31 research outputs found
An unusual intracranial metallic foreign bodies and panhypopituitarism
A 49 years old man, with a history of aggression at the age of 18 years by a pair of scissors, who consulted for unilateral migraine headaches look straight. Paraclinical explorations concluded that trauma to anterior pituitary by a metallic foreign body from the right nostril to the sella, responsible for panhypopituitarism and sinusitis. The headaches are frequent causes of consultation, often treated symptomatically but rarely explored. The direct trauma to the pituitary gland, by a metallic foreign body, is exceptional. We report the case of neglected panhypopituitarism, discovered 31 years after injury with a pair of scissors
Serum creatinine and urea assays on Atellica® CH and Architect® ci4100: method comparison
Serum creatinine and urea are markers of renal function usually measured in conjunction. This study aims to evaluate the comparability of a new analyzer incorporated to our laboratory, Atellica® with the established analyzer, Architect ® ci 4100 in serum creatinine and urea assays. We ran 110 tests for creatinine and 107 for urea. In both analyzers, serum creatinine assay is based on the Jaffe reaction while urea measurement is based on the Roch-Ramel enzymatic reaction. Linear association between methods was evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Methods comparability was assessed using Passing-Bablok and Deming linear regression. Differences between analyzers were evaluated using Bland-Altman plot. For serum creatinine, regression equations are Atellica = 0.9721 x Architect - 2.7282 (Passing & Bablok) and Atellica = 0.8884 x Architect + 1.3456 (Deming). The mean difference between the two methods is -11.7 µmol/L as indicated by Bland-Altman plot. For urea, regression lines are expressed as Atellica = 1.0252 x Architect – 0.1609 (Passing-Bablok) and Atellica = 1.1424 x Architect – 0.9532 (Deming). Bland-Altman plot presented a mean difference of -0.1 mmol/L. These results could be described as a very good agreement between the two methods, the two analyzers could be used interchangeably.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.754215
The Supersymmetric Origin of Matter
The Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) can provide
the correct neutralino relic abundance and baryon number asymmetry of the
universe. Both may be efficiently generated in the presence of CP violating
phases, light charginos and neutralinos, and a light top squark. Due to the
coannihilation of the neutralino with the light stop, we find a large region of
parameter space in which the neutralino relic density is consistent with WMAP
and SDSS data. We perform a detailed study of the additional constraints
induced when CP violating phases, consistent with the ones required for
baryogenesis, are included. We explore the possible tests of this scenario from
present and future electron Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) measurements, direct
neutralino detection experiments, collider searches and the b -> s gamma decay
rate. We find that the EDM constraints are quite severe and that electron EDM
experiments, together with stop searches at the Tevatron and Higgs searches at
the LHC, will provide a definite test of our scenario of electroweak
baryogenesis in the next few years.Comment: 30 pages, 14 figure
Serum creatinine and urea assays on Atellica® CH and Architect® ci4100: method comparison
Serum creatinine and urea are markers of renal function usually measured in conjunction. This study aims to evaluate the comparability of a new analyzer incorporated to our laboratory, Atellica® with the established analyzer, Architect ® ci 4100 in serum creatinine and urea assays. We ran 110 tests for creatinine and 107 for urea. In both analyzers, serum creatinine assay is based on the Jaffe reaction while urea measurement is based on the Roch-Ramel enzymatic reaction. Linear association between methods was evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Methods comparability was assessed using Passing-Bablok and Deming linear regression. Differences between analyzers were evaluated using Bland-Altman plot. For serum creatinine, regression equations are Atellica = 0.9721 x Architect - 2.7282 (Passing & Bablok) and Atellica = 0.8884 x Architect + 1.3456 (Deming). The mean difference between the two methods is -11.7 µmol/L as indicated by Bland-Altman plot. For urea, regression lines are expressed as Atellica = 1.0252 x Architect – 0.1609 (Passing-Bablok) and Atellica = 1.1424 x Architect – 0.9532 (Deming). Bland-Altman plot presented a mean difference of -0.1 mmol/L. These results could be described as a very good agreement between the two methods, the two analyzers could be used interchangeably.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.754215
Neutron-gamma discrimination by pulse analysis with superheated drop detector
Superheated drop detector (SDD) consisting of drops of superheated liquid of
halocarbon is irradiated to neutrons and gamma-rays from 252Cf fission neutron
source and 137Cs gamma source separately. The analysis of pulse height of the
signals in the neutron and gamma-ray sensitive temperature provides strong
information on the identification of neutron and gamma-ray induced events.Comment: 19 pages with 8 figures, Accepted in Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
Status of the PICASSO Project
The Picasso project is a dark matter search experiment based on the
superheated droplet technique. Preliminary runs performed at the Picasso Lab in
Montreal have showed the suitability of this detection technique to the search
for weakly interacting cold dark matter particles. In July 2002, a new phase of
the project started. A batch of six 1-liter detectors with an active mass of
approximately 40g was installed in a gallery of the SNO observatory in Sudbury,
Ontario, Canada at a depth of 6,800 feet (2,070m). We give a status report on
the new experimental setup, data analysis, and preliminary limits on
spin-dependent neutralino interaction cross section.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the TAUP 2003
conference, 5-9 September, 2003, University of Washington, Seattle, US
Protective Effect of Chemically Characterized Polyphenol-Rich Fraction from Apteranthes europaea (Guss.) Murb. subsp. maroccana (Hook.f.) Plowes on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury in Mice
Apteranthes europaea (Guss.) Murb. subsp. maroccana (Hook.f.) Plowes (A. europaea) is a medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicines to treat various diseases including hepatic pathogenesis. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of chemically characterized polyphenol-rich fraction from A. europaea on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. The chemical characterization of A. europaea polyphenol-rich fraction was carried out using HPLC-DAD (high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode-array detector (DAD)). Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was used to induce liver injuries in mice as described in previous works. A polyphenol-rich fraction from A. europaea was used at a dose of 50 mg/Kg to study its hepatoprotective effect. Next, histopathological and biochemical alterations were investigated. The HPLC analysis revealed the presence of several phenolic compounds: gallic acid, methyl gallate, rutin, ferulic acid, and resorcinol. Regarding the mice treated with a polyphenol-rich fraction from A. europaea up to 50 mg/Kg and carbon tetrachloride, no significant biochemical nor histological alterations occurred in their liver; meanwhile, serious biochemical and histopathological changes were noted for liver recovered from the mice treated with carbon tetrachloride only. In conclusion, A. europaea extract is a promising source of hepatoprotective agents against toxic liver injury
WIMP direct detection overview
This review on weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter direct
detection focuses on experimental approaches and the corresponding physics
basics. The presentation is intended to provide a quick and concise
introduction for non-specialists to this fast evolving topic of astroparticle
physics.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, invited review for the Proc. XXth Int. Conf.
Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, May 25-30, 2002, Munich, Germany; version
includes correction of typo in eqn.2; to appear in Nucl. Phys. B Proc. Supp
Development of Bubble Chambers With Enhanced Stability and Sensitivity to Low-Energy Nuclear Recoils
The viability of using a Bubble Chamber for rare event searches and in
particular for the detection of dark matter particle candidates is considered.
Techniques leading to the deactivation of inhomogeneous nucleation centers and
subsequent enhanced stability in such a detector are described. Results from
prototype trials indicate that sensitivity to low-energy nuclear recoils like
those expected from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles can be obtained in
conditions of near total insensitivity to minimum ionizing backgrounds. An
understanding of the response of superheated heavy refrigerants to these
recoils is demonstrated within the context of existing theoretical models. We
comment on the prospects for the detection of supersymmetric dark matter
particles with a large chamber.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Lipids Fraction from Caralluma europaea (Guss.): MicroTOF and HPLC Analyses and Exploration of Its Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, Anti-Inflammatory, and Wound Healing Effects
Caralluma europaea is a medicinal plant used in Morocco to cure a variety of illnesses. This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition, the antioxidant, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing activities of C. europaea lipids. The chemical composition of C. europaea was analyzed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. The antioxidant potential was determined using the 2,2-di-phenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests. The antiproliferative effect was evaluated by MTT assay against HL60, K562, Huh-7 cancer cells, and normal Vero cells. The anti-inflammatory potential was conducted against carrageenan-induced paw edema. The wound healing effect was evaluated against skin burns for 21 days. The identified phytochemical compounds were docked for their effect on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, caspase-3, lipoxygenase, glycogen synthase kinase-3-β, and protein casein kinase-1. The results showed the presence of some lipids, such as linoleic acid and vitamin D3. The DPPH (IC50 = 0.018 mg/mL) and FRAP (EC50 = 0.084 mg/mL) of C. europaea lipids showed an important antioxidant effect. For the anti-inflammatory test, an inhibition of 83.50% was recorded after 6 h of treatment. Our extract showed the greatest wound retraction on the 21st day (98.20%). C. europaea lipids showed a remarkable antitumoral effect against the K562 cell line (IC50 = 37.30 µg/mL), with no effect on Vero cells (IC50 > 100 µg/mL). Lignoceric acid was the most active molecule against caspase-3 (−6.453 kcal/mol). The findings indicate the growing evidence of C. europaea as a potential treatment for several diseases