Real-time predictive seasonal influenza model in Catalonia, Spain

Influenza surveillance is critical to monitoring the situation during epidemic seasons and predictive mathematic models may aid the early detection of epidemic patterns. The objective of this study was to design a real-time spatial predictive model of ILI (Influenza Like Illness) incidence rate in Catalonia using one- and two-week forecasts. The available data sources used to select explanatory variables to include in the model were the statutory reporting disease system and the sentinel surveillance system in Catalonia for influenza incidence rates, the official climate service in Catalonia for meteorological data, laboratory data and Google Flu Trend. Time series for every explanatory variable with data from the last 4 seasons (from 2010-2011 to 2013-2014) was created. A pilot test was conducted during the 2014-2015 season to select the explanatory variables to be included in the model and the type of model to be applied. During the 2015-2016 season a real-time model was applied weekly, obtaining the intensity level and predicted incidence rates with 95% confidence levels one and two weeks away for each health region. At the end of the season, the confidence interval success rate (CISR) and intensity level success rate (ILSR) were analysed. For the 2015-2016 season a CISR of 85.3% at one week and 87.1% at two weeks and an ILSR of 82.9% and 82% were observed, respectively. The model described is a useful tool although it is hard to evaluate due to uncertainty. The accuracy of prediction at one and two weeks was above 80% globally, but was lower during the peak epidemic period. In order to improve the predictive power, new explanatory variables should be included

Mediterranean diet and cancer: epidemiological evidence and mechanism of selected aspects

Background: Populations living in the area of the Mediterranean Sea suffered by decreased incidence of cancer compared with those living in the regions of northern Europe and US countries, attributed to healthier dietary habits. Nowadays, we are assisting to a moving away from the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, but whether this changing is influencing risk of cancers is still unclear. The aim of the study was to review recent evidence on potential relationship between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cancer. Discussion: The most recent pooled analyses of epidemiological studies supported strongly the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet may play a role in preventing several types of cancers, especially those of digestive tract, whereas contrasting results were reported for hormone-dependent cancers. Specific aspects of the Mediterranean diet such as high fruit and vegetables and low red processed meat intake may explain such protective effects. Moreover, evidence regarding olive oil and whole grains increase the beneficial effects of such dietary pattern against cancer. Conclusions: Literature evidence actually demonstrates that the increased adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern is beneficial to health across populations and may translate a protective effect with certain cancers

Mycobacterium tuberculosis multi-drug-resistant strain M induces IL-17+ IFNγ- CD4+ T cell expansion through an IL-23 and TGF-β-dependent mechanism in patients with MDR-TB tuberculosis

We have previously reported that T cells from patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) express high levels of IL-17 in response to the MDR strain M(Haarlem family) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis). Herein, we explore the pathways involved in the induction of h17 cells in MDR-TB patients and healthy tuberculin reactors (PPD+HD) by the M strain and the laboratory strain H37Rv. Our results show that IL-1β and IL-6 are crucial for the H37Rv and M-induced expansion of IL-17+IFNγ¯ and IL-17+IFNγ+ in CD4+ T cells from MDR-TB and PPD+HD. IL-23 plays an ambiguous role in Th1 and Th17 profiles: alone, IL-23 is responsible for M.tuberculosis induced IL-17 and IFNγ expression in CD4+ T cells from PPD+HD whereas, together with TGF-β, it promotes IL-17+IFNγ¯ expansion in MDR-TB. In fact, spontaneous and M.tuberculosis-induced TGF-β secretion is increased in cells from MDR-TB being theM strain the highest inducer. Interestingly, TLR-2 signaling mediates the expansion of IL-17+IFNγ¯ cells and the enhancement of latency-associated protein (LAP) expression in CD14+ and CD4+ T cells from MDR-TB, which suggests that M strain promotes IL-17+IFNγ¯ T cells through a strong TLR-2-dependent TGF-β production by antigenpresenting cells and CD4+ T cells. Finally, CD4+ T cells from MDR-TB patients infected with MDR Haarlem strains show higher IL-17+IFNγ¯ and lower IL-17+IFNγ+ levels than LAM-infected patients. The present findings deepen our understanding on the role of IL-17 in MDR-TB and highlight the influence of the genetic background of the infecting M.tuberculosis strain on the ex vivo Th17 response.Fil: Basile, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Kviatcovsky, Denise. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Romero, María Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Balboa, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Monteserin, Johana. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; ArgentinaFil: Ritacco, Gloria Viviana. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; ArgentinaFil: López, Beatriz. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; ArgentinaFil: Sabio y García, Carmen Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: García, A.. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas “Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz”; ArgentinaFil: Vescovo, M.. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas “Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz”; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Montaner, Pablo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas “Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz”; ArgentinaFil: Palmero, Domingo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas “Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz”; ArgentinaFil: Sasiain, María del Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: de la Barrera, Silvia Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; Argentin

Dinámica espacial y temporal de las ocupaciones prehispánicas en la cuenca hidrográfica del rio Limari (30° Lat. S.).

Este trabajo discute la secuencia de desarrollo histórico prehispánico en el Norte Semiárido de Chile a partir del estudio de las dinámicas espaciales y temporales de las ocupaciones humanas en la cuenca hidrográfica del río Limarí. A partir del estudio de asentamientos, materiales depositados en colecciones y arte rupestre se observa una secuencia de transformaciones y desarrollo desde el Arcaico Temprano hasta el período Incaico que diverge de lo tradicionalmente planteado para la región, reconociéndose ritmos de cambios sociales diferenciales dentro de la misma zona, especialmente en relación con la tradicional asociación entre incorporación de cerámica y la constitución de un modo de vida agrícola. La incorporación del arte rupestre permite articular sus características espaciales y representacionales con procesos más amplios, discutiéndose las relaciones establecidas entre dinámicas y cambios sociales con los flujos de información que producen las representaciones rupestres y sus respectivas audiencias.This paper discusses the pre-Hispanic sequence of historical development in the semiarid north of Chile through the study of spatial and temporal dynamics of human occupation in the Limari valley. Based on the study of settlements, museum collections and rock art, a sequence of transformations and development between the Early Archaic and Inca Period is observed that differs from what is traditionally known of the area. In this time frame, social changes such as the adoption of pottery and the constitution of an agrarian way of life, occur at different paces in both time and space within the same Limari valley. We discuss spatial and representational characteristics of rock art in relation to pre-hispanic social processes, emphasizing the links between audiences, flows of information and the dynamics of social life.Fil: Troncoso, Andrés. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Vergara, Francisco. No especifica;Fil: Pavlovic, Daniel. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: González, Paola. No especifica;Fil: Pino, Mariela. No especifica;Fil: Larach, Pablo. No especifica;Fil: Escudero, Antonia. No especifica;Fil: La Mura, Natalia. No especifica;Fil: Moya, Francisca. No especifica;Fil: Pérez, Isidora. No especifica;Fil: Gutiérrez, Renata. No especifica;Fil: Pascual, Daniel. No especifica;Fil: Belmar, Carolina. No especifica;Fil: Basile, Mara Valeria. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Museo Etnográfico "Juan B. Ambrosetti"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: López, Patricio. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Dávila, Cristian. No especifica;Fil: Vásquez, María José. No especifica;Fil: Urzúa, Paula. No especifica

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure

Measurement of Exclusive rho^0 rho^0 Production in Two-Photon Collisions at High Q^2 at LEP

Exclusive rho rho production in two-photon collisions involving a single highly virtual photon is studied with data collected at LEP at centre-of-mass energies 89GeV < \sqrt{s} < 209GeV with a total integrated luminosity of 854.7pb^-1 The cross section of the process gamma gamma^* -> rho rho is determined as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2 and the two-photon centre-of-mass energy, Wgg, in the kinematic region: 1.2GeV^2 < Q^2 < 30GeV^2 and 1.1GeV < Wgg < 3GeV

Measurement of Hadron and Lepton-Pair Production at 130GeV < \sqrt{s} < 189 GeV at LEP

We report on measurements of e+e- annihilation into hadrons and lepton pairs. The data have been collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 130 and 189 GeV. Using a total integrated luminosity of 243.7 pb^-1, 25864 hadronic and 8573 lepton-pair events are selected for the measurement of cross sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries. The results are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions

Measurement of the Tau Branching Fractions into Leptons

Using data collected with the L3 detector near the Z resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 150pb-1, the branching fractions of the tau lepton into electron and muon are measured to be B(tau->e nu nu) = (17.806 +- 0.104 (stat.) +- 0.076 (syst.)) %, B(tau->mu nu nu) = (17.342 +- 0.110 (stat.) +- 0.067 (syst.)) %. From these results the ratio of the charged current coupling constants of the muon and the electron is determined to be g_mu/g_e = 1.0007 +- 0.0051. Assuming electron-muon universality, the Fermi constant is measured in tau lepton decays as G_F = (1.1616 +- 0.0058) 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}. Furthermore, the coupling constant of the strong interaction at the tau mass scale is obtained as alpha_s(m_tau^2) = 0.322 +- 0.009 (exp.) +- 0.015 (theory)

Higgs Candidates in e+e- Interactions at root(s) = 206.6 GeV

In a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson, carried out on 212.5 pb-1 of data collected by the L3 detector at the highest LEP centre-of-mass energies, including 116.5 pb-1 above root(s) = 206GeV, an excess of candidates for the process e+e- -> Z* -> HZ is found for Higgs masses near 114.5GeV. We present an analysis of our data and the characteristics of our strongest candidates.Comment: Footnote added, matches the version to be published in Physics Letters