Large-scale clustering measurements with photometric redshifts: comparing the dark matter haloes of X-ray AGN, star-forming and passive galaxies at z ≈ 1

We combine multi-wavelength data in the AEGIS-XD and C-COSMOS surveys to measure the typical dark matter halo mass of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) [L_X(2–10 keV) > 10^42 erg s^− 1] in comparison with far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies detected in the Herschel/PEP survey (PACS Evolutionary Probe; L_IR > 10^11 L_⊙) and quiescent systems at z ≈ 1. We develop a novel method to measure the clustering of extragalactic populations that uses photometric redshift probability distribution functions in addition to any spectroscopy. This is advantageous in that all sources in the sample are used in the clustering analysis, not just the subset with secure spectroscopy. The method works best for large samples. The loss of accuracy because of the lack of spectroscopy is balanced by increasing the number of sources used to measure the clustering. We find that X-ray AGN, far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies and passive systems in the redshift interval 0.6 < z < 1.4 are found in haloes of similar mass, log M_DMH/(M_⊙ h^−1) ≈ 13.0. We argue that this is because the galaxies in all three samples (AGN, star-forming, passive) have similar stellar mass distributions, approximated by the J-band luminosity. Therefore, all galaxies that can potentially host X-ray AGN, because they have stellar masses in the appropriate range, live in dark matter haloes of log M_DMH/(M_⊙ h^−1) ≈ 13.0 independent of their star formation rates. This suggests that the stellar mass of X-ray AGN hosts is driving the observed clustering properties of this population. We also speculate that trends between AGN properties (e.g. luminosity, level of obscuration) and large-scale environment may be related to differences in the stellar mass of the host galaxies.

Acceptability of pandemic A(H1N1) influenza vaccination by Essential Community Workers in 2010 Alicante (Spain), perceived seriousness and sources of information

Objective. Describe acceptability of pandemic A(H1N1) influenza vaccination by Essential Community Workers (ECWs) from Alicante province (Spain) in January 2010. Evaluate the correlation with attitudes, beliefs, professional advice and information broadcasted by media. Method. In this cross-sectional study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 742 ECWs to assess their attitudes towards vaccination against the pandemic influenza strain. A multivariable regression model was made to adjust the Odds Ratios (ORs). Results. Some ECWs reported having been vaccinated with seasonal vaccine, 21.5% (95%IC 18.6–24.9); only 15.4% (95%IC 12.8–18.4) with the pandemic one. ECWs vaccinated regularly against seasonal flu (OR 5.1; 95%IC 2.9–9.1), those who considered pandemic influenza as a severe or more serious disease than seasonal flu (OR 3.8; 95%IC 2.1–6.7) and those who never had doubts about vaccine safety (OR 3.7; 95%IC2.1–6.7) had a better acceptance of pandemic vaccine. Finally, 78.7% (95%IC 75.1–81.4) had doubts about pandemic vaccine's effectiveness. Conclusion. The vast amount of information provided by the media did not seem to be decisive to prevent doubts or to improve the acceptability of the vaccine in ECWs. Professional advice should be the focus of interest in future influenza vaccination campaigns. These results should be taken into account by health authorities.

Knowledge and attitudes of Spanish adolescent girls towards human papillomavirus infection: where to intervene to improve vaccination coverage

Background: HPV vaccine coverage is far from ideal in Valencia, Spain, and this could be partially related to the low knowledge about the disease and the vaccine, therefore we assessed these, as well as the attitude towards vaccination in adolescent girls, and tried to identify independently associated factors that could potentially be modified by an intervention in order to increase vaccine coverage. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a random selection of schools of the Spanish region of Valencia. We asked mothers of 1278 girls, who should have been vaccinated in the 2011 campaign, for informed consent. Those that accepted their daughters’ participation, a questionnaire regarding the Knowledge of HPV infection and vaccine was passed to the girls in the school. Results: 833 mothers (65.1%) accepted participation. All their daughters’ responded the questionnaire. Of those, 89.9% had heard about HPV and they associated it to cervical cancer. Only 14% related it to other problems like genital warts. The knowledge score of the girls who had heard about HPV was 6.1/10. Knowledge was unrelated to the number of contacts with the health system (Pediatrician or nurse), and positively correlated with the discussions with classmates about the vaccine. Adolescents Spanish in origin or with an older sister vaccinated, had higher punctuation. 67% of the girls thought that the vaccine prevented cancer, and 22.6% felt that although prevented cancer the vaccine had important safety problems. 6.4% of the girls rejected the vaccine for safety problems or for not considering themselves at risk of infection. 71.5% of the girls had received at least one vaccine dose. Vaccinated girls scored higher knowledge (p = 0.05). Conclusion: Knowledge about HPV infection and vaccine was fair in adolescents of Valencia, and is independent to the number of contacts with the health system, it is however correlated to the conversations about the vaccine with their peers and the vaccination status. An action to improve HPV knowledge through health providers might increase vaccine coverage in the adolescents.

Effectiveness of influenza vaccination programme in preventing hospital admissions, Valencia, 2014/15 early results

Preliminary results for the 2014/15 season indicate low to null effect of vaccination against influenza A(H3N2)-related disease. As of week 5 2015, there have been 1,136 hospital admissions, 210 were due to influenza and 98% of subtype A strains were H3. Adjusted influenza vaccine effectiveness was 33% (range: 6–53%) overall and 40% (range: 13% to 59%) in those 65 years and older. Vaccination reduced by 44% (28–68%) the probability of admission with influenza.

A public-professional web-bridge for vaccines and vaccination: User concerns about vaccine safety

Vacunas.org (http://www.vacunas.org), a website founded by the Spanish Association of Vaccinology offers a personalized service called Ask the Expert, which answers any questions posed by the public or health professionals about vaccines and vaccination. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors associated with questions on vaccination safety and determine the characteristics of questioners and the type of question asked during the period 2008–2010. A total of 1341 questions were finally included in the analysis. Of those, 30% were related to vaccine safety. Questions about pregnant women had 5.01 higher odds of asking about safety (95% CI 2.82–8.93) than people not belonging to any risk group. Older questioners (>50 years) were less likely to ask about vaccine safety compared to younger questioners (OR: 0.44, 95% CI 0.25–0.76). Questions made after vaccination or related to influenza (including H1N1) or travel vaccines were also associated with a higher likelihood of asking about vaccine safety. These results identify risk groups (pregnant women), population groups (older people) and some vaccines (travel and influenza vaccines, including H1N1) where greater efforts to provide improved, more-tailored vaccine information in general and on the Internet are required.

Evaluation of semi-passive treatment technologies for septic lagoon capacity expansion

In Canada, increases in rural development has led to a growing need to effectively manage the resulting municipal and city sewage without the addition of significant cost- and energy- expending infrastructure. Storring Septic Service Limited is a family-owned, licensed wastewater treatment facility located in eastern Ontario. It makes use of a passive waste stabilization pond system to treat and dispose of waste and wastewater in an environmentally responsible manner. Storring Septic, like many other similar small-scale wastewater treatment facilities across Canada, has the potential to act as a sustainable eco-engineered facility that municipalities and service providers could utilize to manage and dispose of their wastewater. However, it is of concern that the substantial inclusion of third party material could be detrimental to the stability and robustness of the pond system. In order to augment the capacity of the current facility, and ensure it remains a self-sustaining system with the capacity to safely accept septage from other sewage haulers, it was hypothesized that pond effluent treatment could be further enhanced through the incorporation of one of three different technology solutions, which would allow the reduction of wastewater quality parameters below existing regulatory effluent discharge limits put in place by Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). Two of these solutions make use of biofilm technologies in order to enhance the removal of wastewater parameters of interest, and the third utilizes the natural water filtration capabilities of zebra mussels. Pilot-scale testing investigated the effects of each of these technologies on treatment performance under both cold and warm weather operation. This research aimed to understand the important mechanisms behind biological filtration methods in order to choose and optimize the best treatment strategy for full-scale testing and implementation. In doing so, a recommendation matrix was elaborated provided with the potential to be used as a universal operational strategy for wastewater treatment facilities located in environments of similar climate and ecology.

The EU cannot remain a passive observer of the Karabakh conflict. EPC Commentary, 7 April 2016

When Federica Mogherini visited the South Caucasus in March, she was quoted as saying that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was a top priority for the EU. Facts, however, do not seem to match the words of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As violent clashes in the conflict zone unfolded over the past week, the EU was a passive observer, with few visible signs of engagement apart from a cursory phone call urging Armenia and Azerbaijan to show restraint. The escalation has shown how quickly and dangerously the situation can develop, and the unassailable nature of the Line of Contact (LoC). If the diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict show no progress, a repetition is very probable. Furthermore, it is likely the next incident will be more devastating in human and material costs than this recent one, and may not be contained so quickly. The EU needs to be part of the renewed diplomatic effort.

Approaches for the vaccination and treatment of Neospora caninum infections in mice and ruminant models.

Neospora caninum is a leading cause of abortion in cattle, and is thus an important veterinary health problem of high economic significance. Vaccination has been considered a viable strategy to prevent bovine neosporosis. Different approaches have been investigated, and to date the most promising results have been achieved with live-attenuated vaccines. Subunit vaccines have also been studied, and most of them represented components that are functionally involved in (i) the physical interaction between the parasite and its host cell during invasion or (ii) tachyzoite-to-bradyzoite stage conversion. Drugs have been considered as an option to limit the effects of vertical transmission of N. caninum. Promising results with a small panel of compounds in small laboratory animal models indicate the potential value of a chemotherapeutical approach for the prevention of neosporosis in ruminants. For both, vaccines and drugs, the key for success in preventing vertical transmission lies in the application of bioactive compounds that limit parasite proliferation and dissemination, without endangering the developing fetus not only during an exogenous acute infection but also during recrudescence of a chronic infection. In this review, the current status of vaccine and drug development is presented and novel strategies against neosporosis are discussed.

Impfungen bei Immunsupprimierten. Mit Fokus auf HIV-positive Personen, Personen mit einer hämatologischen Stammzelltransplantation oder Organtransplantation und Personen mit funktionaler oder anatomischer Splenektomie

Personen mit einer HIV-Infektion, nach einer Organ- oder einer hämatologischen Stammzelltransplantation oder mit einer funktionalen oder anatomischen Asplenie sind gegenüber Infektionen anfälliger. Sie haben eine grössere Komplikationsrate und ein höheres Risiko für einen chronifizierten Verlauf. Impfungen wären eine ideale primäre Präventionsmassnahme, sind aber – durch dieselben Mechanismen des Immundefektes der zu schwereren Krankheitsverläufen führt – in ihrer Wirksamkeit vermindert. Die Impfungen sollen daher, wenn immer möglich, vor Beginn der Immunsuppression oder später zum Zeitpunkt der minimalsten Immunsuppression, durchgeführt werden. Trotzdem bleibt der Benefit von Impfungen bei immunsupprimierten Personen unbestritten, sofern die Indikationsstellung bezüglich Zeitpunkt und Dosierung (Dosismenge und -anzahl), die zu einem maximalen Ansprechen führt, beachtet wird. Lebendimpfungen sind wegen der Gefahr der unkontrollierten Vermehrung der Impfviren bei schwerer Immunsuppression kontraindiziert. Die Serologie soll unspezifischer gemessen werden, da schwer immunsupprimierte Personen im Falle einer relevanten Exposition durch passive Immunisierung mittels spezifischer oder unspezifischer intravenöser Immunglobuline geschützt werden können.

Post-H1N1 Flu Vaccination Narcolepsy in Switzerland: A Retrospective Survey in the 30 Sleep-Certified Swiss Centers

Narcolepsy-cataplexy is a sleep-wake disorder and suggested to be immune-mediated, involving genetic and environmental factors. The autoimmune process eventually leads to a loss of hypocretin neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Epidemiological studies in several countries proved an increased incidence of narcolepsy after H1N1 flu vaccination and infection. This survey in 30 sleep centers in Switzerland led to the identification of 9 H1N1-vaccinated children and adults as newly diagnosed narcolepsy. Clinical features included the abrupt and severe onset of sleepiness, cataplexy and sleep fragmentation.