The ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger: PreProcessor implementation and performance

The PreProcessor system of the ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger (L1Calo) receives about 7200 analogue signals from the electromagnetic and hadronic components of the calorimetric detector system. Lateral division results in cells which are pre-summed to so-called Trigger Towers of size 0.1 × 0.1 along azimuth (phi) and pseudorapidity (η). The received calorimeter signals represent deposits of transverse energy. The system consists of 124 individual PreProcessor modules that digitise the input signals for each LHC collision, and provide energy and timing information to the digital processors of the L1Calo system, which identify physics objects forming much of the basis for the full ATLAS fi…

Genotype-Phenotype Analysis across 130,422 Genetic Variants Identifies Rspo3 as the First Genome-Wide Significant Modifier Gene in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Background Ulcerative colitis (UC), a complex polygenic disorder, is one of the main subphenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease. A comprehensive dissection of the genetic etiology of UC needs to assess the contribution of rare genetic variants including copy number variations (CNVs) to disease risk. In this study, we performed a multi-step genome-wide case-control analysis to interrogate the presence of disease-relevant rare copy number variants. Methods One thousand one hundred twenty-one German UC patients and 1770 healthy controls were initially screened for rare deletions and duplications employing SNP-array data. Quantitative PCR and high density custom array-CGH were used for validat…

Characteristic intraepidermal nerve fibre endings of the intervibrissal fur in the mystacial pad of the rat: morphological details revealed by intravital methylene blue staining and the zinc iodide-osmium tetroxide technique.

Light microscopic observations employing intravital methylene blue staining and impregnation by the zinc iodide-osmium tetroxide technique are presented for intraepidermal nerve fibre endings of the intervibrissal fur in the mystacial pad of the rat snout. Both procedures revealed anatomical details of the intraepidermal nerve fibre plexus in epidermal hillocks often located very close to the mouths of hairs. These nerve fibres appeared to resemble those described in previous immunohistochemical studies as cluster or bush endings. The methylene blue preparations demonstrated the existence of an intensely stained enlargement at the site of the branching point of the nerve fibres which seemed…

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18–49, 50–69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results NNVs were more favourable in su…

Intraepidermale freie Nervenfaserendigungen und deren Bedeutung für den Hautschmerz

Fragestellung: Bislang ist ungeklart, welche Leistungsfahigkeit die supravitale Farbung mit Methylenblau (MB) bei der Darstellung intraepidermaler freier Nervenfaserendigungen (FNE) besitzt. Auch die mogliche sensorische, insbesondere nozizeptive Rolle von FNE in der Epidermis ist bislang nicht hinreichend erforscht. Methode: Der Farbstoff wurde in die weitgehend unbehaarte Haut von Rattenpfoten injiziert. Anschliesend erfolgte die lichtmikroskopische Untersuchung. Ergebnisse: Zwei verschiedene morphologische Typen von FNE konnten nachgewiesen werden. Den selteneren Typ von FNE stellten relativ dicke Axone dar, welche zum Stratum granulosum aufstiegen und dort einen Plexus mit polymorphen A…

The influence of bone marrow- and synovium-derived mesenchymal stromal cells from osteoarthritis patients on regulatory T cells in co-culture

Summary There is increasing evidence that inflammation in the synovium plays a major role in the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the immunogenic properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which are considered to regulate immunity in various diseases, remain largely unknown in OA. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of MSCs from OA patients on regulatory T cells (Tregs) in an allogeneic co-culture model. Bone marrow (BM) and synovial membrane (SM) were harvested from hip joints of OA patients and co-cultured with lymphocytes enriched in CD4+CD25+CD127– regulatory T cells (Treg+LC) from healthy donors. Treg proportions and MSC markers were assessed by fl…

Mathematical models for the processing of data from binding radioassays; transformations and approximations

Supplementary Material for: Neuronal and Behavioral Correlates of Health Anxiety: Results of an Illness-Related Emotional Stroop Task

Background: Health anxiety (HA) is defined as the objectively unfounded fear or conviction of suffering from a severe illness. Predominant attention allocation to illness-related information is regarded as a central process in the development and maintenance of HA, yet little is known about the neuronal correlates of this attentional bias. Methods: An emotional Stroop task with body symptom, illness, and neutral words was employed to elicit emotional interference in healthy participants with high (HA+, n = 12) and low (HA–, n = 12) HA during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Prolonged reaction times for indicating the color of symptom words and a decrease in rostral anterior c…