Norethisterone acetate in the treatment of colorectal endometriosis: a pilot study

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Mass discrimination using double-sided silicon microstrip detectors for pions and protons at intermediate energies

Prototype silicon detector modules for the vertex detector of the FINUDA experiment were tested at TRIUMF using pions and protons at 270 and 408 MeV/c in order to study their use for mass discrimination based on energy deposition. The detector modules were constructed using double-sided silicon detectors based on the ALEPH design, read out by VA1 integrated circuits. The test modules and apparatus are described, details of the data analysis are discussed, and the results are presented together with GEANT simulations. Particular attention is given to the detector response for the various particles, with signals ranging from the minimum-ionising pions at 408 MeV/c up to 20 times minimum-ionising for the protons at 270 MeV/c. ( 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Functional heartburn has more in common with functional dyspepsia than with non-erosive reflux disease

INTRODUCTION: Functional dyspepsia and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) are prevalent gastrointestinal conditions with accumulating evidence regarding an overlap between the two. Still, patients with NERD represent a very heterogeneous group and limited data on dyspeptic symptoms in various subgroups of NERD are available. AIM: To evaluate the prevalence of dyspeptic symptoms in patients with NERD subclassified by using 24 h impedance-pH monitoring (MII-pH). METHODS: Patients with typical reflux symptoms and normal endoscopy underwent impedance-pH monitoring off proton pump inhibitor treatment. Oesophageal acid exposure time (AET), type of acid and non-acid reflux episodes, and symptom association probability (SAP) were calculated. A validated dyspepsia questionnaire was used to quantify dyspeptic symptoms prior to reflux monitoring. RESULTS: Of 200 patients with NERD (105 female; median age, 48 years), 81 (41%) had an abnormal oesophageal AET (NERD pH-POS), 65 (32%) had normal oesophageal AET and positive SAP for acid and/or non-acid reflux (hypersensitive oesophagus), and 54 (27%) had normal oesophageal AET and negative SAP (functional heartburn). Patients with functional heartburn had more frequent (p<0.01) postprandial fullness, bloating, early satiety and nausea compared to patients with NERD pH-POS and hypersensitive oesophagus. CONCLUSION: The increased prevalence of dyspeptic symptoms in patients with functional heartburn reinforces the concept that functional gastrointestinal disorders extend beyond the boundaries suggested by the anatomical location of symptoms. This should be regarded as a further argument to test patients with symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in order to separate patients with functional heartburn from patients with NERD in whom symptoms are associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux

First determination of the one-proton induced Non-Mesonic Weak Decay width of p-shell {\Lambda}-Hypernuclei

Previous studies of proton and neutron spectra from Non-Mesonic Weak Decay of eight Lambda-Hypernuclei (A = 5-16) have been revisited. New values of the ratio of the two-nucleon and the one-proton induced decay widths, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p, are obtained from single proton spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.50 +/- 0.24, and from neutron and proton coincidence spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.36 +/- 0.14stat +0.05sys -0.04sys , in full agreement with previously published ones. With these values, a method is developed to extract the one-proton induced decay width in units of the free Lambda decay width, Gamma_p/Gamma_Lambda, without resorting to Intra Nuclear Cascade models but by exploiting only experimental data, under the assumption of a linear dependence on A of the Final State Interaction contribution. This is the first systematic determination ever done and it agrees within the errors with recent theoretical calculations.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Pur-alpha functionally interacts with FUS carrying ALS-associated mutations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder due to motor neuron loss. Fused in sarcoma (FUS) protein carrying ALS-associated mutations localizes to stress granules and causes their coalescence into larger aggregates. Here we show that Pur-alpha physically interacts with mutated FUS in an RNA-dependent manner. Pur-alpha colocalizes with FUS carrying mutations in stress granules of motoneuronal cells differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells and that are derived from ALS patients. We observe that both Pur-alpha and mutated FUS upregulate phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha and consistently inhibit global protein synthesis. In vivo expression of Pur-alpha in different Drosophila tissues significatively exacerbates the neurodegeneration caused by mutated FUS. Conversely, the downregulation of Pur-alpha in neurons expressing mutated FUS significatively improves fly climbing activity. All these findings suggest that Pur-alpha, through the control of mRNA translation, might be involved in the pathogenesis of ALS associated with the mutation of FUS, and that an alteration of protein synthesis may be directly implicated in the disease. Finally, in vivo RNAi-mediated ablation of Pur-alpha produced locomotion defects in Drosophila, indicating a pivotal role for this protein in the motoneuronal function

Production of Λ6^{6}_{\Lambda}H and Λ7^{7}_{\Lambda}H with the (Kstop−^{-}_{stop},π+\pi^+) reaction

The production of neutron rich $\Lambda$-hypernuclei via the ($K^-_stop$,$\pi^+$) reaction has been studied using data collected with the FINUDA spectrometer at the DA$\Phi$NE $\phi$-factory (LNF). The analysis of the inclusive $\pi^+$ momentum spectra is presented and an upper limit for the production of $^6_\Lambda$H and $^7_\Lambda$H from $^6$Li and $^7$Li, is assessed for the first time.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PL

A study of the proton spectra following the capture of K−K^- in 6^6Li and 12^{12}C with FINUDA

Momenta spectra of protons emitted following the capture of $K^-$ in $^6$Li and $^{12}$C have been measured with 1% resolution. The $^{12}$C spectrum is smooth whereas for $^6$Li a well defined peak appears at about 500 MeV/$c$. The first observation of a structure in this region was identified as a strange tribaryon or, possibly, a $\bar K$-nuclear state. The peak is correlated with a $\pi^-$ coming from $\Sigma^-$ decay in flight, selected by setting momenta larger than 275 MeV/$c$. The $\Sigma^-$ could be produced, together with a 500 MeV/$c$ proton, by the capture of a $K^-$ in a deuteron-cluster substructure of the $^6$Li nucleus. The capture rate for such a reaction is (1.62\pm 0.23_{stat} ^{+0.71}_{-0.44}(sys))%/K^-_{stop}, in agreement with the existing observations on $^4$He targets and with the hypothesis that the $^6$Li nucleus can be interpreted as a $(d+\alpha)$ cluster.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in NP

Σ−p\Sigma^- p emission rates in K−K^- absorptions at rest on 6^6Li, 7^7Li, 9^{9}Be, 13^{13}C and 16^{16}O

An experimental study of the $K^-_{stop}A\rightarrow \Sigma^- p A'$ reaction on $A=^6$Li, $^7$Li, $^9$Be, $^{13}$C and $^{16}$O $p$-shell nuclei is presented. The data were collected by the FINUDA spectrometer operating at the DA$\Phi$NE $\phi$-factory (LNF-INFN, Italy). Emission rates for the reaction in the mentioned nuclei are measured and compared with the few existing data. The spectra of several observables are discussed; indications of Quasi-Free absorptions by a $(np)$ pair embedded in the $A$ nucleus can be obtained from the study of the missing mass distributions.Comment: Version accepted by PR