Background and purpose
Tick‐borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infection of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by tick‐borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and transmitted by ticks, with a variety of ...clinical manifestations. The incidence of TBE in Europe is increasing due to an extended season of the infection and the enlargement of endemic areas. Our objectives are to provide recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and management of TBE, based on evidence or consensus decisions.
Methods
For systematic evaluation, the literature was searched from 1970 to 2015 (including early online publications of 2016), and recommendations were based on evidence or consensus decisions of the Task Force when evidence‐based data were not available.
Recommendations
Vaccination against TBE is recommended for all age groups above 1 year in highly endemic areas (≥5 cases/100 000/year), but also for individuals at risk in areas with a lower incidence. Travellers to endemic areas should be vaccinated if their visits will include extensive outdoor activities. Post‐exposure prophylaxis after a tick bite is not recommended. A case of TBE is defined by the presence of clinical signs of meningitis, meningoencephalitis or meningoencephalomyelitis with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis (>5 × 106 cells/l) and the presence of specific TBEV serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies, CSF IgM antibodies or TBEV IgG seroconversion. TBEV‐specific polymerase chain reaction in blood is diagnostic in the first viremic phase but it is not sensitive in the second phase of TBE with clinical manifestations of CNS inflammation. Lumbar puncture should be performed in all patients with suspected CNS infection unless there are contraindications. Imaging of the brain and spinal cord has a low sensitivity and a low specificity, but it is useful for differential diagnosis. No effective antiviral or immunomodulating therapy is available for TBE; therefore the treatment is symptomatic. Patients with a potentially life threatening meningoencephalitis or meningoencephalomyelitis should be admitted to an intensive care unit. In the case of brain oedema, analgosedation should be deepened; osmotherapy and corticosteroids are not routinely recommended. If intracranial pressure is increased, therapeutic hypothermia or decompressive craniectomy might be considered. Seizures should be treated as any other symptomatic epileptic seizures.
Conclusions
Tick‐borne encephalitis is a viral CNS infection that may result in long‐term neurological sequelae. Since its incidence in Europe is increasing due to broadening of endemic areas and prolongation of the tick activity season, the health burden of TBE is enlarging. There is no effective antiviral treatment for TBE, but the disease may be effectively prevented by vaccination.
ABSTRACT An optical vortex coronagraph has been implemented within the NIRC2 camera on the Keck II telescope and used to carry out on-sky tests and observations. The development of this new L′-band ...observational mode is described, and an initial demonstration of the new capability is presented: a resolved image of the low-mass companion to HIP 79124, which had previously been detected by means of interferometry. With HIP 79124 B at a projected separation of 186.5 mas, both the small inner working angle of the vortex coronagraph and the related imaging improvements were crucial in imaging this close companion directly. Due to higher Strehl ratios and more relaxed contrasts in L′ band versus H band, this new coronagraphic capability will enable high-contrast, small-angle observations of nearby young exoplanets and disks on a par with those of shorter-wavelength extreme adaptive optics coronagraphs.
Aims. Uncovering the ingredients and the architecture of planetary systems is a very active field of research that has fuelled many new theories on giant planet formation, migration, composition, and ...interaction with the circumstellar environment. We aim at discovering and studying new such systems, to further expand our knowledge of how low-mass companions form and evolve. Methods. We obtained high-contrast H-band images of the circumstellar environment of the F5V star HD 206893, known to host a debris disc never detected in scattered light. These observations are part of the SPHERE High Angular Resolution Debris Disc Survey (SHARDDS) using the InfraRed Dual-band Imager and Spectrograph (IRDIS) installed on VLT/SPHERE. Results. We report the detection of a source with a contrast of 3.6 × 10-5 in the H-band, orbiting at a projected separation of 270 milliarcsec or 10 au, corresponding to a mass in the range 24 to 73 MJup for an age of the system in the range 0.2 to 2 Gyr. The detection was confirmed ten months later with VLT/NaCo, ruling out a background object with no proper motion. A faint extended emission compatible with the disc scattered light signal is also observed. Conclusions. The detection of a low-mass companion inside a massive debris disc makes this system an analog of other young planetary systems such as β Pictoris, HR 8799 or HD 95086 and requires now further characterisation of both components to understand their interactions.
► Three pairs of exhaust valves and valve seat inserts from diesel engines investigated. ► Different running conditions has lead to varying amounts of wear and surface appearances. ► 1 to 5 μm thick ...tribofilms with protective properties on low wear specimens. ► Tribofilm consists of residues from fuel and lubricant additives. ► No protective tribofilm on specimens from cleaner engine.
The increasing demands from environmental legislations are changing the conditions that the valve system is exposed to in heavy duty engines. Increased pressures, higher temperatures and lower amounts of soot which can build up a protective film are some of the increasing challenges which the system has to endure.
Three pairs of valves and valve seat inserts with the same material and design properties but with different service condition have been analyzed with a variety of analytical instruments to gain information of how the wear occurs.
The wear mechanisms found were a combination of oxidation, where many different oxides were found, adhesive wear, which was seen both in form of material transfer and flow lines. On top of Sample Mild and Hard there were tribo films of thickness varying from 1 to 5
μm consisting of Ca, O, P, S and Zn. The film has in all cases protected the underlying surface from wear but in some cases seems to have a corrosive impact instead.
Multilayer Diamond Like Coatings (DLC) are widely used to protect highly loaded components from wear and/or to reduce the friction losses in combustion engines. The uppermost layer of the coating ...controls the chemical situation in the contact and is therefore a very important part of modern multilayer coatings. To examine the individual performances and assess differences and potentials of modern DLC coatings, four commercially available DLCs designed for automotive components with different doping elements together with an uncoated reference were tested in high performance engine oils heated to 90°C at two different initial contact pressures. The coefficient of friction generally was higher in the tests with the lower initial contact pressure (approximately 20% for all combinations) and the specific wear rate was also up to 100% higher for some combinations. It was also found that a used motor oil showed up to 30% higher friction than when fresh and at the same time reduced the wear in most cases. The tungsten doped coating showed the highest wear, but also the lowest coefficient of friction. The Si doped coating showed the best wear results, most probably due to the ability to make use of the additives in the oil to form a protecting tribofilm.
•Si-doped coating promoted formation of protective tribofilms.•W-doped coating inhibited the formation of protective tribofilms.•Doubling the normal load decreased the coefficient of friction.•Used oil formed less sulfides and more sulfates which increased the friction.•WS2-film formed on tungsten doped coating tested in PAO.
Context. Coronagraphy is a powerful technique to achieve high contrast imaging, hence to image faint companions around bright targets. Various concepts have been used in the visible and near-infrared ...regimes, while coronagraphic applications in the mid-infrared nowadays remain largely unexplored. Vector vortex phase masks based on concentric subwavelength gratings show great promise for such applications. Aims. We aim at producing and validating the first high-performance broadband focal plane phase mask coronagraphs for applications in the mid-infrared regime, and in particular the L band with a fractional bandwidth of ~16% (3.5–4.1 μm). Methods. Based on rigorous coupled wave analysis, we designed an annular groove phase mask (AGPM) producing a vortex effect in the L band, and etched it onto a series of diamond substrates. The grating parameters were measured by means of scanning electron microscopy. The resulting components were then tested on a mid-infrared coronagraphic test bench. Results. A broadband raw null depth of 2 × 10-3 was obtained for our best L-band AGPM after only a few iterations between design and manufacturing. This corresponds to a raw contrast of about 6 × 10-5 (10.5 mag) at 2λ/D. This result is fully in line with our projections based on rigorous coupled wave analysis modelling, using the measured grating parameters. The sensitivity to tilt and focus has also been evaluated. Conclusions. After years of technological developments, mid-infrared vector vortex coronagraphs have finally become a reality and live up to our expectations. Based on their measured performance, our L-band AGPMs are now ready to open a new parameter space in exoplanet imaging at major ground-based observatories.
Physical activity plays an important role in public health, owing to a range of health-related benefits that it provides. Sports-related injuries are known to be an important barrier to continued ...physical activity. Still, the prevalence of injuries on a general population level has not yet been explored in a descriptive epidemiological investigation. The purpose of the questionnaire-based study, therefore, was to describe the prevalence of injury in a representative sample of the Danish population.
Two samples of 10,000 adults (> 15 years) and 6500 children and adolescents (7-15 years) were invited to respond to a web-based questionnaire. Of these, 3498 adults (35.0%) and 3221 children (49.6%) responded successfully. The definition of sports injury was time-loss and medical attention-based, inhibiting participants from sports activity for at least 7 days, and/or involved contact with a healthcare professional, respectively.
Amongst adults, 642 (18.4% 95%CI: 17.1%; 19.6%) reported to have had an injury within the past 12 months. Males reported significantly more injuries than females (difference in prevalence proportion: 9.2%-points 95%CI: 6.7%-points; 11.8%-points). The prevalence of injuries was greatest in running (n
= 198), football (n
= 94) and strength training (n
= 89). Amongst children, 621 (19.3% 95%CI: 17.9%; 20.6%) had been injured. No difference in injury prevalence proportion existed between boys and girls. The prevalence of injuries was greatest in football (n
= 235), handball (n
= 86) and gymnastics (n
= 66).
Sports injuries seem to be very frequent in Denmark, since a total of 18.4% of the adults and 19.3% of the children reported having had one or more injuries within the past 12 months, equal to either time lost with physical activity and/or contact to the health care system.
The risk of contracting babesiosis after a tick bite in Sweden and on the Åland Islands, Finland, is unknown. We investigated clinical and serological outcomes in people bitten by Ixodes ricinus ...ticks positive for Babesia species. Ticks, blood and questionnaires were obtained from study participants in Sweden and on the Åland Islands. Sixty-five of 2098 (3.1 %) ticks were positive by real-time PCR. Three Babesia species were detected, Babesia microti (n = 33), B. venatorum (n = 27) and B. capreoli (n = 5), the latter species not known to cause human infection. Half (46 %) of the Babesia PCR-positive ticks also contained Borrelia spp. Fifty-three participants bitten by a Babesia PCR-positive tick and a control group bitten by a Babesia PCR-negative tick were tested for B. microti IgG antibodies by IFA. The overall seroprevalence was 4.4 %, but there was no significant difference between the groups. None of the participants seroconverted and no participant with a Babesia PCR-positive tick sought medical care or reported symptoms suggestive of babesiosis. Given the prevalence of Babesia in I. ricinus ticks in southern Sweden and on the Åland Islands, babesiosis should be considered a possible diagnosis in symptomatic residents who seek medical care following tick exposure.
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