152 research outputs found
Measurements of electron-proton elastic cross sections for
We report on precision measurements of the elastic cross section for
electron-proton scattering performed in Hall C at Jefferson Lab. The
measurements were made at 28 unique kinematic settings covering a range in
momentum transfer of 0.4 5.5 . These measurements
represent a significant contribution to the world's cross section data set in
the range where a large discrepancy currently exists between the ratio of
electric to magnetic proton form factors extracted from previous cross section
measurements and that recently measured via polarization transfer in Hall A at
Jefferson Lab.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures; text added, some figures replace
Longitudinal-Transverse Separations of Structure Functions at Low for Hydrogen and Deuterium
We report on a study of the longitudinal to transverse cross section ratio,
, at low values of and , as determined from
inclusive inelastic electron-hydrogen and electron-deuterium scattering data
from Jefferson Lab Hall C spanning the four-momentum transfer range 0.06 GeV. Even at the lowest values of , remains
nearly constant and does not disappear with decreasing , as expected. We
find a nearly identical behaviour for hydrogen and deuterium.Comment: 4 pages, 2 gigure
Targeting the Neurokinin Receptor 1 with Aprepitant: A Novel Antipruritic Strategy
Chronic pruritus is a global clinical problem with a high impact on the quality of life and lack of specific therapies. It is an excruciating and frequent symptom of e.g. uncurable renal, liver and skin diseases which often does not respond to conventional treatment with e.g. antihistamines. Therefore antipruritic therapies which target physiological mechanisms of pruritus need to be developed. Substance P (SP) is a major mediator of pruritus. As it binds to the neurokinin receptor 1 (NKR1), we evaluated if the application of a NKR1 antagonist would significantly decrease chronic pruritus.Twenty hitherto untreatable patients with chronic pruritus (12 female, 8 male; mean age, 66.7 years) were treated with the NKR1 antagonist aprepitant 80 mg for one week. 16 of 20 patients (80%) experienced a considerable reduction of itch intensity, as assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS, range 0 to 10). Considering all patients, the mean value of pruritus intensity was significantly reduced from 8.4 VAS points (SD +/-1.7) before treatment to 4.9 VAS points (SD +/-3.2) (p<0.001, CI 1.913-5.187). Patients with dermatological diseases (e.g. atopic diathesis, prurigo nodularis) had the best profit from the treatment. Side-effects were mild (nausea, vertigo, and drowsiness) and only occurred in three patients.The high response rate in patients with therapy refractory pruritus suggests that the NKR1 antagonist aprepitant may indeed exhibit antipruritic effects and may present a novel, effective treatment strategy based on pathophysiology of chronic pruritus. The results are promising enough to warrant confirming the efficacy of NKR1 antagonists in a randomized, controlled clinical trial
Nuclear transparency from quasielastic A(e,e'p) reactions uo to Q^2=8.1 (GeV/c)^2
The quasielastic (e,ep) reaction was studied on targets of
deuterium, carbon, and iron up to a value of momentum transfer of 8.1
(GeV/c). A nuclear transparency was determined by comparing the data to
calculations in the Plane-Wave Impulse Approximation. The dependence of the
nuclear transparency on and the mass number was investigated in a
search for the onset of the Color Transparency phenomenon. We find no evidence
for the onset of Color Transparency within our range of . A fit to the
world's nuclear transparency data reflects the energy dependence of the free
proton-nucleon cross section.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Exosome-Producing Follicle Associated Epithelium Is Not Involved in Uptake of PrPd from the Gut of Sheep (Ovis aries): An Ultrastructural Study
In natural or experimental oral scrapie infection of sheep, disease associated prion protein (PrPd) often first accumulates in Peyer's patch (PP) follicles. The route by which infectivity reaches the follicles is unknown, however, intestinal epithelial cells may participate in intestinal antigenic presentation by delivering exosomes as vehicles of luminal antigens. In a previous study using an intestinal loop model, following inoculation of scrapie brain homogenate, inoculum associated PrPd was detected by light microscopy shortly (15 minutes to 3.5 hours) after inoculation in the villous lacteals and sub-mucosal lymphatics. No PrPd was located within the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE), sub-FAE domes or the PP follicles. To evaluate this gut loop model and the transportation routes in more detail, we used electron microscopy (EM) to study intestinal tissues exposed to scrapie or control homogenates for 15 minutes to 10 days. In addition, immuno-EM was used to investigate whether exosomes produced in the FAE may possess small amounts of PrPd that were not detectable by light microscopy. This study showed that the integrity of the intestinal epithelium was sustained in the intestinal loop model. Despite prominent transcytotic activity and exosome release from the FAE of the ileal PP in sheep, these structures were not associated with transportation of PrPd across the mucosa. The study did not determine how infectivity reaches the follicles of PPs. The possibility that the infectious agent is transported across the FAE remains a possibility if it occurs in a form that is undetectable by the methods used in this study. Infectivity may also be transported via lymph to the blood and further to all other lymphoid tissues including the PP follicles, but the early presence of PrPd in the PP follicles during scrapie infection argues against such a mechanism
Pramipexole effects on startle gating in rats and normal men
Dopamine D3 receptors regulate sensorimotor gating in rats, as evidenced by changes in prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle after acute administration of D3 agonists and antagonists. In this study, we tested the effects of the D3-preferential agonist, pramipexole, on PPI in normal men and Sprague–Dawley rats.
Acoustic startle and PPI were tested in clinically normal men, comparing the effects of placebo vs. 0.125 mg (n = 20) or placebo vs. 0.1875 mg (n = 20) pramipexole, in double blind, crossover designs. These measures were also tested in male Sprague–Dawley rats using a parallel design [vehicle vs. 0.1 mg/kg (n = 8), vehicle vs. 0.3 mg/kg (n = 8) or vehicle vs. 1.0 mg/kg pramipexole (n = 8)]. Autonomic and subjective measures of pramipexole effects and several personality instruments were also measured in humans.
Pramipexole increased drowsiness and significantly increased PPI at 120-ms intervals in humans; the latter effect was not moderated by baseline PPI or personality scale scores. In rats, pramipexole causes a dose-dependent reduction in long-interval (120 ms) PPI, while low doses actually increased short-interval (10–20 ms) PPI. Effects of pramipexole on PPI in rats were independent of baseline PPI and changes in startle magnitude.
The preferential D3 agonist pramipexole modifies PPI in humans and rats. Unlike indirect DA agonists and mixed D2/D3 agonists, pramipexole increases long-interval PPI in humans, in a manner that is independent of baseline PPI and personality measures. These findings are consistent with preclinical evidence for differences in the D2- and D3-mediated regulation of sensorimotor gating
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