640 research outputs found
‐2 infection
No full textOBJECTIVES:To evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women affected by SARS-COV-2. METHODS:This was a multinational retrospective cohort study including women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-COV-2 from 73 centers from 22 different countries in Europe, United States, South America, Asia and Australia from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Confirmed SARS-COV-2 infection was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite measure of maternal mortality and morbidity including admission to intensive care unit (ICU), use of mechanical ventilation, or death. RESULTS:388 singleton pregnancies tested positive to SARS-COV-2 at RT-PCR nasal and pharyngeal swab were included in the study. The primary outcome was observed in 47/388 women (12.1%). 43/388 women (11.1%) were admitted to ICU, 36/388 (9.3%) required mechanical ventilation, and 3/388 women deceased (0.8%). Of the 388 women included in the study, 122 (31.4%) were still pregnant at the time of the study. Among the other 266 women, 6 had spontaneous first-trimester abortion, 3 had elective termination of pregnancy, 6 had stillbirth, and 251 delivered a live-born infant. The rate of preterm birth less than 37 weeks of gestation was 26.3% (70/266). Of the 251 live-born infants, 69/251 (27.5%) were admitted to NICU, with 5 neonatal deaths (2.0%). The overall rate of perinatal death was 4.1% (11/266). Only one infant (1/251, 0.4%) born from a mother tested positive during the third trimester, was found positive to SARS-COV-2 at RT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS:SARS-COV-2 in pregnant women is associated with 0.8% rate of maternal mortality, but 11.1% rate of admission to ICU. The risk of vertical transmission seems to be negligible. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Vaccination in Asplenia: Improving Quality of Care in Time of Coronavirus.
No full textOur study aims to evaluate influenza vaccination in a large population of asplenic patients and explore the main causes for non-vaccination to identify critical areas for improvement in the vaccination programme in these at-risk patients for the 2020-2021 influenza seaso
Caveolin-1 protects B6129 mice against Helicobacter pylori gastritis.
No full textCaveolin-1 (Cav1) is a scaffold protein and pathogen receptor in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract. Chronic infection of gastric epithelial cells by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a major risk factor for human gastric cancer (GC) where Cav1 is frequently down-regulated. However, the function of Cav1 in H. pylori infection and pathogenesis of GC remained unknown. We show here that Cav1-deficient mice, infected for 11 months with the CagA-delivery deficient H. pylori strain SS1, developed more severe gastritis and tissue damage, including loss of parietal cells and foveolar hyperplasia, and displayed lower colonisation of the gastric mucosa than wild-type B6129 littermates. Cav1-null mice showed enhanced infiltration of macrophages and B-cells and secretion of chemokines (RANTES) but had reduced levels of CD25+ regulatory T-cells. Cav1-deficient human GC cells (AGS), infected with the CagA-delivery proficient H. pylori strain G27, were more sensitive to CagA-related cytoskeletal stress morphologies ("humming bird") compared to AGS cells stably transfected with Cav1 (AGS/Cav1). Infection of AGS/Cav1 cells triggered the recruitment of p120 RhoGTPase-activating protein/deleted in liver cancer-1 (p120RhoGAP/DLC1) to Cav1 and counteracted CagA-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements. In human GC cell lines (MKN45, N87) and mouse stomach tissue, H. pylori down-regulated endogenous expression of Cav1 independently of CagA. Mechanistically, H. pylori activated sterol-responsive element-binding protein-1 (SREBP1) to repress transcription of the human Cav1 gene from sterol-responsive elements (SREs) in the proximal Cav1 promoter. These data suggested a protective role of Cav1 against H. pylori-induced inflammation and tissue damage. We propose that H. pylori exploits down-regulation of Cav1 to subvert the host's immune response and to promote signalling of its virulence factors in host cells
Impact of body mass index on the difficulty and outcomes of laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy
No full textIntroduction: Currently, the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the outcomes of laparoscopic liver resections (LLR) is poorly defined. This study attempts to evaluate the impact of BMI on the peri-operative outcomes following laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (L-LLS). Methods: A retrospective analysis of 2183 patients who underwent pure L-LLS at 59 international centers between 2004 and 2021 was performed. Associations between BMI and selected peri-operative outcomes were analyzed using restricted cubic splines. Results: A BMI of >27kg/m2 was associated with increased in blood loss (Mean difference (MD) 21 mls, 95% CI 5-36), open conversions (Relative risk (RR) 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.25), operative time (MD 11 min, 95% CI 6-16), use of Pringles maneuver (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.26) and reductions in length of stay (MD -0.2 days, 95% CI -0.3 to -0.1). The magnitude of these differences increased with each unit increase in BMI. However, there was a "U" shaped association between BMI and morbidity with the highest complication rates observed in underweight and obese patients. Conclusion: Increasing BMI resulted in increasing difficulty of L-LLS. Consideration should be given to its incorporation in future difficulty scoring systems in laparoscopic liver resections
Pusionella hofmanni Harzhauser & Landau & Janssen 2022, nov. sp.
No full textPusionella hofmanni nov. sp. Figs 41E 1 –E 2, F 1 –F 2, G 1 –G 2, 4K, 5, 7 Type material. Holotype: NHMW 1867 /0019/0136, SL: 44.0 mm, MD: 14.1 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 401E 1 –E 2, 4K. Paratypes: NHMW 1867 /0019/0142a, SL: 33.8 mm, MD: 12.1 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 41F 1 –F 2; NHMW 1867 /0019/0142b, SL: 30.1 mm, MD: 11.0 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 41G 1 –G 2; NHMW 1867 /0019/0142, 4 spec., Coşteiu de Sus (Romania). Type locality. Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), Făget Basin. Type stratum. Silt and clay of the Dej Formation. Age. Middle Miocene, early/middle Badenian (Langhian). Etymology. In honor of Thomas Hofmann (Geological Survey of Austria, Vienna), geologist, great popularizer of science and friend of the first author. Diagnosis. Medium-sized, fusiform with high, weakly gradate spire, subcylindrical whorls with rounded shoulder and convex base. Early teleoconch whorls with deep spiral groove; siphonal canal with strongly raised spiral cord. Description. Shell medium-sized, moderately broad fusiform with high, weakly gradate spire; apical angle ~38°. Protoconch not preserved. Teleoconch of 12 whorls. Early teleoconch whorls weakly concave, with weak, smooth subsutural spiral cord and suprasutural row of large beads, separated by deeply incised spiral groove. On third to fourth whorl suprasutural beads fade, deep groove separates narrower slightly concave subsutural cord from wider abapical portion of whorl. Spiral groove shifting slightly in abapical direction on subsequent whorls, becoming subobsolete on eighth whorl. Late whorls smooth, subcylindrical. Suture weakly impressed, linear. Last whorl 56– 60% of total height, subcylindrical. Subsutural collar, ramp and shoulder not developed. Rounded and moderately constricted at base. Siphonal fasciole strongly delimited by raised ridge, flattened, twisted, with prominent growth lines. Sculpture of weak, narrow cords restricted to base and fasciole.Aperture moderately wide, pyriform. Outer lip thin, smooth within. Anal sinus very shallow, wide; siphonal canal moderately short, strongly deflected to left and dorsally, shallowly notched at tip. Columella weakly twisted, smooth. Columella excavated in upper third, strongly twisted at fasciole. Columellar and parietal callus thin, poorly delimited from base. Discussion. Pusionella hofmanni nov. sp. is morphologically close to P. palatina Strausz, 1954, but in P. palatina the early whorls are coeloconoid, with the beads at the abapical suture persisting to the sixth whorl. In P. hofmanni the early whorl profile is regularly conical and broader, the whorls more depressed and the beads fade by the fourth whorl. In addition, Pusionella hofmanni differs in the generally less conical, but slightly gradate spire, the deeper spiral groove on early spire whorls, and the shallowly notched and less deflected siphonal canal. The extant Pusionella ghanaensis Boyer & Ryall, 2006 develops a similar spiral groove on early spire whorls, but differs from P. hofmanni in having spiral cords on the last whorl. Pusionella pseudofusus (Des Moulins, 1842), from the Burdigalian of France, and P. tauronifat Sacco, 1891 and P. pedemontana Sacco, 1891, from the Burdigalian of Italy, all lack a spiral groove on early teleoconch whorls (see Peyrot 1931: 103, pl. 9, figs 74–76; Sacco 1904: 62, pl. 2, fig. 77; Ferrero Mortara et al. 1984: 66, pl. 56, fig. 14). Paleoenvironment. Unknown. Distribution in Central Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Făget Basin: Coşteiu de Sus (Romania) (hoc opus). Genus Scaevatula Gofas, 1990 Type species. Scaevatula pellisserpentis Gofas, 1990. Present-day, São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea). Diagnosis. Small, moderately slender fusiform sinistral or dextral shells with high spire and low last whorl. Narrow subsutural collar with beads; entire shells with dense sculpture of axial ribs and spiral cords. Base slowly contracting. Siphonal canal short, relatively wide, deflected to the left. Aperture ovoid with thin and smooth outer lip. Columellar and parietal callus forming rim. Low, dome shaped, paucispiral protoconch with broad axial ribs. Discussion. The genus was based by Gofas (1990) on a sinistral species from São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea). Later, Rolán & Fernandes (1993) described a second species from the same region as Scaevatula amancioi, which is dextrally coiled.The peculiar sculpture and especially the protoconch sculpture, which is unique within Clavatulidae, strongly suggest that both species belong to the same genus, despite the opposite coiling. Little information is available on the ecology of this genus, which occurs in few meters water depth (Rolán & Fernandes 1993). Both extant species range around 6 to 8 mm in height and thus are much smaller than the Paratethyan Scaevatula sidoniae (Hoernes & Auinger, 1891), which attains 24.8 mm in height. Moreover, the Miocene species is more solid and bears inner lirae, which are unknown from extant Scaevatula. The sculpture of Scaevatula amancioi, in contrast, is very similar to that of S. sidoniae and both develop a bipartite sculpture of early teleoconch whorls. Finally, the sculptured protoconch is so unusual in Clavatulidae that we provisionally place the Miocene species in Scaevatula. Scaevatula sidoniae is slightly reminiscent of Granulatocincta nov. gen. concerning its sculpture, but differs in its bipartite early teleoconch sculpture. Paleoenvironment. Coastal inner neritic environments (Gofas 1990). Distribution and stratigraphy. Scaevatula was known so far only from the modern fauna of tropical West Africa. Our Miocene record from the Paratethyan Sea is the first fossil record of the genus and an additional proof of a faunistic relation between the tropical Eastern Atlantic and the Paratethys Sea, which is documented also for Clavatula and Perrona.Published as part of Harzhauser, Mathias, Landau, Bernard & Janssen, Ronald, 2022, The Clavatulidae (Gastropoda, Conoidea) of the Miocene Paratethys Sea with considerations on fossil and extant Clavatulidae genera, pp. 1-172 in Zootaxa 5123 (1) on pages 138-139, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5123.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/639982
Pusionella hofmanni Harzhauser & Landau & Janssen 2022, nov. sp.
No full textPusionella hofmanni nov. sp. Figs 41E 1 –E 2, F 1 –F 2, G 1 –G 2, 4K, 5, 7 Type material. Holotype: NHMW 1867 /0019/0136, SL: 44.0 mm, MD: 14.1 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 401E 1 –E 2, 4K. Paratypes: NHMW 1867 /0019/0142a, SL: 33.8 mm, MD: 12.1 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 41F 1 –F 2; NHMW 1867 /0019/0142b, SL: 30.1 mm, MD: 11.0 mm, Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), figs 41G 1 –G 2; NHMW 1867 /0019/0142, 4 spec., Coşteiu de Sus (Romania). Type locality. Coşteiu de Sus (Romania), Făget Basin. Type stratum. Silt and clay of the Dej Formation. Age. Middle Miocene, early/middle Badenian (Langhian). Etymology. In honor of Thomas Hofmann (Geological Survey of Austria, Vienna), geologist, great popularizer of science and friend of the first author. Diagnosis. Medium-sized, fusiform with high, weakly gradate spire, subcylindrical whorls with rounded shoulder and convex base. Early teleoconch whorls with deep spiral groove; siphonal canal with strongly raised spiral cord. Description. Shell medium-sized, moderately broad fusiform with high, weakly gradate spire; apical angle ~38°. Protoconch not preserved. Teleoconch of 12 whorls. Early teleoconch whorls weakly concave, with weak, smooth subsutural spiral cord and suprasutural row of large beads, separated by deeply incised spiral groove. On third to fourth whorl suprasutural beads fade, deep groove separates narrower slightly concave subsutural cord from wider abapical portion of whorl. Spiral groove shifting slightly in abapical direction on subsequent whorls, becoming subobsolete on eighth whorl. Late whorls smooth, subcylindrical. Suture weakly impressed, linear. Last whorl 56– 60% of total height, subcylindrical. Subsutural collar, ramp and shoulder not developed. Rounded and moderately constricted at base. Siphonal fasciole strongly delimited by raised ridge, flattened, twisted, with prominent growth lines. Sculpture of weak, narrow cords restricted to base and fasciole.Aperture moderately wide, pyriform. Outer lip thin, smooth within. Anal sinus very shallow, wide; siphonal canal moderately short, strongly deflected to left and dorsally, shallowly notched at tip. Columella weakly twisted, smooth. Columella excavated in upper third, strongly twisted at fasciole. Columellar and parietal callus thin, poorly delimited from base. Discussion. Pusionella hofmanni nov. sp. is morphologically close to P. palatina Strausz, 1954, but in P. palatina the early whorls are coeloconoid, with the beads at the abapical suture persisting to the sixth whorl. In P. hofmanni the early whorl profile is regularly conical and broader, the whorls more depressed and the beads fade by the fourth whorl. In addition, Pusionella hofmanni differs in the generally less conical, but slightly gradate spire, the deeper spiral groove on early spire whorls, and the shallowly notched and less deflected siphonal canal. The extant Pusionella ghanaensis Boyer & Ryall, 2006 develops a similar spiral groove on early spire whorls, but differs from P. hofmanni in having spiral cords on the last whorl. Pusionella pseudofusus (Des Moulins, 1842), from the Burdigalian of France, and P. tauronifat Sacco, 1891 and P. pedemontana Sacco, 1891, from the Burdigalian of Italy, all lack a spiral groove on early teleoconch whorls (see Peyrot 1931: 103, pl. 9, figs 74–76; Sacco 1904: 62, pl. 2, fig. 77; Ferrero Mortara et al. 1984: 66, pl. 56, fig. 14). Paleoenvironment. Unknown. Distribution in Central Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Făget Basin: Coşteiu de Sus (Romania) (hoc opus). Genus Scaevatula Gofas, 1990 Type species. Scaevatula pellisserpentis Gofas, 1990. Present-day, São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea). Diagnosis. Small, moderately slender fusiform sinistral or dextral shells with high spire and low last whorl. Narrow subsutural collar with beads; entire shells with dense sculpture of axial ribs and spiral cords. Base slowly contracting. Siphonal canal short, relatively wide, deflected to the left. Aperture ovoid with thin and smooth outer lip. Columellar and parietal callus forming rim. Low, dome shaped, paucispiral protoconch with broad axial ribs. Discussion. The genus was based by Gofas (1990) on a sinistral species from São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea). Later, Rolán & Fernandes (1993) described a second species from the same region as Scaevatula amancioi, which is dextrally coiled.The peculiar sculpture and especially the protoconch sculpture, which is unique within Clavatulidae, strongly suggest that both species belong to the same genus, despite the opposite coiling. Little information is available on the ecology of this genus, which occurs in few meters water depth (Rolán & Fernandes 1993). Both extant species range around 6 to 8 mm in height and thus are much smaller than the Paratethyan Scaevatula sidoniae (Hoernes & Auinger, 1891), which attains 24.8 mm in height. Moreover, the Miocene species is more solid and bears inner lirae, which are unknown from extant Scaevatula. The sculpture of Scaevatula amancioi, in contrast, is very similar to that of S. sidoniae and both develop a bipartite sculpture of early teleoconch whorls. Finally, the sculptured protoconch is so unusual in Clavatulidae that we provisionally place the Miocene species in Scaevatula. Scaevatula sidoniae is slightly reminiscent of Granulatocincta nov. gen. concerning its sculpture, but differs in its bipartite early teleoconch sculpture. Paleoenvironment. Coastal inner neritic environments (Gofas 1990). Distribution and stratigraphy. Scaevatula was known so far only from the modern fauna of tropical West Africa. Our Miocene record from the Paratethyan Sea is the first fossil record of the genus and an additional proof of a faunistic relation between the tropical Eastern Atlantic and the Paratethys Sea, which is documented also for Clavatula and Perrona.Published as part of Harzhauser, Mathias, Landau, Bernard & Janssen, Ronald, 2022, The Clavatulidae (Gastropoda, Conoidea) of the Miocene Paratethys Sea with considerations on fossil and extant Clavatulidae genera, pp. 1-172 in Zootaxa 5123 (1) on pages 138-139, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5123.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/639982
Observation of the Ξb− → ψ(2S) Ξ− decay and studies of the Ξb∗0 baryon in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)= 13 TeV
No full textThe first observation of the decay Ξ−b→ψ(2S)Ξ− and measurement of the branching ratio of Ξ− b→ψ(2S)Ξ− to Ξ−b→J/ψΞ− are presented. The J/ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are reconstructed using their dimuon decay modes. The results are based on proton-proton colliding beam data from the LHC collected by the CMS experiment at √s=13 TeV in 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The branching fraction ratio is measured to be B(Ξ− b→ψ(2S)Ξ−)/B(Ξ−b→J/ψΞ−)=0.84+0.21−0.19(stat)±0.10(syst)±0.02(B), where the last uncertainty comes from the uncertainties in the branching fractions of the charmonium states. New measurements of the Ξb(5945)0 baryon mass and natural width are also presented, using the Ξ− bπ+ final state, where the Ξ−b baryon is reconstructed through the decays J/ψΞ−, ψ(2S)Ξ−, J/ψΛK−, and J/ψΣ0K−. Finally, the fraction of Ξ−b baryons produced from Ξb(5945)0 decays is determined
Mutation analysis of tissue sections and single cells using low-volume polymerase chain reaction
No full textErratum to: Measurement of the top quark mass with lepton+jets final states using pp collisions at
No full textIn this article the author name Luigi Calligaris was incorrectly written as A. Calligaris. The original article has been corrected
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