347 research outputs found
Benchmark calculation of n-3H and p-3He scattering
The n-3H and p-3He elastic phase-shifts below the trinucleon disintegration
thresholds are calculated by solving the 4-nucleon problem with three different
realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions (the I-N3LO model by Entem and
Machleidt, the Argonne v18 potential model, and a low-k model derived from the
CD-Bonn potential). Three different methods -- Alt, Grassberger and Sandhas,
Hyperspherical Harmonics, and Faddeev-Yakubovsky -- have been used and their
respective results are compared. For both n-3H and p-3He we observe a rather
good agreement between the three different theoretical methods. We also compare
the theoretical predictions with the available experimental data, confirming
the large underprediction of the p-3He analyzing power.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure
Proton-He elastic scattering at low energies
We present new accurate measurements of the differential cross section
and the proton analyzing power for proton-He
elastic scattering at various energies. A supersonic gas jet target has been
employed to obtain these low energy cross section measurements. The
distributions have been measured at = 0.99, 1.59,
2.24, 3.11, and 4.02 MeV. Full angular distributions of have been
measured at = 1.60, 2.25, 3.13, and 4.05 MeV. This set of
high-precision data is compared to four-body variational calculations employing
realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon (3N) interactions. For the
unpolarized cross section the agreement between the theoretical calculation and
data is good when a potential is used. The comparison between the
calculated and measured proton analyzing powers reveals discrepancies of
approximately 50% at the maximum of each distribution. This is analogous to the
existing `` Puzzle'' known for the past 20 years in nucleon-deuteron
elastic scattering.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Physical Review C, corrected
reference 4
The Ay Problem for p-3He Elastic Scattering
We present evidence that numerically accurate quantum calculations employing
modern internucleon forces do not reproduce the proton analyzing power, A_y,
for p-3He elastic scattering at low energies. These calculations underpredict
new measured analyzing powers by approximately 30% at E_{c.m.} = 1.20 MeV and
by 40% at E_{c.m.} = 1.69 MeV, an effect analogous to a well-known problem in
p-d and n-d scattering. The calculations are performed using the complex Kohn
variational principle and the (correlated) Hyperspherical Harmonics technique
with full treatment of the Coulomb force. The inclusion of the three-nucleon
interaction does not improve the agreement with the experimental data.Comment: Latex file, 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published on Phys. Rev. Let
Factors influencing consumer wine choice: The case of wine tourism
This research was undertaken to examine the relationship between the wine tourism activities of consumers and their subsequent wine choices. Exploratory research was undertaken giving specific attention to wine tourism, first, as a factor of influence on decision-making, second, on levels of consumer involvement and third on long-term consumer loyalty. A convenience sample of 12 wine consumers in Dublin participated in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather the qualitative data used. The findings clearly establish links made by consumers between their wine tourism experiences and their subsequent wine purchase preferences. The findings highlight the importance of facilitating the co-creation of memorable wine tourism experiences as a determinant of improved consumer involvement as well as the development of long-term consumer loyalty. Implications for industry practitioners suggest a continued focus on the provision of unique wine tourism experiences; while the findings support the theoretical links between consumers own past experiences and their use as a valuable information source when making purchase decisions
Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the duodenum together with multiple intra-abdominal thromboses and hepatitis C virus infection: a case report
Mucosa associated lymphoid tissue MALT lymphoma is a low grade malignancy that arises most commonly from the gastric mucosa. Small intestinal involvement is very rare. The causative relationship between Helicobacter pylori and the gastric MALT lymphoma is a well known issue, but recently there are several data suggesting the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the pathogenesis of lymphoma including MALT lymphoma. Herein we present a rare case of duodenal MALT lymphoma with multiple intra-abdominal thromboses together with HCV infection that was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction detecting HCV-RNA within the peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Mimicking microbial 'education' of the immune system: a strategy to revert the epidemic trend of atopy and allergic asthma?
Deficient microbial stimulation of the immune system, caused by hygiene, may underly the atopy and allergic asthma epidemic we are currently experiencing. Consistent with this 'hygiene hypothesis', research on immunotherapy of allergic diseases also centres on bacteria-derived molecules (eg DNA immunostimulatory sequences) as adjuvants for allergen-specific type 1 immune responses. If we understood how certain microbes physiologically 'educate' our immune system to interact safely with environmental nonmicrobial antigens, we might be able to learn to mimic their beneficial actions. Programmed 'immunoeducation' would consist of safe administration, by the correct route, dose and timing, of those microbial stimuli that are necessary to 'train' the developing mucosal immune system and to maintain an appropriate homeostatic equilibrium between its components. Overall, this would result in a prevention of atopy that is not limited to certain specific allergens. Although such a strategy is far beyond our present potential, it may in principle revert the epidemic trend of atopy and allergic asthma without jeopardizing the fight against infectious diseases
Progressive dementia associated with ataxia or obesity in patients with Tropheryma whipplei encephalitis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Tropheryma whipplei</it>, the agent of Whipple's disease, causes localised infections in the absence of histological digestive involvement. Our objective is to describe <it>T. whipplei </it>encephalitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We first diagnosed a patient presenting dementia and obesity whose brain biopsy and cerebrospinal fluid specimens contained <it>T. whipplei </it>DNA and who responded dramatically to antibiotic treatment. We subsequently tested cerebrospinal fluid specimens and brain biopsies sent to our laboratory using <it>T. whipplei </it>PCR assays. PAS-staining and <it>T. whipplei </it>immunohistochemistry were also performed on brain biopsies. Analysis was conducted for 824 cerebrospinal fluid specimens and 16 brain biopsies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We diagnosed seven patients with <it>T. whipplei </it>encephalitis who demonstrated no digestive involvement. Detailed clinical histories were available for 5 of them. Regular PCR that targeted a monocopy sequence, PAS-staining and immunohistochemistry were negative; however, several highly sensitive and specific PCR assays targeting a repeated sequence were positive. Cognitive impairments and ataxia were the most common neurologic manifestations. Weight gain was paradoxically observed for 2 patients. The patients' responses to the antibiotic treatment were dramatic and included weight loss in the obese patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We describe a new clinical condition in patients with dementia and obesity or ataxia linked to <it>T. whipplei </it>that may be cured with antibiotics.</p
Factors affecting adherence to guidelines for antithrombotic therapy in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation admitted to internal medicine wards
Current guidelines for ischemic stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation or flutter (AFF) recommend Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for patients at high-intermediate risk and aspirin for those at intermediate-low risk. The cost-effectiveness of these treatments was demonstrated also in elderly patients. However, there are several reports that emphasize the underuse of pharmacological prophylaxis of cardio-embolism in patients with AFF in different health care settings.
AIMS: To evaluate the adherence to current guidelines on cardio-embolic prophylaxis in elderly (> 65 years old) patients admitted with an established diagnosis of AFF to the Italian internal medicine wards participating in REPOSI registry, a project on polypathologies/polytherapies stemming from the collaboration between the Italian Society of Internal Medicine and the Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research; to investigate whether or not hospitalization had an impact on guidelines adherence; to test the role of possible modifiers of VKAs prescription.
METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed registry data collected from January to December 2008 and assessed the prevalence of patients with AFF at admission and the prevalence of risk factors for cardio-embolism. After stratifying the patients according to their CHADS(2) score the percentage of appropriateness of antithrombotic therapy prescription was evaluated both at admission and at discharge. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to verify whether or not socio-demographic (age >80years, living alone) and clinical features (previous or recent bleeding, cranio-facial trauma, cancer, dementia) modified the frequency and modalities of antithrombotic drugs prescription at admission and discharge.
RESULTS: Among the 1332 REPOSI patients, 247 were admitted with AFF. At admission, CHADS(2) score was ≥ 2 in 68.4% of patients, at discharge in 75.9%. Among patients with AFF 26.5% at admission and 32.8% at discharge were not on any antithrombotic therapy, and 43.7% at admission and 40.9% at discharge were not taking an appropriate therapy according to the CHADS(2) score. The higher the level of cardio-embolic risk the higher was the percentage of antiplatelet- but not of VKAs-treated patients. At admission or at discharge, both at univariable and at multivariable logistic regression, only an age >80 years and a diagnosis of cancer, previous or active, had a statistically significant negative effect on VKAs prescription. Moreover, only a positive history of bleeding events (past or present) was independently associated to no VKA prescription at discharge in patients who were on VKA therapy at admission. If heparin was considered as an appropriate therapy for patients with indication for VKAs, the percentage of patients admitted or discharged on appropriate therapy became respectively 43.7% and 53.4%.
CONCLUSION: Among elderly patients admitted with a diagnosis of AFF to internal medicine wards, an appropriate antithrombotic prophylaxis was taken by less than 50%, with an underuse of VKAs prescription independently of the level of cardio-embolic risk. Hospitalization did not improve the adherence to guideline
The Schnitzler syndrome
The Schnitzler syndrome is a rare and underdiagnosed entity which is considered today as being a paradigm of an acquired/late onset auto-inflammatory disease. It associates a chronic urticarial skin rash, corresponding from the clinico-pathological viewpoint to a neutrophilic urticarial dermatosis, a monoclonal IgM component and at least 2 of the following signs: fever, joint and/or bone pain, enlarged lymph nodes, spleen and/or liver, increased ESR, increased neutrophil count, abnormal bone imaging findings. It is a chronic disease with only one known case of spontaneous remission. Except of the severe alteration of quality of life related mainly to the rash, fever and pain, complications include severe inflammatory anemia and AA amyloidosis. About 20% of patients will develop a lymphoproliferative disorder, mainly Waldenström disease and lymphoma, a percentage close to other patients with IgM MGUS. It was exceedingly difficult to treat patients with this syndrome until the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra became available. Anakinra allows a complete control of all signs within hours after the first injection, but patients need continuous treatment with daily injections
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