The ADAQ framework is a collection of software tools that is designed to streamline the acquisition and analysis of radiation detector data produced in modern digital data acquisition (DAQ) systems ...and in Monte Carlo detector simulations. The purpose of the framework is to maximize user scientific productivity by minimizing the effort and expertise required to fully utilize radiation detectors in a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines. By using a single set of tools to span the real and simulation domains, the framework eliminates redundancy and provides an integrated workflow for high-fidelity comparison between experimental and simulated detector performance. Built on the ROOT data analysis framework, the core of the ADAQ framework is a set of C++ and Python libraries that enable high-level control of digital DAQ systems and detector simulations with data stored into standardized binary ROOT files for further analysis. Two graphical user interface programs utilize the libraries to create powerful tools: ADAQAcquisition handles control and readout of real-world DAQ systems and ADAQAnalysis provides data analysis and visualization methods for experimental and simulated data. At present, the ADAQ framework supports digital DAQ hardware from CAEN S.p.A. and detector simulations performed in Geant4; however, the modular design will facilitate future extension to other manufacturers and simulation platforms.
•A new software framework for radiation detector data acquisition and analysis.•Integrated acquisition and analysis of real-world and simulated detector data.•C++ and Python libraries for data acquisition hardware control and readout.•Graphical program for control and readout of digital data acquisition hardware.•Graphical program for comprehensive analysis of real-world and simulated data.
Background and purpose
Sixty patients with facial palsy and 67 with sudden deafness were retrospectively or prospectively examined for serological evidence of rickettsial infection; in six cases ...where cerebrospinal fluid was available, patients were also examined for presence of rickettsial DNA.
Methods
Rickettsial antibodies were detected in single or paired serum samples using immunofluorescence with Rickettsia helvetica as the antigen and in four cases also using western blot. Using PCR and subsequent direct cycle sequencing, the nucleotide sequences of the amplicons (17 kDa protein gene) in cerebrospinal fluid were analysed.
Results
Five out of 60 (8.3%) patients with facial palsy and eight of 67 (11.9%) with hearing loss showed confirmative serological evidence of infection with Rickettsia spp. An additional three and four patients in the facial palsy and hearing loss groups, respectively, showed evidence of having a recent or current infection or serological findings suggestive of infection. In four cases, the specificity of the reaction was confirmed by western blot. An additional 70 patients were seroreactive with IgG or IgM antibodies higher than or equal to the cut‐off of 1:64, whereas 37 patients were seronegative. Only two of 127 patients had detectable antibodies to Borrelia spp. In three of six patients, rickettsial DNA was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid, where the obtained sequences (17 kDa) shared 100% similarity with the corresponding gene sequence of Rickettsia felis.
Conclusions
These results highlight the importance of considering Rickettsia spp. as a cause of neuritis, and perhaps as a primary cause of neuritis unrelated to neuroborreliosis.
Summary
During the past decades, migrant contributions have accumulated in many local breeds. Cross‐breeding was carried out to mitigate the risk of inbreeding depression and to improve the ...performance of local breeds. However, breeding activities for local breeds were not as intensive and target oriented as for popular high‐yielding breeds. Therefore, even if performance improved, the gap between the performance of local and popular breeds increased for many traits. Furthermore, the genetic originality of local breeds declined due to the increasing contributions of migrant breeds. This study examined the importance of migrant breed influences for the realization of breeding progress of beef traits of German Vorderwald and Hinterwald cattle. The results show that there is a high amount of migrant contributions and their effects on performance are substantial for most traits. The effect of the French cattle breed Montbéliard (p‐value 0.014) on daily gain of Vorderwald bulls at test station was positive. The effects of Vorderwald ancestors (p‐value for daily gain 0.007 and p‐value for net gain 0.004) were positive for both traits under consideration in the population of Hinterwald cattle. Additionally, the effect of remaining breeds (p‐value 0.030) on net gain of Hinterwald cattle in the field was also positive. The estimated effect of Fleckvieh ancestors on net gain of Hinterwald cattle was even larger but not significant. Breeding values adjusted for the effects of the migrant breeds showed little genetic trend.
The applicability of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair in a workplace alcohol testing program was investigated.
A total of 78 hair samples from employees in jobs ...with a high endangering potential were tested for EtG and FAEEs. In most cases excessive drinking was suspected. For 59 of these cases additional data of the traditional alcohol markers aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase and of the mean corpuscular volume of the erythrocytes (58 cases) were available.
By application of the cut-offs of the Consensus of the Society of Hair Testing and of a gradual system for combined interpretation of FAEEs and EtG in hair no indications of alcohol abuse were obtained in 50 cases (64%), slight indications were seen in 13 cases (17%) and clear indications in 11 cases (14%). In four cases, the results were inconclusive with strongly conflicting results of both markers, the reason for which could not be cleared. The traditional markers confirmed the hair results only partly and displayed altogether a lower portion of positive results.
EtG and FAEEs in hair, especially when interpreted in combination, are suitable for application in workplace alcohol testing programs. Nevertheless, the results obtained by hair analysis for alcohol markers can only be one part of a proper assessment aiming at the question whether an employee is addicted to alcohol or not.
In the field of dairy cattle research, it is of great interest to improve the detection and prevention of diseases (e.g., mastitis and ketosis) and monitor specific traits related to the state of ...health and management. During the standard milk performance test, traditional milk traits are monitored, and quality and quantity are screened. In addition to the standard test, it is also now possible to analyze milk metabolites in a high-throughput manner and to consider them in connection with milk traits to identify functionally important metabolites that can also serve as biomarker candidates. We present a study in which 190 milk metabolites and 14 milk traits of 1,305 Holstein cows on 18 commercial farms were investigated to characterize interrelations of milk metabolites between each other, to milk traits from the milk standard performance test, and to influencing factors such as farm and sire effect (half-sib structure). The effect of influencing factors (e.g., farm) varied among metabolites and traditional milk traits. The investigations of associations between metabolites and milk traits revealed groups of metabolites that show, for example, positive correlations to protein and casein, and negative correlations to lactose and pH. On the other hand, groups of metabolites jointly associated with the investigated milk traits can be identified and functionally discussed. To enable a multivariate investigation, 2 machine learning methods were applied to detect important metabolites that are highly correlated with the investigated traditional milk traits. For somatic cell score, uracil, lactic acid, and 9 other important metabolites were detected. Lactic acid has already been proposed as a biomarker candidate for mastitis in the recent literature. In conclusion, we found sets of metabolites eligible to predict milk traits, enabling the analysis of milk traits from a metabolic perspective and discussion of the possible functional background for some of the detected associations.
Glucagon like peptide-1 (Glp-1) exhibits beneficial effects on beta cell mass by both enhancing proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. The precise mechanism of the anti-apoptotic effect of Glp-1 and ...Glp-1 mimetics like exendin-4 has remained elusive. Here, we studied cytokine-induced apoptosis in the pancreatic beta cell line INS-1 and performed a comparative mitochondrial protein pattern analysis using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). Cytokine incubation of INS-1 cells increased caspase-3 activity about 3-fold, which was reduced by 60% in the presence of exendin-4. Production of reactive oxygen species in response to cytokines was completely prevented after preincubation with exendin-4. Highly purified mitochondria were obtained and mitochondrial proteins were labeled with Cy-dyes and separated on overlapping zoom 2D gels spanning a pH-range of 4-9. Protein spots with significant changes after cytokine and exendin-4 treatment were identified by MALDI mass spectrometry. Comparing all treatment conditions, comparative mitochondrial proteome analysis allowed to identify 33 different proteins, which were significantly altered between comparison groups. Changes in protein patterns revealed involvement of cytokine-induced electron transport chain damage. Thus, cytochrome bc1 complex subunit I and ATP synthase subunit beta were downregulated by 30-40%. This was abrogated by the presence of exendin-4. In conclusion, this study provides further insights into the role of mitochondria in cytokine-induced apoptosis. We show here that exendin-4 significantly counter-regulates the reduced abundance of electron transport chain proteins, leading to a reduction of oxidative stress and most likely contributing to the anti-apoptotic action of this drug.
The impact of synthesis conditions, post-preparation heating procedure, aging and influence of pressure on the superconducting properties of FeSe0.4Te0.6 crystals is reported. Two FeSe0.4Te0.6 single ...crystals were used in the study, prepared from stoichiometric melt but cooled down with very different cooling rates, and investigated using magnetic bulk and electrical-resistivity methods. The fast-cooled crystal contains large inclusions of Fe3Se2.1Te1.8 and exhibits bulk superconductivity in its as-prepared state, while the other is homogeneous and shows only traces of superconductivity. AC susceptibility measurements under hydrostatic pressure show that the superconducting transition temperature of the inhomogeneous crystal increases from 12.3 K at ambient pressure to Tsc = 17.9 K at 9 kbar. On the other hand, neither pressure nor mechanically-induced stress is sufficient to induce superconductivity in the homogeneous crystal. However, an additional heat treatment at 673 K followed by fast cooling down and/or long-term aging at ambient conditions leads to the appearance of bulk superconductivity also in the latter sample. This sample remains homogeneous on a scale down to few μm but shows an additional magnetic phase transition around 130 K suggesting that it must be inhomogeneous. For comparison also Fe3Se2.1Te1.8 polycrystals have been prepared and their magnetic properties have been studied. It appears that this phase is not superconducting by itself. It is concluded that nano-scale inhomogeneities that appear in the FeSexTe1−x system due to a spinodal decomposition in the solid state are necessary for bulk superconductivity, possibly due to minor changes in the crystal structure and microstructure. Macroscopic inclusions quenched by fast cooling from high temperatures lead obviously to strain and hence variations in the lattice constants, an effect that is further supported by application of pressure/stress.
•Fast-cooled FeSe0.4Te0.6 is found to be inhomogeneous superconductor. Slowly-cooled sample is homogeneous but not superconducting.•Heat treatment followed by faster cooling leads to development of superconductivity, equally as an aging for three years.•Applied pressure does not induce on the homogeneous system any sizable effect in contrast to the inhomogeneous one.•Inhomogeneities that develop with time/under fast cooling exist on very small scale.
We describe and discuss the case of a 44-year old paranoid woman who committed suicide by ingestion of approximately 4 litres of toilet bowl cleaner. Autopsy findings consisted of central ...dysregulation and extensive mucosa ulcerations of oesophagus and stomach with fatal bleeding. Autopsy and toxicological results are presented in the light of the literature.
•Variant patchoulol synthase (PTS) from P. cablin cloned, sequenced, and expressed.•Fusion to thioredoxin and codon-optimization improved soluble expression in E. coli.•Co2+-IMAC purification of the ...thioredoxin-fused enzyme.•Germacrene A most abundant product of the enzyme variant.•In silico modeling reveals possible structural change in active site.
Probing a cDNA library extracted from Pogostemon cablin (Indian Patchouli) with gene specific primers, a variant of patchoulol synthase PTS (GenBank acc. No.: AY508730) was amplified, cloned, and sequenced. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cloned cDNA exhibited a sequence variation of 3.4% compared to the annotated sequence. The enzyme variant tended to form inclusion bodies when expressed in Escherichia coli. The coding sequence was fused to the T7-tag, His-tag and to thioredoxin. Constructs were expressed in three different E. coli expression strains, with several strain/construct combinations yielding soluble enzyme. By fusion to thioredoxin and careful codon optimization of the eukaryotic sequence, soluble expression could be improved on average by 42% in comparison to an unoptimized, His-tagged construct. The thioredoxin-fused protein was successfully purified using a one-step Co2+-IMAC purification procedure. Bioactivity assays using prepared farnesyl diphosphate (FDP) in milliliter-scale batch reactions, showed activity of the fused enzyme even with thioredoxin attached. The product spectrum of the enzyme was compared to patchouli oil standards by GC–MS and the main products were identified. Interestingly, the variant showed a shift in product spectrum with germacrene A being the most abundant product instead of patchouli alcohol. In silico structural modeling shows a possible chemical and structural change in the active site of the enzyme, which might be responsible for the shift in product composition.
Background
Local excision of early colon cancers could be an option in selected patients with high risk of complications and no sign of lymph node metastasis (LNM). The primary aim was to assess ...feasibility in high-risk patients with early colon cancer treated with Combined Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgery (CELS).
Methods
A non-randomized prospective feasibility study including 25 patients with Performance Status score ≥ 1 and/or American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥ 3, and clinical Union of International Cancer Control stage-1 colon cancer suitable for CELS resection. The primary outcome was failure of CELS resection, defined as either: Incomplete resection (R1/R2), local recurrence within 3 months, complication related to CELS within 30 days (Clavien–Dindo grade ≥ 3), death within 30 days or death within 90 days due to complications to surgery.
Results
Fifteen patients with clinical T1 (cT1) and ten with clinical T2 (cT2) colon cancer and without suspicion of metastases were included. Failure occurred in two patients due to incomplete resections. Histopathological examination classified seven patients as having pT1, nine as pT2, six as pT3 adenocarcinomas, and three as non-invasive tumors. In three patients, the surgical strategy was changed intraoperatively to conventional colectomy due to tumor location or size. Median length of stay was 1 day. Seven patients had completion colectomy performed due to histological high-risk factors. None had LNM.
Conclusions
In selected patients, CELS resection was feasible, and could spare some patients large bowel resection.
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