High-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide a probe of Galactic high-energy processes and may enable the observation of ...phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay. The CRE spectrum has been measured directly up to approximately 2 teraelectronvolts in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments, and indirectly up to approximately 5 teraelectronvolts using ground-based Cherenkov γ-ray telescope arrays. Evidence for a spectral break in the teraelectronvolt energy range has been provided by indirect measurements, although the results were qualified by sizeable systematic uncertainties. Here we report a direct measurement of CREs in the energy range 25 gigaelectronvolts to 4.6 teraelectronvolts by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) with unprecedentedly high energy resolution and low background. The largest part of the spectrum can be well fitted by a 'smoothly broken power-law' model rather than a single power-law model. The direct detection of a spectral break at about 0.9 teraelectronvolts confirms the evidence found by previous indirect measurements, clarifies the behaviour of the CRE spectrum at energies above 1 teraelectronvolt and sheds light on the physical origin of the sub-teraelectronvolt CREs.
Animal influenza virus infections in humans: A commentary Borkenhagen, Laura K.; Salman, Mo D.; Ma, Mai-Juan ...
International journal of infectious diseases,
November 2019, 2019-Nov, 2019-11-00, 2019-11-01, Letnik:
88
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
•Influenza A viruses (IAVs) that are enzootic in animals often have potential to infect humans, however this risk is not equal for all viruses.•In this report we briefly review the risk of human ...infections from swine, avian, feline, equine, and canine IAVs.•We conclude that given equal animal exposures, humans are most likely to be infected with swine influenza IAVs.•Worldwide, the variety of IAVs in swine farms is increasing and surveillance for IAVs with pandemic potential is woefully neglected.•New One Health collaborations with swine industries must be brokered to help mitigate these growing pandemic risks.
Here we review evidence for influenza A viruses (IAVs) moving from swine, avian, feline, equine, and canine species to infect humans. We review case reports, sero-epidemiological, archeo-epidemiological, environmental, and historical studies and consider trends in livestock farming. Although this focused review is not systematic, the aggregated data point to industrialized swine farming as the most likely source of future pandemic viruses, yet IAV surveillance on such farms is remarkably sparse. We recommend increased biosafety and biosecurity training for farm administrators and swine workers with One Health-oriented virus surveillance throughout industrialized farming and meat production lines. Collaborative partnerships with human medical researchers could aid in efforts to mitigate emerging virus threats by offering new surveillance and diagnostic technologies to livestock farming industries.
The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ...is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to ∼ 10 TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.
The Angular-Dependent Potential (ADP) proposed by Tseplyaev et al. was used to study the structural behavior of uranium nitride (UN) under shock pressure by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based ...on the calculations of shock velocity US and particle velocity UP, the results show that a pressure-induced phase transition of Fm−3m→R−3m structure in UN occurs at 35 GPa, and it agrees well with experimental results of 30–32 GPa. We also considered the effect of nanovoid on the phase transition of UN crystal from Fm−3m to R−3m structure. It is found that the pressure of phase transition decreases with the increasing nanovoid diameter. The phase transition takes place firstly around nanovoid, companied by the nanovoid collapsing, and then spreads to the void-free regions in the process of shock loading. Due to different stresses at different direction the spreading velocity of phase transition perpendicular to the direction of shock wave is observed to be far faster than the one parallel to the direction of shock wave.
•It is found that the pressure of phase transition decreases with the increasing nanovoid diameter.•The phase transition takes place firstly around nanovoid and then spreads to the void-free regions during shock loading.•The spreading velocity of phase transition perpendicular to the direction of shock wave is observed to be far faster than the parallel one.
Radiotherapy (RT) is considered immunogenic, but clinical data demonstrating RT-induced T cell priming are scarce. Here, we show in a mouse tumor model representative of human lymphocyte-depleted ...cancer that RT enhanced spontaneous priming of thymus-derived (FOXP3+Helios+) Tregs by the tumor. These Tregs acquired an effector phenotype, populated the tumor, and impeded tumor control by a simultaneous, RT-induced CD8+ cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response. Combination of RT with CTLA-4 or PD-1 blockade, which enables CD28 costimulation, further increased this Treg response and failed to improve tumor control. We discovered that upon RT, the CD28 ligands CD86 and CD80 differentially affected the Treg response. CD86, but not CD80, blockade prevented the effector Treg response, enriched the tumor-draining lymph node migratory conventional DCs that were positive for PD-L1 and CD80 (PD-L1+CD80+), and promoted CTL priming. Blockade of CD86 alone or in combination with PD-1 enhanced intratumoral CTL accumulation, and the combination significantly increased RT-induced tumor regression and OS. We advise that combining RT with PD-1 and/or CTLA-4 blockade may be counterproductive in lymphocyte-depleted cancers, since these interventions drive Treg responses in this context. However, combining RT with CD86 blockade may promote the control of such tumors by enabling a CTL response.
The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This ...work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with 2
/
years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time that an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with high statistics. The measured spectrum confirms the spectral hardening at ~300 GeV found by previous experiments and reveals a softening at ~13.6 TeV, with the spectral index changing from ~2.60 to ~2.85. Our result suggests the existence of a new spectral feature of cosmic rays at energies lower than the so-called knee and sheds new light on the origin of Galactic cosmic rays.
Acute basilar occlusions have a poor prognosis without recanalization. Many have underlying severe atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis coexisting with acute thrombosis, requiring treatment of both ...pathologies in the same session, though technical risks may be encountered. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of combined treatment by using stent retrievers for the thrombosis, together with angioplasty and stent placement for the underlying stenosis.
This was a retrospective review of 13 patients with basilar occlusions treated with thrombectomy by the Solitaire stent retriever and angioplasty and intracranial stent placement for underlying severe vertebrobasilar stenosis in the same session. Reperfusion was assessed in terms of the TICI score. Perioperative complications were recorded. Clinical outcomes were assessed by the NIHSS at discharge and the mRS on follow-up at 90 days.
Of the 30 patients with acute basilar artery occlusions treated with stent retrievers during the study period, 18 had coexisting severe intracranial stenosis. Thirteen patients meeting the criteria for our study received combined mechanical thrombectomy and angioplasty with stent placement. The successful recanalization rate was 100%. Distal vessel embolizations occurred in 3 patients. There were 2 mortalities. On discharge, 10 patients (77%) had an improvement in NIHSS of ≥10 points. At 90 days, 6 patients (46%) had a good functional outcome with an mRS of ≤2.
The combined use of mechanical thrombectomy with angioplasty and stent placement for acute basilar occlusions with underlying severe intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis is technically feasible and safe.
Abstract Aims Examine the association between obesity and glycemic control among patients with type 1 (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Data from US physician electronic health ...records (Humedica®) from 2009–2011 were utilized. Patients were defined as having above–target glycemic control if they had an HbA1c ≥ 7% at any time during the study period. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted separately for T1DM and T2DM patients, and examined associations between BMI categories and probability of having above–target glycemic control (≥ 7% and < 8%, ≥ 8% and < 9%, or ≥ 9%) while controlling for patient demographics, general health, comorbid conditions, and antihyperglycemic medication use. Results There were 14,028 T1DM and 248,567 T2DM patients; 47.8% of T1DM and 63.4% of T2DM were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ). For T1DM, being overweight (BMI 25– < 30), obese class I (30– < 35), II (35– < 40), or III (≥ 40) was associated with a significantly higher probability of having HbA1c ≥ 8% and < 9% or ≥ 9%, while being overweight was associated with a significantly higher probability of having HbA1c ≥ 7% and < 8% compared to normal BMI (BMI ≥ 18.5 and < 25). For T2DM patients, being overweight, obese class I, II, or III was associated with a significantly higher probability of having HbA1c ≥ 7% and < 8%, ≥ 8% and < 9%, or ≥ 9%. Conclusions For both T1DM and T2DM patients, there were positive and statistically significant associations between being overweight or obese and having suboptimal glycemic control. These findings quantify the associations between obesity and glycemic control, and highlight the potential importance of individual characteristics on glycemic control.
•Giardia infection in dogs and cats in Chiang Mai, Thailand, was common.•Risks associated with Giardia infection in dogs were residing in high-density environments and drank untreated water.•Giardia ...infection in dogs in Chiang Mai was associated with acute diarrhea or a history of chronic diarrhea and shedding of Cryptosporidium oocysts.•Dogs were more likely to be infected with Giardia duodenalis in rainy season than in winter.•Cryptosporidium parvum was identified in feces of dogs and cats.
The objectives of this study were to explore risk factors associated with Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections in dogs and cats in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to describe the seasonal distributions of Giardia and Cryptosporidium prevalence, and to determine the potential for zoonotic transmission through genetic characterization of isolates. Fecal samples from 301 dogs and 66 cats were collected between August 2009 and February 2010. The presence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts was determined using zinc sulfate centrifugal flotation and immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Genotype/species were determined by DNA sequence analyses of PCR products from Giardia glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), beta-giardin (bg), and triosephosphateisomerase (tpi) and Cryptosporidium heat shock protein 70KDa (hsp70) and small subunit-rRNA (SSU-rRNA) genes. Information related to specific risk factors was collected from owners of each animal using a questionnaire. The risk factor data were analyzed for associations with Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections using logistic regression.
The overall estimated prevalence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in dogs was 25.2% and 7.6%, respectively and in cats, 27.3% and 12.1%, respectively. The estimated prevalence of Giardia infection in dogs in the rainy season (31.7%) was significantly higher than in the drier, winter season (17.2%) (p < 0.01). The estimated prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in dogs and of Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections in cats was not associated with season (p > 0.05). Multivariable analysis indicated that Giardia cysts were more likely to be detected in fecal samples of dogs that resided in high-density environments, drank untreated water, were shedding Cryptosporidium oocysts, were having acute diarrhea or a history of chronic diarrhea, and were collected in the rainy season. All 19 Giardia PCR positive samples typed as G. duodenalis canine adapted genotypes (assemblages C or D). In cats, of six Giardia PCR positive samples, five typed as dog assemblages and one typed as assemblage AI. Of ten dogs with Cryptosporidium PCR positive samples, eight typed as C. canis, one as C. parvum (a zoonotic species) and one had both C. canis and C. parvum. Of three Cryptosporidium PCR positive samples in cats, one typed as C. felis and two typed as C. parvum.
The presence of zoonotic G. duodenalis assemblage AI in a cat, and C. parvum in feces of dogs and cats suggests a potential role for a reservoir for zoonotic transmission. Whether or not these presences were from exposure to other animal or human hosts or environment are needed to be confirmed.
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