Health Monitoring of Laboratory Animals in Breeding and Experimental Units

Η πρόοδος των βιοϊατρικών επιστημών, τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες, οδήγησε στην αλματώδη αύξηση του αριθμού των ζώων που χρησιμοποιούνται σε πειραματισμούς. Παράλληλα, διαπιστώθηκε η ανάγκη, τα ζώα που χρησιμοποιούνται στην έρευνα να έχουν συγκεκριμένο επίπεδο υγείας και καθορισμένο γενετικό δυναμικό. Μόνο υγιή ζώα θα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιούνται σε πειραματισμούς. Η καλή υγεία των ζώων που πρόκειται να χρησιμοποιηθούν σε έναν πειραματισμό, καθώς και η διατήρηση της σε ολόκληρη τη διάρκεια του πειραματισμού (πριν- κατά τη διάρκεια- και στο τέλος) έχει ιδιαίτερη σημασία. Οι λοιμώξεις των Ζώων Εργαστηρίου (Ζ.Ε) κλινικές ή υποκλινικές είναι δυνατό να επηρεάσουν τα πειραματικά δεδομένα, καθώς και ολόκληρη την εξέλιξη ενός πειραματισμού. Ανάλογα με το είδος του εξωγενούς ή του μικροβιακού παράγοντα μπορεί να επηρεαστεί ένα μεγάλο εΰρος βιοχημικών παραμέτρων, καθώς επίσης η συμπεριφορά, η ταχύτητα ανάπτυξης, το σχετικό βάρος οργάνων, η ανοσολογική αντίδραση του οργανισμού κ.λ.π. Επίσης, ζώα με λανθάνουσες ή οξείες λοιμώξεις μπορεί να δώσουν μολυσμένα βιολογικά υλικά, όπως κυτταροκαλλιέργειες, ιστοκαλλιέργειες κ.λπ., ενώ πολλές από αυτές τις λοιμώξεις είναι και ανθρωποζωονόσοί. Στην περίπτωση αυτή, ο κίνδυνος για την υγεία του προσωπικού που ασχολείται με τα Ζ.Ε. είναι σημαντικός και για το λόγο αυτό θα πρέπει να ελέγχεται το επίπεδο υγείας των ζώων που χρησιμοποιούνται στο εργαστήριο για ερευνητικούς ή άλλους επιστημονικούς σκοπους. Έτσι, διαφυλάσσεται όχι μόνο η αξιοπιστία του πειραματικού αποτελέσματος, αλλά και η υγεία των ατόμων που έρχονται σε επαφή με τα ζώα αυτά. Εδώ και δεκαετίες, στα διάφορα Ευρωπαϊκά κράτη, αλλά και στις Η.Π.Α, τον Καναδά και την Ιαπωνία, εφαρμόζονται έλεγχοι του επιπέδου υγείας των ζώων που διαβιώνουν σε εκτροφές Ζ.Ε.Το 1994 και στη συνέχεια το 2002, η FELASA (Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations) εξέδωσε κατευθυντήριες οδηγίες σχετικά με τον έλεγχο του επιπέδου υγείας των Ζ.Ε που φιλοξενούνται σε εκτροφές αναπαραγωγής ή πειραματισμού. Στο κείμενο προτείνονται οι ιοί, τα βακτήρια και τα παράσιτα για τα οποία τα ζώα κάθε εκτροφής θα πρέπει να ελέγχονται και να διατηρούνται απαλλαγμένα από αυτά. Ακόμη, περιλαμβάνεται και το προτεινόμενο από τη FELASA σχήμα ελέγχου του επιπέδου υγείας των παραπάνω εκτροφών και δίνονται συστάσεις που αφορούν στο μέγεθος και την ομοιομορφία του δείγματος, τη συχνότητα ελέγχου και τη μέθοδο ελέγχου. Με την έκδοση των οδηγιών η FELASA στοχεύει στην εναρμόνιση παρόμοιων ελέγχων, τουλάχιστον μεταξύ των ευρωπαϊκών χωρών ώστε να διασφαλίζεται, μέσω συγκεκριμένων και καθιερωμένων ειδικών εργαστηριακών εξετάσεων, η χρησιμοποίηση στους πειραματισμούς ζώων υγιών, που δεν φέρουν παθογόνους ή άλλους παράγοντες, οι οποίοι θα μπορούσαν να επηρεάσουν το αποτέλεσμα. Επιπλέον, υπογραμμίζεται η ανάγκη υποστήριξης τέτοιων προγραμμάτων από διαπιστευμένα και εξειδικευμένα στην Επιστήμη των Ζ.Ε. μικροβιολογικά εργαστήρια.The last decades the number of laboratory animals used in experiments was dramatically increased due to biomedical research development, while new needs were revealed. The animals used in experiments should be genetically defined and should have a certain health status. Only healthy animals should be used in experiments. The good health of the lab animals that are goingto be used in experiments and the maintenance of this good health during the whole period (before- during- in the end) of experimentation is of crucial importance. On the other hand, the good health of all animals (and of course lab animals) is always at a risk due to a variety of infections. These infections (clinical or subclinical) can influence the outcome of the experiment. Moreover, clinical disease may not be observed until the animal is stressed (e.g the experiment itself or other endogenous or exogenous factors). Depending upon the exogenous factor or the infectious agent a variety of biological parameters maybe influenced. Microbial infections may also lead to biological material contamination such as: tissue cultures, cell-lines, biological products(sera), while many of these infectious agents are zoonotic. In this case, the risk for the personnel (scientists, animal caretakers, technicians) is great. Not only in most European Countries, but also in the U.S.A., Canada and Japan, Health Monitoring Programs (HMPs) in lab animal facilities are performed. In 1994 and later in 2002 the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) published recommendations for the health monitoring of rodent and rabbit colonies in breeding and experimental units. In these recommendations a list of viruses, bacteria, mycoplasmas, fungi and parasites that lab animal facilities should be monitored for, is presented. Moreover, recommendations for the sampling frequency, the sample size and the diagnostic methodology are also given. By publishing these Recommendations FELASA aims to the harmonization of HMPs at least between the E.U. countries. Moreover, the need for accredited diagnostic laboratories involved in health monitoring is underlined

Pediatric Cushing disease: disparities in disease severity and outcomes in the Hispanic and African-American populations.

BackgroundLittle is known about the contribution of racial and socioeconomic disparities to severity and outcomes in children with Cushing disease (CD).MethodsA total of 129 children with CD, 45 Hispanic/Latino or African-American (HI/AA) and 84 non-Hispanic White (non-HW), were included in this study. A 10-point index for rating severity (CD severity) incorporated the degree of hypercortisolemia, glucose tolerance, hypertension, anthropomorphic measurements, disease duration, and tumor characteristics. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, local obesity prevalence, estimated median income, and access to care were assessed in regression analyses of CD severity.ResultsThe mean CD severity in the HI/AA group was worse than that in the non-HW group (4.9±2.0 vs. 4.1±1.9, P=0.023); driving factors included higher cortisol levels and larger tumor size. Multiple regression models confirmed that race (P=0.027) and older age (P=0.014) were the most important predictors of worse CD severity. When followed up a median of 2.3 years after surgery, the relative risk for persistent CD combined with recurrence was 2.8 times higher in the HI/AA group compared with that in the non-HW group (95% confidence interval: 1.2-6.5).ConclusionOur data show that the driving forces for the discrepancy in severity of CD are older age and race/ethnicity. Importantly, the risk for persistent and recurrent CD was higher in minority children

A falls prevention programme to improve quality of life, physical function and falls efficacy in older people receiving home help services: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Falls and fall-related injuries in older adults are associated with great burdens, both for the individuals, the health care system and the society. Previous research has shown evidence for the efficiency of exercise as falls prevention. An understudied group are older adults receiving home help services, and the effect of a falls prevention programme on health-related quality of life is unclear. The primary aim of this randomised controlled trial is to examine the effect of a falls prevention programme on quality of life, physical function and falls efficacy in older adults receiving home help services. A secondary aim is to explore the mediating factors between falls prevention and health-related quality of life. METHODS: The study is a single-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants are older adults, aged 67 or older, receiving home help services, who are able to walk with or without walking aids, who have experienced at least one fall during the last 12 months and who have a Mini Mental State Examination of 23 or above. The intervention group receives a programme, based on the Otago Exercise Programme, lasting 12 weeks including home visits and motivational telephone calls. The control group receives usual care. The primary outcome is health-related quality of life (SF-36). Secondary outcomes are leg strength, balance, walking speed, walking habits, activities of daily living, nutritional status and falls efficacy. All measurements are performed at baseline, following intervention at 3 months and at 6 months' follow-up. Sample size, based on the primary outcome, is set to 150 participants randomised into the two arms, including an estimated 15-20% drop out. Participants are recruited from six municipalities in Norway. DISCUSSION: This trial will generate new knowledge on the effects of an exercise falls prevention programme among older fallers receiving home help services. This knowledge will be useful for clinicians, for health managers in the primary health care service and for policy makers

Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at \sqrt{s}=7\TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs(\ttbar) in $pp$ collisions at \sqrt{s}=7 \TeV is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in two different topologies: single lepton (electron $e$ or muon $\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least four jets, and dilepton ($ee$, $\mu\mu$ or $e\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. In a data sample of 2.9 pb-1, 37 candidate events are observed in the single-lepton topology and 9 events in the dilepton topology. The corresponding expected backgrounds from non-\ttbar Standard Model processes are estimated using data-driven methods and determined to be $12.2 \pm 3.9$ events and $2.5 \pm 0.6$ events, respectively. The kinematic properties of the selected events are consistent with SM \ttbar production. The inclusive top quark pair production cross-section is measured to be \sigmattbar=145 \pm 31 ^{+42}_{-27} pb where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measurement agrees with perturbative QCD calculations.Comment: 30 pages plus author list (50 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, CERN-PH number and final journal adde

Inclusive search for same-sign dilepton signatures in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

An inclusive search is presented for new physics in events with two isolated leptons (e or mu) having the same electric charge. The data are selected from events collected from p p collisions at root s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb(-1). The spectra in dilepton invariant mass, missing transverse momentum and jet multiplicity are presented and compared to Standard Model predictions. In this event sample, no evidence is found for contributions beyond those of the Standard Model. Limits are set on the cross-section in a fiducial region for new sources of same-sign high-mass dilepton events in the ee, e mu and mu mu channels. Four models predicting same-sign dilepton signals are constrained: two descriptions of Majorana neutrinos, a cascade topology similar to supersymmetry or universal extra dimensions, and fourth generation d-type quarks. Assuming a new physics scale of 1 TeV, Majorana neutrinos produced by an effective operator V with masses below 460 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. A lower limit of 290 GeV is set at 95% confidence level on the mass of fourth generation d-type quarks

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using √s=8 TeV proton-proton collision data

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high-p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s√=8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R-parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011