNS damage and its relation to both clinically defined CNS events such as hypoxic and ischemic events and mechanisms more closely linked to systemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and consequent immune activation, as well as to evaluate the clinical utility of monitoring plasma NfL and GFAp in the management of this group of patients
The fusion approach ā applications for understanding local government and European integration
The article explores the theoretical capabilities of the fusion approach as a conceptual ākitā to explain the ābigger pictureā of European integration from a local government perspective. Fusion addresses the rationales and methods facilitating the transfer of policy-making competences to the European level. It understands European integration as a merging of public resources and policy instruments from multiple levels of government, whereby accountability and responsibilities for policy outcomes become blurred. The article argues that the fusion approach is useful to explain the systemic linkages between macro-trajectories and the corresponding change at the local level; the fusion dynamics of the local and European levels in a common policy-cycle; and the attitudes of local actors towards the EU. Although the article concludes that local government is rather modestly āfusedā into the EU, fusion approaches allow examining the extent to which the local level has become integrated into the European governance system
Operon conservation and the evolution of trans-splicing in the phylum Nematoda
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is unique among model animals in that many of its genes are cotranscribed as polycistronic pre-mRNAs from operons. The mechanism by which these operonic transcripts are resolved into mature mRNAs includes trans-splicing to a family of SL2-like spliced leader exons. SL2-like spliced leaders are distinct from SL1, the major spliced leader in C. elegans and other nematode species. We surveyed five additional nematode species, representing three of the five major clades of the phylum Nematoda, for the presence of operons and the use of trans-spliced leaders in resolution of polycistronic pre-mRNAs. Conserved operons were found in Pristionchus pacificus, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides ratti, Brugia malayi, and Ascaris suum. In nematodes closely related to the rhabditine C. elegans, a related family of SL2-like spliced leaders is used for operonic transcript resolution. However, in the tylenchine S. ratti operonic transcripts are resolved using a family of spliced leaders related to SL1. Non-operonic genes in S. ratti may also receive these SL1 variants. In the spirurine nematodes B. malayi and A. suum operonic transcripts are resolved using SL1. Mapping these phenotypes onto the robust molecular phylogeny for the Nematoda suggests that operons evolved before SL2-like spliced leaders, which are an evolutionary invention of the rhabditine lineage
Effect of lutropin on phosphorylation of endogenous proteins in testis Leydig cells. Correlation with testosterone production
Probabilities of Large Earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Region, California
In 1987 a Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities was organized by the U.S. Geological
Survey at the recommendation of the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC). The
membership included representatives from private industry, academia, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The
Working Group computed long-term probabilities of earthquakes along the major faults of the San Andreas
fault system on the basis of consensus interpretations of information then available. Faults considered by the
Working Group included the San Andreas fault proper, the San Jacinto and Imperial-faults of southern
California, and the Hayward fault of northern California. The Working Group issued a final report of its
findings in 1988 (Working Group, 1988) that was reviewed and endorsed by NEPEC.
As a consequence of the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October 17, 1989, a
second Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities was organized under the auspices of NEPEC.
Its charge was to review and, as necessary, revise the findings of the 1988 report on the probability of large
earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region. In particular, the Working Group was requested to examine the
probabilities of large earthquakes in the context of new interpretations or physical changes resulting from the
Loma Prieta earthquake. In addition, it was to consider new information pertaining to the San Andreas and other
faults in the region obtained subsequent to the release of the 1988 report. Insofar as modified techniques and
improved data have been used in this study, the same approach might also, of course, modify the probabilities
for southern California. This reevaluation has, however, been specifically limited to the San Francisco Bay
region.
This report is intended to summarize the collective knowledge and judgments of a diverse group of
earthquake scientists to assist in formulation of rational earthquake policies. A considerable body of information
about active faults in the San Francisco Bay region leads to the conclusion that major earthquakes are likely
within the next tens of years. Several techniques can be used to compute probabilities of future earthquakes,
although there are uncertainties about the validity of specific assumptions or models that must be made when
applying these techniques. The body of this report describes the data and detailed assumptions that lead to
specific probabilities for different fault segments. Additional data and future advances in our understanding of
earthquake physics may alter the way that these probabilities are estimated. Even though this uncertainty must
be acknowledged, we emphasize that the findings of this report are supported by other lines of argument and
are consistent with our best understanding of the likelihood for the occurrence of earthquakes in the San
Francisco Bay region
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