Radiation test and application of FPGAs in the ATLAS Level 1 Trigger

The front-end system of the Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) of the ALICE experiment is made of two ASICs. The first chip performs the preamplification, temporary analogue storage and analogue-to-digital conversion of the detector signals. The second chip is a digital buffer that allows for a significant reduction of the connection from the front-end module to the outside world. In this paper, the results achieved on the first complete prototype of the front-end system for the SDDs of ALICE are presented

Deficiency of histone variant macroH2A1.1 is associated with sexually dimorphic obesity in mice

Obesity has a major socio-economic health impact. There are profound sex differences in adipose tissue deposition and obesity-related conditions. The underlying mechanisms driving sexual dimorphism in obesity and its associated metabolic disorders remain unclear. Histone variant macroH2A1.1 is a candidate epigenetic mechanism linking environmental and dietary factors to obesity. Here, we used a mouse model genetically depleted of macroH2A1.1 to investigate its potential epigenetic role in sex dimorphic obesity, metabolic disturbances and gut dysbiosis. Whole body macroH2A1 knockout (KO) mice, generated with the Cre/loxP technology, and their control littermates were fed a high fat diet containing 60% of energy derived from fat. The diet was administered for three months starting from 10 to 12 weeks of age. We evaluated the progression in body weight, the food intake, and the tolerance to glucose by means of a glucose tolerance test. Gut microbiota composition, visceral adipose and liver tissue morphology were assessed. In addition, adipogenic gene expression patterns were evaluated in the visceral adipose tissue. Female KO mice for macroH2A1.1 had a more pronounced weight gain induced by high fat diet compared to their littermates, while the increase in body weight in male mice was similar in the two genotypes. Food intake was generally increased upon KO and decreased by high fat diet in both sexes, with the exception of KO females fed a high fat diet that displayed the same food intake of their littermates. In glucose tolerance tests, glucose levels were significantly elevated upon high fat diet in female KO compared to a standard diet, while this effect was absent in male KO. There were no differences in hepatic histology. Upon a high fat diet, in female adipocyte cross-sectional area was larger in KO compared to littermates: activation of proadipogenic genes (ACACB, AGT, ANGPT2, FASN, RETN, SLC2A4) and downregulation of antiadipogenic genes (AXIN1, E2F1, EGR2, JUN, SIRT1, SIRT2, UCP1, CCND1, CDKN1A, CDKN1B, EGR2) was detected. Gut microbiota profiling showed increase in Firmicutes and a decrease in Bacteroidetes in females, but not males, macroH2A1.1 KO mice. MacroH2A1.1 KO mice display sexual dimorphism in high fat diet-induced obesity and in gut dysbiosis, and may represent a useful model to investigate epigenetic and metabolic differences associated to the development of obesity-associated pathological conditions in males and female

Dependence of the energy resolution of a scintillating crystal on the readout integration time

The possibilty of performing high-rate calorimetry with a slow scintillating crystal is studied. In this experimental situation, to avoid pulse pile-up, it can be necessary to base the energy measurement on only a fraction of the emitted light, thus spoiling the energy resolution. This effect was experimentally studied with a BGO crystal and a photomultiplier followed by an integrator, by measuring the maximum amplitude of the signals. The experimental data show that the energy resolution is exclusively due to the statistical fluctuations of the number of photoelectrons contributing to the maximum amplitude. When such number is small its fluctuations are even smaller than those predicted by Poisson statistics. These results were confirmed by a Monte Carlo simulation which allows to estimate, in a general case, the energy resolution, given the total number of photoelectrons, the scintillation time and the integration time

Long-lasting beneficial effects of central serotonin receptor 7 stimulation in female mice modeling Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by severe behavioral and physiological symptoms. Mutations in the methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) cause more than 95% of classic cases, and currently there is no cure for this devastating disorder. Recently we have demonstrated that specific behavioral and brain molecular alterations can be rescued in MeCP2-308 male mice, a RTT mouse model, by pharmacological stimulation of the brain serotonin receptor 7 (5-HT7R). This member of the serotonin receptor family-crucially involved in the regulation of brain structural plasticity and cognitive processes-can be stimulated by systemic repeated treatment with LP-211, a brain-penetrant selective 5-HT7R agonist. The present study extends previous findings by demonstrating that the LP-211 treatment (0.25 mg/kg, once per day for 7 days) rescues RTT-related phenotypic alterations, motor coordination (Dowel test), spatial reference memory (Barnes maze test) and synaptic plasticity (hippocampal long-term-potentiation) in MeCP2-308 heterozygous female mice, the genetic and hormonal milieu that resembles that of RTT patients. LP-211 also restores the activation of the ribosomal protein (rp) S6, the downstream target of mTOR and S6 kinase, in the hippocampus of RTT female mice. Notably, the beneficial effects on neurobehavioral and molecular parameters of a seven-day long treatment with LP-211 were evident up to 2 months after the last injection, thus suggesting long-lasting effects on RTT-related impairments. Taken together with our previous study, these results provide compelling preclinical evidence of the potential therapeutic value for RTT of a pharmacological approach targeting the brain 5-HT7R

New technologies for customizing products for people with special necessities: project FASHION-ABLE

[EN] Mass-customization of wearable products are offered as a higher added value to the broad public and have to compete with ready-to-wear offer. However, people with specific requirements are not covered by the current mass-customised products. This is the case of the elderly, disabled, diabetic and obese population groups when wearing textiles, clothing, footwear and textile-based orthotic goods. Further, at present, available knowledge and flexibility of production equipment and machinery of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in these traditional industries (even those that already offer made-to-measure products to the mass public) is unable to respond to the individual needs among such heterogeneous groups. The FASHION-ABLE project has solved this problem with a comprehensive set of solutions.This work was supported by the European Commission [project number FP7.FoF.NMP.2011-4 Project 284 871] under FASHION-ABLE project (http://www.fashionable-project.eu/) Area: 'High tech solutions in production [...] for [...] healthy consumer goods'.Durá-Gil, JV.; Ballester Fernández, A.; Cavallaro, M.; Chiodi, A.; Ballarino, A.; Brondi, C.; Von Arnim, V.... (2016). New technologies for customizing products for people with special necessities: project FASHION-ABLE. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing. 30(7):724-737. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951192X.2016.1145803S72473730

Online sexual activities in Italian older adults: The role of gender, sexual orientation, and permissiveness

Introduction Online sexual activities (OSAs) are sexual behaviors involving online sexual content and stimuli and are categorized into non-arousal (N-OSAs), solitary arousal (S-OSAs), and partnered arousal activities (P-OSAs). As such activities in older age remain largely underexamined, this study aimed to explore OSAs in a sample of Italian older adults, analyzing their associations with gender and sexual orientation, considering sexual permissiveness as a moderator. Methods One hundred and fourteen cisgender participants (85 men and 29 women) aged from 52 to 79 years old (M = 62.57, SD = 6.19) were recruited between September 2019 and January 2020 to participate in an online cross-sectional survey on OSAs. Results A total of 58.1% of participants had engaged in S-OSAs at least 2–3 times during the previous month, while a lower percentage of participants had engaged in N-OSAs (38.6%) and P-OSAs (29.9%) at least 2–3 times during the previous month. Men were more likely to be engaged in S-OSAs than women. Being non-heterosexual was associated with an increase in engagement in N-OSAs and S-OSAs, but not in P-OSAs. Sexual permissiveness was significantly associated with N-OSAs and S-OSAs, but not with P-OSAs, and did not moderate either the relationship of gender with OSAs or that of sexual orientation with OSAs. Conclusions This study sheds light on the need to include online resources in sexual health educational programs addressed at older people, as well as in training programs addressed at healthcare professionals and social workers working with this population

First Ex-Vivo Validation of a Radioguided Surgery Technique with beta- Radiation

Purpose: A radio-guided surgery technique with beta- -emitting radio-tracers was suggested to overcome the effect of the large penetration of gamma radiation. The feasibility studies in the case of brain tumors and abdominal neuro-endocrine tumors were based on simulations starting from PET images with several underlying assumptions. This paper reports, as proof-of-principle of this technique, an ex-vivo test on a meningioma patient. This test allowed to validate the whole chain, from the evaluation of the SUV of the tumor, to the assumptions on the bio-distribution and the signal detection. Methods: A patient affected by meningioma was administered 300 MBq of 90Y-DOTATOC. Several samples extracted from the meningioma and the nearby Dura Mater were analyzed with a beta- probe designed specifically for this radio-guided surgery technique. The observed signals were compared both with the evaluation from the histology and with the Monte Carlo simulation. Results: we obtained a large signal on the bulk tumor (105 cps) and a significant signal on residuals of $\sim$0.2 ml (28 cps). We also show that simulations predict correctly the observed yields and this allows us to estimate that the healthy tissues would return negligible signals (~1 cps). This test also demonstrated that the exposure of the medical staff is negligible and that among the biological wastes only urine has a significant activity. Conclusions: This proof-of-principle test on a patient assessed that the technique is feasible with negligible background to medical personnel and confirmed that the expectations obtained with Monte Carlo simulations starting from diagnostic PET images are correct.Comment: 17 pages, 4 Figs, Accepted by Physica Medic