4,338 research outputs found
Efficacy of a functional therapy program for depression and c-reactive protein: A pilot study
Objective: Affecting more than 264 million people, depression is a systemic and multifactorial disorder that represents one of the leading causes of illness and disability worldwide. Several studies showed an inflammatory response in depressed patients, including the involvement of both chronic low-grade inflammatory response and activation of cell-mediated immunity. The present study aimed to verify the efficacy of a structured functional therapy program for patients with depressed mood, and to determine whether this program can significantly reduce levels of C-reactive protein. Method: 28 outpatients with depressed mood received 20 individual sessions of Functional therapy. Data about socio-demographic variables, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life were collected; moreover, blood specimens were collected before and after treatment, and CRP measurement was performed by immunoenzymatic method. All measures were administered at baseline, at the end of treatment (i.e., 3 months after baseline), and at followâup (i.e., 6 months after baseline). Results: A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference after treatment on depression levels, levels of selfâesteem, and all dimensions of quality of life, such as physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference on levels of CRP was found. Moreover, at followâup, improvements were maintained. Conclusions: The study revealed initial evidence of the efficacy of a functional therapy program on treating depression and its psychological and inflammation-related markers
Fragile X syndrome : A review of clinical and molecular diagnoses
Background: Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the second cause of intellectual disability after Down syndrome and the most prevalent cause of intellectual disability in males, affecting 1:5000\u20137000 men and 1:4000\u20136000 women. It is caused by an alteration of the FMR1 gene, which maps at the Xq27.3 band: more than 99% of individuals have a CGG expansion (>200 triplets) in the 5\u2032 UTR of the gene, and FMR1 mutations and duplication/deletion are responsible for the remaining (<1%) molecular diagnoses of FXS. The aim of this review was to gather the current clinical and molecular knowledge about FXS to provide clinicians with a tool to guide the initial assessment and follow-up of
FXS and to offer to laboratory workers and researchers an update about the current diagnostic procedures.
Discussion: FXS is a well-known condition; however, most of the studies thus far have focused on neuropsychiatric features. Unfortunately, some of the available studies have limitations, such as the paucity of patients enrolled or bias due to the collection of the data in a single-country population, which may be not representative of the average global FXS population. In recent years, insight into the adult presentation of the disease has progressively increased. Pharmacological treatment of FXS is essentially symptom based, but the growing understanding of the molecular and biological mechanisms of the disease are paving the way to targeted therapy, which may reverse the effects of FMRP deficiency and be a real cure for the disease itself, not just its symptoms.
Conclusions: The clinical spectrum of FXS is wide, presenting not only as an isolated intellectual disability but as a multi-systemic condition, involving predominantly the central nervous system but potentially affecting any apparatus. Given the relative high frequency of the condition and its complex clinical management, FXS appears to have an important economic and social burden
The peculiar heme pocket of the 2/2 hemoglobin of cold-adapted Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125
Energy Linearity and Resolution of the ATLAS Electromagnetic Barrel Calorimeter in an Electron Test-Beam
A module of the ATLAS electromagnetic barrel liquid argon calorimeter was
exposed to the CERN electron test-beam at the H8 beam line upgraded for
precision momentum measurement. The available energies of the electron beam
ranged from 10 to 245 GeV. The electron beam impinged at one point
corresponding to a pseudo-rapidity of eta=0.687 and an azimuthal angle of
phi=0.28 in the ATLAS coordinate system. A detailed study of several effects
biasing the electron energy measurement allowed an energy reconstruction
procedure to be developed that ensures a good linearity and a good resolution.
Use is made of detailed Monte Carlo simulations based on Geant which describe
the longitudinal and transverse shower profiles as well as the energy
distributions. For electron energies between 15 GeV and 180 GeV the deviation
of the measured incident electron energy over the beam energy is within 0.1%.
The systematic uncertainty of the measurement is about 0.1% at low energies and
negligible at high energies. The energy resolution is found to be about 10%
sqrt(E) for the sampling term and about 0.2% for the local constant term
Position resolution and particle identification with the ATLAS EM calorimeter
In the years between 2000 and 2002 several pre-series and series modules of
the ATLAS EM barrel and end-cap calorimeter were exposed to electron, photon
and pion beams. The performance of the calorimeter with respect to its finely
segmented first sampling has been studied. The polar angle resolution has been
found to be in the range 50-60 mrad/sqrt(E (GeV)). The neutral pion rejection
has been measured to be about 3.5 for 90% photon selection efficiency at pT=50
GeV/c. Electron-pion separation studies have indicated that a pion fake rate of
(0.07-0.5)% can be achieved while maintaining 90% electron identification
efficiency for energies up to 40 GeV.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figures, to be published in NIM
The 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy): Imaging the thrust fault system by accurate aftershock location
Starting from late May 2012, the Emilia region (Northern Italy) was severely shaken by an intense seismic
sequence, originated from a ML 5.9 earthquake on May 20th, at a hypocentral depth of 6.3 km, with thrusttype
focal mechanism. In the following days, the seismic rate remained high, counting 50 ML â„ 2.0 earthquakes
a day, on average. Seismicity spreads along a 30 km eastâwest elongated area, in the Po river alluvial plain, in the
nearby of the cities Ferrara and Modena. Nine days after the first shock, another destructive thrust-type earthquake
(ML 5.8) hit the area to the west, causing further damage and fatalities. Aftershocks following this second
destructive event extended along the same east-westerly trend for further 20 km to the west, thus illuminating
an area of about 50 km in length, on thewhole. After the first shock struck, on May 20th, a dense network of temporary
seismic stations, in addition to the permanent ones, was deployed in the meizoseismal area, leading to a
sensible improvement of the earthquake monitoring capability there. A combined dataset, including threecomponent
seismic waveforms recorded by both permanent and temporary stations, has been analyzed in
order to obtain an appropriate 1-D velocity model for earthquake location in the study area. Here we describe
the main seismological characteristics of this seismic sequence and, relying on refined earthquakes location,
we make inferences on the geometry of the thrust system responsible for the two strongest shocks
The 2012 Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy): Imaging the thrust fault system by accurate aftershock location
Starting from late May 2012, the Emilia region (Northern Italy) was severely shaken by an intense seismic
sequence, originated from a ML 5.9 earthquake on May 20th, at a hypocentral depth of 6.3 km, with thrusttype
focal mechanism. In the following days, the seismic rate remained high, counting 50 ML â„ 2.0 earthquakes
a day, on average. Seismicity spreads along a 30 km eastâwest elongated area, in the Po river alluvial plain, in the
nearby of the cities Ferrara and Modena. Nine days after the first shock, another destructive thrust-type earthquake
(ML 5.8) hit the area to the west, causing further damage and fatalities. Aftershocks following this second
destructive event extended along the same east-westerly trend for further 20 km to the west, thus illuminating
an area of about 50 km in length, on thewhole. After the first shock struck, on May 20th, a dense network of temporary
seismic stations, in addition to the permanent ones, was deployed in the meizoseismal area, leading to a
sensible improvement of the earthquake monitoring capability there. A combined dataset, including threecomponent
seismic waveforms recorded by both permanent and temporary stations, has been analyzed in
order to obtain an appropriate 1-D velocity model for earthquake location in the study area. Here we describe
the main seismological characteristics of this seismic sequence and, relying on refined earthquakes location,
we make inferences on the geometry of the thrust system responsible for the two strongest shocks.Published44-552T. Tettonica attivaJCR Journalope
Vitamin D increases the production of IL-10 by regulatory T cells in patients with systemic sclerosis
OBJECTIVES:
Vitamin D status influences the risk to develop autoimmune diseases affecting the percentage and/or functions of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Since low levels of 25 (OH) D have been decreased in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), we aimed to study the effect of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation on Tregs frequencies and functions.
METHODS:
Peripheral blood and sera samples were obtained from 45 SSc patients and controls (HC). A number of eighteen SSc patients had consumed Cholecalciferol (orally) at the dose of 25.000 UI/month for 6 months at the time of enrollment. 25(OH)D serum levels were measured and VDR polymorphisms, were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tregs isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were in vitro expanded and a suppression assay was performed. Flow cytometry analysis was then carried out. Finally, IL-10 production was assayed by ELISA.
RESULTS:
Low serum levels of 25(OH)D were detected in SSc patients. The percentage of Tregs in SSc patients was similar to controls, but, among SSc patients, it was higher in those patients taking cholecalciferol. Tregs capability to suppress T cell proliferation was impaired in SSc patients and not restored after in vitro pre-treatment with the active form of Vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3); but at the same time the production of IL-10 was increased in treated samples obtained from patients. The lack of response of Tregs from SSc patients to 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment in vitro was not due to altered Vitamin D/VDR signalling.
CONCLUSIONS:
Altogether, our results indicate that the increased production of IL-10 by 1,25(OH)2D3 -treated Tregs could provide a "suppressive" cytokine milieu able to modulate immune response but it is not sufficient to restore the immune suppressive functions of Tregs
Ageing test of the ATLAS RPCs at X5-GIF
An ageing test of three ATLAS production RPC stations is in course at X5-GIF,
the CERN irradiation facility. The chamber efficiencies are monitored using
cosmic rays triggered by a scintillator hodoscope. Higher statistics
measurements are made when the X5 muon beam is available. We report here the
measurements of the efficiency versus operating voltage at different source
intensities, up to a maximum counting rate of about 700Hz/cm^2. We describe the
performance of the chambers during the test up to an overall ageing of 4 ATLAS
equivalent years corresponding to an integrated charge of 0.12C/cm^2, including
a safety factor of 5.Comment: 4 pages. Presented at the VII Workshop on Resistive Plate Chambers
and Related Detectors; Clermont-Ferrand October 20th-22nd, 200
Determination of the b quark mass at the M_Z scale with the DELPHI detector at LEP
An experimental study of the normalized three-jet rate of b quark events with
respect to light quarks events (light= \ell \equiv u,d,s) has been performed
using the CAMBRIDGE and DURHAM jet algorithms. The data used were collected by
the DELPHI experiment at LEP on the Z peak from 1994 to 2000. The results are
found to agree with theoretical predictions treating mass corrections at
next-to-leading order. Measurements of the b quark mass have also been
performed for both the b pole mass: M_b and the b running mass: m_b(M_Z). Data
are found to be better described when using the running mass. The measurement
yields: m_b(M_Z) = 2.85 +/- 0.18 (stat) +/- 0.13 (exp) +/- 0.19 (had) +/- 0.12
(theo) GeV/c^2 for the CAMBRIDGE algorithm. This result is the most precise
measurement of the b mass derived from a high energy process. When compared to
other b mass determinations by experiments at lower energy scales, this value
agrees with the prediction of Quantum Chromodynamics for the energy evolution
of the running mass. The mass measurement is equivalent to a test of the
flavour independence of the strong coupling constant with an accuracy of 7
permil.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
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