A time expansion chamber as a vertex detector
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment
Journal Article
Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory system, patients with and survivors of COVID-19 can suffer neurological symptoms
. However, an unbiased understanding of the cellular and ...molecular processes that are affected in the brains of patients with COVID-19 is missing. Here we profile 65,309 single-nucleus transcriptomes from 30 frontal cortex and choroid plexus samples across 14 control individuals (including 1 patient with terminal influenza) and 8 patients with COVID-19. Although our systematic analysis yields no molecular traces of SARS-CoV-2 in the brain, we observe broad cellular perturbations indicating that barrier cells of the choroid plexus sense and relay peripheral inflammation into the brain and show that peripheral T cells infiltrate the parenchyma. We discover microglia and astrocyte subpopulations associated with COVID-19 that share features with pathological cell states that have previously been reported in human neurodegenerative disease
. Synaptic signalling of upper-layer excitatory neurons-which are evolutionarily expanded in humans
and linked to cognitive function
-is preferentially affected in COVID-19. Across cell types, perturbations associated with COVID-19 overlap with those found in chronic brain disorders and reside in genetic variants associated with cognition, schizophrenia and depression. Our findings and public dataset provide a molecular framework to understand current observations of COVID-19-related neurological disease, and any such disease that may emerge at a later date.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in central vascular inflammation measured by FDG PET and myocardial blood flow reserve (MFR) determined by 82Rb PET following therapy with biologic ...agents for 6 months in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and/or cutaneous psoriasis (PsO) (group 1) and compare with PsO subjects receiving non-biologic therapy (group 2) and controls (group 3).
Target-to-background ratio (TBR) by FDG PET in the most diseased segment of the ascending aorta (TBRmax) was measured to assess vascular inflammation. 82Rb PET studies were used to assess changes in left ventricular MFR. A total of 34 participants were enrolled in the study (11 in group 1, 13 in group 2, and 10 controls). A significant drop in the thoracic aorta uptake was observed in the biologic-treated group (ΔTBRmax: − .46 ± .55) compared to the PsO group treated with non-biologic therapy (ΔTBRmax: .23 ± .67). Those showing response to biologic agents maintained MFR compared to who showed no response.
In a cohort of psoriasis patients treated with biologics, FDG uptake in the thoracic aorta decreased over the study period. Patients who demonstrated a significant anti-inflammatory response on FDG PET imaging maintained their MFR compared to non-responders.
Patients undergoing emergency general surgery are at high risk of complications and death. Our objectives were to estimate the incidence of emergency general surgery in a Swiss University Hospital, ...to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing such procedures, and to study the impact of age on clinical outcomes.
This was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients who visited the emergency department (ED) of Geneva University Hospitals between January 2015 and December 2019. Routinely collected data were extracted from electronic medical records. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergency general surgery among patients visiting the emergency department, defined as general surgery within three days of emergency department admission. We also assessed demographic characteristics, mortality, intensive care unit admission and patient disposition. Multivariable log-binomial regression was used to study the associations of age with intensive care unit (ICU) admission, one-year mortality and dependence at discharge. Age was modelled as a continuous variable using restricted cubic splines and we compared older patients (75th percentile) with younger patients (25th percentile).
Between January 2015 and December 2019, a total of 310,914 emergency department visits met our inclusion criteria. Among them, 3592 patients underwent emergency general surgery within 3 days of emergency department admission, yielding an annual incidence of 116 events per 10,000 emergency department visits (95% CI: 112-119), with a higher incidence in females and young patients. Overall, 5.3% of patients were admitted to ICU, 7.8% were dependent on rehabilitation or assisted living at discharge and 4.8% were dead after one year. Older patients had a higher risk of ICU admission (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 2.9 1.5-5.4), dependence at discharge (aRR 15.3 5.5-42.4) and one-year mortality (aRR 5.4 2.2-13.4).
Emergency department visits resulting in emergency general surgery are frequent, but their incidence decreases with patient age. Mortality, ICU admission and dependence at discharge following emergency general surgery are more frequent in older patients. Taking into account the increased risk for older patients, a shared process is appropriate for making more informed decisions about their options for care.
Tissue repair and healing remain among the most complicated processes that occur during postnatal life. Humans and other large organisms heal by forming fibrotic scar tissue with diminished function, ...while smaller organisms respond with scarless tissue regeneration and functional restoration. Well-established scaling principles reveal that organism size exponentially correlates with peak tissue forces during movement, and evolutionary responses have compensated by strengthening organ-level mechanical properties. How these adaptations may affect tissue injury has not been previously examined in large animals and humans. Here, we show that blocking mechanotransduction signaling through the focal adhesion kinase pathway in large animals significantly accelerates wound healing and enhances regeneration of skin with secondary structures such as hair follicles. In human cells, we demonstrate that mechanical forces shift fibroblasts toward pro-fibrotic phenotypes driven by ERK-YAP activation, leading to myofibroblast differentiation and excessive collagen production. Disruption of mechanical signaling specifically abrogates these responses and instead promotes regenerative fibroblast clusters characterized by AKT-EGR1.
The earliest studies of collective animal behaviour were inspired by and conducted in the wild. Over the past decades much of the research in this field has shifted to the laboratory, combining ...high-resolution tracking of individuals with mathematical simulations or agent-based models. Today we are beginning to see a ‘re-wilding’ of collective behaviour thanks to technological advances, providing researchers with the opportunity to quantify and model the heterogeneity that exists within the social groupings they study and within the environments in which these groups live. The perspective we present here aims to inspire and steer this research toward answering fundamental and outstanding behavioural and ecological questions, while also tackling pertinent conservation challenges.
The field of collective animal behaviour is transforming.
Continuous behavioural tracking in the wild affords an ecological perspective.
Collective behaviour can be studied in the environment in which it has evolved and is maintained.
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