Ebola virus disease (EVD) is associated with a high lethality rate even when the afflicted are provided with good support in an Ebola treatment center (ETC). Basic laboratory tests can help to better ...understand the pathophysiology of the disease, to guide treatment and to establish simple protocols and procedures tailored to the practice of medicine in the context of such precarious environment for caregivers. Based on a few clinical cases of patients treated in the ETC of Forecariah, Guinea, run by the French Red Cross, this article describes the difficult conditions associated with the provision of medical practice in this challenging environment, aiming to minimize the casualties in the EVD patient and to train the health staff.
We sought to determine the role of respiratory assessment by cardiorespiratory symptoms and/or oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) in predicting adverse maternal outcomes in women admitted to ...hospital with preeclampsia.
These data derive from an international, prospective multicentre cohort study, PIERS (Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk), which assesses predictors of adverse outcomes in women admitted to tertiary perinatal units with preeclampsia. Univariate and multivariate analyses of cardiorespiratory symptoms and pulse oximetry were performed to assess their ability to predict a combined adverse maternal outcome developed through international Delphi consensus.
SpO2 successfully predicted adverse maternal outcomes; the area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC ROC) was 0.71 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.77). Combining the symptoms of chest pain and/or dyspnea with pulse oximetry improved this predictive ability (AUC ROC 0.73; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.78). When SpO2 was stratified into risk groups using inflection points on the ROC curve, the highest risk group (SpO2 90% to 93%) had an odds ratio of 18.1 (95% CI 8.2 to 40.2) for all outcomes within 48 hours when compared with the baseline group (SpO2 98% to 100%).
Assessing SpO2 aids in the assessment of maternal risk in women admitted to hospital with preeclampsia. An SpO2 value of ≤ 93% confers particular risk. The symptom complex of chest pain and/or dyspnea adds to the association.
We have isolated a constitutive promoter sequence, tCUP, from tobacco by T-DNA tagging using a promoterless GUS-nos3' reporter gene construct. The T-DNA integration event produced a translational ...fusion with the GUS gene that is expressed widely in organs, at both the mRNA and enzyme activity levels. In tobacco transformed with a tCUP-GUS-nos3' gene, GUS specific activity in leaves was within a range of values similar to those of plants transformed with the widely used constitutive promoter gene fusion, CaMV 35S promoter-GUS-nos3'. Characteristics of the tCUP promoter sequence differ from those of other plant constitutive promoters; for instance, the tCUP sequence lacks a TATA box. Transcription initiates at a single site within the tCUP sequence which is similar to a transcriptional start site consensus sequence determined for plant genes. The tCUP promoter is cryptic as RNA accumulation at the transcriptional start site is not detected in untransformed tobacco. Thus, tCUP is the first example of a cryptic, constitutive promoter isolated from plants. The tCUP-GUS-nos3' gene fusion produced GUS activity in tissues of all species tested suggesting that tCUP may utilize fundamental transcription mechanisms found in plants.
We report on a search for double beta decay of \(^{130}\)Te to the first \(0^{+}\) excited state of \(^{130}\)Xe using a 9.8 kg\(\cdot\)yr exposure of \(^{130}\)Te collected with the CUORE-0 ...experiment. In this work we exploit different topologies of coincident events to search for both the neutrinoless and two-neutrino double-decay modes. We find no evidence for either mode and place lower bounds on the half-lives: \(\tau^{0\nu}_{0^+}>7.9\cdot 10^{23}\) yr and \(\tau^{2\nu}_{0^+}>2.4\cdot 10^{23}\) yr. Combining our results with those obtained by the CUORICINO experiment, we achieve the most stringent constraints available for these processes: \(\tau^{0\nu}_{0^+}>1.4\cdot 10^{24}\) yr and \(\tau^{2\nu}_{0^+}>2.5\cdot 10^{23}\) yr.
RESEARCH REPORT Huo, Dezheng; Bailey, Susan L; Ouellet, Lawrence J
Addiction (Abingdon, England),
11/2006, Letnik:
101, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
To examine the effect of a needle exchange program (NEP) on incidence of injection cessation and change in injection frequency; to explore predictors for injection cessation and change in injection ...frequency; and to assess whether injection quitters transitioned to non-injected drug use. Between 1997 and 2002, 901 injection drug users (IDUs) were recruited from an NEP program or an area with no NEP in Chicago, Illinois, interviewed for drug use behaviors, tested for HIV and followed for three annual visits. All participants were exposed to prevention services targeting HIV and drug abuse. Injection cessation was defined as no injection drug use since the last interview, and changes in the number of injections in a typical month were examined. Sixteen per cent of study participants reported stopping injection for a median duration of 16 months, and most of them also ceased rather than initiated the use of non-injected drugs. Those who continued injecting reduced their injection frequency by 12% per year, on average. Independent predictors of injection cessation were infrequent injection at baseline, younger age and injecting with others. NEP use was not associated with injection cessation and change in injection frequency. These results did not support the hypothesis that NEP use influences the frequency of injection over time. One-sixth of IDUs stopped injection for more than 1 year, providing a substantial window for relapse prevention interventions. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
CUORE-0 is a cryogenic detector that uses an array of tellurium dioxide bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of ^{130}Te. We present the first data analysis with 7.1 kg y of total ...TeO_2 exposure focusing on background measurements and energy resolution. The background rates in the neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest (2.47 to 2.57 MeV) and in the {\alpha} background-dominated region (2.70 to 3.90 MeV) have been measured to be 0.071 \pm 0.011 and 0.019 \pm 0.002 counts/keV/kg/y, respectively. The latter result represents a factor of 6 improvement from a predecessor experiment, Cuoricino. The results verify our understanding of the background sources in CUORE-0, which is the basis of extrapolations to the full CUORE detector. The obtained energy resolution (full width at half maximum) in the region of interest is 5.7 keV. Based on the measured background rate and energy resolution in the region of interest, CUORE-0 half-life sensitivity is expected to surpass the observed lower bound of Cuoricino with one year of live time.
Accurate and precise population estimates for the forest-dwelling ecotype of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are very difficult to obtain because these Caribou are found at very low ...densities and in small herds dispersed over large areas. In order to suggest a standardized method, data from aerial surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993 (12 000 km2 blocks) were used to simulate various survey scenarios. Simulations showed that all the major groups of Caribou would have to be found and counted to obtain a confidence interval of ± 20% (α = 0.10). We tested this technique in a survey carried out in winter 1999 in a 42 539 km2 study site, opting for a total coverage carried out in two phases. In phase one, we used an airplane, flying north-south transects spaced 2.1 km apart so as to detect most Caribou track networks. In phase two, a helicopter was used to count and determine the sex and age classes (calves/adults) of Caribou found in phase one. Using 20 radio-collared Caribou, the visibility rate of Caribou groups (phase one) and that of Caribou within the groups (phase two) were estimated at 0.90 and 0.94 respectively for an overall rate of 0.85 (SE = 0.08; α = 0.10). The corrected density was estimated at 1.6 Caribou per 100 km2 with a 15% confidence interval (α = 0.10). The survey cost approximately $4/km2, which is lower than that of two previous surveys ($7/km2). Two main factors contributed to diminish costs: (1) the use of long-range airplanes (5-7 hours flying range) in phase one to minimize travel between the airports and the study site, and (2) the use of helicopters only in phase two for counting and determining the age and sex of the Caribou.Il est très difficile d’obtenir des estimations de population exactes et précises pour l’écotype forestier du Caribou des bois (Rangifer tarandus caribou) parce qu’on le retrouve en très faibles densités et qu’il est distribué en petites hardes réparties sur de vastes superficies. Les résultats de deux inventaires aériens réalisés en 1991 et 1993 (12 000 km2) ont été utilisés pour simuler divers scénarios d’inventaire afin de suggérer une méthode standardisée. Les simulations ont montré qu’il fallait trouver et recenser tous les groupes principaux pour obtenir un intervalle de confiance de ± 20 % (α = 0,10). Nous avons testé cette approche dans un site d’étude de 42 539 km2 où nous avons opté pour un plan en deux phases. En phase un, l’avion a été utilisé pour couvrir totalement le site d’étude selon des virées équidistantes de 2,1 km afin de détecter la plupart des réseaux de pistes. L’hélicoptère fut utilisé en phase deux pour dénombrer et sexer les Caribous dans les réseaux de pistes détectés en phase un. D’après 20 Caribous munis de colliers émetteurs, le taux de visibilité global était de 0,85 (SE = 0,08; α = 0,10), soit 0,90 en phase 1 et 0,94 en phase 2. La densité corrigée était de 1,6 Caribou par 100 km2 avec une erreur relative de 15 % (α = 0,10). L’inventaire a coûté 4 $/km2, ce qui est inférieur aux montants investis lors des inventaires antérieurs (7 $/km2). La diminution des coûts est attribuable à deux facteurs principaux : (1) l’utilisation d’avions à grand rayon d’action (5-7 heures d’autonomie) pour minimiser les déplacements en phase un; (2) l’emploi d’hélicoptères exclusivement pour le dénombrement et le sexage des caribous.
The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for neutrinoless double beta decay of \(^{130}\)Te. With 741 kg of TeO\(_2\) crystals and an excellent energy ...resolution of 5 keV (0.2%) at the region of interest, CUORE will be one of the most competitive neutrinoless double beta decay experiments on the horizon. With five years of live time, CUORE projected neutrinoless double beta decay half-life sensitivity is \(1.6\times 10^{26}\) y at \(1\sigma\) (\(9.5\times10^{25}\) y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in the range 40--100 meV (50--130 meV). Further background rejection with auxiliary light detector can significantly improve the search sensitivity and competitiveness of bolometric detectors to fully explore the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy with \(^{130}\)Te and possibly other double beta decay candidate nuclei.
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