The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment with 40 tonnes of liquid xenon as an active target in a time projection chamber. To study challenges related to the construction and ...operation of a multi-tonne scale detector, we have designed and constructed a vertical, full-scale demonstrator for the DARWIN experiment at the University of Zurich. Here, we present the first results from a several-months run with
343
kg
of xenon and electron drift lifetime and transport measurements with a
53
cm
tall purity monitor immersed in the cryogenic liquid. After
88
days
of continuous purification, the electron lifetime reached a value of
(
664
±
23
)
μ
s
. We measured the drift velocity of electrons for electric fields in the range (25–75) V/cm, and found values consistent with previous measurements. We also calculated the longitudinal diffusion constant of the electron cloud in the same field range, and compared with previous data, as well as with predictions from an empirical model.
Highlights • Erdheim–Chester disease (ECD) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocitosis, characterized by multisystemic xanthogranulomatous infiltration by foamy histiocytes. Etiology and pathogenesis ...are still unknown and only about 500 cases are related in the literature. • Multifocal nature of involvement in ECD can produce a wide variety of clinical signs. In our experience, neurological involvement is associated with mortality in all cases. Characteristic long bone osteosclerosis was a quasi-pathognomonic finding in bone scintigraphy. • To the best of our knowledge, the 18FDOPA-PET/CT not seem useful in the initial staging of ECD based on a single case report. • Bone scintigraphy and the 18FDG-PET/CT that were particularly useful in despite systemic involvement, locate the optimum site for biopsy and treatment response evaluation. In this context, a baseline 18FDG-PET/CT with an optional bone scintigraphy may help in monitoring the disease and could be considered when patients were incidentally diagnosed and periodically follow-up 18FDG-PET/CT must be performed in the follow up to evaluate the treatment response.
Background: Adequate sleep is a critical factor for adolescent's health and health-related behaviors. Objective: (a) to describe sleep duration in European adolescents from nine countries, (b) to ...assess the association of short sleep duration with excess adiposity and (c) to elucidate if physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors and/or inadequate food habits underlie this association. Design: A sample of 3311 adolescents (1748 girls) aged 12.5-17.49 years from 10 European cities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden was assessed in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Study between 2006 and 2008. We measured anthropometric data, sleep duration, PA (accelerometers and questionnaire), television watching and food habits (Food Frequency Questionnaire). Results: Average duration of daily sleep was 8 h. Shorter sleepers showed higher values of BMI, body fat, waist and hip circumferences and fat mass index (P<0.05), particularly in females. Adolescents who slept <8 h per day were more sedentary, as assessed by accelerometry, and spent more time watching TV (P<0.05). The proportion of adolescents who eat adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and fish was lower in shorter sleepers than in adolescents who slept 8 h per day, and so was the probability of having adequate food habits (P<0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that short sleep is associated with higher obesity parameters. Conclusions: In European adolescents, short sleep duration is associated with higher adiposity markers, particularly in female adolescents. This association seems to be related to both sides of the energy balance equation due to a combination of increased food intake and more sedentary habits.
Seventeen Middle Pleistocene crania from the Sima de los Huesos site (Atapuerca, Spain) are analyzed, including seven new specimens. This sample makes it possible to thoroughly characterize a Middle ...Pleistocene hominin paleodeme and to address hypotheses about the origin and evolution of the Neandertals. Using a variety of techniques, the hominin-bearing layer could be reassigned to a period around 430,000 years ago. The sample shows a consistent morphological pattern with derived Neandertal features present in the face and anterior vault, many of which are related to the masticatory apparatus. This suggests that facial modification was the first step in the evolution of the Neandertal lineage, pointing to a mosaic pattern of evolution, with different anatomical and functional modules evolving at different rates.
Impact of plasmapheresis on severe COVID-19 Fonseca-González, G; Alamilla-Sánchez, M; García-Macas, V ...
Scientific reports,
01/2023, Letnik:
13, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The clinical course of COVID-19 may show severe presentation, potentially involving dynamic cytokine storms and T cell lymphopenia, which are leading causes of death in patients with SARS-CoV-2 ...infection. Plasma exchange therapy (PLEX) effectively removes pro-inflammatory factors, modulating and restoring innate and adaptive immune responses. This clinical trial aimed to evaluate the impact of PLEX on the survival of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 and the effect on the cytokine release syndrome. Hospitalized patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection and cytokine storm syndrome were selected to receive 2 sessions of PLEX or standard therapy. Primary outcome was all-cause 60-days mortality; secondary outcome was requirement of mechanical ventilation, SOFA, NEWs-2 scores modification, reduction of pro-inflammatory biomarkers and hospitalization time. Twenty patients received PLEX were compared against 40 patients receiving standard therapy. PLEX reduced 60-days mortality (50% vs 20%; OR 0.25, 95%CI 0.071-0.880; p = 0.029), and this effect was independent from demographic variables and drug therapies used. PLEX significantly decreased SOFA, NEWs-2, pro-inflammatory mediators and increased lymphocyte count, accompanied with a trend to reduce affected lung volume, without effect on SatO
/FiO
indicator or mechanical ventilation requirement. PLEX therapy provided significant benefits of pro-inflammatory clearance and reduction of 60-days mortality in selected patients with COVID-19, without significant adverse events.
Myelofibrosis (MF) occurs as part of the natural history of polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), and remarkably shortens survival. Although JAK2V617F and CALR allele burden are ...the main transformation risk factors, inflammation plays a critical role by driving clonal expansion toward end-stage disease. NF-κB is a key mediator of inflammation-induced carcinogenesis. Here, we explored the involvement of miR-146a, a brake in NF-κB signaling, in MPN susceptibility and progression. rs2910164 and rs2431697, that affect miR-146a expression, were analyzed in 967 MPN (320 PV/333 ET/314 MF) patients and 600 controls. We found that rs2431697 TT genotype was associated with MF, particularly with post-PV/ET MF (HR = 1.5; p < 0.05). Among 232 PV/ET patients (follow-up time=8.5 years), 18 (7.8%) progressed to MF, being MF-free-survival shorter for rs2431697 TT than CC + CT patients (p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis identified TT genotype as independent predictor of MF progression. In addition, TT (vs. CC + CT) patients showed increased plasma inflammatory cytokines. Finally, miR-146a
mice showed significantly higher Stat3 activity with aging, parallel to the development of the MF-like phenotype. In conclusion, we demonstrated that rs2431697 TT genotype is an early predictor of MF progression independent of the JAK2V617F allele burden. Low levels of miR-146a contribute to the MF phenotype by increasing Stat3 signaling.
We report on the first search for nuclear recoils from dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with the XENONnT experiment, which is based on a two-phase time ...projection chamber with a sensitive liquid xenon mass of 5.9 ton. During the (1.09±0.03) ton yr exposure used for this search, the intrinsic ^{85}Kr and ^{222}Rn concentrations in the liquid target are reduced to unprecedentedly low levels, giving an electronic recoil background rate of (15.8±1.3) events/ton yr keV in the region of interest. A blind analysis of nuclear recoil events with energies between 3.3 and 60.5 keV finds no significant excess. This leads to a minimum upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of 2.58×10^{-47} cm^{2} for a WIMP mass of 28 GeV/c^{2} at 90% confidence level. Limits for spin-dependent interactions are also provided. Both the limit and the sensitivity for the full range of WIMP masses analyzed here improve on previous results obtained with the XENON1T experiment for the same exposure.
The magnetic exchange between epitaxial thin films of the multiferroic (antiferromagnetic and ferroelectric) hexagonal YMnO3 oxide and a soft ferromagnetic (FM) layer is used to couple the magnetic ...response of the FM layer to the magnetic state of the antiferromagnetic one. We will show that biasing the ferroelectric YMnO3 layer by an electric field allows control of the magnetic exchange bias and subsequently the magnetotransport properties of the FM layer. This finding may contribute to paving the way towards a new generation of electric-field controlled spintronic devices.
The present paper analyses the evidence provided by three sites (Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, and Galería) located in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril of the Sierra de Atapuerca. These three sites ...are cave infillings that contain sediments deposited from approximately 1.2 Ma to 200 kyr. Pollen, herpetofauna, and small and large mammal remains are used as proxies to obtain a general picture of the environmental changes that occurred at the Sierra de Atapuerca throughout the one million-year period represented at these sites. Similarly, cultural changes are tracked analyzing the evidence of human behavior obtained from the study of several bone and lithic assemblages from these three sites. At least three periods with different cultural features, involving technology, subsistence and behavior, are determined from the available evidence. The first two periods correspond to the Mode 1 technology and
Homo antecessor: the first is dated around 1.2 to 1.0 Ma and reflects opportunistic behavior both in technology and subsistence. The second period is around 800 kyr BP. Mode 1 technology is still maintained, but subsistence strategies include systematic hunting and the use of base camps. The third period is dated between 500
ka and 200
ka and corresponds to the Mode 2 technology and the acquisition of directional hunting and other organizational strategies by
Homo heidelbergensis. A transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 seems to appear at the end of this time-range, and may reflect the early phases of a fourth cultural change. With regard to the environment, our main conclusion is that there was an absence of extremely harsh conditions at Atapuerca throughout this time period. The presence of Mediterranean taxa was constant and the dominant landscape was a savannah-like open environment, probably with small forest patches. An alternation of Mediterranean and mesic species as the dominant component of the tree storey was induced by the climatic cycles, and steppes spread across the landscape during the drier periods. In any case, it is not possible to establish clear cut-off points separating entirely different environmental episodes. Our results show no evidence of any relationship between environmental change and cultural change at the Sierra de Atapuerca.
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