7,765 research outputs found
On a possible EPR experiment with pairs
A very general local realistic theory of single mesons and of
correlated pairs is formulated. If these pairs are
produced in the decay, the local realistic asymmetry for
observing pairs with like and unlike flavour at different proper times
remarkably differs from the quantum mechanical prediction. Asymmetric
B-factories provide a powerful tool for the study of the EPR problem since the
relative detection experiments are shown to be capable of a time-dependent
measurement precise enough to discriminate between local realism and quantum
theory.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure
Effects of long term application of compost and poultry manure on soil quality of citrus orchards in Southern Italy.
A six-year study was carried out in an organically managed orange orchard located in Sicily (Southern Italy) to assess the effect of compost and organic fertilizers utilisation on soil quality. Adopting a randomized-block experimental design with three replicates, four treatments were carried out. In treatments 1 and 2, two different composts (C1 from distillery by products and C2 from livestock wastes) were applied. The plots of treatment 3 were fertilized using dried poultry manure. The control treatment was fertilized with mineral/synthetic fertilizers. In order to verify the hypothesis that composts and organic fertilizers improve soil fertility, soil quality was evaluated by selecting dynamic soil parameters, as indicators linked to C and N cycles. Total organic C, total N, C/N ratio, humified fraction, isoelectric focusing (IEF) of extracted organic matter, microbial biomass C, potentially mineralisable N under anaerobic conditions, potenzially mineralizable C, C mineralization quotient and metabolic quotient were determined for each sample. Furthermore, the Comunity level Physiological Profile (by Biolog tecnique) was defined, calculating derived functional biodiversity and versatility indexes. Parameters related to IEF and potentially mineralizable C showed significant differences among the treatments. Moreover, total C, total N and humification parameters tended to increase, while no differences were observed in biodiversity indexes. On these findings, it was concluded that composts and poultry manure only weakly affected soil properties, though they increased soil nutritive elements potentially available to crops
Cognitive behavioral group therapy versus psychoeducational intervention in Parkinson's disease
Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate whether cognitive behavioral group therapy has a positive impact on psychiatric, and motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Methods: We assigned 20 PD patients with a diagnosis of psychiatric disorder to either a 12-week cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group or a psychoeducational protocol. For the neurological examination, we administered the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and
the non-motor symptoms scale. The severity of psychiatric symptoms was assessed by means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions. Results: Cognitive behavioral group therapy was effective in treating depression and anxiety symptoms as well as reducing the severity of non-motor symptoms in PD patients; whereas, no changes were observed in PD patients treated with the psychoeducational protocol. Conclusion: CBT offered in a group format should be considered in addition to standard drug therapy in PD patient
EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB: the high-brightness RF photo-injector layout proposal
At EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB, the unique combination of an advanced high-brightness
RF injector and a plasma-based accelerator will drive a new multi-disciplinary
user-facility. The facility, that is currently under study at INFN-LNF
Laboratories (Frascati, Italy) in synergy with the EuPRAXIA collaboration, will
operate the plasma-based accelerator in the external injection configuration.
Since in this configuration the stability and reproducibility of the
acceleration process in the plasma stage is strongly influenced by the
RF-generated electron beam, the main challenge for the RF injector design is
related to generating and handling high quality electron beams. In the last
decades of R&D activity, the crucial role of high-brightness RF photo-injectors
in the fields of radiation generation and advanced acceleration schemes has
been largely established, making them effective candidates to drive
plasma-based accelerators as pilots for user facilities. An RF injector
consisting in a high-brightness S-band photo-injector followed by an advanced
X-band linac has been proposed for the EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB project. The electron
beam dynamics in the photo-injector has been explored by means of simulations,
resulting in high-brightness, ultra-short bunches with up to 3 kA peak current
at the entrance of the advanced X-band linac booster. The EuPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB
high-brightness photo-injector is described here together with performance
optimisation and sensitivity studies aiming to actual check the robustness and
reliability of the desired working point.Comment: 5 pages,5 figures, EAAC201
Frontiers of beam diagnostics in plasma accelerators: measuring the ultra-fast and ultra-cold
Advanced diagnostics are essential tools in the development of plasma-based accelerators. The accurate measurement of the quality of beams at the exit of the plasma channel is crucial to optimize the parameters of the plasma accelerator. 6D electron beam diagnostics will be reviewed with emphasis on emittance measurement, which is particularly complex due to large energy spread and divergence of the emerging beams, and on femtosecond bunch length measurements
Involvement of pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's contracture: a novel target for a possible future therapeutic strategy?
Dupuytren's contracture (DC) is a benign fibro-proliferative disease of the hand causing fibrotic nodules and fascial cords which determine debilitating contracture and deformities of fingers and hands. The present study was designed to characterize pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors involved in the pathogenesis, progression and recurrence of this disease, in order to find novel targets for alternative therapies and strategies in controlling DC. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and of growth factors was detected by immunohistochemistry in fibrotic nodules and normal palmar fascia resected respectively from patients affected by DC and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS; as negative controls). Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR analysis and immunofluorescence were performed to quantify the expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, interleukin (IL)-1β and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by primary cultures of myofibroblasts and fibroblasts isolated from Dupuytren's nodules. Histological analysis showed high cellularity and high proliferation rate in Dupuytren's tissue, together with the presence of myofibroblastic isotypes; immunohistochemical staining for macrophages was completely negative. In addition, a strong expression of TGF-β1, IL-1β and VEGF was evident in the extracellular matrix and in the cytoplasm of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in Dupuytren's nodular tissues, as compared with control tissues. These results were confirmed by RT-PCR and by immunofluorescence in pathological and normal primary cell cultures. These preliminary observations suggest that TGF-β1, IL-1β and VEGF may be considered potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of Dupuytren's disease (DD)
Gene variants with suicidal risk in a sample of subjects with chronic migraine and affective temperamental dysregulation
BACKGROUND: Risk factors for suicide are at least partially heritable and functional polymorphisms of targeted genes have been suggested to be implicated in the pathogenesis of this phenomenon. However, other studies examining the association between specific gene variants and suicide revealed inconsistent findings. We aims to evaluate the possible association between MAO-A3, CYP1A2*1F and GNB3 gene variants, hopelessness and suicidal risk in a sample of subjects with chronic migraine and affective temperamental dysregulation. METHODS: 56 women were genotyped for MAO-A3, CYP1A2*1F and GNB3 gene variants. Participants were also assessed using Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A), and the Suicidal History Self-Rating Screening Scale (SHSS). RESULTS: Patients with higher total scores on affective dysregulated temperaments are more likely to have higher BHS (11.27 +/- 5.54 vs. 5.73 +/- 3.81; t19.20 = -3.57; p = 9 indicating high levels of hopelessness. No association was found between MAO-A3, CYP1A2*1F and GNB3 gene variants and suicidal risk as assessed by BHS and SHSS. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not sustain the association between MAO-A3, CYP1A2*1F and GNB3 gene variants and increased suicidal risk in patients with chronic migraine and affective temperamental dysregulation. Further studies investigating the gene-environment interaction or focusing on other genetic risk factors involved in suicidal behaviour are needed
Two Algorithms for Orthogonal Nonnegative Matrix Factorization with Application to Clustering
Approximate matrix factorization techniques with both nonnegativity and
orthogonality constraints, referred to as orthogonal nonnegative matrix
factorization (ONMF), have been recently introduced and shown to work
remarkably well for clustering tasks such as document classification. In this
paper, we introduce two new methods to solve ONMF. First, we show athematical
equivalence between ONMF and a weighted variant of spherical k-means, from
which we derive our first method, a simple EM-like algorithm. This also allows
us to determine when ONMF should be preferred to k-means and spherical k-means.
Our second method is based on an augmented Lagrangian approach. Standard ONMF
algorithms typically enforce nonnegativity for their iterates while trying to
achieve orthogonality at the limit (e.g., using a proper penalization term or a
suitably chosen search direction). Our method works the opposite way:
orthogonality is strictly imposed at each step while nonnegativity is
asymptotically obtained, using a quadratic penalty. Finally, we show that the
two proposed approaches compare favorably with standard ONMF algorithms on
synthetic, text and image data sets.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. New numerical experiments (document and
synthetic data sets
EUPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB: Beam Dynamics studies for the X-band Linac
In the framework of the Eupraxia Design Study an advanced accelerator
facility EUPRAXIA@SPARC_LAB has been proposed to be realized at Frascati
(Italy) Laboratories of INFN. Two advanced acceleration schemes will be
applied, namely an ultimate high gradient 1 GeV X-band linac together with a
plasma acceleration stage to provide accelerating gradients of the GeV/m order.
A FEL scheme is foreseen to produce X-ray beams within 3-10 nm range. A 500-TW
Laser system is also foreseen for electron and ion production experiments and a
Compton backscattering Interaction is planned together with extraction
beamlines at intermediate electron beam energy for neutron beams and THz
radiation production. The electron beam dynamics studies in the linac are here
presented together with the preliminary machine layout.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, NIM-A proceedings of EAAC201
Assembly and functional analysis of an S/MAR based episome with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene
Improving the efficacy of gene therapy vectors is still an important goal toward the development of safe and efficient gene therapy treatments. S/MAR (scaffold/matrix attached region)-based vectors are maintained extra-chromosomally in numerous cell types, which is similar to viral-based vectors. Additionally, when established as an episome, they show a very high mitotic stability. In the present study we tested the idea that addition of an S/MAR element to a CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) expression vector, may allow the establishment of a CFTR episome in bronchial epithelial cells. Starting from the observation that the S/MAR vector pEPI-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein) is maintained as an episome in human bronchial epithelial cells, we assembled the CFTR vector pBQ-S/MAR. This vector, transfected in bronchial epithelial cells with mutated CFTR, supported long term wt CFTR expression and activity, which in turn positively impacted on the assembly of tight junctions in polarized epithelial cells. Additionally, the recovery of intact pBQ-S/MAR, but not the parental vector lacking the S/MAR element, from transfected cells after extensive proliferation, strongly suggested that pBQ-S/MAR was established as an episome. These results add a new element, the S/MAR, that can be considered to improve the persistence and safety of gene therapy vectors for cystic fibrosis pulmonary disease
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