Vector meson production in pp collisions at √s = 7TeV measured with the ALICE detector

Vector mesons are key probes of the hot and dense state of strongly interacting matter produced in heavy-ion collisions. Their dileptonic decay channel is particularly suitable for these studies, since dileptons have negligible final-state interactions in QCD matter. A measurement of the φ and ω differential cross sections was performed by the ALICE experiment in pp collisions at √s = 7TeV, through their decay in muon pairs, for pT > 1GeV/c and 2.5 < y < 4

Vector meson production at √s = 7TeV and at √s = 2.76 TeV measured with the ALICE detector

Vector mesons are key probes of the hot and dense state of strongly interacting matter produced in heavy ion collisions. Their dilepton decay channel is particularly suitable for these studies, since dileptons have negligible final state interactions in QCD matter. We present the absolute production cross sections of φ and ω mesons measured with the ALICE muon spectrometer in the rapidity range 2.5 < y < 4 in pp collisions at √s = 7TeV and at √s = 2.76TeV, and the φ/(ρ+ω) ratio measured in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 2.76TeV

Defective WNT signaling may protect from articular cartilage deterioration - a quantitative MRI study on subjects with a heterozygous WNT1 mutation

Objective: WNT signaling is of key importance in chondrogenesis and defective WNT signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and other cartilage diseases. Biochemical composition of articular cartilage in patients with aberrant WNT signaling has not been studied. Our objective was to assess the knee articular cartilage in WNT1 mutation-positive individuals using a 3.0T MRI unit to measure cartilage thickness, relaxation times, and texture features. Design: Cohort comprised mutation-positive (N = 13; age 17-76 years) and mutation-negative (N = 13; 16-77 years) subjects from two Finnish families with autosomal dominant WNT1 osteoporosis due to a heterozygous missense mutation c.652T>G (p.C218G) in WNT1. All subjects were imaged with a 3.0T MRI unit and assessed for cartilage thickness, T2 and T1 rho relaxation times, and T2 texture features contrast, dissimilarity and homogeneity of T2 relaxation time maps in six regions of interest (ROIs) in the tibiofemoral cartilage. Results: All three texture features showed opposing trends with age between the groups in the medial tibiofemoral cartilage (P = 0.020-0.085 for the difference of the regression coefficients), the mutation-positive individuals showing signs of cartilage preservation. No significant differences were observed in the lateral tibiofemoral cartilage. Cartilage thickness and means of T2 relaxation time did not differ between groups. Means of T1r relaxation time were significantly different in one ROI but the regression analysis displayed no differences. Conclusions: Our results show less age-related cartilage deterioration in the WNT1 mutation-positive than the mutation-negative subjects. This suggests, that the WNT1 mutation may alter cartilage turnover and even have a potential cartilage-preserving effect. (C) 2019 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

~1400-nm continuous-wave diamond Raman laser intracavity-pumped by an InGaAs semiconductor disk laser

We present a ~1400nm-emitting diamond Raman laser intracavity-pumped by an ~1180nm semiconductor disk laser. We measured a maximum output power of 2.3 W at ~1400nm with an output coupling of 3.5%. The Raman laser was tunable from 1373 to 1415nm using a 4-mm-thick birefringent filter

Virtual Support for Real-World Movement:Using Chatbots to Overcome Barriers to Physical Activity

Conversational agents (CAs, aka chatbots) for behavioral interventions have great potential to improve patient engagement and provide solutions that can benefit human health. In this study, we examined the potential efficacy of chatbots in assisting with the resolution of specific barriers that people frequently encounter when doing behavioral interventions for the purpose of increasing physical activity (PA). To do this, six common barriers (i.e., things that stand in the way of increasing PA) were targeted (e.g., stress and fatigue), we adopted domain knowledge (i.e., psychological theories and behavioral change techniques) to design six interventions aimed at tackling each of these six barriers. These interventions were then incorporated into consultative conversations, which were subsequently integrated into a chatbot. A user study was conducted on non-clinical samples (n=77) where all participants were presented with three randomly but equally distributed chatbot interventions and a control condition. Each intervention conversation addressed a specific barrier to PA, while the control conversation did not address any barrier. The outcome variables were beliefs in PA engagement, attitudes toward the effectiveness of each intervention to resolve the barrier, and the overall chatbot experience. The results showed a significant increase in beliefs of PA engagement in most intervention groups compared to the control group, and positive attitudes toward the effectiveness of the interventions in reducing their respective barriers to PA, and positive chatbot experience. The results demonstrate that theory-grounded interventions delivered by chatbots can effectively help people overcome specific barriers to PA, thereby increasing their beliefs in PA engagement. These promising findings indicate that chatbot interventions can be an accessible and widely applicable solution for a larger population to promote PA.</p

Impact of a Moderately Hypocaloric Mediterranean Diet on the Gut Microbiota Composition of Italian Obese Patients

Although it is known that the gut microbiota (GM) can be modulated by diet, the efficacy of specific dietary interventions in determining its composition and diversity in obese patients remains to be ascertained. The present work aims to evaluate the impact of a moderately hypocaloric Mediterranean diet on the GM of obese and overweight patients (OB). The GM of 23 OB patients (F/M = 20/3) was compared before (T0) and after 3 months (T3) of nutritional intervention (NI). Fecal samples were analyzed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. At baseline, GM characterization confirmed typical obesity-associated dysbiosis. After 3 months of NI, patients presented a statistically significant reduction in body weight and fat mass, along with changes in the relative abundance of many microbial patterns. In fact, an increase in the abundance of several Bacteroidetes taxa (i.e., Sphingobacteriaceae, Sphingobacterium, Bacteroides spp., Prevotella stercorea) and a depletion of many Firmicutes taxa (i.e., Lachnospiraceae members, Ruminococcaceae and Ruminococcus, Veillonellaceae, Catenibacterium, Megamonas) were observed. In addition, the phylum Proteobacteria showed an increased abundance, while the genus Sutterella, within the same phylum, decreased after the intervention. Metabolic pathways, predicted by bioinformatic analyses, showed a decrease in membrane transport and cell motility after NI. The present study extends our knowledge of the GM profiles in OB, highlighting the potential benefit of moderate caloric restriction in counteracting the gut dysbiosis

Variability and Predictors of Response to Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation: A TMS-EEG Study

Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) is a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigm reported to decrease the excitability of the stimulated cortical area and which is thought to reflect a form of inhibitory synaptic plasticity. However, since its introduction, the effect of cTBS has shown a remarkable variability in its effects, which are often quantified by measuring the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs). Part of this inconsistency in experimental results might be due to an intrinsic variability of TMS effects caused by genetic or neurophysiologic factors. However, it is also possible that MEP only reflect the excitability of a sub-population of output neurons; resting EEG power and measures combining TMS and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) might represent a more thorough reflection of cortical excitability. The aim of the present study was to verify the robustness of several predictors of cTBS response, such as I wave recruitment and baseline MEP amplitude, and to test cTBS after-effects on multiple neurophysiologic measurements such as MEP, resting EEG power, local mean field power (LMFP), TMS-related spectral perturbation (TRSP), and inter-trial phase clustering (ITPC). As a result, we were not able to confirm either the expected decrease of MEP amplitude after cTBS or the ability of I wave recruitment and MEP amplitude to predict the response to cTBS. Resting EEG power, LMFP, TRSP, and ITPC showed a more consistent trend toward a decrease after cTBS. Overall, our data suggest that the effect of cTBS on corticospinal excitability is variable and difficult to predict with common electrophysiologic markers, while its effect might be clearer when probed with combined TMS and EEG

Long term evaluation of oral health indices in patients who undergone head and neck radia-tion therapy in association with vitamin E (case-control group)

BACKGROUND: Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas that develop in the upper aerodigestive epithelium (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx) after exposure to carcinogens such as tobacco, alcohol, or to some virus (HPV, Epstein Barr). Treatments for this kind of cancer are: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which are often combined. Many are the complications associated with radiotherapy such as xerostomia, mucositis, caries, trismus, candidiasis, dysgeusia, dysphagia and osteoradionecrosis. Management of oral health is especially important in order to limit side effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate, in the long term, the maintenance of oral health indices in patients who had undergone head and neck radiation therapy, in association with vitamin E (case-control group). METHODS: An observational study was conducted to evaluate, in the long term, the oro-dental characteristics of patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy, in association with vitamin E. This study is the forth stage of work which started in April 2013. It includes an oro-dental assessment in 41 months. 17 patients with cancer (4 f., and 13 m.), aged between 48 and 72, were selected, then divided into a case group (7 patient) which received products containing vitamin E, and a control group which didn’t receive products containing vitamin E. Each patient was informed about the protocol approved by the ethical Committee of our Institution . They sign an informed consent and have been evaluated by a single dental hygienist. During each visit (T0, T1,T2) the patients received a questionnaire, then the dental hygienist performed an extra-oral examination, an intra-oral examination, a detection of oral health indices through the use of a plaque index and a bleeding index (Ainamo & Bay 1975), motivation and home oral hygiene education, professional cleaning. Professional cleaning was performed using an ultrasonic scaler above and below the gum, soft non-abrasive cups, prophylaxis paste (RDA <40). RESULTS: To manage the side effects a good oral health is necessary, which can be reached by a perfect plaque control (patient compliance). The effectiveness of our protocol of study is evident, as both indices (plaque and bleeding) were significantly reduced from T0 to T11. Plaque index average: T0: 79%, T11: 5%. Bleeding index average: T0: 69%,T11: 3%. The vitamin E reduced pain and burning sensation. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergone radio-therapy, are special needs patient. The role of a dental hygienist is essential in following up oral hygiene and food habits, in short, medium and long term. Also vitamin E, can give a good relief from pain and burning sensation (although more clinical evaluation need to be done)