Brain-derived neurotrophic factor: a new adipokine

Since leptin discovery in 1994, an extensive body of work has been demonstrating that adipose tissue (mainly its white phenotype) expresses not only metabolic, but also endocrine and paracrine phenotypes, particularly in adipobiology of disease. This new biology is achieved predominantly through secretion of adipokines, which include more than hundred highly active signaling proteins. However, studies on adipobiology of neurotrophins have recently emerged, nerve growth factor being one example of adipose-derived neurotrophins. Here we present data showing that brain-derived neurotrophic factor is also expressed in both white and brown adipose tissue.Biomedical Reviews 2007; 18: 85-88

Homo diabesus: involvement of metabotrophic factors

Diabesity is a new term which refers to type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity found in one individual, hence Homo diabesus. Previously we presented our hypothesis of metabotrophic factors (MTF), also termed metabotrophins. Onward we described Homo obesus (man obese) as a metabotrophin-deficient species. Now - as a phenotypic variety of this species - we introduce H. diabesus. Endogenous MTF are in general signaling proteins able to improve cardiovascular and metabolic homeostasis including that of lipids, glucose, energy, inflammation, angiogenesis, and cognition. Hence pharmacological manipulations of the secretion and/or signaling of MTF might bring a therapeutic benefit for H. diabesus. Here we Dance Round the hypothesis that deficit and/or dysfunction of MTF may lead to diabesity. Arguably, an updated list of MTF including nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, adiponectin, humanin, irisin and other adipose- and nonadipose-derived bioactive molecules is presented. Overall this may cultivate a novel pathogenic and therapeutic thinking for cardiometabolic disease.Adipobiology 2012; 5: 45-49

Signals and Power Distribution in the CMS Inner Tracker

\begin{abstract} This Note describes how the interconnection between the 3540 modules of the CMS Inner Tracker has been approached, focusing on the signal, high voltage and low voltage line distribution. The construction and tests of roughly a thousand interconnects called ``Mother Cables" is described. \end{abstract

A hot cocoon in the ultralong GRB 130925A: hints of a PopIII-like progenitor in a low density wind environment

GRB 130925A is a peculiar event characterized by an extremely long gamma-ray duration ($\approx$7 ks), as well as dramatic flaring in the X-rays for $\approx$20 ks. After this period, its X-ray afterglow shows an atypical soft spectrum with photon index $\Gamma$$\sim$4, as observed by Swift and Chandra, until $\approx 10^7$ s, when XMM-Newton observations uncover a harder spectral shape with $\Gamma$$\sim$2.5, commonly observed in GRB afterglows. We find that two distinct emission components are needed to explain the X-ray observations: a thermal component, which dominates the X-ray emission for several weeks, and a non-thermal component, consistent with a typical afterglow. A forward shock model well describes the broadband (from radio to X-rays) afterglow spectrum at various epochs. It requires an ambient medium with a very low density wind profile, consistent with that expected from a low-metallicity blue supergiant (BSG). The thermal component has a remarkably constant size and a total energy consistent with those expected by a hot cocoon surrounding the relativistic jet. We argue that the features observed in this GRB (its ultralong duration, the thermal cocoon, and the low density wind environment) are associated with a low metallicity BSG progenitor and, thus, should characterize the class of ultralong GRBs.Comment: 6 pgs, 3 figs, fig1 revised, ApJL in pres

Metacognition as a predictor of improvements in personality disorders

Personality Disorders (PDs) are particularly hard to treat and treatment drop-out rates are high. Several authors have agreed that psychotherapy is more successful when it focuses on the core of personality pathology. For this reason, therapists dealing with PDs need to understand the psychopathological variables that characterize this pathology and exactly what contributes to maintaining psychopathological processes. Moreover, several authors have noted that one key problem that characterizes all PDs is an impairment in understanding mental states - here termed metacognition - which could also be responsible for therapy failures. Unfortunately, a limited number of studies have investigated the role of mentalization in the process of change during psychotherapy. In this paper, we assume that poor metacognition corresponds to a core element of the general pathology of personality, impacts a series of clinical variables, generates symptoms and interpersonal problems, and causes treatment to be slower and less effective. We explored whether changes in metacognition predicted an improvement among different psychopathological variables characterizing PDs; 193 outpatients were treated at the Third Center of Cognitive Psychotherapy in Rome, Italy, and followed a structured path tailored for the different psychopathological variables that emerged from a comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessment that considered patients' symptoms, metacognitive abilities, interpersonal relationships, personality psychopathology, and global functioning. The measurements were repeated after a year of treatment. The results showed that changes in metacognitive abilities predicted improvements in the analyzed variable