Shells around black holes: the effect of freely specifiable quantities in Einstein's constraint equations

We solve Einstein's constraint equations in the conformal thin-sandwich decomposition to model thin shells of non-interacting particles in circular orbit about a non-rotating black hole. We use these simple models to explore the effects of some of the freely specifiable quantities in this decomposition on the physical content of the solutions. Specifically, we adopt either maximal slicing or Kerr-Schild slicing, and make different choices for the value of the lapse on the black hole horizon. For one particular choice of these quantities the resulting equations can be solved analytically; for all others we construct numerical solutions. We find that these different choices have no effect on our solutions when they are expressed in terms of gauge-invariant quantities.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

The psychopathology of body image in orthorexia nervosa

The human body has a complex meaning and role in everybody\u2019s life and experience. Body image has two main components: body percept (the internal visual image of body shape and size) and body concept (the level of satisfaction with one\u2019s body), whose specific alterations may lead to different conditions, such as overestimation of one\u2019s own body dimensions, negative feelings and thoughts towards the body, body avoidance and body checking behavior. Moreover, body dissatisfaction can be associated with a variety of other mental health and psychosocial conditions, but only a few studies have explored the body image construct in orthorexia nervosa (ON). ON is a condition characterized by concern and fixation about healthy eating, with mixed results available in the literature about the presence of body image disorders. The aim of this manuscript is to present the main findings from the literature about the psychopathology of body image in ON. Summarizing, while theoretically the presence of body image disturbances should help clinicians to differentiate ON from eating disorders, further research is needed to confirm this finding. It is not clear whether the body image disorder in ON depends on an altered body percept or body concept, and the relationship between the disordered eating behavior and body image disorder still needs to be disentangled. Further studies regarding the relationship between ON and body image could be helpful to better understand the relevance of body image as a transdiagnostic factor and its potential value as target for treatment intervention

enhancing indoor coverage by multi pairs copper cables the analog mimo radio over copper architecture

Nowadays, the majority of indoor coverage issues arise from networks that are mainly designed for outdoor scenarios. Outdoor networks, somewhat uncontrollably, may penetrate indoors with the consequence of coverage holes and outage issues, hence reducing network performances. Moreover, the ever-growing number of devices expected for 5G worsens this situation, calling for novel bandwidth-efficient, low-latency and cost-effective solutions for indoor wireless coverage. This is the focus of this article, which summarizes the content of my Ph.D. thesis by presenting an analog Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) architecture augmented by copper-cable, possibly pre-existing, to provide dense coverage inside buildings. This fronthaul architecture, referred to as Analog MIMO Radio-over-Copper (AMIMO-RoC), is an extreme RAN functional-split-option: the all-analog Remote Radio Units take the form of tiny, simple and cheap in-home devices, and Base Band Unit includes also signals' digitization. The A-MIMO-RoC architecture is introduced in this article starting from demonstrating its theoretical feasibility. Then, the origin and evolution of A-MIMO-RoC are described step-by-step by briefly going through previous works based on numerical analysis and simulations results. Finally, the overall discussion is complemented by results obtained with a prototype platform, which experimentally prove the capability of A-MIMO-RoC to extend indoor coverage over the last 100–200 m. Prototype results thus confirm that the proposed A-MIMO-RoC architecture is a valid solution towards the design of dedicated 5G indoor wireless systems for the billions of buildings which nowadays still suffer from severe indoor coverage issues

14q12q13.2 microdeletion syndrome: Clinical characterization of a new patient, review of the literature, and further evidence of a candidate region for CNS anomalies

Background: Chromosome 14q11-q22 deletion syndrome (OMIM 613457) is a rare contiguous gene syndrome. Two regions of overlap (RO) of the 14q12q21.1 deletion have been identified: a proximal region (RO1), including FOXG1(*164874), NKX2-1(*600635), and PAX9(*167416) and a distal region (RO2), including NKX2-1 and PAX9. We report a 6-year-old boy with mild dysmorphic facial features, global developmental delay, and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. Methods and Results: Array-CGH analysis revealed a 14q12q13.2 microdeletion. We compared the phenotype of our patient with previously published cases in order to establish a genotype–phenotype correlation. Conclusion: The study hypothesizes the presence of a new RO, not including the previously reported candidate genes, and attempt to define the associated molecular and psychomotor/neurobehavioral phenotype. This region encompasses the distal breakpoint of RO1 and the proximal breakpoint of RO2, and seems to be associated with intellectual disability (ID), hypotonia, epilepsy, and corpus callosum abnormalities. Although more cases are needed, we speculated on SNX6(*606098) and BAZ1A(*605680) as potential candidate genes associated with the corpus callosum abnormalities

A theoretical model for tellurite-sulfates Na2_2Cu5_5(TeO3_3)(SO4_4)3_3(OH)4_4 and K2_2Cu5_5(TeO3_3)(SO4_4)3_3(OH)4_4

A theoretical model for two new tellurite-sulfates, namely Na$_2$Cu$_5$(TeO$_3$)(SO$_4$)$_3$(OH)$_4$ and K$_2$Cu$_5$(TeO$_3$)(SO$_4$)$_3$ (OH)$_4$ is determined to be compatible with ab-initio calculations. The results obtained in this work show that some previous speculations in the literature about the couplings are correct, obtaining a model with a mixture of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings. We use a combination of numerical techniques to study the magnetic properties of the model. Our numerical calculations based on the density-matrix renormalization group method reveal that the system presents Ising-like magnetization plateaux at rational values of the saturation magnetization.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Role of folic acid depletion on homocysteine serum level inchildren and adolescents with epilepsy and different MTHFR C677T genotypes.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing amino acid involved in methionine metabolism. An elevated total plasma Hcy concentration (tHcy) is a risk factor for vascular disease. The present study aimed to assess the role of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHFR) polymorphisms on tHcy in pediatric patients with epilepsy treated for at least 6 months with various treatment regimens protocols including the newer AEDs. The study group was recruited from children and adolescents with epilepsy followed up in the Child Neuropsychiatry Clinic of the Second University of Naples, between January 2007 and March 2008. Inclusion criteria were: (1) patients with epilepsy, treated with one or more anticonvulsant drugs for at least 6 months; (2) age between 2 and 16 years. Plasma tHcy concentrations were considered elevated when they exceeded 10.4 mmol/L, and folate concentrations <3 ng/mL were considered deficient. Serum vitamin B12 levels were considered normal between 230 and 1200 pg/mL. The study group was composed of 78 patients (35 males, 43 females), aged between 3 and 15 years (mean 8.9 years). Thirtyfive patients were taking AED monotherapy, 43 polytherapy. Sixty-three healthy sex- and age-matched children and adolescents served as controls. The mean tHcy value in the patient group was higher than the mean value in the control group (12.11 7.68 mmol/L vs 7.4 4.01 mmol/L; p < 0.01). DNA analysis for the MTHFR C677T polymorphism showed the CT genotype in 46%, CC in 35% and TT in 17.8% of cases. Decreased folic acid serum levels significantly correlated with increased tHcy levels (p < 0.003). Female sex was a less significant risk factor for increased tHcy levels (p = 0.039). Our study confirms the association between hyperhomocysteinemia and epilepsy. The elevation of tHcy is essentially related to low folate levels. Correction of poor folate status, through supplementation, remains the most effective approach to normalize tHcy levels in patients on AED mono- or polytherapy

Testosterone Enanthate: An In Vitro Study of the Effects Triggered in MG-63 Cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the androgenic hormone testosterone enanthate (TE) on human MG-63 cells. MG-63 were cultured for 24 h in the presence of TE at increasing concentrations to assess its lethal dose. Therefore, the suitable concentration for a prolonged use of TE in vitro was assessed by viability assay over 9 days. Finally, MG-63 were exposed to TE for 14 days and assayed for differentiation by qPCR and Alizarin Red S staining. TE in the amount of 100 µM resulted as the maximum dose tolerated by MG-63 cells after 24 h. However, a prolonged exposure in culture TE in the amount of 100 µM showed a cytostatic effect on cell proliferation. On the contrary, TE 10 µM was tolerated by the cells and did not boost cell proliferation, but did enhance new bone formation, as revealed by COL1A1, ALPL, BGLAP, and IBSP gene expression after 3, 7, and 14 days, and calcium deposition by Alizarin Red S staining after 14 days. Based on the current study, 10 µM is the critical dose of TE that should be used in vitro to support bone differentiation of MG-63 cells

A combined multidisciplinary intervention for health promotion in the workplace: a pilot study

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a joint health promotion intervention on a cohort of healthcare workers (HCWs) who had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. The HCWs were assessed at three different times, i.e., time zero (T0), after 6 months (T6), and after 12 months (T12). The following parameters were measured at a medical examination: physical activity, blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), routine laboratory tests, plicometric analysis, work ability index (WAI), and body image dissatisfaction (BID). Among the 447 HCWs, 38 HCWs were included in the study; 45% (n = 17) were male. At T12, the average blood pressure, waist/hip ratio (WHR) index, BMI, total cholesterol, triglyceride level, and blood glucose values were reduced. The levels of physical activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet had progressively increased. The WAI showed a significant shift from low to good work performance at T12, as well as BID score. This is the first study that has analyzed work performance in relation to a workplace health promotion through a multidisciplinary approach. This health promotion intervention that combined diet and sport activity has led to a significant change in HCWs’ lifestyles and body perceptions, as well as their ability to work. This project highlights the importance of using a multidisciplinary approach and the workplace setting in health promotion programs