Assessing Topographical Orientation Skills in Cannabis Users

The long-term effects of cannabis on human cognition are still unclear, but, considering that cannabis is a widely used substance and, overall, its potential use in therapeutic interventions, it is important to evaluate them. We hypothesize that the discrepancies among studies could be attributed to the specific cognitive function investigated and that skills subserved by the hippocampus, such as the spatial orientation abilities and, specifically, the ability to form and use cognitive maps, should be more compromised than others. Indeed it has been showed that cannabis users have a reduced hippocampus and that the hippocampus is the brain region in which cannabis has the greatest effect since it contains the highest concentration of cannabinoid receptors. To test this hypothesis we asked 15 heavy cannabis users and 19 nonusers to perform a virtual navigational test, the CMT, that assesses the ability to form and use cognitive maps. We found that using cannabis has no effect on these hippocampus-dependent orientation skills. We discuss the implications of our findings and how they relate to evidence reported in the literature that the intervention of functional reorganization mechanisms in cannabis user allows them to cope with the cognitive demands of navigational tasks

Comparative Study of Immunogenicity of Split, Intradermal and MF59-adjuvanted Influenza Vaccines in Elderly Institutionalized Subjects

Abstract The reduced immunogenicity and effectiveness of influenza vaccines in subjects presenting high risk of influenza-related complications, hospitalization and death, led the innovative drive to search for new strategies to implement the immune response elicited by influenza vaccines including addition of adjuvants, and use of alternative routes of antigen delivery.In this study we evaluated and compared the immune antibody response induced in 252 elderly volunteers living in nursing homes after immunization with three different 2012-2013 seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines: a conventional split vaccine (n=26), and two potentiated vaccines (a subunit vaccine adjuvanted with MF59 (n=137) or a split vaccine administered intradermally (n=89)), specially licensed for elderly people. Haemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibody titers were assessed in blood samples collected before and one month after vaccination.The results were evaluated as increase in HI titers found comparing pre- and post-vaccination sera and according to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) criteria for approval of influenza vaccines in the elderly. Significant antibody increases and fulfillment of all the three CHMP requirements were observed against A/H3N2 and B antigens following immunization with the two potentiated vaccines. After immunization with conventional vaccine responses were lower against A/H3N2 and equivalent against the B antigen. The two potentiated vaccines induced significant antibody increases against A/H1N1 antigen, however, only one of the CHMP criteria was reached. The HI antibody increases after conventional vaccine were significant only for the geometric mean titer and none of the CHMP criteria was fulfilled. The antibody responses induced by the two potentiated vaccines against the three vaccine antigens wereequivalent although post-vaccination titers against the B antigen tended to be higher in subjects vaccinated with intradermal vaccine than in individuals receiving MF59-adjuvanted vaccine. In conclusion the use of MF59 adjuvant and intradermal vaccination appear to be appropriate strategies to address the challenge of declining immune response in the elderly after influenza vaccination

Updated landslide inventory of the area between the Furiano and Rosmarino creeks (Sicily, Italy)

A 1:10,000 scale landslide inventory map has been prepared for the area between the Furiano and Rosmarino creeks, in the Nebrodi Mountains (north-eastern Sicily, Italy), a territory highly prone to slope failures, due to the local geological and geomorphological settings and intense rainfall. The landslide inventory database included within the Hydrogeological Setting Plan of the Sicily Region has been used as a starting point for this work. The updated inventory map has been compiled through a combination of conventional approaches (i.e. aerial photo-interpretation and field surveys) and new remote sensing techniques (ground deformation measurements obtained by interferometric analysis of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar images). The new landslide inventory consists of 566 events, classified according to their typology and state of activity

"Nanoscopium Nominare Libuit": Approaches Towards Optical Nanoscopy and Individual Molecule Localization Microscopy Improvements

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Gated-sted microscopy with subnanosecond pulsed fiber laser for reducing photobleaching

The spatial resolution of a stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscope is theoretically unlimited and practically determined by the signal-to-noise ratio. Typically, an increase of the STED beam's power leads to an improvement of the effective resolution. However, this improvement may vanish because an increased STED beam's power is often accompanied by an increased photobleaching, which worsen the effective resolution by reducing the signal strength. A way to lower the photobleaching in pulsed STED (P-STED) implementations is to reduce the peak intensity lengthening the pulses duration (for a given average STED beam's power). This also leads to a reduction of the fluorophores quenching, thus a reduction of the effective resolution, but the time-gated detection was proved to be successful in recovering these reductions. Here we demonstrated that a subnanosecond fiber laser beam (pulse width ∼600 ps) reduces the photobleaching with respect to a traditional stretched hundreds picosecond (∼200 ps) beam provided by a Ti:Sapphire laser, without any effective spatial resolution lost

2,6-Bis[1-(2-isopropyl­phenyl­imino)­ethyl]­pyridine

The title compound, C27H31N3, has E substitution at each imine double bond where the two N atoms adopt a trans–trans relationship. The benzene rings are twisted out of the mean plane of the pyridine ring; the mean planes of the aromatic groups are rotated by 63.0 (1) and 72.58 (8)°. The crystal structure is sustained mainly by C—H⋯π and hydro­phobic methyl–methyl inter­actions

Analysis of a Stator-Rotor-Stator Spinning Disk Reactor in Single-Phase and Two-Phase Boiling Conditions Using a Thermo-Fluid Flow Network and CFD

Cryogenic liquid propellants are used in liquid rocket engines to obtain high specific impulse. The flow rates are controlled by turbopumps that deliver liquid propellant to the engine at high pressure levels. Due to the very low saturation temperature of the cryogenic propellant, in the first phases of the transient operation, in which the engine is at ambient temperature, its surfaces are subject to boiling conditions. The effect of boiling on the heat transfer between the solid and the fluid needs to be well characterized in order to correctly predict the cryopump metal temperature temporal evolution and the necessary amount of propellant. With the aim of benchmarking numerical tools against experimental data, a representative test case was chosen. This consists of a stator-rotorstator spinning disc reactor studied under single-phase and two-phase heat transfer conditions. The numerical approaches used are represented by a 1D network solver, where the pressure drop and heat transfer are calculated by correlations, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, carried out with ANSYS Fluent. Both the numerical tools returned a reasonable agreement in single-phase conditions, also thanks to the use of adequate correlations in the flow network solver and typical conditions for the CFD simulations. Two-phase conditions on the contrary are more challenging, with underpredictions up to 20% and 80%, respectively. The issues are ascribable to the use of correlations that are inadequate to capture the two-phase phenomena occurring in the srs reactor and numerical limitations in the actual implementation of the boiling model in the CFD solver

GITR-GITRL System, A Novel Player in Shock and Inflammation

Glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-Related (GITR) protein is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily that modulates acquired and natural immune response. It is expressed in several cells and tissues, including T cells, natural killer cells, and, at lower levels, in cells of innate immunity. GITR is activated by its ligand, GITRL, mainly expressed on antigen presenting and endothelial cells. Recent evidence suggests that the GITR/GITRL system participates in the development of inflammatory responses, including shock, either due to early response of neutrophils and macrophages, or together with autoimmune/allergic pathogenesis. The pro-inflammatory role of the GITR/GITRL system is due to: 1) modulation of the extravasation process, 2) activation of innate immunity cells, 3) activation of effector T cells also favored by partial inhibition of suppressor T cells and modulation of dendritic function. This review summarizes the in vivo role of the GITR/GITRL system in inflammation and shock, explaining the mechanisms responsible for their effects, considering the interplay among the different cells of the immune system and transduction pathways activated by GITR and GITRL triggering. The hidden aspects about GITR/GITRL function, crucial for treatment planning of inflammatory diseases and shock by modulation of this system is stressed