65 research outputs found
attenuation length monitor for the JUNO filling system
No full textThe future neutrino experiment JUNO (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory) will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy by observing reactor neutrinos in liquid scintillator. To reach the required energy resolution of 3% @ 1MeV, a very good liquid scintillator transparency (attenuation length ≥ 20 m @ 430 nm) is required. To reach this transparency, it is planned to have several purification processes in place. The attenuation length of the liquid scintillator will be measured afterwards to verify that this process reached the necessary levels of purity. It is of paramount importance to make this quality assurance in order to avoid any contamination of the Central Detector. An attenuation length monitor is currently in development in Mainz. This poster presents design and working principle of the this system. It gives an overview on the current status of the development as well. The development is funded by the DFG Research Unit “JUNO” and the Mainz Cluster of Excellence “PRISMA”
Dimensions of test anxiety: Relations to ways of coping with pre-exam anxiety and uncertainty.
No full textCumulative evidence has shown that four dimensions can be differentiated in the experience of test anxiety:
worry, emotionality, interference, and lack of confidence. To investigate whether these dimensions show
specific relationships with ways of coping, a study with 162 students (75 male, 87 female) examined how
students cope with anxiety and uncertainty in the run-up to important exams. Coping strategies included task orientation and preparation, seeking social support, and avoidance. Results showed that overall test anxiety
was related to seeking social support. When dimensions of test anxiety were inspected individually while
controlling for interdimensional overlap, however, results showed a specific pattern of relationships: (a) worry
was related to task-orientation and preparation and inversely related to cognitive avoidance, (b) emotionality
was related to task-orientation and preparation and seeking social support, and (c) interference was related to
avoidance and inversely related to task-orientation and preparation, whereas (d) lack of confidence was
related to avoidance only. Although some gender differences emerged, the findings indicate that the main
components of test anxiety display different relationships with coping. Moreover, they confirm that it is
important to differentiate between worry and interference because these dimensions, albeit closely related,
may show opposite relationships with ways of coping
Identification of the non-virion (NV) protein of fish rhabdoviruses viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus and infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus
No full textSequence analysis of a 795 nucleotide region of the fish rhabdovirus viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) genome revealed one complete and one partial ORF of 369 and 153 nucleotides, respectively. The latter ORF probably encodes the amino-terminal part of the L (polymerase) protein. The former ORF potentially encodes a 122 amino acid protein. The location of this ORF as well as the size and deduced structure of the translation product indicate that it represents a homologue of the non-virion (NV) protein of the related infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). Antisera raised against prokaryotically expressed NV protein of VHSV and IHNV were used to detect NV expression in VHSV- and IHNV-infected cells by Western Blot and immunofluorescence analyses. We present here the sequence of the VHSV NV gene and demonstrate the presence of IHNV and VHSV NV proteins in virus-infected cells
Development of vaccines against VHS and IHN: oral application, molecular marker and discrimination of vaccinated fish from infected populations
No full textViral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) and infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) cause severe epizootics among most salmonid fish as well as a number of marine species. The role of the marine reservoir in the epidemiology is unclear. This epidemiological situation, i.e. the wide distribution among a lot of species, gives rise to the belief that it seems to be unsuccessful to control the disease by regulatory methods in regions in which the virus is enzootic, i.e. where feral fish carry the virus. Therefore, the development of a vaccine seems to be more promising. There is now one live vaccine against VHS available in Germany.
For identification of attenuated viral strains as vaccines, molecular markers are needed. The G-genes of several VHSV strains, including two attenuated strains, were sequenced to define marker for specific recognition of the attenuated virus. The deduced amino acid sequences were compared to elucidate the molecular basis of attenuation. For rapid differentiation of the vaccine-strain from wild-type viruses, RT-PCR was used with primers specific for the attenuated virus. The PCR-product is a fragment of 251 bp which is used for identification of the vaccine after isolation of a virus from the field.
The administration of an inactivated vaccine seems to be unsuitable for rainbow trout fry. Therefore, recent studies have focused on the use of recombinant viral proteins as candidates for vaccines, with particular attention given to the glycoprotein.
Rainbow trout vaccinated by immersion with live Aeronionas salmonicida bacteria carrying VHS-G-gene and IHN-G-gene fragments were differentiated from survivors after infection with wild-type virus by western blot: sera from vaccinated fish react only with G-protein and not with other structural components of the virus
Cuticular Hydrocarbon Pheromones for Social Behavior and Their Coding in the Ant Antenna
No full textabstract: The sophisticated organization of eusocial insect societies is largely based on the regulation of complex behaviors by hydrocarbon pheromones present on the cuticle. We used electrophysiology to investigate the detection of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) by female-specific olfactory sensilla basiconica on the antenna of Camponotus floridanus ants through the utilization of one of the largest family of odorant receptors characterized so far in insects. These sensilla, each of which contains multiple olfactory receptor neurons, are differentially sensitive to CHCs and allow them to be classified into three broad groups that collectively detect every hydrocarbon tested, including queen and worker-enriched CHCs. This broad-spectrum sensitivity is conserved in a related species, Camponotus laevigatus, allowing these ants to detect CHCs from both nestmates and non-nestmates. Behavioral assays demonstrate that these ants are excellent at discriminating CHCs detected by the antenna, including enantiomers of a candidate queen pheromone that regulates the reproductive division of labor.The final version of this article, as published in Cell Reports, can be viewed online at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124715007913?via%3Dihu
Complete genomic sequence of the fish rhabdovirus infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus
No full textThe complete nucleotide sequence of the genome of the fish rhabdovirus infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) has been determined after cDNA cloning of the viral genomic RNA. Sequence analysis showed the presence of six open reading frames encoding the nucleoprotein N, the matrix proteins M1 and M2, the glycoprotein G, a so-called non-structural protein NV, and the RNA polymerase L. The genome organization is 3'N-M1-M2-G-NV-L 5'. The extreme 5' and 3' ends of the genome were sequenced after RNA ligation or RACE. Prokaryotic expression products of the open reading frames predicted to encode the matrix proteins M1 and M2, the glycoprotein G and the NV protein reacted with rabbit anti-IHNV serum thereby confirming their identity. This is the first complete nucleotide sequence of a fish rhabdovirus. Knowledge of the complete sequence is an essential prerequisite for future manipulation of the genome and also serves to provide gene- and protein specific reagents for use in further examination of the replication of the fish rhabdoviruses
A systematic review of evidence on malignant spinal metastases : natural history and technologies for identifying patients at high risk of vertebral fracture and spinal cord compression
No full textBackground: Spinal metastases can lead to significant morbidity and reduction in quality of life due to spinal cord compression (SCC). Between 5% and 20% of patients with spinal metastases develop metastatic spinal cord compression during the course of their disease. An early study estimated average survival for patients with SCC to be between 3 and 7 months, with a 36% probability of survival to 12 months. An understanding of the natural history and early diagnosis of spinal metastases and prediction of collapse of the metastatic vertebrae are important.
Objective: To undertake a systematic review to examine the natural history of metastatic spinal lesions and to identify patients at high risk of vertebral fracture and SCC.
Data sources: The search strategy covered the concepts of metastasis, the spine and adults. Searches were undertaken from inception to June 2011 in 13 electronic databases [MEDLINE; MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations; EMBASE; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), HTA databases (NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination); Science Citation Index and Conference Proceedings (Web of Science); UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) Portfolio Database; Current Controlled Trials; ClinicalTrials.gov].
Review methods: Titles and abstracts of retrieved studies were assessed by two reviewers independently. Disagreement was resolved by consensus agreement. Full data were extracted independently by one reviewer. All included studies were reviewed by a second researcher with disagreements resolved by discussion. A quality assessment instrument was used to assess bias in six domains: study population, attrition, prognostic factor measurement, outcome measurement, confounding measurement and account, and analysis. Data were tabulated and discussed in a narrative review. Each tumour type was looked at separately.
Results: In all, 2425 potentially relevant articles were identified, of which 31 met the inclusion criteria. No study examined natural history alone. Seventeen studies reported retrospective data, 10 were prospective studies, and three were other study designs. There was one systematic review. There were no randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Approximately 5782 participants were included. Sample sizes ranged from 41 to 859. The age of participants ranged between 7 and 92 years. Types of cancers reported on were lung alone (n= 3), prostate alone (n= 6), breast alone (n= 7), mixed cancers (n= 13) and unclear (n= 1). A total of 93 prognostic factors were identified as potentially significant in predicting risk of SCC or collapse. Overall findings indicated that the more spinal metastases present and the longer a patient was at risk, the greater the reported likelihood of development of SCC and collapse. There was an increased risk of developing SCC if a cancer had already spread to the bones. In the prostate cancer studies, tumour grade, metastatic load and time on hormone therapy were associated with increased risk of SCC. In one study, risk of SCC before death was 24%, and 2.37 times greater with a Gleason score 7 than with a score of < 7 (p= 0.003). Other research found that patients with six or more bone lesions were at greater risk of SCC than those with fewer than six lesions [odds ratio (OR) 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.012 to 8.35, p= 0.047]. For breast cancer patients who received a computerised tomography (CT) scan for suspected SCC, multiple logistic regression in one study identified four independent variables predictive of a positive test: bone metastases 2 years (OR 3.0 95% CI 1.2 to 7.6; p= 0.02); metastatic disease at initial diagnosis (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 11.4; p= 0.05); objective weakness (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.5 to 9.5; p= 0.005); and vertebral compression fracture on spine radiograph (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.0 to 6.5; p= 0.05). A further study on mixed cancers, among patients who received surgery for SCC, reported that vertebral body compression fractures were associated with presurgery chemotherapy (OR 2.283, 95% CI 1.064 to 4.898; p= 0.03), cancer type [primary breast cancer (OR 4.179, 95% CI 1.457 to 11.983; p= 0.008)], thoracic involvement (OR 3.505, 95% CI 1.343 to 9.143; p= 0.01) and anterior cord compression (OR 3.213, 95% CI 1.416 to 7.293; p= 0.005).
Limitations: Many of the included studies provided limited information about patient populations and selection criteria and they varied in methodological quality, rigour and transparency. Several studies identified type of cancer (e.g. breast, lung or prostate cancer) as a significant factor in predicting SCC, but it remains difficult to determine the risk differential partly because of residual bias. Consideration of quantitative results from the studies does not easily allow generation of a coherent numerical summary, studies were heterogeneous especially with regard to population, results were not consistent between studies, and study results almost universally lacked corroboration from other independent studies.
Conclusion: No studies were found which examined natural history. Overall burden of metastatic disease, confirmed metastatic bone involvement and immediate symptomatology suggestive of spinal column involvement are already well known as factors for metastatic SCC, vertebral collapse or progression of vertebral collapse. Although we identified a large number of additional possible prognostic factors, those which currently offer the most potential are unclear. Current clinical consensus favours magnetic resonance imaging and CT imaging modalities for the investigation of SCC and vertebral fracture. Future research should concentrate on: (1) prospective randomised designs to establish clinical and quality-of-life outcomes and cost-effectiveness of identification and treatment of patients at high risk of vertebral collapse and SCC; (2) Service Delivery and Organisation research on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and scanning (in tandem with research studies on use of MRI to monitor progression) in order to understand best methods for maximising use of MRI scanners; and (3) investigation of prognostic algorithms to calculate probability of a specified event using high-quality prospective studies, involving defined populations, randomly selected and clearly identified samples, and with blinding of investigators
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