BPS invariants from pp-adic integrals

We define $p$-adic BPS or $p$BPS-invariants for moduli spaces $M_{\beta,\chi}$ of 1-dimensional sheaves on del Pezzo surfaces by means of integration over a non-archimedean local field $F$ . Our definition relies on a canonical measure $\mu_{can}$ on the $F$-analytic manifold associated to $M_{\beta,\chi}$ and the $p$BPS-invariants are integrals of natural $\mathbb{G}_m$-gerbes with respect to $\mu_{can}$. A similar construction can be done for meromorphic Higgs bundles on a curve. Our main theorem is a $\chi$-independence result for these $p$BPS-invariants. For 1-dimensional sheaves on del Pezzo surfaces and meromorphic Higgs bundles, we obtain as a corollary the agreement of $p$BPS with usual BPS-invariants trough a result of Maulik-Shen.Comment: 24 pages, comments welcome

Diode versus CO2 laser therapy in the treatment of high labial frenulum attachment: a pilot randomized, double-blinded clinical trial

Background: The labial frenula are triangular plicas departing from the alveolar mucosa and attaching themselves at different heights of the gingiva. Sometimes a high attachment can determine a gingival recession. The most suitable surgical resolution is the use of laser devices. The aim of this study was to compare the labial frenulectomy through the use of Diode and CO2 laser techniques in pediatric patients with a high labial frenulum attachment, clarifying at the same time the preventive role of the surgical treatment to avoid further recession. Methods: A pilot randomized, double-blinded clinical trial was conducted to compare both the surgical advantages and the preventive treatment of laser technology using two different wavelengths within a population of pediatric patients with a high labial frenulum attachment. Different parameters intra and post-surgery were taken into account (Bleeding, Wound Healing, Gingival Recession, Periodontal pocket and Numerical Scale Value for pain) to compare Diode versus CO2 laser therapy. Results: Although both the laser devices provide a good performance in the post-operative period, the Diode laser shows better results (p < 0.001) in three of the five parameters evaluated. Conclusions: From the results it was found that the Diode Laser device is more suitable compared to the CO2 device

Lansoprazole as a rescue agent in chemoresistant tumors: a phase I/II study in companion animals with spontaneously occurring tumors

Background: The treatment of human cancer has been seriously hampered for decades by resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Mechanisms underlying this resistance are far from being entirely known. A very efficient mechanism of tumor resistance to drugs is related to the modification of tumour microenvironment through changes in the extracellular and intracellular pH. The acidification of tumor microenvironment depends on proton pumps that actively pump protons outside the cells, mostly to avoid intracellular acidification. In fact, we have shown in pre-clinical settings as pre-treatment with proton-pumps inhibitors (PPI) increase tumor cell and tumor responsiveness to chemotherapeutics. In this study pet with spontaneously occurring cancer proven refractory to conventional chemotherapy have been recruited in a compassionate study.Methods: Thirty-four companion animals (27 dogs and 7 cats) were treated adding to their chemotherapy protocols the pump inhibitor lansoprazole at high dose, as suggested by pre-clinical experiments. Their responses have been compared to those of seventeen pets (10 dogs and 7 cats) whose owners did not pursue any other therapy than continuing the currently ongoing chemotherapy protocols.Results: The drug was overall well tolerated, with only four dogs experiencing side effects due to gastric hypochlorhydria consisting with vomiting and or diarrhea. In terms of overall response twenty-three pets out of 34 had partial or complete responses (67.6%) the remaining patients experienced no response or progressive disease however most owners reported improved quality of life in most of the non responders. On the other hand, only three animals in the control group (17%) experienced short lived partial responses (1-3 months duration) while all the others died of progressive disease within two months.Conclusions: high dose proton pump inhibitors have been shown to induce reversal of tumor chemoresistance as well as improvement of the quality of life in pets with down staged cancer and in the majority of the treated animals PPI were well tolerated. Further studies are warranted to assess the efficacy of this strategy in patients with advanced cancers in companion animals as well as in humans. © 2011 Spugnini et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Electrochemotherapy with cisplatin enhances local control after surgical ablation of fibrosarcoma in cats: an approach to improve the therapeutic index of highly toxic chemotherapy drugs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer is one of the most difficult current health challenges, being responsible for millions of deaths yearly. Systemic chemotherapy is the most common therapeutic approach, and the prevailing orientation calls for the administration of the maximum tolerated dose; however, considerable limitations exist including toxicities to healthy tissues and low achievable drug concentrations at tumor sites. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a tumor treatment that combines the systemic or local delivery of anticancer drugs with the application of permeabilizing electric pulses. In this article we evaluate the capability of ECT to allow the use of cisplatin despite its high toxicity in a spontaneous feline model of soft tissue sarcoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of sixty-four cats with incompletely excised sarcomas were treated with cisplatin-based adjuvant ECT and monitored for side effects. Their response was compared to that of fourteen cats treated with surgery alone.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The toxicities were minimal and mostly treated symptomatically. ECT resulted in increased local control (median not reached at the time of writing) with a mean time to recurrence of 666 days versus 180 of controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that ECT is a safe and efficacious therapy for solid tumors; its use may be considered as part of strategies for the reintroduction of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index in the clinical protocols.</p

Gopakumar–Vafa invariants in genus 0 and 1

In this thesis we explore two possible approaches to the study of Gopakumar-Vafa invari- ants in genus 0 and 1, mostly concentrating on their relation with certain moduli spaces of morphisms. The work is divided in two parts. In the first part we study via a new technique inspired by Hitchin’s spectral curve construction, a version of Donaldson-Thomas invari- ants which Katz has proposed as a mathematical definition of genus 0 GV invariants. The spectral curve point of view leads us, in the reduced class case, to express the local invariants of a fixed curve in terms of maps from curves homeomorphic to genus 0 ones. At the end of the first part we look at some examples in the non reduced class case and explore the spectral construction techniques in this set up. InthesecondpartofthethesisIdiscussajointworkwithLucaBattistellaandCristina Manolache. We first recall Li-Zinger definition of reduced genus 1 invariants, which coincide with genus 1 GV for the quintic 3-folds for the reduced class case, and prove that such invariants coincide with those arising from the moduli space of 1-stable maps. In such moduli space elliptic tails are destabilised and replaced by non degenerate maps from cuspidal curves. We think of this as a first step in a longer project, with the aim is that to define alternate compactifications of the moduli space of maps in higher genus whose associated invariants do not take into account degenerate contributions.Open Acces

Stimulation Strategies for Tinnitus Suppression in a Neuron Model

Tinnitus is a debilitating perception of sound in the absence of external auditory stimuli. It may have either a central or a peripheral origin in the cochlea. Experimental studies evidenced that an electrical stimulation of peripheral auditory fibers may alleviate symptoms but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. In this work, a stochastic neuron model is used, that mimics an auditory fiber affected by tinnitus, to check the effects, in terms of firing reduction, of different kinds of electric stimulations, i.e., continuous wave signals and white Gaussian noise. Results show that both white Gaussian noise and continuous waves at tens of kHz induce a neuronal firing reduction; however, for the same amplitude of fluctuations, Gaussian noise is more efficient than continuous waves. When contemporary applied, signal and noise exhibit a cooperative effect in retrieving neuronal firing to physiological values. These results are a proof of concept that a combination of signal and noise could be delivered through cochlear prosthesis for tinnitus suppression

Combination of bleomycin and cisplatin as adjuvant electrochemotherapy protocol for the treatment of incompletely excised feline injection site sarcomas: A retrospective study

Background: Feline injection-site sarcomas (FISS) are mesenchymal tumors that can occur in cats after injections of different medical agents, and are easily prone to recurrence. Aim: The aims of this study were to report treatment outcomes for cats with feline injection site sarcomas (FISS) treated with both bleomycin and cisplatin, per adjuvant electrochemotherapy (ECT) protocol. Methods: Medical records of cats with a diagnosis of FISS that were treated with ECT using both bleomycin and cisplatin were retrospectively evaluated. Twenty-seven cats were available for statistical evaluation of their response. The cats received intravenous 20 mg/m2 bleomycin, and the tumor bed and margins were infiltrated with cisplatin at the dose of 0.5 mg/cm2. Then, trains of permeabilizing biphasic electric pulses lasting 50 + 50 µsec each, were delivered in bursts of 1,300 V/cm using caliper electrodes under sedation. A second session was performed 2 weeks later. Results: Side effects were limited to local inflammation in three cats. Three cats developed local tumor recurrence at days 180, 180 and 545, after surgery, two cats developed recurrence and metastases at 100 and 505 days after surgery and two cats experienced distant metastases. A median time to recurrence could not be calculated as over 80% of the study population remained disease-free or were censored due to death from other causes. Mean survival time was 985 days and median cumulative survival for all cases, was 1000 days. Conclusion: When compared to historical controls, the results of this study demonstrate superior rates of tumor-free survival and disease-free interval. This adjuvant therapy could be a useful addition to the current options for FISS in consideration of its efficacy, limited toxicity, and ease of administration