•Eleven molecular diagnostic assays compared in their ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA.•Good to excellent agreement between assays confirmed.•Valid alternatives to ad hoc molecular diagnostic assays ...identified.
Transmission mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 requires the availability of accurate and sensitive detection methods. There are several commercial ad hoc molecular diagnostic kits currently on the market, many of which have been evaluated by different groups. However, in low resource settings the availability and cost of these commercial kits can be a limiting factor for many diagnostic laboratories. In such cases alternatives need to be identified. With this in mind, eight commercial reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) master mixes from Applied Biosystems (Thermo Fisher Scientific), Bio-Rad, Biotech Rabbit, Promega, Qiagen, QuantaBio, Invitrogen (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Takara using the same commercial primer and probe mix LightMix® Modular SARS and Wuhan CoV E-gene mix (TIB MolBiol, Germany) were evaluated. Three ad hoc molecular diagnostic kits GeneFinder™ COVID-19 Plus RealAmp kit (Osang Healthcare); genesig® Real-Time PCR Coronavirus COVID-19 (Primerdesign); and ViroReal® Kit SARS-CoV-2 & SARS-CoV (Ingenetix) were also included in the study. The limit of detection was calculated for each assay using serial dilutions of a defined clinical sample. The performances of the assays were compared using a panel of 178 clinical samples and their analytical specificity assessed against a panel of human betacoronaviruses. Inter assay agreement was assessed using statistical tests (Bland-Altman, Fleiss-Kappa and Cohen’s Kappa) and was shown to be excellent to good in all cases. We conclude that all of the assays evaluated in this study can be used for the routine detection of SARS-CoV-2 and that the RT-qPCR master mixes are a valid alternative to ad hoc molecular diagnostic kits.
PHENIX reports differential cross sections of μμ pairs from semileptonic heavy-flavor decays and the Drell-Yan production mechanism measured in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV at forward and backward ...rapidity (1.2<|η|<2.2). The μμ pairs from cc¯, bb¯, and Drell-Yan are separated using a template fit to unlike- and like-sign muon pair spectra in mass and pT. The azimuthal opening angle correlation between the muons from cc¯ and bb¯ decays and the pair-pT distributions are compared to distributions generated using PYTHIA and POWHEG models, which both include next-to-leading order processes. The measured distributions for pairs from cc¯ are consistent with PYTHIA calculations. The cc¯ data present narrower azimuthal correlations and softer pT distributions compared to distributions generated from POWHEG. The bb¯ data are well described by both models. The extrapolated total cross section for bottom production is 3.75±0.24(stat)±0.500.35(syst)±0.45(global) μb, which is consistent with previous measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in the same system at the same collision energy and is approximately a factor of 2 higher than the central value calculated with theoretical models. The measured Drell-Yan cross section is in good agreement with next-to-leading-order quantum-chromodynamics calculations.
Abstract Objective Since limited data exist on adults with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) and growth hormone (GH) treatment, we report our experience on the effects of treatment for one year on body ...composition, physical activity, strength and energy expenditure, diet, general chemistry and endocrine data with quality of life measures. Design We studied 11 adults with PWS (6F:5M; average age = 32 yrs) over a 2 year period with GH treatment during the first year only. Electrolytes, IGF-I, glucose, thyroid, insulin, lipids, body composition, physical activity and strength, diet, energy expenditure and quality of life data were collected and analyzed statistically using linear modeling at baseline, at 12 months following GH therapy and at 24 months after treatment cessation for 12 months. Results Total lean muscle mass was significantly increased (p < 0.05) during GH treatment along with moderate-vigorous physical activity and plasma IGF-I and HDL levels, but returned to near baseline after treatment. Percent body fat decreased during the 12 months of GH treatment but increased after treatment. Conclusions Previously reported beneficial effects of GH treatment in children with PWS were found in our adults regarding body composition, physical activity and plasma HDL and IGF-I levels. Several beneficial effects diminished to near baseline after cessation of GH treatment for 12 months supporting the continuation of treatment in PWS into adulthood and possibly adults not previously treated during childhood.
We present measurements of long-range angular correlations and the transverse momentum dependence of elliptic flow v2 in high-multiplicity p + Au collisions at √ sNN = 200 GeV. A comparison of these ...results to previous measurements in high-multiplicity d + Au and 3He+Au collisions demonstrates a relation between v2 and the initial collision eccentricity ε2, suggesting that the observed momentum-space azimuthal anisotropies in these small systems have a collective origin and reflect the initial geometry. Good agreement is observed between the measured v2 and hydrodynamic calculations for all systems, and an argument disfavoring theoretical explanations based on initial momentum-space domain correlations is presented. The set of measurements presented here allows us to leverage the distinct intrinsic geometry of each of these systems to distinguish between different theoretical descriptions of the long-range correlations observed in small collision systems.
We present measurements of the elliptic flow (v2) as a function of transverse momentum (pT), pseudorapidity (η), and centrality in d+Au collisions at √sNN = 200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV. The ...beam-energy scan of d+Au collisions provides a testing ground for the onset of ow signatures in small collision systems. We measure a nonzero v2 signal at all four collision energies, which, at midrapidity and low pT, is consistent with predictions from viscous hydrodynamic models. Comparisons with calculations from parton transport models (based on the ampt Monte Carlo generator) show good agreement with the data at midrapidity to forward (d-going) rapidities and low pT. At backward (Au-going) rapidities and pT > 1:5 GeV/c, the data diverges from ampt calculations of v2 relative to the initial geometry, indicating the possible dominance of nongeometry related corre- lations, referred to as nonflow. We also present measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity (dNch/d ) as a function of η in central d+Au collisions at the same energies. We find that in d+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV the v2 scales with dNch/d over all in the PHENIX acceptance. At √sNN = 62:4, and 39 GeV, v2 scales with dNch/d at midrapidity and forward rapidity, but falls o at backward rapidity. Furthermore, this departure from the dNch/dη scaling may be a further indication of non ow effects dominating at backward rapidity.
Suppression of the J/ψ nuclear-modification factor has been seen as a trademark signature of final-state effects in large collision systems for decades. In small systems, the nuclear modification was ...attributed to cold-nuclear-matter effects until the observation of strong differential suppression of the ψ(2S) state in p+A and d+A collisions suggested the presence of final-state effects. Results of J/ψ and ψ(2S) measurements in the dimuon decay channel are presented here for p+p, p+Al, and p+Au collision systems at sNN=200GeV. The results are predominantly shown in the form of the nuclear-modification factor, RpA, the ratio of the ψ(2S) invariant yield per nucleon-nucleon collision in collisions of proton on target nucleus to that in p+p collisions. Measurements of the J/ψ and ψ(2S) nuclear-modification factor are compared with shadowing and transport-model predictions, as well as to complementary measurements at Large Hadron Collider energies.
Small nuclear collisions are mainly sensitive to cold-nuclear-matter effects; however, the collective behavior observed in these collisions shows a hint of hot-nuclear-matter effects. The ...identified-particle spectra, especially the ϕ mesons which contain strange and antistrange quarks and have a relatively small hadronic-interaction cross section, are a good tool to study these effects. The PHENIX experiment has measured ϕ mesons in a specific set of small collision systems p+Al, p+Au, and 3He+Au, as well as d+Au Adare et al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 024909 (2011), at √sNN=200 GeV. The transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear-modification factors are presented and compared to theoretical-model predictions. The comparisons with different calculations suggest that quark-gluon plasma may be formed in these small collision systems at √sNN=200 GeV. However, the volume and the lifetime of the produced medium may be insufficient for observing strangeness-enhancement and jet-quenching effects. The comparison with calculations suggests that the main production mechanisms of ϕ mesons at midrapidity may be different in p+Al versus p/d/3He+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV. While thermal quark recombination seems to dominate in p/d/3He+Au collisions, fragmentation seems to be the main production mechanism in p+Al collisions.
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