Purpose
Over the course of COVID-19 pandemic, evidence has accumulated that SARS-CoV-2 infections may affect multiple organs and have serious clinical sequelae, but on-site clinical examinations with ...non-hospitalized samples are rare. We, therefore, aimed to systematically assess the long-term health status of samples of hospitalized and non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from three regions in Germany.
Methods
The present paper describes the COVIDOM-study within the population-based cohort platform (POP) which has been established under the auspices of the NAPKON infrastructure (German National Pandemic Cohort Network) of the national Network University Medicine (NUM). Comprehensive health assessments among SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals are conducted at least 6 months after the acute infection at the study sites Kiel, Würzburg and Berlin. Potential participants were identified and contacted via the local public health authorities, irrespective of the severity of the initial infection. A harmonized examination protocol has been implemented, consisting of detailed assessments of medical history, physical examinations, and the collection of multiple biosamples (e.g., serum, plasma, saliva, urine) for future analyses. In addition, patient-reported perception of the impact of local pandemic-related measures and infection on quality-of-life are obtained.
Results
As of July 2021, in total 6813 individuals infected in 2020 have been invited into the COVIDOM-study. Of these, about 36% wished to participate and 1295 have already been examined at least once.
Conclusion
NAPKON-POP COVIDOM-study complements other Long COVID studies assessing the long-term consequences of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 by providing detailed health data of population-based samples, including individuals with various degrees of disease severity.
Trial registration
Registered at the German registry for clinical studies (DRKS00023742).
Hypocretins (Hcrts) are recently discovered peptides linked to the human sleep disorder narcolepsy. Humans with narcolepsy have decreased numbers of Hcrt neurons and Hcrt-null mice also have ...narcoleptic symptoms. Hcrt neurons are located only in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) but neither electrolytic nor pharmacological lesions of this or any other brain region have produced narcoleptic-like sleep, suggesting that specific neurons need to be destroyed. Hcrt neurons express the Hcrt receptor, and to facilitate lesioning these neurons, the endogenous ligand hypocretin-2/orexin B (Hcrt2) was conjugated to the ribosome-inactivating protein saporin (SAP). In vitro binding studies indicated specificity of the Hcrt2-SAP because it preferentially bound to Chinese hamster ovary cells containing the Hcrt/orexin receptor 2 (HcrtR2/OX(2)R) or the Hcrt/orexin receptor 1 (HcrtR1/OX(1)R) but not to Kirsten murine sarcoma virus transformed rat kidney epithelial (KNRK) cells stably transfected with the substance P (neurokinin-1) receptor. Administration of the toxin to the LH, in which the receptor is known to be present, eliminated some neurons (Hcrt, melanin-concentrating hormone, and adenosine deaminase-containing neurons) but not others (a-melanocyte-stimulating hormone), indicating specificity of the toxin in vivo. When the toxin was administered to the LH, rats had increased slow-wave sleep, rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, and sleep-onset REM sleep periods. These behavioral changes were negatively correlated with the loss of Hcrt-containing neurons but not with the loss of adenosine deaminase-immunoreactive neurons. These findings indicate that damage to the LH that also causes a substantial loss of Hcrt neurons is likely to produce the multiple sleep disturbances that occur in narcolepsy.
Flow coefficients vn of the orders n = 1 – 6 are measured with the High-Acceptance Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI for protons, deuterons, and tritons as a function of centrality, transverse momentum, ...and rapidity in Au + Au collisions at √sNN = 2.4 GeV. Combining the information from the flow coefficients of all orders allows us to construct for the first time, at collision energies of a few GeV, a multidifferential picture of the angular emission pattern of these particles. It reflects the complicated interplay between the effect of the central fireball pressure on the emission of particles and their subsequent interaction with spectator matter. The high precision information on higher order flow coefficients is a major step forward in constraining the equation of state of dense baryonic matter.
The global polarization of Λ hyperons along the total orbital angular momentum of a relativistic heavy-ion collision is presented based on the high statistics data samples collected in Au+Au ...collisions at sNN=2.4 GeV and Ag+Ag at 2.55 GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI, Darmstadt. This is the first measurement below the strangeness production threshold in nucleon-nucleon collisions. Results are reported as a function of the collision centrality as well as a function of the hyperon's transverse momentum (pT) and rapidity (yCM) for the range of centrality 0–40%. We observe a strong centrality dependence of the polarization with an increasing signal towards peripheral collisions. For mid-central (20 – 40%) collisions the polarization magnitudes are 〈PΛ〉(%)=6.8±1.3(stat.)±2.1(syst.) for Au+Au and 〈PΛ〉(%)=6.2±0.4(stat.)±0.6(syst.) for Ag+Ag, which are the largest values observed so far. This observation thus provides a continuation of the increasing trend previously observed by STAR and contrasts expectations from recent theoretical calculations predicting a maximum in the region of collision energies about 3 GeV. The observed polarization is of a similar magnitude as predicted by 3D-fluid-dynamics and the UrQMD plus thermal vorticity model and significantly above results from the AMPT model.
Immunotoxins, consisting of antibodies coupled to toxins, are extremely useful tools in the elimination of specific cell populations in vitro and in vivo for research and therapeutic applications. ...The antibody is used to target the toxin to a specific cell population, which is distinguished by its cell-surface antigen. Not all antibodies are suitable for creating an immunotoxin, and large numbers of antibodies may need to be screened. This is a time-consuming and expensive process if each potential candidate must be conjugated to the toxin and purified. A faster and more economical way to identify potential targeting antibodies is to use a second immunotoxin, an anti-IgG antibody that is coupled to the toxin. The second immunotoxin eliminates the need to couple every candidate antibody to the toxin because it can simply be added to cells in culture with the antibody of interest. Using this method, many antibodies can be screened quickly and efficiently for their ability to internalize.
High-precision measurements of flow coefficients
v
n
(
n
=
1
-
4
) for protons, deuterons and tritons relative to the first-order spectator plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at
s
NN
=
2.4
... GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the SIS18/GSI. Flow coefficients are studied as a function of transverse momentum
p
t
and rapidity
y
cm
over a large region of phase-space and for several classes of collision centrality. A clear mass hierarchy, as expected by relativistic hydrodynamics, is found for the slope of
v
1
,
d
v
1
/
d
y
′
|
y
′
=
0
where
y
′
is the scaled rapidity, and for
v
2
at mid-rapidity. Scaling with the number of nucleons is observed for the
p
t
dependence of
v
2
and
v
4
at mid-rapidity, which is indicative for nuclear coalescence as the main process responsible for light nuclei formation.
v
2
is found to scale with the initial eccentricity
⟨
ϵ
2
⟩
, while
v
4
scales with
⟨
ϵ
2
⟩
2
and
⟨
ϵ
4
⟩
. The multi-differential high-precision data on
v
1
,
v
2
,
v
3
, and
v
4
provides important constraints on the equation-of-state of compressed baryonic matter.
Abstract The production of $$\Sigma ^{0}$$ Σ 0 hyperons in proton proton collisions at a beam kinetic energy of 3.5 GeV impinging on a liquid hydrogen target was investigated using data collected ...with the HADES setup. The total production cross section is found to be $${\sigma (pK^{+}\Sigma ^{0}) = 17.7 \pm 1.7 (stat) \pm 1.6 (syst)}$$ σ ( p K + Σ 0 ) = 17.7 ± 1.7 ( s t a t ) ± 1.6 ( s y s t ) µb. Differential cross section distributions of the exclusive channel $${pp \rightarrow pK^{+}\Sigma ^{0}}$$ p p → p K + Σ 0 were analyzed in the center-of-mass, Gottfried–Jackson and helicity reference frames for the first time at the excess energy of 556 MeV. The data support the interplay between pion and kaon exchange mechanisms and clearly demonstrate the contribution of interfering nucleon resonances decaying to $$\textrm{K}^{+}\Sigma ^{0}$$ K + Σ 0 . The Bonn–Gatchina partial wave analysis was employed to analyse the data. Due to the limited statistics, it was not possible to obtain an unambiguous determination of the relative contribution of intermediate nucleon resonances to the final state. However nucleon resonances with masses around 1.710 $${\textrm{GeV}/\textrm{c}^{2}}$$ GeV / c 2 ( $${\textrm{N}^{*}(1710)}$$ N ∗ ( 1710 ) ) and 1.900 $${\textrm{GeV}/\textrm{c}^{2}}$$ GeV / c 2 ( $${\textrm{N}^{*}(1900)}$$ N ∗ ( 1900 ) or $${\Delta ^{*}(1900)}$$ Δ ∗ ( 1900 ) ) are preferred by the fit.
The production of
Σ
0
hyperons in proton proton collisions at a beam kinetic energy of 3.5 GeV impinging on a liquid hydrogen target was investigated using data collected with the HADES setup. The ...total production cross section is found to be
σ
(
p
K
+
Σ
0
)
=
17.7
±
1.7
(
s
t
a
t
)
±
1.6
(
s
y
s
t
)
µb. Differential cross section distributions of the exclusive channel
p
p
→
p
K
+
Σ
0
were analyzed in the center-of-mass, Gottfried–Jackson and helicity reference frames for the first time at the excess energy of 556 MeV. The data support the interplay between pion and kaon exchange mechanisms and clearly demonstrate the contribution of interfering nucleon resonances decaying to
K
+
Σ
0
. The Bonn–Gatchina partial wave analysis was employed to analyse the data. Due to the limited statistics, it was not possible to obtain an unambiguous determination of the relative contribution of intermediate nucleon resonances to the final state. However nucleon resonances with masses around 1.710
GeV
/
c
2
(
N
∗
(
1710
)
) and 1.900
GeV
/
c
2
(
N
∗
(
1900
)
or
Δ
∗
(
1900
)
) are preferred by the fit.
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