1,719 research outputs found
Dark Universe and distribution of Matter as Quantum Imprinting: the Quantum Origin of Universe
In this paper we analyze the Dark Matter problem and the distribution of
matter through two different approaches, which are linked by the possibility
that the solution of these astronomical puzzles should be sought in the quantum
imprinting of the Universe. The first approach is based on a cosmological model
formulated and developed in the last ten years by the first and third authors
of this paper; the so-called Archaic Universe. The second approach was
formulated by Rosen in 1933 by considering the Friedmann-Einstein equations as
a simple one-dimensional dynamical system reducing the cosmological equations
in terms of a Schroedinger equation. As an example, the quantum memory in
cosmological dynamics could explain the apparently periodic structures of the
Universe while Archaic Universe shows how the quantum phase concernts not only
an ancient era of the Universe, but quantum facets permeating the entire
Universe today.Comment: 18 page
Einstein and Rastall Theories of Gravitation in Comparison
We profit by a recent paper of Visser claiming that Rastall gravity is
equivalent to Einstein gravity to compare the two gravitational theories in a
general way. Our conclusions are different from Visser's ones. We indeed argue
that these two theories are not equivalent. In fact, Rastall theory of gravity
is an "open" theory when compared to Einstein general theory of relativity.
Thus, it is ready to accept the challenges of observational cosmology and
quantum gravity.Comment: 8 pages, comment on the paper arXiv:1711.11500, "Rastall gravity is
equivalent to Einstein gravity", by Matt Visser. Final version matching the
paper published in the European Physical Journal
Kinetic limitations of cooperativity based drug delivery systems
We study theoretically a novel drug delivery system that utilizes the
overexpression of certain proteins in cancerous cells for cell specific
chemotherapy. The system consists of dendrimers conjugated with "keys" (ex:
folic acid) which "key-lock" bind to particular cell membrane proteins (ex:
folate receptor). The increased concentration of "locks" on the surface leads
to a longer residence time for the dendrimer and greater incorporation into the
cell. Cooperative binding of the nanocomplexes leads to an enhancement of cell
specificity. However, both our theory and detailed analysis of in-vitro
experiments indicate that the degree of cooperativity is kinetically limited.
We demonstrate that cooperativity and hence the specificity to particular cell
type can be increased by making the strength of individual bonds weaker, and
suggest a particular implementation of this idea. The implications of the work
for optimizing the design of drug delivery vehicles are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, v3: minor revision
Quantum oscillations in the black hole horizon
By applying Rosen's quantization approach to the historical Oppenheimer and
Snyder gravitational collapse and by setting the constraints for the formation
of the Schwarzschild black hole (SBH), in a previous paper [1] two of the
Authors (CC and FF) found the gravitational potential, the Schrodinger
equation, the solution for the energy levels, the area quantum and the quantum
representation of the ground state at the Planck scale of the SBH. Such results
are consistent with previous ones in the literature. It was also shown that the
traditional classical singularity in the core of the SBH is replaced by a
quantum oscillator describing a non-singular two-particle system where the two
components, named the "nucleus" and the "electron", strongly interact with each
other through a quantum gravitational interaction. In agreement with the de
Broglie hypothesis, the "electron" is interpreted in terms of the quantum
oscillations of the BH horizon. In other words, the SBH should be the
gravitational analogous of the hydrogen atom. In this paper, it is shown that
these results allow us to compute the SBH entropy as a function of the BH
principal quantum number in terms of Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and three
sub-leading corrections. In addition, the coefficient of the formula of
Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is reduced to a quarter of the traditional value.
Then, it is shown that, by performing a correct rescaling of the energy levels,
the semi-classical Bohr-like approach to BH quantum physics, previously
developed by one of the Authors (CC), is consistent with the obtained results
for large values of the BH principal quantum number. After this, Hawking
radiation will be analysed by discussing its connection with the BH quantum
structure. Finally, it is shown that the time evolution of the above mentioned
system solves the BH information paradox.Comment: 29 pages.Comments are welcome. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1912.0647
Evaluation of Fresh Groundwater Lens Volume and Its Possible Use in Nauru Island
A proper management of fresh groundwater lenses in small islands is required in order to avoid or at least limit uncontrolled saltwater intrusion and guarantee the availability of the resource even during drought occurrences. An accurate estimation of the freshwater volume stored in the subsoil is a key step in the water management decision process. This study focused on understanding the hydrogeological system behaviour and on assessing the sustainable use of the groundwater resource in Nauru Atoll Island (Pacific Ocean). A first phase, concerning the hydrogeological characterization of the island, highlighted the occurrence of few drought-resilient freshwater lenses along the seashore. The second part of the study focused on the characterization of a freshwater lens found in the northern coastal area and identified such area as the most suitable for the development of groundwater infrastructures for water withdrawal. The characterization activities allowed quantifying the freshwater lens thickness and volume in order to assess the capability to satisfy the population water demand. A geo-electrical tomography survey was carried out, and a 3D density-dependent numerical model was implemented in SEAWAT. The model results demonstrated that in small islands freshwater can unexpectedly accumulate underground right along the seashore and not in the centre of the island as is commonly believed. Furthermore, the model can constitute a useful tool to manage the groundwater resources and would allow the design of sustainable groundwater exploitation systems, avoiding saltwater intrusion worsening
Anderson-Fabry disease: a multiorgan disease.
Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme α-galactosidase A . FD causes glycolipids, such as globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), to accumulate in the vascular endothelium of several organs (fig.2), including the skin, kidneys, nervous system, and heart, thereby triggering inflammation and fibrosis . These processes generally result in organ dysfunction, which is usually the first clinical evidence of FD. Patients with classic FD have various symptoms, eg, acroparesthesias, hypohidrosis, angiokeratomas, corneal opacities, cerebrovascular lesions, cardiac disorders, andrenal dysfunction.However, evolving knowledge about the natural course of disease suggests that it is more appropriate to describe FD as a disease with a wide spectrum of heterogeneously progressive clinical phenotypes. Indeed, most female heterozygotes develop symptoms due to yet undetermined mechanisms and a high percentage of females develops vital organ involvement including the kidneys, heart and/or brain about a decade later than males . Renal failure is a serious complication of this disease. Fabry nephropathy lesions are present and progress in childhood while the disease commonly remains silent by routine clinical measures. Early and timely diagnosis of Fabry nephropathy is crucial since late initiation of enzyme replacement therapy may not halt progressive renal dysfunction. This may be challenging due to difficulties in diagnosis of Fabry disease in children and absence of a sensitive non-invasive biomarker of early Fabry nephropathy. Accurate measurement of glomerular filtration rate and regular assessment for proteinuria and microalbuminuria are useful, though not sensitive enough to detect early lesions in the kidney. The principal clinical manifestationsin Fabry disease consist of artery associated complications (such as cerebral disease and nephropathy), but the pathophysiology of this specific vasculopathy is unclear. Several studies indicate that the specific vascular lesions that are present in Fabry disease occur as a result of vascular dysfunction with major components being endothelial dysfunction, alterations in cerebral perfusion and a pro-thrombotic phenotype. Fabry cardiac involvement has several clinical manifestations (table 10): concentric left ventricular hypertrophy without left ventricular dilation and severe loss of left ventricular systolic function, mitral and aortic valvulopathy, disorders of the atrioventricular conduction or repolarization, and compromised diastolic function. The neurological manifestations of Fabry disease include both peripheral nervous system and CNS involvement, with globotriaosylceramide accumulation found in Schwann cells and dorsal root ganglia together with deposits in CNS neurones. The main involvement of the CNS is attributable to cerebrovasculopathy, with an increased incidence of stroke. The abnormal neuronal accumulation of glycosphingolipid appears to have little clinical effect on the natural history of Fabry disease, with the possible exception of some reported mild cognitive abnormalities. The pathogenesis of Fabry vasculopathy remains poorly understood, but probably relates, in part, to abnormal functional control of the vessels, secondary to endothelial dysfunction as a consequence of α-galactosidase A deficiency. The diagnosis of Fabry disease is made in hemizygous males after the detection of the presence of angiokeratomas (fig 19 A, B), irregularities in sweating, edema, scant body hair, painful sensations, and of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, ophthalmologic, phlebologic, and respiratory involvement. A deficiency of alpha-gal A in serum, leukocytes, tears, tissue specimens, or cultured skin fibroblasts further supports the diagnosis in male patients. Since heterozygous women show angiokeratomas in only about 30% of cases and may have alpha-gal A levels within normal range, genetic analysis is recommended. The resultant storage of undegraded glycolipids leads to the progressive development of potentially life-threatening manifestations affecting multiple organ systems in the body. The Mainz Severity Score Index (MSSI) (table 12), a scoring system for patients with Fabry disease has been proven to be representative in patients with 'classic' Fabry disease and may be useful for monitoring clinical improvement in patients receiving enzyme replacement therapy. The MSSI of patients with AFD was significantly higher than that of patients with other severe debilitating diseases
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Antagonists and Occurrence of Autoantibodies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Single Center Experience
Background & Aims: Appearance of auto antibodies have been described
during anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha therapy; however, their prevalence and
clinical relevance are still unclear. We investigated prevalence of autoantibodies
in
inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients on anti-TNFα treatment and occurrence of
clinical symptoms.
Methods: Titers of ANA, anti-dsDNA, SMA, AMA, LKM were evaluated from blood
samples in patients receiving anti-TNFα inhibitor (adalimumab,
infliximab).
Results: Among 39 patients treated with anti-TNFα therapy, twenty of them
developed ANA, mostly induced by infliximab. 55% ANA positive patients developed
peripheral polyarthralgias with no need for intervention. No patients with positive
autoantibodies developed a drug-induced lupus. The incidence of dsDNA, SMA and
AMA was low and was not associated with autoimmune disease.
Conclusions: Immune response induced by anti-TNFα is restricted to ANA, with
lower prevalence of dsDNA antibodies, SMA and AMA. Further studies are needed to
clarify the role of autoantibodies during anti-TNFα therapy
IPOGLICEMIA NEONATALE: RILIEVI EPIDEMIOLOGICI IN UN CAMPIONE DI NEONATI RICOVERATI (2012-2017)
ipoglicemia neonatal
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