Measurement of the proton-air cross section at √s=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger Observatory.

We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of [505±22(stat)(-36)(+28)(syst)] mb is found.

Residential Homes with Extremely High Indoor Radon Concentrations in Southern Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

ABSTRACT: A housing development of 87 new homes on approximately 300 acres of former farm land was found to have 19 homes with basement radon-222 ( 222 Rn) concentrations greater than 37,000 Bq m -3 , with the highest recorded result to date being 648,000 +/- 1,031 Bq m -3 , based upon the diffusion barrier charcoal canister result. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Action Level for 222 Rn is 148 Bq m -3 . This single-family housing development is in the southeast corner of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, about 58 km northwest of Philadelphia, in a geologic unit known as the Epler Formation. Radon testing in homes in this development began in the fall of 2014 and is now complete. Initial testing consisted of charcoal canisters mailed to homeowners. Subsequent testing in newly built homes consisted of testing prior to occupancy. This testing was quite extensive, with continuous radon monitors, passive radon monitors, and grab sampling for radon gas and progeny in the basement and on the first floor of each home as well as gamma surveys in the basement, on the first and second floors, and outside of each home. All but one of the new houses in this development had passive radon resistant features installed during the construction phase. In all cases, fans were added to the passive systems to make them active systems, which were needed to control these extremely high radon levels. Additional radon mitigation work such as adding additional suction points was also needed in several homes to reduce levels to below EPA guidelines. The unique geology and high 226 Ra soil concentrations in this specific area are the causes of these extremely high radon levels. Radon measurement data both inside these homes and in the outdoor ambient air, as well as 238 U and 222 Ra rock and soil concentrations, are presented.

A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program.

EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks "from above." On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range ∼290-500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs.

Measurement of the depth of maximum of extensive air showers above 10{18} eV.

We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum, X{max}, of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost 4000 events above 10;{18} eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory in coincidence with at least one surface detector station are selected for the analysis. The average shower maximum was found to evolve with energy at a rate of (106{-21}{+35}) g/cm{2}/decade below 10{18.24+/-0.05} eV, and (24+/-3) g/cm{2}/decade above this energy. The measured shower-to-shower fluctuations decrease from about 55 to 26 g/cm{2}. The interpretation of these results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed.

[New developments in spastic unilateral cerebral palsy]. / Hémiplégie cérébrale infantile: épidémiologie, aspects étiologiques et développements thérapeutiques récents.

INTRODUCTION: Hemiplegic (or spastic unilateral) cerebral palsy accounts for about 30% of all cases of cerebral palsy. With a population prevalence of 0.6 per 1000 live births, it is the most common type of cerebral palsy among term-born children and the second most common type after diplegia among preterm infants. STATE OF THE ART: Many types of prenatal and perinatal brain injury can lead to congenital hemiplegia and brain MRI is the most useful tool to classify them with accuracy and to provide early prognostic information. Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke thus appears as the leading cause in term infants, whereas encephalopathy of prematurity is the most common cause in premature babies. Other causes include brain malformations, neonatal sinovenous thrombosis, parenchymal hemorrhage (for example due to coagulopathy or alloimmune thrombocytopenia) and the more recently described familial forms of porencephaly associated with mutations in the COL4A1 gene. PERSPECTIVES: In adjunction with pharmacologic treatment (botulinium neurotoxin injection), new evidence-based rehabilitational interventions, such as constraint-induced movement therapy and mirror therapy, are increasingly being used.

The alpha1-fetoprotein locus is activated by a nuclear receptor of the Drosophila FTZ-F1 family.

The alpha1-fetoprotein (AFP) gene is located between the albumin and alpha-albumin genes and is activated by transcription factor FTF (fetoprotein transcription factor), presumed to transduce early developmental signals to the albumin gene cluster. We have identified FTF as an orphan nuclear receptor of the Drosophila FTZ-F1 family. FTF recognizes the DNA sequence 5'-TCAAGGTCA-3', the canonical recognition motif for FTZ-F1 receptors. cDNA sequence homologies indicate that rat FTF is the ortholog of mouse LRH-1 and Xenopus xFF1rA. Rodent FTF is encoded by a single-copy gene, related to the gene encoding steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1). The 5.2-kb FTF transcript is translated from several in-frame initiator codons into FTF isoforms (54 to 64 kDa) which appear to bind DNA as monomers, with no need for a specific ligand, similar KdS (approximately equal 3 x 10(-10) M), and similar transcriptional effects. FTF activates the AFP promoter without the use of an amino-terminal activation domain; carboxy-terminus-truncated FTF exerts strong dominant negative effects. In the AFP promoter, FTF recruits an accessory trans-activator which imparts glucocorticoid reactivity upon the AFP gene. FTF binding sites are found in the promoters of other liver-expressed genes, some encoding liver transcription factors; FTF, liver alpha1-antitrypsin promoter factor LFB2, and HNF-3beta promoter factor UF2-H3beta are probably the same factor. FTF is also abundantly expressed in the pancreas and may exert differentiation functions in endodermal sublineages, similar to SF-1 in steroidogenic tissues. HepG2 hepatoma cells seem to express a mutated form of FTF.

Functional analysis of developmentally regulated chromatin-hypersensitive domains carrying the alpha 1-fetoprotein gene promoter and the albumin/alpha 1-fetoprotein intergenic enhancer.

During liver development, the tandem alpha 1-fetoprotein (AFP)/albumin locus is triggered at the AFP end and then asymmetrically enhanced; this is followed by autonomous repression of the AFP-encoding gene. To understand this regulation better, we characterized the two early developmental stage-specific DNase I-hypersensitive (DH) sites so far identified in rat liver AFP/albumin chromatin: an intergenic DH-enhancer site and the AFP DH-promoter site. Mutation-transfection analyses circumscribed the DH-enhancer domain to a 200-bp DNA segment stringently conserved among species. Targeted mutations, DNA-protein-binding assays, and coexpression experiments pinpointed C/EBP as the major activatory component of the intergenic enhancer. Structure-function relationships at the AFP DH-promoter site defined a discrete glucocorticoid-regulated domain activated cooperatively by HNF1 and a highly specific AFP transcription factor, FTF, which binds to a steroid receptor recognition motif. The HNF1/FTF/DNA complex is deactivated by glucocorticoid receptors or by the ubiquitous factor NF1, which eliminates HNF1 by competition at an overlapping, high-affinity binding site. We propose that the HNF1-NF1 site might serve as a developmental switch to direct autonomous AFP gene repression in late liver development. We also conclude that the intergenic enhancer is driven by C/EBP alpha primarily to fulfill albumin gene activation functions at early developmental stages. Factor FTF seems to be the key regulator of AFP gene-specific functions in carcinoembryonic states.

Bovine adrenal medullary chromogranin A: studies on the structure and further evidence for identity with dopamine-beta-hydroxylase subunit.

1. Chromogranin A was purified by the use of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of chromogranin A appeared to be nearly identical to that reported by other investigators and, moreover, was confirmed to be similar to that of dopamine beta-hydroxylase. 2. Dansyl-end group analysis revealed the presence of leucine as the only amino-terminal residue and quantitative estimations showed the presence of two leucine residues per molecule of 77 000 molecular weight. 3. Tryptic and CNBr patterns were obtained. Data are in good agreement with the concept of two nearly identical polypeptide chains per chromogranin A molecule of mol. wt 77 000. Patterns were compared with those obtained in parallel dopamine beta-hydroxylase and support the idea that chromogranin A and the dopamine beta-hydroxylase subunit are identical. Digestion with leucine amino peptidase gave further additional evidence for this suggestion. 4. Chromogranin A appeared to be free of carbohydrates. No cross-reaction was detected between chromogranin A and rabbit antibody against bovine adrenal dopamine beta-hydroxylase.

Markers of abdominal adipose tissue in women: relationship to ovarian function.

Increased abdominal adipose tissue (AAT) mass, as most reliably measured by waist circumference, in pubescent girls positively correlates with insulinemia, circulating insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin resistance, androgenemia, and both plasma luteinizing hormone and estradiol levels. Because insulin resistance and androgen excess regularly accompany the ovarian changes seen in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), we propose that elevated AAT mass in adolescent girls, acting through an increase in insulin resistance, might make them more prone to the development of full-blown PCOS.

Serum alpha-inhibin levels in polycystic ovary syndrome: relationship to the serum androstenedione level.

To date, only one study has demonstrated increased serum inhibin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Moreover, no relationship between serum inhibin and either FSH or androgen levels has been noted. This lack of data could be due to 1) the heterogeneity of PCOS and the small sample size of previous studies, and/or 2) the complexity of circulating inhibin molecular forms, which hinders the precise evaluation of bioactive inhibin. In the present study, alpha-inhibin levels were assayed in the serum of 61 healthy women and 72 PCOS patients by means of an alpha-alpha enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum alpha-inhibin levels together with LH and androstenedione (A) levels were significantly increased in PCOS women (mean +/- SD, 1.45 +/- 0.55 vs. 0.94 +/- 0.36 U/mL in controls; P < 0.001). Moreover, simple and partial regression analysis demonstrated that serum A levels were positively and independently correlated to serum alpha-inhibin (r = 0.32; P < 0.01) and LH levels (r = 0.48; P < 0.001) in PCOS. The respective influences of alpha-inhibin and LH on A variability were 20% and 80%, as determined by multiple regression analysis. In conclusion, in agreement with recent in vitro data, our in vivo results argue for a role of inhibin in the hyperandrogenism of PCOS together with, but independently from, that of LH. Further studies are needed to determine whether this effect is produced by inhibin A and/or B.

Identification of rat alpha-albumin and cDNA cloning of its human ortholog.

A rat alpha-albumin mRNA encodes an 80-kDa plasma protein (approx. 20 micrograms/ml in adult rat serum). Its 2-kb human ortholog displays extensive ligand-binding core sequence homology, but striking divergence in the C-terminal domain.

A mouse DNA sequence that mediates integration and excision of polyoma virus DNA.

In mouse cells transformed by a temperature-sensitive polyoma virus (Py) genome, the integrated viral genome recombines with adjacent chromosomal DNA to yield a small cyclic molecule (RmI) with defined viral and cellular components. We have cloned the cellular component (Ins), determined its sequence, and examined its distribution in normal mouse DNA. The sequence of Ins displays several homologies with that surrounding the replication origin (ori) of Py or SV40 DNA.

Testing local dependence of spatial structures on images

Associations between two spatial processes can be due to a real dependence between the two processes or to the dependence on common underlying variables. We propose to test the existence of a real dependence by use of local tests, leading to a global test of real dependence and a map of local interactions. We present first how classical interaction tests based on random rotations between completely observed processes such as those developed by Berman (Berman. Appl. Statist. (1986) 35, 54-62), can be integrated in local analyses. For this purpose, tests are first performed locally, and the distribution of their p-values is then compared to the corresponding value under the null hypothesis. A similar approach is proposed to test non-stationarity of a point pattern by using distance statistics popularized by Diggle (Diggle. Statistical Analysis of Spatial Point Patterns. (1983) Academic Press, New York). The problem of testing the interaction between a random field and a censoring area pattern process is discussed and an approach similar to the preceding ones is then proposed. The methods are mainly applied to agricultural examples but they can be applied to any microscopical images for which one wishes to analyse the spatial structure.

Assay of tissue free cystine: application to the diagnosis of cystinosis.

A fast method for the determination of tissue free cystine is shown. Its usefulness for free cystine assays in leucocytes and muscle biopsies is discussed. The use of muscle biopsy as a means of diagnosis is proposed.

The importance of 99Tcm-DMSA renal scintigraphy in the follow-up of acute pyelonephritis in children: comparison with urographic data.

At present, 99Tcm-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scintigraphy is the most sensitive examination for the detection of parenchymal damage during acute pyelonephritis (APN) in children. This prospective study had three aims: (1) to evaluate the medium-term evolution of the scintigraphic abnormalities, to find a prognostic criterion of scintigraphic evolution; (2) to assess the correlation between the severity of early or late scintigraphic damage and selected clinical factors; and (3) to compare the permanent scintigraphic renal scars with intravenous urography (IVU) 2 years after the acute infection. Seventy-four children (mean age 32 months), presenting with a first clinical episode of pyelonephritis and an initial scintigraphic abnormality, were included in the study. Patients with a history of urinary tract infection (UTI), uropathy other than vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) and a relapse of acute pyelonephritis were excluded. All children underwent control scintigraphy (mean 9 months after APN) and 43 had an IVU (mean 26 months after APN). Fifty-seven children (77%) still have scintigraphic abnormalities of varying severity (7 atrophic kidneys). Initial relative DMSA uptake of less than 45% results in a worse scintigraphic prognosis. The age of the child has no bearing on the severity of the initial renal involvement or on the evolution of the scintigraphic abnormalities. The rapid introduction of antibiotics (< 12 h) significantly improves the scintigraphic prognosis (P < 0.01). The presence of reflux (n = 39) leads to more serious initial damage, but we did not find any effect on later evolution in this study, in which all reflux was low grade in nature. Among the 43 children who had an IVU, 5 showed typical urographic and scintigraphic renal scars in the corresponding region and 38 showed a normal IVU with 28 cases of scintigraphic abnormalities. A DMSA scan is more sensitive than IVU for the detection of renal scarring after a first episode of APN.

Food systems and the changing patterns of foodborne zoonoses.

This paper discusses food-borne zoonotic diseases by considering contemporary influences on food safety and examining pathogens at the human/animal interface. The authors also discuss the epidemiological surveillance of food-borne illnesses and the differences in disease statistics from one country to another. Before concluding with a number of recommendations, the paper highlights the importance of a collaborative approach to the prevention and control of food-borne diseases and discusses the need to co-ordinate the efforts of international agencies working in human health, animal health and food production. A regional case study is also included, in which the authors describe the food-borne disease situation in Latin America, as reported by surveillance systems in this region.

Radioactivity in zirconium oxide powders used in industrial applications.

Recent work involving the decommissioning of a former ceramic manufacturing facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for activities involving depleted uranium oxide has uncovered the presence of unexpected high levels of natural radioactivity in non-licensed zirconium oxide powders also used in the same facility. A comparison between the levels of source material found in samples of this material and the current regulatory guidance for licensed activities and decommissioning has been conducted. It has been determined that the radioactivity in the zirconium oxide is of a high enough magnitude to raise health physics concerns in the areas of licensing and regulatory compliance, decontamination criteria, and worker health and safety. An examination of these areas has been conducted and the implications associated with our findings are presented.

Fracture of the occipital condyle.

We report the case of a patient with occipital condyle fracture who was neurologically intact. The patient was treated conservatively with a neck collar, and the symptoms resolved in 3 months. This diagnosis can be suspected in high-velocity road traffic accidents, in a patient with neck pain, disproportionate torticollis, or lower cranial nerve symptoms. Skull radiography and cervical spine films can be normal. The diagnosis is best made by high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) scanning with sagittal and coronal reconstruction.

Salmonella spondylitis.

We report a case of salmonella spondylitis in an adolescent without sickle cell disease or any history of salmonella gastroenteritis. The infecting organism (cultured from material aspirated from the bone lesion) was Salmonella enterica serovar Newport. With nonoperative treatment, evolution was favorable.

[Determination of total serum triiodothyronine in hyperthyroidism: comparison of fluorescence polarization and immunoenzymology]. / Dosage de la triiodothyronine sérique totale dans les hyperthyroïdies: comparaison de la polarisation de fluorescence et de l'immunoenzymologie.

We evaluated the performances of the Abbott fluorescence polarization assay (FPIA) utilizing the TDx system for human total triiodothyronine (T3) in hyperthyroidism. We compared the results with an immunoenzymometric assay (IEA) (Enzymum Test T3 Boehringer-Mannheim). Greatest attention was focused on the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism because detection of subclinical hyperthyroidism is important. The repeatability of the Abbott fluorescence polarization assay was satisfying (m = 8.07 +/- 0.37 nmol.l-1, CV = 4.59%). The reproducibility was tested with Abbott control sera: m = 4.58 +/- 0.53 nmol.l-1 and CV = 11.5 per cent for level M; m = 7.95 +/- 0.66 nmol.l-1 and CV = 8.23 per cent for level H; m = 2.38 +/- 0.39 nmol.l-1 and CV = 16.5 for level L. The correlation of results of the Abbott assay with those of the Boehringer assay was good for samples from hyperthyroid patients. Values for hyperthyroid and euthyroid subjects were resolved slightly better with the Abbott FPIA than with Boehringer IEA. The Abbott total T3 fluorescence polarization assay may have an additional role to play in monitoring thyroid function in patients under iodine treatment (amiodarone) to eliminate a secondary hyperthyroïdism.