481 research outputs found
Constraints on Gauss-Bonnet Gravity in Dark Energy Cosmologies
Models with a scalar field coupled to the Gauss-Bonnet Lagrangian appear
naturally from Kaluza-Klein compactifications of pure higher-dimensional
gravity. We study linear, cosmological perturbations in the limits of weak
coupling and slow-roll, and derive simple expressions for the main observable
sub-horizon quantities: the anisotropic stress factor, the time-dependent
gravitational constant, and the matter perturbation growth factor. Using
present observational data, and assuming slow-roll for the dark energy field,
we find that the fraction of energy density associated with the coupled
Gauss-Bonnet term cannot exceed 15%. The bound should be treated with caution,
as there are significant uncertainies in the data used to obtain it. Even so,
it indicates that the future prospects for constraining the coupled
Gauss-Bonnet term with cosmological observations are encouraging.Comment: 15 pages. v3: extended analysis, conclusions change
ISW effect in Unified Dark Matter Scalar Field Cosmologies: an analytical approach
We perform an analytical study of the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect
within the framework of Unified Dark Matter models based on a scalar field
which aim at a unified description of dark energy and dark matter. Computing
the temperature power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies
we are able to isolate those contributions that can potentially lead to strong
deviations from the usual ISW effect occurring in a CDM universe. This
helps to highlight the crucial role played by the sound speed in the Unified
Dark Matter models. Our treatment is completely general in that all the results
depend only on the speed of sound of the dark component and thus it can be
applied to a variety of unified models, including those which are not described
by a scalar field but relies on a single dark fluid.Comment: 15 pages, LateX file; one comment after Eq.(36) and formula (44)
added in order to underline procedure and main results. Accepted for
publication in JCAP; some typos correcte
Clinical presentation of strokes confined to the insula: a systematic review of literature
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The insular cortex serves a wide variety of functions in humans, ranging from sensory and affective processing to high-level cognition. Hence, insular dysfunction may result in several different presentations. Ischemic strokes limited to the insular territory are rare and deserve a better characterization, to be quickly recognized and to receive the appropriate treatment (e.g. thrombolysis). METHODS: We reviewed studies on patients with a first-ever acute stroke restricted to the insula. We searched in the Medline database the keywords "insular stroke" and "insular infarction", to identify previously published cases. Afterwards, the results were divided depending on the specific insular region affected by the stroke: anterior insular cortex (AIC), posterior insular cortex (PIC) or total insula cortex (TIC). Finally, a review of the clinical correlates associated with each region was performed. RESULTS: We identified 25 reports including a total of 49 patients (59.7 ± 15.5 years, 48% male) from systematic review of the literature. The most common clinical phenotypes were motor and somatosensory deficits, dysarthria, aphasia and a vestibular-like syndrome. Atypical presentations were also common and included dysphagia, awareness deficits, gustatory disturbances, dysautonomia, neuropsychiatric or auditory disturbances and headache. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical presentation of insular strokes is heterogeneous; however, an insular stroke should be suspected when vestibular-like, somatosensory, speech or language disturbances are combined in the same patient. Further studies are needed to improve our understanding of more atypical presentations
Focal Cerebral Infarction in Newborn: Description of Three Cases:
We observed 3 full-term newborns with focal ischemic injury of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), in which diagnosis of MCA stroke was suspected by US and confirmed by CT scan and MRI. A four-year follow-up was carried out to study the effect of neonatal stroke on neurodevelopmental outcome. All children had a history of pre-perinatal risk factors: neonatal cerebral infarction in term infants, in fact, has many possible causes, including bacterial meningitis, inherited or acquired coagulopathies, trauma and hypoxia-ischemia. The prognosis of neonatal MCA infarction depends on early diagnosis, on the CNS plasticity mechanism and, finally, on medical therapy and neuropsychological rehabilitation
The melatonergic system in mood and anxiety disorders and the role of agomelatine: implications for clinical practice
Melatonin exerts its actions through membrane MT1/MT2 melatonin receptors, which belong to the super family of G-protein-coupled receptors consisting of the typical seven transmembrane domains. MT1 and MT2 receptors are expressed in various tissues of the body either as single ones or together. A growing literature suggests that the melatonergic system may be involved in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders. In fact, some core symptoms of depression show disturbance of the circadian rhythm in their clinical expression, such as diurnal mood and other symptomatic variation, or are closely linked to circadian system functioning, such as sleep-wake cycle alterations. In addition, alterations have been described in the circadian rhythms of several biological markers in depressed patients. Therefore, there is interest in developing antidepressants that have a chronobiotic effect (i.e., treatment of circadian rhythm disorders). As melatonin produces chronobiotic effects, efforts have been aimed at developing agomelatine, an antidepressant with melatonin agonist activity. The present paper reviews the role of the melatonergic system in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders and the clinical characteristics of agomelatine. Implications of agomelatine in “real world” clinical practice will be also discussed
First-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) supernova results: consistency and constraints with other intermediate-redshift datasets
We present an analysis of the luminosity distances of Type Ia Supernovae from
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey in conjunction with
other intermediate redshift (z<0.4) cosmological measurements including
redshift-space distortions from the Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey
(2dFGRS), the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect seen by the SDSS, and the
latest Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) distance scale from both the SDSS and
2dFGRS. We have analysed the SDSS-II SN data alone using a variety of
"model-independent" methods and find evidence for an accelerating universe at
>97% level from this single dataset. We find good agreement between the
supernova and BAO distance measurements, both consistent with a
Lambda-dominated CDM cosmology, as demonstrated through an analysis of the
distance duality relationship between the luminosity (d_L) and angular diameter
(d_A) distance measures. We then use these data to estimate w within this
restricted redshift range (z<0.4). Our most stringent result comes from the
combination of all our intermediate-redshift data (SDSS-II SNe, BAO, ISW and
redshift-space distortions), giving w = -0.81 +0.16 -0.18(stat) +/- 0.15(sys)
and Omega_M=0.22 +0.09 -0.08 assuming a flat universe. This value of w, and
associated errors, only change slightly if curvature is allowed to vary,
consistent with constraints from the Cosmic Microwave Background. We also
consider more limited combinations of the geometrical (SN, BAO) and dynamical
(ISW, redshift-space distortions) probes.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The ISW-tSZ cross correlation: ISW extraction out of pure CMB data
If Dark Energy introduces an acceleration in the universal expansion then
large scale gravitational potential wells should be shrinking, causing a
blueshift in the CMB photons that cross such structures (Integrated Sachs-Wolfe
effect, [ISW]). Galaxy clusters are known to probe those potential wells. In
these objects, CMB photons also experience inverse Compton scattering off the
hot electrons of the intra-cluster medium, and this results in a distortion
with a characteristic spectral signature of the CMB spectrum (the so-called
thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, [tSZ]). Since both the ISW and the tSZ
effects take place in the same potential wells, they must be spatially
correlated. We present how this cross ISW-tSZ signal can be detected in a
CMB-data contained way by using the frequency dependence of the tSZ effect in
multi frequency CMB experiments like {\it Planck}, {\em without} requiring the
use of external large scale structure tracers data. We find that by masking low
redshift clusters, the shot noise level decreases significantly, boosting the
signal to noise ratio of the ISW--tSZ cross correlation. We also find that
galactic and extragalactic dust residuals must be kept at or below the level of
~0.04 muK^2 at l=10, a limit that is a factor of a few below {\it Planck}'s
expectations for foreground subtraction. If this is achieved, CMB observations
of the ISW-tSZ cross correlation should also provide an independent probe for
the existence of Dark Energy and the amplitude of density perturbations.Comment: submitted to MNRA
Non-adiabatic primordial fluctuations
We consider general mixtures of isocurvature and adiabatic cosmological
perturbations. With a minimal assumption set consisting of the linearized
Einstein equations and a primordial perfect fluid we derive the second-order
action and its curvature variables. We also allow for varying equation of state
and speed of sound profiles. The derivation is therefore carried out at the
same level of generality that has been achieved for adiabatic modes before. As
a result we find a new conserved super-horizon quantity and relate it to the
adiabatically conserved curvature perturbation. Finally we demonstrate how the
formalism can be applied by considering a Chaplygin gas-like primordial matter
model, finding two scale-invariant solutions for structure formation.Comment: 11 page
Crossing the cosmological constant line in a dilatonic brane-world model with and without curvature corrections
We construct a new brane-world model composed of a bulk -with a dilatonic
field-, plus a brane -with brane tension coupled to the dilaton-, cold dark
matter and an induced gravity term. It is possible to show that depending on
the nature of the coupling between the brane tension and the dilaton this model
can describe the late-time acceleration of the brane expansion (for the normal
branch) as it moves within the bulk. The acceleration is produced together with
a mimicry of the crossing of the cosmological constant line (w=-1) on the
brane, although this crossing of the phantom divide is obtained without
invoking any phantom matter neither on the brane nor in the bulk. The role of
dark energy is played by the brane tension, which reaches a maximum positive
value along the cosmological expansion of the brane. It is precisely at that
maximum that the crossing of the phantom divide takes place. We also show that
these results remain valid when the induced gravity term on the brane is
switched off.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX
The role of inhaled loxapine in the treatment of acute agitation in patients with psychiatric disorders: A clinical review
Loxapine is a first generation antipsychotic, belonging to the dibenzoxazepine class. Recently, loxapine has been reformulated at a lower dose, producing an inhaled powder that can be directly administered to the lungs to treat the agitation associated with psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Thus, the aim of this narrative and clinical mini-review was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of inhaled loxapine in the treatment of acute agitation in patients with psychiatric disorders. The efficacy of inhaled loxapine has been evaluated in one Phase II trial on patients with schizophrenia, and in two Phase III trials in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Moreover, there are two published case series on patients with borderline personality disorder and dual diagnosis patients. Inhaled loxapine has proven to be effective and generally well tolerated when administered to agitated patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Two case series have suggested that inhaled loxapine may also be useful to treat agitation in patients with borderline personality disorder and with dual diagnosis, but further studies are needed to clarify this point. However, the administration of inhaled loxapine requires at least some kind of patient collaboration, and is not recommended in the treatment of severe agitation in totally uncooperative patients. Moreover, the drug-related risk of bronchospasm must always be kept in mind when planning to use inhaled loxapine, leading to a careful patient assessment prior to, and after, administration. Also, the higher costs of inhaled loxapine, when compared to oral and intramuscular medications, should be taken into account when selecting it for the treatment of agitation
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