Elderly People protected against Respiratory Infections by BCG Vaccine

ACTIVATE: Randomized Clinical Trial of BCG Vaccination Against Infection in the ElderlyCell, Aug. 31, 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.051

However, the effect of the vaccine specifically against COVID-19 has not been demonstrated. The BCG vaccine, an old treatment originally developed for tuberculosis, has a broad, stimulating effect on the immune system. This gives it an effective preventive action against various infections — possibly also against COVID-19. It is frequently given to children, but in this double-blind randomized clinical study, a collaboration between Radboud University Medical Center and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens it was shown that elderly people also benefit from it. The results of the study are in Cell.

At Radboudumc, Professor of Expe...

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How to make AI Trustworthy

Self-driving car/Photo credit: Grendelkhan
SELF-DRIVING CAR/PHOTO CREDIT: GRENDELKHAN

New tool might aid the adoption of technologies such as autonomous vehicles. One of the biggest impediments to adoption of new technologies is trust in AI.

Now, a new tool developed by USC Viterbi Engineering researchers generates automatic indicators if data and predictions generated by AI algorithms are trustworthy. Their research paper, “There Is Hope After All: Quantifying Opinion and Trustworthiness in Neural Networks” by Mingxi Cheng, Shahin Nazarian and Paul Bogdan of the USC Cyber Physical Systems Group, was featured in Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence.

Neural networks are a type of artificial intelligence that are modeled after the brain and generate predictions...

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Can a Black Hole Fire up the Cold Heart of the Phoenix Galaxy Cluster?

Artist’s illustration of the structures seen in the observations. (Credit: NAOJ) 

Radio astronomers have detected jets of hot gas blasted out by a black hole in the galaxy at the heart of the Phoenix Galaxy Cluster, located 5.9 billion light-years away in the constellation Phoenix. This is an important result for understanding the coevolution of galaxies, gas, and black holes in galaxy clusters.

Galaxies are not distributed randomly in space. Through mutual gravitational attraction, galaxies gather together to form collections known as clusters. The space between galaxies is not entirely empty. There is very dilute gas throughout a cluster which can be detected by X-ray observations.

If this intra-cluster gas cooled, it would condense under its own gravity to form stars at the ...

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Unique Antibody Profile sets Gluten Sensitivity apart from Celiac disease

Subclass Profile of IgG Antibody Response to Gluten Differentiates Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity from Celiac Disease

Subclass Profile of IgG Antibody Response to Gluten Differentiates Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity from Celiac Disease

A new study of the antibodies produced by people with gluten sensitivity may lead to a better way to detect the condition and treat it.
Until recently, many doctors often dismissed the complaints of people who claimed to be sensitive to foods containing gluten but did not have celiac disease, a well-documented autoimmune disease triggered by exposure to the dietary protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.

That view has changed in the past few years, based partly on studies by Armin Alaedini, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, that have delved into the biological basis for non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

But ...

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