Measurement of CP observables in B± → D(⁎)K± and B± → D(⁎)π± decays

Measurements of CP observables in B ± →D (⁎) K ± and B ± →D (⁎) π ± decays are presented, where D (⁎) indicates a neutral D or D ⁎ meson that is an admixture of D (⁎)0 and D¯ (⁎)0 states. Decays of the D ⁎ meson to the Dπ 0 and Dγ final states are partially reconstructed without inclusion of the neutral pion or photon, resulting in distinctive shapes in the B candidate invariant mass distribution. Decays of the D meson are fully reconstructed in the K ± π ∓ , K + K − and π + π − final states. The analysis uses a sample of charged B mesons produced in pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.0, 1.0 and 2.0 fb −1 taken at centre-of-mass energies of s=7, 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. The study of B ± →D ⁎ K ± and B ± →D ⁎ π ± decays using a partial reconstruction method is the first of its kind, while the measurement of B ± →DK ± and B ± →Dπ ± decays is an update of previous LHCb measurements. The B ± →DK ± results are the most precise to date

First observation of forward Z→bbˉZ \rightarrow b \bar{b} production in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV

The decay Z→bb¯ is reconstructed in pp collision data, corresponding to 2 fb −1 of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s=8 TeV. The product of the Z production cross-section and the Z→bb¯ branching fraction is measured for candidates in the fiducial region defined by two particle-level b -quark jets with pseudorapidities in the range 2.220 GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range 4520$GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range$45 < m_{jj} < 165$GeV. From a signal yield of$5462 \pm 763$$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$events, where the uncertainty is statistical, a production cross-section times branching fraction of$332 \pm 46 \pm 59$pb is obtained, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measured significance of the signal yield is 6.0 standard deviations. This measurement represents the first observation of the$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$production in the forward region of$pp$ collisions

ITALY'S RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES AS ESTIMATED ON THE BASIS OF THE MONTHLY WATER BALANCE

The International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) and the Italian National Committee of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ITAL-ICID) decided it would be worth extending a previous paper on Italy's available water resources to a detailed study oil the partitioning of precipitation between evaporation, groundwater storage (saturated and unsaturated zone) and runoff with the aim of estimating the potentially renewable water resources of the Country. The information is gained through a water balance model approach, using monthly climate data from the time series 1971-2000 estimated over 544 grid points of the whole of the Italian territory, made available by the CRA-Central Office for Crop Ecology (CRA-UCEA). The goal of this Study was to evaluate the fraction of precipitation that does not return to the atmosphere through the evaporation process or remains in soil storage and that includes both surface and Subsurface runoff including effective infiltration. The results obtained by using a GIS system may provide useful information on the evolution of the hydroclimatic condition in Italy and a picture of the runoff amounts in terms of time and space. This information call be used for national planning purposes and for activating strategies to protect and conserve water resources, especially with regard to irrigation management. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Overlap between Frontotemporal Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies: A Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) Registry Case Report

In the present work, we report the case of a patient presenting signs of Lewy body dementia (DLB) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) throughout different phases of the disease. In January 2017, a 79-year-old right-handed living man was admitted to our Memory Clinic for the presence of behavioral disturbances and progressive cognitive decline. For the previous six years, he was monitored by other Neurological Clinics for the onset of extrapyramidal features. Indeed, through the first phase of the disease (2011-2014), the patient predominantly showed: extrapyramidal features, initial cognitive decline, sleep disturbances, and visual hallucinations, together with a reduced dopamine transporter uptake in basal ganglia at the DATscan, suggesting a diagnosis of DLB. In a second phase (2015-2017), while his extrapyramidal features remained substantially stable, his cognitive profile deteriorated, with an additional development of severe behavioral and neuropsychiatric disturbances. Again, a subsequent DATscan study was positive and slightly worse than the preceding one; however, the 18 F-FDG PET showed reduced metabolic activity in the frontal and temporal lobes, with the occipital regions left spared. Genetic analysis revealed a hexanucleotide expansion in C9ORF72 (6//38 repeats; ITALSGEN NV &lt;30). In conclusion, we report the case of a patient presenting, firstly, with probable DLB and, in a second phase, with predominant bvFTD features with stable parkinsonism. Even though some clinical and neuropsychological aspects can co-exist in different neurodegenerative diseases, we find such a significant intersection of clinical features to be fairly atypical. Moreover, what is challenging to define is whether the two clinical phenotypes are somehow lying on a continuum, or if they are two individual entities

Frontotemporal dementia misdiagnosed for post-treatment lyme disease syndrome or vice versa? A Treviso dementia (TREDEM) registry case report

We describe the case of a 61-year-old woman diagnosed with Borreliosis at the age of 57. Subsequently, the patient developed depression, anxiety, and behavioral disturbances. A lumbar puncture excluded the condition of Neuroborreliosis. The diagnostic workup included: an MRI scan, a 18 F-FDG PET, a 123 I-ioflupane-SPECT, an amyloid-\u3b2 PET, a specific genetic analysis, and a neuropsychological evaluation. Based on our investigation, the patient was diagnosed with probable behavioral-frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), whereas in the previous years, the patient had been considered firstly as a case of Post-Treatment-Lyme Disease and, secondly, a psychiatric patient. We believe that, in the present case, such initial symptoms of Borrelia infection may have superimposed on those of bvFTD rather than playing as a contributory cause

A Case with Early Onset Alzheimer&apos;s Disease, Frontotemporal Hypometabolism, ApoE Genotype &#1013; 4/ &#1013; 4 and C9ORF72 Intermediate Expansion : A Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) Registry Case Report

We report the case of a woman firstly referred to our Memory Clinic at the age of 61, following the development of cognitive complaints and difficulties in sustained attention. The investigation that was performed showed: predominant executive dysfunctions at the neuropsychological evaluation, with mild, partial and stable involvement of the memory domain; cortical and subcortical atrophy with well-preserved hippocampal structures at MRI; marked fronto-temporal and moderate parietal hypometabolism from 18 F-FDG PET study with a sparing of the posterior cingulate and precuneus; positivity of amyloid-\u3b2 at 18 F-Flutemetamol PET; an hexanucleotide intermediate repeats expansion of C9ORF72 gene (12//38 repeats) and ApoE genotype \u3f54/\u3f54. The patient was diagnosed with probable early onset frontal variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD), presenting with a major executive function impairment. The lack of specific areas of brain atrophy, as well as the failure to meet the clinical criteria for any frontotemporal dementia, drove us to perform the aforementioned investigations, which yielded our final diagnosis. The present case highlights the need to take into consideration a diagnosis of frontal variant of AD when the metabolic and the clinical picture are somehow dissonant

Validation of the Italian version of the Non Motor Symptoms Scale for Parkinson&apos;s disease

Objective To validate the adapted Italian version of the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), a tool to assess non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods A cross cultural adaptation of the NMSS into Italian and a psychometric analysis of the translated version of the NMSS was carried out in patients with PD from two university centres\u2013affiliated hospitals. The quality of data and the acceptability, reliability and construct validity of NMSS were analyzed. The following standard scales were also applied: Hoehn and Yahr staging, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Beck Depression Inventory, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Autonomic Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease-Motor, Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part I and Modified Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS). Levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) was calculated. Results Seventy-one patients with PD were assessed (mean age years 69.8\ua0\ub1\ua09.6 SD; 31% women; mean length of disease 6.3\ua0\ub1\ua04.6 years; H&Y median: 2). Mean NMSS was 39.76 (SD 31.9; skewness 0.95). The total score of NMSS was free of floor or ceiling effects and showed a satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient on total score was 0.72 [range for domains: 0.64\u20130.73], SEM value was 3.88 [\ubd SD\ua0=\ua031.90]). Significant positive correlations were found among total NMSS and other NMS standard tests, but no significant correlation appeared with UPDRS part III, CIRS and LEDD. Conclusions The Italian NMSS is a comprehensive and helpful measure for NMS in native Italian patients with PD

Adaptation and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire for Parkinson&#8217;s disease

Although non-motor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) are very common also in early stages of the disease, they are still under-recognized. Screening tools for non-motor symptoms, such as non-motor symptoms questionnaire (NMSQuest), help clinicians to recognize NMS and to evaluate if patients could require further assessment or specific treatments. To validate an adapted Italian version of NMSQuest and study its psychometric properties, Italian PD patients self-completed Italian NMSQuest, and then underwent a standard clinical evaluation including motor assessment (by Hoehn and Yahr staging, unified Parkinson\u2019s disease rating scale part III) and non-motor assessment (by Montreal cognitive assessment, Beck depression inventory, neuropsychiatric inventory, Epworth sleepiness\ua0scale, scale for outcomes in Parkinson\u2019s disease-Autonomic and movement disorder society-sponsored revision of the unified Parkinson\u2019s disease rating scale part I). Somatic comorbidities were quantified using the modified cumulative illness rating scale (CIRS). Seventy-one subjects were assessed (mean age years 69.8\ua0\ub1\ua09.6 SD; 31% women; mean duration of disease 6.3\ua0\ub1\ua04.6\ua0years; H&Y median 2). Italian NMSQuest showed adequate satisfactory clinimetrics in terms of data quality, precision, acceptability, internal consistency and reliability. A significant correlation was found between NMSQuest and most of non-motor assessment scales, while no significant correlation appeared with motor severity as well as with age of patients, disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, l-DOPA/dopamine agonists assumption and CIRS total score. The Italian version of the NMSQuest resulted as a reliable instrument for screening NMS in Italian PD patients