Abstract
We present a detailed prompt emission and early optical afterglow analysis of the two very-high-energy (VHE) detected bursts GRB 201015A and GRB 201216C, and their comparison with a subset ...of similar bursts. Time-resolved spectral analysis of multistructured GRB 201216C using the Bayesian binning algorithm revealed that during the entire duration of the burst, the low-energy spectral index (
α
pt
) remained below the limit of the synchrotron line of death. However, statistically some of the bins supported the additional thermal component. Additionally, the evolution of spectral parameters showed that both the peak energy (
E
p
) and
α
pt
tracked the flux. These results were further strengthened using the values of the physical parameters obtained by synchrotron modeling of the data. Our earliest optical observations of both bursts using the F/Photometric Robotic Atmospheric Monitor Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos and Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System robotic telescopes displayed a smooth bump in their early optical light curves, consistent with the onset of the afterglow due to synchrotron emission from an external forward shock. Using the observed optical peak, we constrained the initial bulk Lorentz factors of GRB 201015A and GRB 201216C to Γ
0
= 204 and Γ
0
= 310, respectively. The present early optical observations are the earliest known observations constraining outflow parameters and our analysis indicate that VHE detected bursts could have a diverse range of observed luminosity within the detectable redshift range of present VHE facilities.
Moderate/severe cases of COVID-19 present a dysregulated immune system with T cell lymphopenia and a hyper-inflammatory state. This is a study protocol of an open-label, multi-center, double-arm, ...randomized, dose-finding phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, alloreactivity, and efficacy of the administration of allogeneic memory T cells and natural killer (NK) cells in COVID-19 patients with lymphopenia and/or pneumonia. The aim of the study is to determine the safety and the efficacy of the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of this treatment for patients with moderate/severe COVID-19.
In the phase I trial, 18 patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia and/or lymphopenia with no oxygen requirement or with an oxygen need of ≤ 2.5 liters per minute (lpm) in nasal cannula will be assigned to two arms, based on the biology of the donor and the patient. Treatment of arm A consists of the administration of escalating doses of memory T cells, plus standard of care (SoC). Treatment of arm B consists of the administration of escalating doses of NK cells, plus SoC. In the phase II trial, a total of 182 patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia and/or lymphopenia requiring or not oxygen supplementation but without mechanical ventilation will be allocated to arm A or B, considering HLA typing. Within each arm, they will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio. In arm A, patients will receive SoC or RP2D for memory T cells plus the SoC. In arm B, patients will receive SoC or RP2D for NK cells plus the SoC.
We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T-lymphocytes obtained from convalescent donors recovered from COVID-19 can be used as a passive cell immunotherapy to treat pneumonia and lymphopenia in moderate/severe patients. The lymphopenia induced by COVID-19 constitutes a therapeutic window that may facilitate donor engraftment and viral protection until recovery.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04578210 . First Posted : October 8, 2020.
Culture of domestic cat preantral follicles can be a suitable technology to assist oocyte conservation strategies in the family Felidae. This research was aimed to comparatively analyse cat preantral ...follicular development of follicles directly seeded on growth surface or encapsulated in 0.5 or 1% of sodium alginate in a serum‐free medium containing FSH, EGF and IGF‐I. Preantral follicles were isolated from cat ovarian cortical tissue after ovariectomy. Alginate was dissolved at 0.5 or 1% in PBS. Follicles, 4 per well, with 0% (G‐0%), 0.5% (G‐0.5%) or 1% (G‐1%) of sodium alginate were cultured in M199 with FSH (100 ng/mL), EGF (100 ng/mL) and IGF‐I (100 ng/mL) for 7 days at 37°C, 5% CO2 and 99% humidity. Culture medium was replaced every 48 h and samples were stored at −20°C until ELISA of steroid hormones. Morphometric evaluation of follicles was performed every 24 h. G‐0% follicles showed granulosa cell migration away from the oocyte and disrupted morphology, whereby they reached apparently larger diameters (203.70 ± 5.82 μm; p < .05) than G‐0.5% and G‐1% follicles (157.89 ± 8.47 μm and 95.23 ± 1.67 μm, respectively) which maintained three‐dimensional organization, being larger in G‐0.5% than in G‐1% (p < .05). G‐0.5% follicles attained the multi‐layer preantral follicle stage on day 7 of culture, whereas G‐1% follicles underwent progressive atresia. On day 6, steroid concentrations were higher (p < .05) in G‐0% than in G‐1%: 60 ± 19 vs 0.88 ± 0.32 pg/mL oestradiol; 2.6 ± 0.84 vs 0.04 ± 0.02 ng/mL progesterone; 1.3 ± 0.22 vs 0.61 ± 0.04 ng/mL testosterone and 1.6 ± 0.54 vs 0.22 ± 0.07 ng/mL androstenedione respectively. Steroid concentrations in G‐0.5% were comprised between those of G‐0% and G‐1% (p > .05). In conclusion, two‐layer cat preantral follicles encapsulated in 0.5% alginate cultured in medium containing FSH, EGF and IGF‐I can develop up to the multi‐layer preantral stage in 7 days of culture, whereas follicles directly seeded on growth surface or encapsulated in 1% alginate lost their three‐dimensional organization, and experienced regression with compromised steroidogenesis, respectively.
Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy has been proposed as an alternative to suppress subgingival species. This results from the balance among Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus mutans and Candida ...albicans in the dental biofilm. Not all the photosensitizers have the same photodynamic effect against the different microorganims. The objective of this study is to compare in vitro the photodynamic effect of methylene blue (MB), rose Bengal (RB) and curcumin (CUR) in combination with white light on the cariogenic microorganism S. mutans, S. sanguis and C. albicans.
Photodynamic therapy with MB, RB and CUR inhibited 6 log 10 the growth of both bacteria but at different concentrations: 0.31-0.62 μg/ml and 0.62-1.25 μg/ml RB were needed to photoinactivate S. mutans and S. sanguis, respectively; 1.25-2.5 μg/ml MB for both species; whereas higher CUR concentrations (80-160 μg/ml and 160-320 μg/ml) were required to obtain the same reduction in S. mutans and S. sanguis viability respectively. The minimal fungicidal concentration of MB for 5 log10 CFU reduction (4.5 McFarland) was 80-160 μg/ml, whereas for RB it ranged between 320 and 640 μg/ml. For CUR, even the maximum studied concentration (1280 μg/ml) did not reach that inhibition. Incubation time had no effect in all experiments.
Photodynamic therapy with RB, MB and CUR and white light is effective in killing S. mutans and S. sanguis strains, although MB and RB are more efficient than CUR. C. albicans required higher concentrations of all photosensitizers to obtain a fungicidal effect, being MB the most efficient and CUR ineffective.
The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) was first designed as an asset of autonomous telescopes that started to be deployed in 1998, taking 24 years to be fully developed ...around the earth. Nowadays BOOTES has became a global network of robotic telescopes, being the first one present in all continents, as of 2022. Here we present the details of the network and review its achievements over the last 2 decades regarding follow-up observations of high-energy transient events. Moreover, considering the recent operations of neutrino and gravitational wave detectors, some hot-topic expectations related to robotic astronomy are discussed within the framework of multi-wavelength astrophysics.
A commercial pMOS transistor (MOSFET), 3N163 from Vishay (USA), has been characterized as a low-energy proton beam dosimeter. The top of the samples' housing has been removed to guarantee that ...protons reached the sensitive area, that is, the silicon die. Irradiations took place at the National Accelerator Centre (Seville, Spain). During irradiations, the transistors were biased to improve the sensitivity, and the silicon temperature was monitored activating the parasitic diode of the MOSFET. Bias voltages of 0, 1, 5, and 10 V were applied to four sets of three transistors, obtaining an averaged sensitivity that was linearly dependent on this voltage. In addition, the short-fading effect was studied, and the uncertainty of this effect was obtained. The bias voltage that provided an acceptable sensitivity, (11.4 ± 0.9) mV/Gy, minimizing the uncertainty due to the fading effect (-0.09 ± 0.11) Gy was 1 V for a total absorbed dose of 40 Gy. Therefore, this off-the-shelf electronic device presents promising characteristics as a dosimeter sensor for proton beams.
Background
Non‐invasive methods to study gastrointestinal (GI) motility are of high interest, particularly in chronic studies. Amongst these, radiographic techniques after contrast intragastric ...administration may offer many advantages. In previous studies, we have successfully and reproducibly applied these techniques together with a semiquantitative analysis method to characterize the effect of different drugs, acutely or repeatedly administered in rat models, but we have never before used these techniques in mice. These are very convenient in basic research. Our aim was to determine if our method is also valid in mice. Additionally, we determined the effect of morphine on GI motor function in both species.
Methods
Animals received an intraperitoneal administration of morphine (at 10 and 5 mg/kg for rats and mice, respectively). Twenty min later, barium contrast (at 2 g/mL) was gavaged (2.5 and 0.4 mL for rats and mice respectively) and serial X‐rays were obtained 0–8 h after contrast. X‐rays were analyzed as previously described, using a semiquantitative score to build motility curves for each GI region.
Key Results
Motility was much faster in mice than in rats for all GI regions. Morphine at the doses used significantly depressed motility in both species to a similar extent if the whole gut or the upper GI regions (stomach, small intestine) were considered, although its effect seemed to be more intense in the lower GI regions (caecum, colorectum) in rats than in mice.
Conclusions & Inferences
We have validated our X‐rays method for its use in mice.
Here, we validated our non‐invasive radiographic methods to analyse gastrointestinal (GI) motility in mice. We confirmed that GI motility in mice is much faster than in rats and that morphine depresses GI motility in both species. Furthermore, at doses that seemed equipotent for depressing motility in the stomach and small intestine (10 mg/kg for rats and 5 mg/kg for mice), morphine seemed to depress motility in the caecum and colorectum in rats more intensely than in mice, an intriguing finding that warrants more investigation.
Parents of children with neuromuscular diseases experience multiple difficulties in their daily lives that affect their physical and psychological health. The risk factors for these health issues ...have not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the potential predictors of overload in these parents, including QoL, somatic symptomatology, life satisfaction, psychological adjustment and certain sociodemographic variables.
A cross-sectional research study was conducted among parents who are caregivers for children with NMD in Spain. A convenience sample of 110 parents who were contacted by associations and hospitals was used. Variables were evaluated using the sociodemographic questionnaire, CarerQol-7D, PHQ-15, Barthel Index, Psychological Adaptation Scale, Zarit Overload Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale.
One of the most relevant findings of the present study is the identification of 3 overload groups (mild to moderate, moderate to severe, and severe overload) based on life satisfaction and somatic symptom scores within the predictive model of the discriminate analysis. Wilk's lambda of the discriminant function was 0.568, χ
(2,
= 55) = 8.815,
< 0.001.
This study presents a model that reveals the influence of unemployment, having a child with a severe level of dependency, the presence of somatic symptomatology and life satisfaction on caregiver overload. Likewise, the caregiver's self-esteem could be a protective factor against overload.
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