“Simultaneous and integrated neutron-based techniques for material analysis of a metallic ancient flute“

A metallic 19th century flute was studied by means of integrated and simultaneous neutron-based techniques: neutron diffraction, neutron radiative capture analysis and neutron radiography. This experiment follows benchmark measurements devoted to assessing the effectiveness of a multitask beamline concept for neutron-based investigation on materials. The aim of this study is to show the potential application of the approach using multiple and integrated neutron-based techniques for musical instruments. Such samples, in the broad scenario of cultural heritage, represent an exciting research field. They may represent an interesting link between different disciplines such as nuclear physics, metallurgy and acoustics

Effect of Physical Exercise on Bone Density and Remodeling in Egyptian Type 1 Diabetic Osteopenic Adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The study was planned to assess effect of physical exercise on bone remodeling in type I diabetics with osteopenia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-four type I diabetes mellitus (DM1) with osteopenia (10 females and 14 males) were compared to thirty-eight age- and sex-matched healthy control individuals (20 females and 18 males) for biochemical and radiologic parameters of bone mass. Laboratory investigations included serum and urinary calcium, inorganic phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and serum "procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP). Bone densitometry was assessed at neck femur using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). Serum P1NP and DEXA were reevaluated after a planned exercise program.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients and controls were comparable with respect to serum as well as urinary biochemical parameters of bone mass namely; calcium, phosphorus and total serum alkaline phosphatase. Osteopenic DM1 patients displayed lower mean serum P1NP than control group (20.11 ± 6.72 ugdL versus 64.96 ± 34.89 ugdL; p < 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between BMD and degree of glycemic control reflected by serum glycated hemoglobin (r = -0.44, p, 0.030). Bone densitometry correlated with serum P1NP (r = -0.508, p, 0.011). After a planned regular exercise for 3 months, serum P1NP and BMD levels increased with percentage change of 40.88 ± 31.73 and 3.36 ± 2.94, respectively. Five patients resumed normal densitometry and they were all males.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Diabetic osteopenic patients displayed lower serum levels of procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide which reflects poor bone formation. A 3-months planned exercise program was associated with improvement of bone densitometry and significant increment of serum P1NP.</p

Large kidneys predict poor renal outcome in subjects with diabetes and chronic kidney disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Renal hypertrophy occurs early in diabetic nephropathy, its later value is unknown. Do large kidneys still predict poor outcome in patients with diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)?</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventy-five patients with diabetes and CKD according to a Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR, by 51Cr-EDTA clearance) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m²or an Albumin Excretion Rate above 30 mg/24 H, had an ultrasound imaging of the kidneys and were cooperatively followed during five years by the Diabetology and Nephrology departments of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The patients were mainly men (44/75), aged 62 ± 13 yrs, with long-standing diabetes (duration:17 ± 9 yrs, 55/75 type 2), and CKD: initial GFR: 56.5 (8.5-209) mL/min/1.73 m², AER: 196 (20-2358) mg/24 H. Their mean kidney lenght (108 ± 13 mm, 67-147) was correlated to the GFR (r = 0.23, p < 0.05). During the follow-up, 9/11 of the patients who had to start dialysis came from the half with the largest kidneys (LogRank: p < 0.05), despite a 40% higher initial isotopic GFR. Serum creatinine were initially lower (Small kidneys: 125 (79-320) μmol/L, Large: 103 (50-371), p < 0.05), but significantly increased in the "large kidneys" group at the end of the follow-up (Small kidneys: 129 (69-283) μmol/L, Large: 140 (50-952), p < 0.005 vs initial). The difference persisted in the patients with severe renal failure (KDOQI stages 4,5).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Large kidneys still predict progression in advanced CKD complicating diabetes. In these patients, ultrasound imaging not only excludes obstructive renal disease, but also provides information on the progression of the renal disease.</p

Impaired Growth and Force Production in Skeletal Muscles of Young Partially Pancreatectomized Rats: A Model of Adolescent Type 1 Diabetic Myopathy?

This present study investigated the temporal effects of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on adolescent skeletal muscle growth, morphology and contractile properties using a 90% partial pancreatecomy (Px) model of the disease. Four week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to Px (n = 25) or Sham (n = 24) surgery groups and euthanized at 4 or 8 weeks following an in situ assessment of muscle force production. Compared to Shams, Px were hyperglycemic (>15 mM) and displayed attenuated body mass gains by days 2 and 4, respectively (both P<0.05). Absolute maximal force production of the gastrocnemius plantaris soleus complex (GPS) was 30% and 50% lower in Px vs. Shams at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively (P<0.01). GP mass was 35% lower in Px vs Shams at 4 weeks (1.24±0.06 g vs. 1.93±0.03 g, P<0.05) and 45% lower at 8 weeks (1.57±0.12 vs. 2.80±0.06, P<0.05). GP fiber area was 15–20% lower in Px vs. Shams at 4 weeks in all fiber types. At 8 weeks, GP type I and II fiber areas were ∼25% and 40% less, respectively, in Px vs. Shams (group by fiber type interactions, P<0.05). Phosphorylation states of 4E-BP1 and S6K1 following leucine gavage increased 2.0- and 3.5-fold, respectively, in Shams but not in Px. Px rats also had impaired rates of muscle protein synthesis in the basal state and in response to gavage. Taken together, these data indicate that exposure of growing skeletal muscle to uncontrolled T1DM significantly impairs muscle growth and function largely as a result of impaired protein synthesis in type II fibers

From Taxation to Indebtedness : the Urban Fiscal System of Milan during the Austrias Domination (1535-1706)

With the establishment of Spanish domination, the city of Milan entered a period of intense transformation. The geopolitical context was changing radically and its involvement in the imperial strategy of the Austrias now required, from the whole Duchy, a substantial participation in terms of resources. Although most of the costs of the military maintenance of the Dominion at the centre of the Po Valley was ultimately sustained thanks to the financial support of other Spanish territories, like Castile and the Realm of Naples, the pressure on the Milan state revenues increased as never in the past. For a considerable time, the interest of historians has been directed towards the accompanying rise in the burden of taxation which has been regarded as one of the main causes of the economic decline of Lombardy during the Spanish age and one of the primary components of the related leyenda negra. This prevailing paradigm - based chiefly on complaints manifest in contemporary sources and heavily influenced by a negative consensus reached in the XIX century - has been called into question over the last three decades. Due to source-based studies, the attention for state finance and fiscal system in the Duchy under the Austrias is progressively losing its historiographical bias and assuming a more fitting perspective, broadened to shed light on all their effective and deep interrelations with social, political and economic aspects. Thus public finance is turning out a crucial element of the state-building process, not eclipsed by foreign domination; it entails far-reaching changes in the administrative machinery, in the equilibrium of social groups, in the balance between town and country and in the relationships between central authority and local communities. Similarly, the nexus with economy is showing a wide array of interactions; the approach concentrated on overemphasizing fiscal effects hampering economic growth is being replaced by an outlook aimed at encompassing the varied linkage between the manifold components of the state finance and all the forces, protagonists and variables of economic life. This enables delving into the real consequences on the whole productive and trade world; increased fiscal pressure appears at present more as an evenly balanced burden between town and country than as a factor that boosts productive costs; expanded public debt seems to be a multi-functional opportunity of investments for a large plurality of subjects rather than a useless consumption of capitals; and the collection and management of taxes look like the training ground for the local providers of financial services. Yet the renewed perspective has not still much engaged local finance during the Spanish domination, neither the finance of the towns, nor the finance of the communities. Despite few scattered sources, local fiscal systems appear exactly the focal point of the many-sided interactions between the Spanish centre and the Lombard periphery, between the exercise of power and the multifaceted local societies, between the strategic needs of what was considered the \u2018llave de Italia\u2019 [the key to Italy] and one of the richest European economies of the XVIth-XVIIth century. In particular, the fiscal system of Milan, by far the largest city in the Duchy, represents one of prominent point of observation to grasp in depth the complete intricate interplay revolving around public finance

Eu new member countries : Public Sector accounts and convergence

First some general problems concerning the definition and measurement of deficits and public debt are discussed. The rationality of the two Maastricht targets for public finance are also critically analyzed. The economies of six NMCs are then considered, from 2003 onwards. All of them experienced a high and steady rate of growth, but also a relatively high rate of inflation, accelerating after 2006. In spite of a high investment ratio by the public sector, national budget deficits were generally low and below the 3% target. Thanks to the rapid expansion of nominal GNP, the public sector debt ratio declined in all countries, with the only exception of Hungary. Moreover most of them have a positive net financial position. We may thus conclude that these countries (except Hungary) have met the convergence criteria for public sector accounts and have followed prudent fiscal policies: the causes for external imbalances and excessive inflation are to be found (with some exception like the Czech Republic) in lax monetary policies and in the large inflow of foreign capital, primarily for direct investment but also on account of bank lending to the private secto

Le privatizzazioni italiane: contributo a un \ue9tat des lieux

An attempt to evaluate and interpret the privatization and re-organization of utilities in Italy in the light of the current economic debate. Major relevant issues are surveyed: the (partial) privatization of utilities, and the implications of residual public ownership; the introduction of competition in the relevant markets; the management of (natural monopoly) networks; the role of public regulatory agencies. A tension between the suggestions offered by normative economics and the constraints arising fom the political economy context is singled out as the main determinant of the success and continuation of privatization processes