P 06.21: Extra cardiac malformations associated with hypoplastic left and right ventricle

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108595/1/uog14115.pd

P 09.10: Prevalence of aneuploidy and invasive prenatal diagnosis in pregnancies complicated by hypoplastic left and right ventricle

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108588/1/uog14164.pd

Intravitreal injection of Ozurdex(®) implant in patients with persistent diabetic macular edema, with six-month follow-up

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal dexamethasone injections in diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: A 700 μg slow-release intravitreal dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex®) was placed in the vitreal cavity of 17 patients (19 eyes) affected with persistent DME. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed through Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS). Central macular thickness (CMT) was measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. BCVA and CMT examinations were carried out at baseline (T0) and repeated after three days, one month (T1), three months (T3), four months (T4), and six months (T6) post injection. RESULTS: Dexamethasone implant induced an improvement in ETDRS at T1, T3, T4, and T6 post injection. CMT was reduced at T1, T3, and T4, while at T6, CMT values were not statistically different from baseline. No complications were observed during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that dexamethasone implant is effective in reducing DME symptoms within a six-month frame

The phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor sildenafil decreases the proinflammatory chemokine IL-8 in diabetic cardiomyopathy: in vivo and in vitro evidence

Purpose: Interleukin (IL)-8 is a proinflammatory C-X-C chemokine involved in inflammation underling cardiac diseases, primary or in comorbid condition, such diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). The phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor sildenafil can ameliorate cardiac conditions by counteracting inflammation. The study aim is to evaluate the effect of sildenafil on serum IL-8 in DCM subjects vs. placebo, and on IL-8 release in human endothelial cells (Hfaec) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) under inflammatory stimuli. Methods: IL-8 was quantified: in sera of (30) DCM subjects before (baseline) and after sildenafil (100 mg/day, 3-months) vs. (16) placebo and (15) healthy subjects, by multiplatform array; in supernatants from inflammation-challenged cells after sildenafil (1 µM), by ELISA. Results: Baseline IL-8 was higher in DCM vs. healthy subjects (149.14 ± 46.89 vs. 16.17 ± 5.38 pg/ml, p < 0.01). Sildenafil, not placebo, significantly reduced serum IL-8 (23.7 ± 5.9 pg/ml, p < 0.05 vs. baseline). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for IL-8 was 0.945 (95% confidence interval of 0.772 to 1.0, p < 0.01), showing good capacity of discriminating the response in terms of drug-induced IL-8 decrease (sensitivity of 0.93, specificity of 0.90). Sildenafil significantly decreased IL-8 protein release by inflammation-induced Hfaec and PBMC and downregulated IL-8 mRNA in PBMC, without affecting cell number or PDE5 expression. Conclusion: Sildenafil might be suggested as potential novel pharmacological tool to control DCM progression through IL-8 targeting at systemic and cellular level

Equivalence among different formalisms in the Tsallis entropy framework

In a recent paper [Phys. Lett. A {\bf335}, 351 (2005)] the authors discussed the equivalence among the various probability distribution functions of a system in equilibrium in the Tsallis entropy framework. In the present letter we extend these results to a system which is out of equilibrium and evolves to a stationary state according to a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation. By means of time-scale conversion, it is shown that there exists a ``correspondence'' among the self-similar solutions of the nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations associated with the different Tsallis formalisms. The time-scale conversion is related to the corresponding Lyapunov functions of the respective nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, Elsart macro style, version accepted on Physica

Nonextensive Statistics and Multiplicity Distribution in Hadronic Collisions

The multiplicity distribution of particles in relativistic gases is studied in terms of Tsallis' nonextensive statistics. For an entropic index q>1 the multiplicity distribution is wider than the Poisson distribution with the same average number of particles, being similar to the negative binomial distribution commonly used in phenomenological analysis of hadron production in high-energy collisions

Logarithmic diffusion and porous media equations: a unified description

In this work we present the logarithmic diffusion equation as a limit case when the index that characterizes a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation, in its diffusive term, goes to zero. A linear drift and a source term are considered in this equation. Its solution has a lorentzian form, consequently this equation characterizes a super diffusion like a L\'evy kind. In addition is obtained an equation that unifies the porous media and the logarithmic diffusion equations, including a generalized diffusion equation in fractal dimension. This unification is performed in the nonextensive thermostatistics context and increases the possibilities about the description of anomalous diffusive processes.Comment: 5 pages. To appear in Phys. Rev.

πNN\pi NN coupling determined beyond the chiral limit

Within the conventional QCD sum rules, we calculate the $\pi NN$ coupling constant, $g_{\pi N}$, beyond the chiral limit using two-point correlation function with a pion. We consider the Dirac structure, $i\gamma_5$, at $m_\pi^2$ order, which has clear dependence on the PS and PV coupling schemes for the pion-nucleon interactions. For a consistent treatment of the sum rule, we include the linear terms in quark mass as they constitute the same chiral order as $m_\pi^2$. Using the PS coupling scheme for the pion-nucleon interaction, we obtain $g_{\pi N}=13.3\pm 1.2$, which is very close to the empirical $\pi NN$ coupling. This demonstrates that going beyond the chiral limit is crucial in determining the coupling and the pseudoscalar coupling scheme is preferable from the QCD point of view.Comment: 8 pages, revtex, some errors are corrected, substantially revise