Eigenvalues of the Weyl operator as observables of general relativity

We consider the eigenvalues of the three-dimensional Weyl operator defined in terms of the (Euclidean) Ashtekar variables, and we study their dependence on the gravitational field. We notice that these eigenvalues can be used as gravitational variables, and derive explicit formulas for their Poisson brackets and their time evolution.Comment: 15 pages, LaTex style, preprint UPRF-94-39

Euro area money demand and international portfolio allocation: a contribution to assessing risks to price stability

The long-run relationship between money and prices in the euro area embedded in traditional money demand models with income and interest rates broke down after 2001. We develop a money demand model where investors hold a diversified portfolio with money, domestic and foreign stocks and long-term bonds in which, in addition to the classical wealth effect, also a size and an international portfolio allocation effects arise. The estimated model identifies three cointegrating vectors stable over the sample 1980-2007: a long-run money demand, which depends on income and all risky assets' returns, and two equilibria for the euro area and the US financial markets. Steady state equilibrium of nominal M3 growth is estimated to be about 7% in 2007 with large standard errors mainly due to uncertainty in asset prices. The gap between actual euro area M3 growth and model-based fitted or predicted values helps forecast euro area inflation. JEL Classification: E41, E44, E52, G11, G15Euro area money demand, Inflation forecasts, monetary policy, portfolio allocation

Parental bonding and personality disorder: The mediating role of alexithymia

This study explored whether alexithymic features mediate the effect of perceived adverse parenting during childhood on being diagnosed with a PD in adulthood. Two hundred sixty-five psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, the Clinical Global Impression scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. The statistical model for mediation proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) was employed to detect whether the TAS scores account for the relation between PBI scores and a PD diagnosis. The results indicated that although altered parental bonding (and specifically, excessive maternal protection) may enhance the risk of PD, its effect is completely mediated by the alexithymic feature Difficulty Describing Feelings to Others (DDF), after controlling for gender, age, educational level, type, severity and age of onset of Axis I disorders. Therefore, this study suggests that the presence of DDF accounts for the effect of maternal overprotection risk factor for PD. © 2008 The Guilford Press

Impaired release of Vitamin D in dysfunctional adipose tissue: New cues on Vitamin D supplementation in obesity

Context: Vitamin D accumulates in adipose tissue (AT) and vitamin D deficiency is frequent in obesity. Objective: We hypothesize that trafficking of vitamin D is altered in dysfunctional AT. Design, Patients, Settings: 54 normal-weight and 67 obese males were recruited in a prospective study and randomly assigned to supplementation with 50 \ub5g/week 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 (25(OH)D) or 150 \ub5g/week vitamin D3 for 1 year, raising dosage by 50% if vitamin D-sufficiency (serum 25(OH)D>50 nomol/l), was not achieved at 6 months; 97 subjects completed the study. Methods: Vitamin D3 (D3) and 25(OH)D were quantified by HPLC-MS in control and insulin-resistant (IR) 3T3-L1 cells and subcutaneous AT (SAT) from lean and obese subjects, incubated with or without adrenaline; expression of 25-hydroxylase (CYP27A1), 1\u3b1-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) were analysed by real-time PCR. Results: In IR adipocytes the uptake of D3 and 25(OH)D was higher, but after adrenaline stimulation, the decrement in D3 and 25(OH)D was stronger in control cells, which also showed increased expression of CYP27A1 and CYP27B1 and higher levels of 25(OH)D. In SAT from obese subjects, the adrenaline-induced release of D3 and 25(OH)D was blunted; in both IR cells and obese SAT, protein expression of \u3b22-adrenergic receptor was reduced. Supplementation with 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 was more effective in achieving vitamin D sufficiency in obese, but not in normal weight subjects. Conclusion: Dysfunctional AT shows a reduced catecholamine-induced release of D3 and 25(OH)D, and altered activity of vitamin D-metabolizing enzymes, for these reasons supplementation with 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 is more effective in obese individuals

Validation of the Treadmill Six-Minute Walk Test in People Following Cardiac Surgery

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The enzymatic oxidation of cysteamine to hypotaurine. Purification and properties of the enzyme.

The enzyme oxidizing cysteamine to hypotaurine has been extracted from horse kidney and purified. The final product behaves as a single protein when analyzed in the ultracentrifuge, by starch gel electrophoresis, and by filtration on dextran gels. The sedimentation coefficient of the pure product is s20, w = 5.9. The molecular weight determined by the Yphantis procedure (22) is 83,000. Nonheme iron is contained in the amount of 1 atom per molecule of enzyme. Spectrophoto-metric analyses indicate absence of nonprotein chromophores in the visible and in the near ultraviolet range. The complete amino acid composition has been determined by ion exchange chromatography. The effect of sulfide, methylene blue, and hydroxylamine, which act as cofactor-like compounds, has been studied. Of the substrates assayed (cysteamine, cysteine, cysteine ethyl and methyl esters, and reduced glutathione), only cysteamine is oxidized to the sulfinic derivative in the presence of the cofactor-like compounds named

CD3+CD4+LAP+Foxp3-regulatory cells of the colonic lamina propria limit disease extension in ulcerative colitis

Background and Aims: In ulcerative colitis (UC), inflammation begins in the rectum and can extend proximally throughout the entire colon. The extension of inflammation is an important determinant of disease course, and may be limited by the action of regulatory T cells (Tregs). In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the relationship between UC extension and the proportions of CD3+CD4+Foxp3+ and CD3+CD4+LAP+Foxp3- Tregs in the colonic lamina propria (LP) of 79 UC patients and 29 controls. The role of these cells in UC extension was also investigated in the murine oxazolone-induced colitis model. Methods: Patients: Disease extension was classified according to the Montreal classification. Where possible, endoscopic biopsies of involved and uninvolved tissue were obtained from UC patients. Mouse model: Colitis was induced by intrarectal oxazolone administration. Lamina propria mononuclear cells were isolated from patient biopsies and mouse colon tissue using enzymatic method and the percentage of CD3+CD4+Foxp3+ and CD3+CD4+LAP+Foxp3-cells evaluated by immunofluorescence. Confocal microscopy was applied for the visualization and quantification of CD4+LAP+ cells on tissue histological sections. Results: In UC patients with distal colitis the proportion of LP CD3+CD4+Foxp3+ Tregs was significantly higher in inflamed tissue than uninvolved tissue. As opposite, the proportion of LP CD3+CD4+LAP+ Tregs was significantly higher in uninvolved tissue than involved tissue. Both LP CD3+CD4+Foxp3+ and LP CD3+CD4+LAP+ Tregs proportion in involved tissue was significantly higher than in controls irrespective of the extension of inflammation. In mice with oxazolone-induced distal colitis, treatment with LAP-depleting antibody was associated with the development of extensive colitis. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CD3+CD4+LAP+Foxp3-Tregs limit the extension of inflammatory lesions in UC patients