315 research outputs found
Further studies on the metabolic control of conidiation of N.crassa
Metabolic control of conidiatio
The clustering and bias of radio-selected AGN and star-forming galaxies in the COSMOS field
Dark matter haloes in which galaxies reside are likely to have a significant
impact on their evolution. We investigate the link between dark matter haloes
and their constituent galaxies by measuring the angular two-point correlation
function of radio sources, using recently released 3 GHz imaging over $\sim 2 \
\mathrm{deg}^2z<1b = 1.5
^{+0.1}_{-0.2}z=0.62b = 2.1\pm 0.2b =
2.9 \pm 0.3b = 1.8^{+0.4}_{-0.5}z \sim 0.7M_{h} \sim 3-4
\times 10^{13}h^{-1}_{\odot}M_{h} \sim 1-2 \times
10^{13}h^{-1}_{\odot}z \ge 1z<1$.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted by MNRA
The role and the effect of magnesium in mental disorders: A systematic review
Introduction: Magnesium is an essential cation involved in many functions within the central nervous system, including transmission and intracellular signal transduction. Several studies have shown its usefulness in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Furthermore, it seems that magnesium levels are lowered in the course of several mental disorders, especially depression. Objectives: In this study, we wish to evaluate the presence of a relationship between the levels of magnesium and the presence of psychiatric pathology as well as the effectiveness of magnesium as a therapeutic supplementation. Methods: A systematic search of scientific records concerning magnesium in psychiatric disorders published from 2010 up to March 2020 was performed. We collected a total of 32 articles: 18 on Depressive Disorders (DD), four on Anxiety Disorders (AD), four on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), three on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one on Obsessive\u2013Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one on Schizophrenia (SCZ) and one on Eating Disorders (ED). Results: Twelve studies highlighted mainly positive results in depressive symptoms. Seven showed a significant correlation between reduced plasma magnesium values and depression measured with psychometric scales. Two papers reported improved depressive symptoms after magnesium intake, two in association with antidepressants, compared to controls. No significant association between magnesium serum levels and panic or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) patients, in two distinct papers, was found. In two other papers, a reduced Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score in depressed patients correlated with higher levels of magnesium and beneficial levels of magnesium in stressed patients was found. Two papers reported low levels of magnesium in association with ADHD. Only one of three papers showed lower levels of magnesium in ASD. ED and SCZ reported a variation in magnesium levels in some aspects of the disease. Conclusion: The results are not univocal, both in terms of the plasma levels and of therapeutic effects. However, from the available evidence, it emerged that supplementation with magnesium could be beneficial. Therefore, it is necessary to design ad hoc clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of magnesium alone or together with other drugs (antidepressants) in order to establish the correct use of this cation with potential therapeutic effects
Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in SARS-CoV-2 infection
Among Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifestations, Olfactory (OD) and Gustatory (GD) Dysfunctions (OGD) have drawn considerable attention, becoming a sort of hallmark of the disease. Many have speculated on the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of these disturbances; however, no definite answers have been produced on the topic. With this systematic review, we aimed to collect all the available evidence regarding the prevalence of OGD, the timing of their onset and their resolution, their rate of recovery and their role as diagnostic and prognostic tools for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection
Body Mass Index in Children and Their Parents: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Study Population of Children from Southern Italy
The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased over the last decades. Parental obesity plays an
important role in determining childhood obesity. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between parental and
offspringâ weight status in a population of children from South of Italy, as no data have ever been published from this
area. We recruited 636 children (5.7 ± 1.5 years old) and their parents. Seventy-three (11.5%) and sixteen (2.5%)
children were overweight and obese, respectively. Offspring weight status was significantly associated with parentsâ
weight status. The linear regression analysis showed that offspring BMI was more affected by paternal than by
maternal BMI. Our data confirmed that parentsâ weight status plays an important role on childrenâs BMI. Interestingly,
in our study, parentsâ height and weight were measured and not reported as in most of the previous papers,
strengthening our conclusions. We suggest that intensive nutritional education and preventive programs should be
performed in children with overweight / obese parents rather than in children with normal weight parent.
Furthermore, nutritional education should be performed also for overweight parents to modify preventable risk factor
for pediatric obesity
An Eddington ratio-driven origin for the LX- Mârelation in quiescent and star-forming active galaxies
A mild correlation exists in active galaxies between the mean black hole accretion, as traced by the mean X-ray luminosity and the host galaxy stellar mass Mâ, characterised by a normalization steadily decreasing with cosmic time and lower in more quiescent galaxies. We create comprehensive semi-empirical mock catalogues of active black holes to pin down which parameters control the shape and evolution of the - Mâ relation of X-ray-detected active galaxies. We find that the normalization of the - Mâ relation is largely independent of the fraction of active galaxies (the duty cycle), but strongly dependent on the mean Eddington ratio, when adopting a constant underlying MBH - Mâ relation as suggested by observational studies. The data point to a decreasing mean Eddington ratio with cosmic time and with galaxy stellar mass at fixed redshift. Our data can be reproduced by black holes and galaxies evolving on similar MBH - Mâ relations but progressively decreasing their average Eddington ratios, mean X-ray luminosities, and specific star formation rates, when moving from the starburst to the quiescent phase. Models consistent with the observed - Mâ relation and independent measurements of the mean Eddington ratios are characterised by MBH - Mâ relations lower than those derived from dynamically measured local black holes. Our results point to the - Mâ relation as a powerful diagnostic to: (1) probe black hole-galaxy scaling relations and the level of accretion on to black holes; (2) efficiently break the degeneracies between duty cycles and accretion rates in cosmological models of black holes
Average radio spectral energy distribution of highly star-forming galaxies
The infrared-radio correlation (IRRC) offers a way to assess star formation from radio emission. Multiple studies found the IRRC to decrease with increasing redshift. This may in part be due to the lack of knowledge about the possible radio spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies. We constrain the radio SED of a complete sample of highly star-forming galaxies (SFR > 100 M?/ yr) based on the VLA-COSMOS 1.4 GHz Joint and 3 GHz Large Project catalogs. We reduce archival GMRT 325 MHz and 610 MHz observations, broadening the rest-frame frequency range to 0.3-15 GHz. Employing survival analysis and fitting a double power law SED, we find that the slope steepens from a spectral index of a1 = 0.51±0.04 below 4.5 GHz to a2 = 0.98±0.07 above 4.5 GHz. Our results suggest that the use of a K-correction assuming a single power-law radio SED for star forming galaxies is likely not the root cause of the IRRC trend
Laparoscopic vs. open mesorectal excision for rectal cancer: Are these approaches still comparable? A systematic review and metaanalysis
Background To analyze pathologic and perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic vs. open resections for rectal cancer performed over the last 10 years. Methods A systematic literature search of the following databases was conducted: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE (through PubMed), EMBASE, and Scopus. Only articles published in English from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2018 (i.e. the last 10 years), which met inclusion criteria were considered. The review only included articles which compared Laparoscopic rectal resection (LRR) and Open Rectal Resection (ORR) for rectal cancer and reported at least one of the outcomes of interest. The analyses followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement checklist. Only prospective randomized studies were considered. The body of evidence emerging from this study was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Outcome measures (mean and median values, standard deviations, and interquartile ranges) were extracted for each surgical treatment. Pooled estimates of the mean differences were calculated using random effects models to consider potential inter-study heterogeneity and to adopt a more conservative approach. The pooled effect was considered significant if p <0.05. Results Five clinical trials were found eligible for the analyses. A positive involvement of CRM was found in 49 LRRs (8.5%) out of 574 patients and in 30 ORRs out of 557 patients (5.4%) RR was 1.55 (95% CI, 0.99â2.41; p = 0.05) with no heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). Incorrect mesorectal excision was observed in 56 out of 507 (11%) patients who underwent LRR and in 41 (8.4%) out of 484 patients who underwent ORR; RR was 1.30 (95% CI, 0.89â1.91; p = 0.18) with no heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). Regarding other pathologic outcomes, no significant difference between LRR and ORR was observed in the number of lymph nodes harvested or concerning the distance to the distal margin. As expected, a significant difference was found in the operating time for ORR with a mean difference of 41.99 (95% CI, 24.18, 59.81; p <0.00001; heterogeneity: I2 = 25%). However, no difference was found for blood loss. Additionally, no significant differences were found in postoperative outcomes such as postoperative hospital stay and postoperative complications. The overall quality of the evidence was rated as high. Conclusion Despite the spread of laparoscopy with dedicated surgeons and the development of even more precise surgical tools and technologies, the pathological results of laparoscopic surgery are still comparable to those of open ones. Additionally, concerning the pathological data (and particularly CRM), open surgery guarantees better results as compared to laparoscopic surgery. These results must be a starting point for future evaluations which consider the association between ââsuccessful resectionâ and long-term oncologic outcomes. The introduction of other minimally invasive techniques for rectal cancer surgery, such as robotic resection or transanal TME (taTME), has revealed new scenarios and made open and even laparoscopic surgery obsolete
The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project: Average radio spectral energy distribution of highly star-forming galaxies
We construct the average radio spectral energy distribution (SED) of highly star-forming galaxies (HSFGs) up to z ~ 4. Infrared and radio luminosities are bound by a tight correlation that is defined by the so-called q parameter. This infrared-radio correlation provides the basis for the use of radio luminosity as a star-formation tracer. Recent stacking and survival analysis studies find q to be decreasing with increasing redshift. It was pointed out that a possible cause of the redshift trend could be the computation of rest-frame radio luminosity via a single power-law assumption of the star-forming galaxies' (SFGs) SED. To test this, we constrained the shape of the radio SED of a sample of HSFGs. To achieve a broad rest-frame frequency range, we combined previously published Very Large Array observations of the COSMOS field at 1:4 GHz and 3 GHz with unpublished Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations at 325MHz and 610MHz by employing survival analysis to account for non-detections in the GMRT maps. We selected a sample of HSFGs in a broad redshift range (z ? [0:3; 4]; SFR = 100 M yr-1) and constructed the average radio SED. By fitting a broken power-law, we find that the spectral index changes from a1 = 0:42-0:06 below a rest-frame frequency of 4:3 GHz to a2 = 0:94 ± 0:06 above 4:3 GHz. Our results are in line with previous low-redshift studies of HSFGs ( SFR > 10 M yr-1) that show the SED of HSFGs to differ from the SED found for normal SFGs ( SFR < 10 M yr-1). The difference is mainly in a steeper spectrum around 10 GHz, which could indicate a smaller fraction of thermal free-free emission. Finally, we also discuss the impact of applying this broken power-law SED in place of a simple power-law in K-corrections of HSFGs and a typical radio SED for normal SFGs drawn from the literature. We find that the shape of the radio SED is unlikely to be the root cause of the q-z trend in SFGs
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