176 research outputs found
Mass spectrometer for D-region studies. Part 2 - Flight prototype Final report
Rocket-borne mass spectrometer-getter system for D region studies - flight prototyp
Wasting syndrome with deep bradycardia as presenting manifestation of long-standing severe male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism : a case series
Background: Physiological functioning of the testes is important for cardiac health besides for virilisation, physical strength, behavior and reproduction; moreover, hypogonadism has been demonstrated as a significant risk marker of increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.Cases presentation: We reported two cases of long-standing hypogonadotropic hypogonadism presenting with wasting, bradycardia and heart failure. The two patients were admitted to emergency department for deep weakness, unresponsive anemia and severe bradycardia, requiring in one case the implanting of a monocameral pace-maker for treatment of heart failure. No previous cardiologic disorders were known and cardiac ischemia was ruled out in both patients. The first patient presented congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism combined with mild central hypothyroidism and growth hormone deficiency occurred in the peripubertal age, while the second one was diagnosed with isolated adult-onset severe central hypogonadism. Testosterone deficiency was the main feature in both patients as physical examination revealed clinical stigmata of hypogonadism and testosterone replacement induced a dramatic improvement of general condition. Genetic analysis of genes involved in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism failed to identify alterations.Conclusion: Long-standing hypogonadism in males can be associated with life threatening body alterations including severe bradycardia and heart failure
Analisi della variabilità genetica della razza Gentile di Puglia mediante microsatelliti
La razza Gentile di Puglia conta circa 2813 soggetti allevati in 29 aziende distribuite sui territori di Puglia, Abruzzo, Calabria e Molise (dati Asso.Na.Pa del 2006); da decenni si sta verificando una costante e preoccupante contrazione numerica degli esemplari appartenenti alla razza. La pecora Gentile presenta una produzione di latte modesta in termini quantitativi, sebbene l’elevato contenuto in grasso e proteine lo rendano particolarmente idoneo alla lavorazione casearia. In tale contesto la caratterizzazione genetica della razza Gentile di Puglia, attraverso lo studio della variabilità genetica con approccio di tipo molecolare, potrebbe rappresentare un valido strumento per la sal-
vaguardia della razza e per la valorizzazione delle sue produzioni
New limits on heavy sterile neutrino mixing in -decay obtained with the Borexino detector
If heavy neutrinos with mass 2 are produced in the
Sun via the decay in a side
branch of pp-chain, they would undergo the observable decay into an electron, a
positron and a light neutrino . In the
present work Borexino data are used to set a bound on the existence of such
decays. We constrain the mixing of a heavy neutrino with mass 1.5 MeV 14 MeV to be
respectively. These are tighter limits on the mixing parameters than obtained
in previous experiments at nuclear reactors and accelerators.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Momentum sharing in imbalanced Fermi systems
The atomic nucleus is composed of two different kinds of fermions, protons
and neutrons. If the protons and neutrons did not interact, the Pauli exclusion
principle would force the majority fermions (usually neutrons) to have a higher
average momentum. Our high-energy electron scattering measurements using 12C,
27Al, 56Fe and 208Pb targets show that, even in heavy neutron-rich nuclei,
short-range interactions between the fermions form correlated high-momentum
neutron-proton pairs. Thus, in neutron-rich nuclei, protons have a greater
probability than neutrons to have momentum greater than the Fermi momentum.
This finding has implications ranging from nuclear few body systems to neutron
stars and may also be observable experimentally in two-spin state, ultra-cold
atomic gas systems.Comment: Published in Science. 10 pages, 3 figure
Divergent Regulation of Actin Dynamics and Megakaryoblastic Leukemia-1 and -2 (Mkl1/2) by cAMP in Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells.
Proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) or endothelial cell (ECs) promote or inhibit, respectively, restenosis after angioplasty, vein graft intimal thickening and atherogenesis. Here we investigated the effects of cAMP-induced cytoskeletal remodelling on the serum response factor (SRF) co-factors Megakaryoblastic Leukemia-1 and -2 (MKL1 and MKL2) and their role in controlling VSMC and EC proliferation and migration. Elevation of cAMP using forskolin, dibutyryl-cAMP (db-cAMP), BAY60-6583 or Cicaprost induced rapid cytoskeleton remodelling and inhibited proliferation and migration in VSMCs but not EC. Furthermore, elevated cAMP inhibited mitogen-induced nuclear-translocation of MKL1 and MKL2 in VSMCs but not ECs. Forskolin also significantly inhibited serum response factor (SRF)-dependent reporter gene (SRE-LUC) activity and mRNA expression of pro-proliferative and pro-migratory MKL1/2 target genes in VSMCs but not in ECs. In ECs, MKL1 was constitutively nuclear and MKL2 cytoplasmic, irrespective of mitogens or cAMP. Pharmacological or siRNA inhibition of MKL1 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of VSMC and EC. Our new data identifies and important contribution of MKL1/2 to explaining the strikingly different response of VSMCs and ECs to cAMP elevation. Elucidation of these pathways promises to identify targets for specific inhibition of VSMC migration and proliferation
Exclusive photoproduction of pi degrees up to large values of Mandelstam variables s, t, and u with CLAS
Exclusive photoproduction cross sections have been measured for the process
with the Dalitz decay final state
using tagged photon energies in the range of GeV.
The complete angular distribution of the final state , for the entire
photon energy range up to large values of and , has been measured for
the first time. The data obtained show that the cross section , at
mid to large angles, decreases with energy as . This is in
agreement with the perturbative QCD quark counting rule prediction of . Paradoxically, the size of angular distribution of measured cross sections
is greatly underestimated by the QCD based Generalized Parton Distribution
mechanism at highest available invariant energy GeV. At the same
time, the Regge exchange based models for photoproduction are more
consistent with experimental data.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
The effect of excipient addition on the antibiotic elution from bone cement. An in vitro study
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