Slott-Agape Project

SLOTT-AGAPE (Systematic Lensing Observation at Toppo Telescope - Andromeda Gravitational Amplification Pixel Lensing Experiment) is a new collaboration project among international partners from England, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland that intends to perform microlensing observation by using M31 as target. The MACHOs search is made thanks to the pixel lensing technique.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, proceeding of XLIII Congresso della Societa' Astronomica Italiana, Napoli, 4-8 Maggio, 199

Tantangan Pemberian Bantuan Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat ke Afghanistan Tahun 2021

ABSTRACTNo less than $145 billion USD has been given to Afghanistan to build governance, economy, socialand societ (SIGAR, 2021). A total of$76.6 billion USD has also been provided through the OfficialDevelopment Aid (ODA) scheme from various countries from 2002 to 2019, not counting anotherbillion dollars coming from International Organizations (Hanke, 2021). However, the HumanDevelopment Report (2020) notes that Afghanistan's Human Development Index (HDI) is still atposition 169 out of 189 countries worldwide, which is a poor performance for this country. Thiscountry is also far from prosperous, even SIGAR classifies Afghanistan as a country that isincreasingly dependent on external aid. In 2021, 43% of Afghanistan's GDP will come from foreignaid, 75% of public spending will come from foreign aid, and 90% of the population lives on less than2 dollars a day. By using a descriptive qualitative method, this paper will answer 2 researchquestions, first regarding the failure and success of US foreign aid to Afghanistan in 2021, secondresearch question is how foreign aid will impact development in Afghanistan in 2021.Key words : Afganistan, International aid, sustainable developmen

A Candidate M31/M32 Intergalactic Microlensing Event

We report the discovery of a microlensing candidate projected 2'54" from the center of M32, on the side closest to M31. The blue color (R-I= 0.00 +/- 0.14) of the source argues strongly that it lies in the disk of M31, while the proximity of the line of sight to M32 implies that this galaxy is the most likely host of the lens. If this interpretation is correct, it would confirm previous arguments that M32 lies in front of M31. We estimate that of order one such event or less should be present in the POINT-AGAPE data base. If more events are discovered in this direction in a dedicated experiment, they could be used to measure the mass function of M32 up to an unknown scale factor. By combining microlensing observations of a binary-lens event with a measurement of the M31-M32 relative proper motion using the astrometric satellites SIM or GAIA, it will be possible to measure the physical separation of M31 and M32, the last of the six phase-space coordinates needed to assign M32 an orbit.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters. 13 pages, 2 figure

Mastocitosi cutanea papulosa congenita. Congenital papular cutaneous mastocytosis

Mastocytosis is defined as a heterogeneous group of dosorders characterized by accumulation of mastcells. Childhood mastocytosis is usually limited solely to the skin and resolves slowly over the first 1-2 decades of life. Systematic involvement in children is extremely rare. It is important to establish a correct diagnosis and therapeutic flow chart for these patients

Are variations in kernel-related morphometric and chemical parameters correlated with differences in Sitophilus oryzae attack in maize?

Insect infestation during seed storage affects cereal productivity. Sitophilus oryzae, which is present in various climates, is one of the primary pests for maize (Zea mays) seeds. In this study, kernels of a set of eight inbred lines of importance for both maize breeding and research activities were characterised for morphological and biochemical parameters as well as for their susceptibility to S. oryzae. S. oryzae was reared in laboratorycontrolled conditions and the susceptibility index (SI, range: 0-11), which depends on both number of emerging adults and their median developmental period, was measured. Maize kernels of each of the eight maize lines were put in contact with less than 3-day old males and females of S. oryzae for 13 days. Infested kernels were checked daily for new adult emergence. Four maize lines were susceptible to S. oryzae attack (SI = 7.5 to 9.7) while the others appeared to be moderately resistant (SI = 4.6-6.9). Our results highlighted the occurrence of variability for insect susceptibility among different maize genotypes, however, variations in the kernel traits analysed do not allow us to make predictions about the response to insect attack

Relation between left ventricular function and oxidative stress in patients undergoing bypass surgery

Objective—To determine whether preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is related to the degree of myocardial oxidative stress during bypass surgery in man.
Design—Observational study.
Setting—Tertiary care centre.
Patients and interventions—31 patients (LVEF range was 20% to 68%) undergoing elective coronary bypass surgery with blood cardioplegic reperfusion were studied. Arterial and coronary sinus blood was collected before aortic cross clamping (T0) and at 0 (T1), 15 (T2), and 30 (T3) minutes after unclamping. Transmural left ventricular biopsies were also obtained from 15 patients at T0 and at T1.
Main outcome measures—Glutathione and adenine nucleotides were measured in myocardial biopsies, while coronary sinus-artery differences for glutathione, nucleotides, and products of lipid peroxidation were calculated from blood specimens. Creatine kinase (myocardial band; CK-MB) was measured in plasma at four and 12 hours after operation.
Results—Myocardial glutathione and adenine nucleotides were correlated (p < 0.02) with preoperative LVEF both at T0 (r = 0.909 and 0.672) and T1 (r = 0.603 and 0.605). Oxidised glutathione released from the heart during reperfusion was inversely correlated with LVEF (r = −0.448, −0.466, and −0461 at T1, T2, and T3, p < 0.01), while reduced glutathione (r = 0.519 and 0.640 at T1 and T2) and glutathione redox ratio (r = 0.647, 0.714, 0.645, and 0.702 at T0, T1, T2, and T3) showed a direct correlation (p < 0.01). Lipid peroxidation at T1 was negatively related to LVEF (r = −0.492). CK-MB was also negatively related to LVEF (r = −0.440 at 4 h and −0.462 at 12( )h).
Conclusions—The capacity to counterbalance oxidative burst following ischaemia and reperfusion appears to be related to the functional ability of the heart.

 Keywords: oxidative stress;  glutathione;  lipid peroxidation;  aortocoronary bypas

Gastric histology and function tests in Italian patients with dermatitis herpetiformis

Gastric mucosal histology and function were evaluated in 57 Italian subjects with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), by means of multiple endoscopic biopsies, gastrin and pepsinogen I (Pg I) serum levels, and parietal cell antibodies (PCA). One hundred and forty-nine patients with nonulcer dyspepsia served as reference population for the prevalence of atrophic gastritis of the body. Seventeen DH patients (30%) and 23 controls (15.4%) showed atrophic gastritis of the body mucosa (p less than 0.05). Nine of the DH patients with atrophic gastritis of the body also had atrophic changes in the antrum. Six patients, all with severe atrophic gastritis, had high gastrin levels and PCA; five of these six also had low Pg I levels. We found an increased prevalence of abnormal indirect function tests among patients with atrophic gastritis is due to the younger age of the patients in our series. Thus, atrophic gastritis can be detected early on a histologic basis, but functional impairment occurs later, as the mucosal damage increases in severity

Role of leucocytes in free radical production during myocardial revascularisation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of leucocytes in free radical production in patients with depressed or normal ejection fraction undergoing coronary bypass. DESIGN: Two randomised control trials. SETTING: Tertiary care centre. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: In the first study, 22 patients with ejection fractions of < or = 40% received blood cardioplegic reperfusion with (n = 11) or without (n = 11) leucocyte depletion. In the second study, 22 patients with ejection fractions > or = 45% received either leucocyte depleted (n = 11) or blood cardioplegia (n = 11). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Glutathione, hypoxanthine, and lipid peroxidation products were measured in coronary sinus blood and plasma before aortic cross clamping and at 0, 15, and 30 minutes after unclamping. Haemodynamic variables and creatine kinase MB isoenzymes were monitored on the first postoperative day. Comparison between treatments was performed on difference (delta) between measurements at time 0 and at baseline, and on slopes obtained by fitting measurements after unclamping with a linear regression model. RESULTS: At unclamping no difference in delta for plasma glutathione redox ratio (oxidised/total glutathione, %) was observed between treated and control groups with low ejection fraction (delta = 16 (SD 8.39) and 24 (7.0) redox ratio %, respectively). Baseline value recovery rate (redox ratio %/min) was significantly faster in treated v control patients (slope -0.912 (0.380) v -0.158 (0.200), P < 0.005, respectively). Cardiac index showed a trend to greater improvement in the treated group (slope 0.04 (0.03) v 0.003 (0.002) 1/min/m2/h, P < 0.02, treated v controls, respectively). In patients with normal ejection fraction, leucocyte depletion did not result in significant improvement v controls. CONCLUSIONS: Leucocyte depletion seems to provide benefit only in patients with left ventricular dysfunction