INTEGRATION OF COMPLEMENTARY BIOMARKERS IN PATIENTS WITH FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS: RESEARCH PROTOCOL OF A PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW UP STUDY

In this project, we recruited a sample of 150 patients with first episode of psychosis with schizophrenia features (FEP) and 100 healthy controls. We assessed the differences between these two groups, as well as the changes between the acute phase of illness and subsequent remission among patients over 18-month longitudinal follow-up. The assessments were divided into four work packages (WP): WP1- psychopathological status, neurocognitive functioning and emotional recognition; WP2- stress response measured by saliva cortisol during a stress paradigm; cerebral blood perfusion in the resting state (with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and during activation paradigm (with Transcranial Ultrasonography Doppler (TCD); WP3-post mortem analysis in histologically prepared human cortical tissue of post mortem samples of subjects with schizophrenia in the region that synaptic alteration was suggested by WP1 and WP2; WP4- pharmacogenetic analysis (single gene polymorphisms and genome wide association study (GWAS). We expect that the analysis of these data will identify a set of markers that differentiate healthy controls from patients with FEP, and serve as an additional diagnostic tool in the first episode of psychosis, and prediction tool which can be then used to help tailoring individualized treatment options. In this paper, we describe the project protocol including aims and methods and provide a brief description of planned post mortem studies and pharmacogenetic analysis

Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmap

The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics—dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem—all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'

MAGIC and H.E.S.S. detect VHE gamma rays from the blazar OT081 for the first time: a deep multiwavelength study

https://pos.sissa.it/395/815/pdfPublished versio

Multi-wavelength radiation models for low-luminosity GRBs, and the implications for UHECRs

We study the prompt phase of low-luminosity Gamma-Ray Bursts (LL-GRBs) as potential source of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs).We model the spectral energy distribution of three representative examples (with observed properties similar to GRBs 980425, 100316D and 120714B) self-consistently in a leptonic synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario using the internal shock model for the relativistic outflow. To investigate the conditions under which inverse Compton radiation may lead to a peak in the GeV-TeV range potentially observable in Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), we vary the fraction of the energy budget supplying the magnetic field. As a second step, we determine the maximal energies achievable for UHECR nuclei. Assuming LL-GRBs to power the observed UHECR flux, we derive constraints on the baryonic loading and typical GRB duration by explicitly calculating the contribution of LL-GRBs to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background. We find that LL-GRBs are potential targets for multi-mavelength studies and may be in reach of current/ future IACTs and optical/ UV instruments.For comparable sub-MeV emission and similar jet properties, the multi-wavelength predictions show a strong dependence on the magnetic field: weak (strong) magnetic fields induce high (low) fluxes in the VHE regime and low (high) fluxes in the optical. However, VHE emission might be suppressed by $\gamma \gamma$-absorption close to the source (especially for high magnetic fields) or interactions with the extragalactic background light for redshifts $z > 0.1$.For UHECRs, we find that the maximal energies of iron nuclei (protons) can be as high as $\simeq 10^{11}$~GeV ($10^{10}$~GeV) if the magnetic energy density is large (where we predict a weak VHE component). These high energies are possible by decoupling the production regions of UHECR and gamma-rays in our multi-zone model. Finally, we find basic consistency with the energy budget needed to accommodate the UHECR origin from LL-GRBs

Gammapy: high level data analysis for extragalactic science cases with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

International audienceThe Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory will probe the non-thermal universe above 20 GeV up to several hundreds of TeV with a significant improvement in sensitivity and angular resolution compared to current experiments. Its outstanding capabilities will allow to increase the number of extragalactic cosmic accelerators detected at very high energy (VHE) and therefore to better constrain the population of VHE accelerators and the gamma-ray absorption processes in the intergalactic medium.For the first time in history of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), CTA will be an open observatory and high-level data will be made available to the astronomical community. Gammapy is an open-source Python package developed by the Cherenkov telescope community that provides tools to simulate the gamma-ray sky and analyse IACT data. The versatile architecture of, and steady user contribution to Gammapy enable a large variety of high-level data analyses. Examples of Gammapy applications are presented, particularly in the context of extragalactic science with CTA

Gammapy: high level data analysis for extragalactic science cases with the Cherenkov Telescope Arrayonsortium

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory will probe the non-thermal universe above 20 GeV up to several hundreds of TeV with a significant improvement in sensitivity and angular resolution compared to current experiments. Its outstanding capabilities will allow to increase the number of extragalactic cosmic accelerators detected at very high energy (VHE) and therefore to better constrain the population of VHE accelerators and the gamma-ray absorption processes in the intergalactic medium. For the first time in the history of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), CTA will be an open observatory and high-level data will be made available to the astronomical community. Gammapy is an open-source Python package developed by the Cherenkov telescope community that provides tools to simulate the gamma-ray sky and analyse IACT data. The versatile architecture of, and steady user contributions to Gammapy enable a large variety of high-level data analyses. Examples of Gaammapy applications are presented, particularly in the context of extragalactic science with CTA

POSyTIVE -- a GRB population study for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

18One of the central scientific goals of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the detection and characterization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). CTA will be sensitive to gamma rays with energies from about 20 GeV, up to a few hundred TeV. The energy range below 1 TeV is particularly important for GRBs. CTA will allow exploration of this regime with a ground-based gamma-ray facility with unprecedented sensitivity. As such, it will be able to probe radiation and particle acceleration mechanisms at work in GRBs. In this contribution, we describe POSyTIVE, the POpulation Synthesis Theory Integrated project for very high-energy emission. The purpose of the project is to make realistic predictions for the detection rates of GRBs with CTA, to enable studies of individual simulated GRBs, and to perform preparatory studies for time-resolved spectral analyses. The mock GRB population used by POSyTIVE is calibrated using the entire 40-year dataset of multi-wavelength GRB observations. As part of this project we explore theoretical models for prompt and afterglow emission of long and short GRBs, and predict the expected radiative output. Subsequent analyses are performed in order to simulate the observations with CTA, using the publicly available ctools and Gammapy frameworks. We present preliminary results of the design and implementation of this project.8 pages, Proceedings of the 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference, PoS(ICRC2019)598openopenMaria Grazia Bernardini; Elisabetta Bissaldi; Zeljka Bosnjak; Alessandro Carosi; Paolo D'Avanzo; Tristano Di Girolamo; Susumu Inoue; Thomas Gasparetto; Giancarlo Ghirlanda; Francesco Longo; Andrea Melandri; Lara Nava; Paul O'Brien; Iftach Sadeh; Fabian Schüssler; Thierry Stolarczyk; Susanna Vergani; Carlo Francesco VigoritoGrazia Bernardini, Maria; Bissaldi, Elisabetta; Bosnjak, Zeljka; Carosi, Alessandro; D'Avanzo, Paolo; Di Girolamo, Tristano; Inoue, Susumu; Gasparetto, Thomas; Ghirlanda, Giancarlo; Longo, Francesco; Melandri, Andrea; Nava, Lara; O'Brien, Paul; Sadeh, Iftach; Schüssler, Fabian; Stolarczyk, Thierry; Vergani, Susanna; Francesco Vigorito, Carl

Effects of long-term multimodal psychosocial treatment on antipsychotic-induced metabolic changes in patients with first episode psychosis

Background: Antipsychotic-induced weight gain and metabolic abnormalities are one of the major challenges in the treatment of psychosis, contributing to the morbidity, mortality and treatment non-adherence. Different approaches were used to counteract these side effects but showed only limited or short-term effects. This study aims to analyse the effects of a long-term multimodal treatment program for first episode psychosis on antipsychotic-induced metabolic changes. ----- Methods: We enrolled 71 patients with first episode psychosis treated at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre from 2016 until 2018. Participants were assigned to one of the two groups: day hospital program vs. treatment as usual (TAU). Outcomes were: body weight, blood glucose, lipids and cholesterol, psychopathology and global level of functioning during the 18-months follow-up. ----- Results: Although the TAU group gained more weight and had higher increase of blood glucose, while the day hospital group had a higher increase in total cholesterol at 18th month follow-up, after the adjustment for age, gender and baseline measures, the type of treatment was not significantly associated with any of the primary outcome measures. Patients' psychopathology measures significantly decreased and their functional level significantly increased at month 18th in both groups. ----- Conclusion: While both types of treatment were effective in reducing psychopathology and restoring the patients' level of functioning, both were relatively ineffective in counteracting antipsychotic-induced metabolic abnormalities and antipsychotic-induced weight gain