8,008 research outputs found
Use of Rituximab in autoimmune hemolytic anemia associated with non-hodgkin lymphomas
The association between non-Hodgkin lymphomas and autoimmune disorders is a well-known event. Also autoimmune hemolytic
anemia (AHA), although much more frequent in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), has been described in this
group of patients. In recent years, among the more traditional therapeutic options, rituximab, an anti-CD20monoclonal antibody,
has shown interesting results in the treatment of primary AHA. Although this drug has been frequently used for AHA in patients
with CLL, much less data are available on its use in NHL patients. However, considering that the main pathogenetic mechanism
of AHA in course of lymphoproliferative disorders seems to be an antibody production directly or indirectly mediated by the
neoplastic clone, this monoclonal antibody represents an ideal therapeutic approach. In this paper we will briefly describe some
biological and clinical features of NHL-patients with AHA. We will then analyze some studies focusing on rituximab in primary
AHA, finally reviewing the available literature on the use of this drug in NHL related AHA
SUNNY-CP and the MiniZinc Challenge
In Constraint Programming (CP) a portfolio solver combines a variety of
different constraint solvers for solving a given problem. This fairly recent
approach enables to significantly boost the performance of single solvers,
especially when multicore architectures are exploited. In this work we give a
brief overview of the portfolio solver sunny-cp, and we discuss its performance
in the MiniZinc Challenge---the annual international competition for CP
solvers---where it won two gold medals in 2015 and 2016. Under consideration in
Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)Comment: Under consideration in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming
(TPLP
A Multicore Tool for Constraint Solving
*** To appear in IJCAI 2015 proceedings *** In Constraint Programming (CP), a
portfolio solver uses a variety of different solvers for solving a given
Constraint Satisfaction / Optimization Problem. In this paper we introduce
sunny-cp2: the first parallel CP portfolio solver that enables a dynamic,
cooperative, and simultaneous execution of its solvers in a multicore setting.
It incorporates state-of-the-art solvers, providing also a usable and
configurable framework. Empirical results are very promising. sunny-cp2 can
even outperform the performance of the oracle solver which always selects the
best solver of the portfolio for a given problem
From A. rhizogenes RolD to Plant P5CS: Exploiting Proline to Control Plant Development
The capability of the soil bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes to reprogram plant development and induce adventitious hairy roots relies on the expression of a few root-inducing genes (rol A, B, C and D), which can be transferred from large virulence plasmids into the genome of susceptible plant cells. Contrary to rolA, B and C, which are present in all the virulent strains of A. rhizogenes and control hairy root formation by affecting auxin and cytokinin signalling, rolD appeared non-essential and not associated with plant hormones. Its role remained elusive until it was discovered that it codes for a proline synthesis enzyme. The finding that, in addition to its role in protein synthesis and stress adaptation, proline is also involved in hairy roots induction, disclosed a novel role for this amino acid in plant development. Indeed, from this initial finding, proline was shown to be critically involved in a number of developmental processes, such as floral transition, embryo development, pollen fertility and root elongation. In this review, we present a historical survey on the rol genes focusing on the role of rolD and proline in plant development
The argali (Ovis ammon antiqua) from the Magliana area (Rome)
During the Middle Pleistocene, the subspecies was widespread from Georgia to Portugal, though it is scantily recorded in local faunal assemblages of Southern Europe. Its occurrence in a few Late Pleistocene sites needs to be confirmed. In Italy, the subspecies is recorded in the late Galerian fauna of Visogliano (MIS 13 - 10) as well as in the Magliana area, where an incomplete skull was found at the beginning of the last century. Although the precise location where this specimen was found is unknown, on the basis of the results of the geochemical analysis performed on a small amount of sediment, sampled from the filling of the inner cavities of the horn-cores, and considering the stratigraphy of the area, the hypothesis that the skull comes from the deposits of the PG4 sequence (MIS14 partim - MIS13) cannot be ruled out. This hypothetical remark would confirm the occurrence in Italy of the argali in late Galerian faunas. The dimensions of Ovis ammon antiqua from the Magliana area fit well within the range of variability of the larger specimens, likely males, found at La Caune de LâArago (France) (MIS 14-12), from which the Italian specimen differs in having less twisted and more dorso-ventrally curved horn-cores
Cooperative Spectrum Sensing based on the Limiting Eigenvalue Ratio Distribution in Wishart Matrices
Recent advances in random matrix theory have spurred the adoption of
eigenvalue-based detection techniques for cooperative spectrum sensing in
cognitive radio. Most of such techniques use the ratio between the largest and
the smallest eigenvalues of the received signal covariance matrix to infer the
presence or absence of the primary signal. The results derived so far in this
field are based on asymptotical assumptions, due to the difficulties in
characterizing the exact distribution of the eigenvalues ratio. By exploiting a
recent result on the limiting distribution of the smallest eigenvalue in
complex Wishart matrices, in this paper we derive an expression for the
limiting eigenvalue ratio distribution, which turns out to be much more
accurate than the previous approximations also in the non-asymptotical region.
This result is then straightforwardly applied to calculate the decision
threshold as a function of a target probability of false alarm. Numerical
simulations show that the proposed detection rule provides a substantial
performance improvement compared to the other eigenvalue-based algorithms.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to IEEE Communications Letter
Characterization of FBK small-pitch 3D diodes after neutron irradiation up to 3.5x10**16 neq cm**-2
We report on the characterization by a position resolved laser system of
small-pitch 3D diodes irradiated with neutrons up to an extremely high fluence
of 3.5x10**16 neq cm**-2. We show that very high values of signal efficiency
are obtained, in good agreement with the geometrical expectation based on the
small values of the inter-electrode spacings, and also boosted by charge
multiplication effects at high voltage. These results confirm the very high
radiation tolerance of small-pitch 3D sensors well beyond the maximum fluences
expected at the High Luminosity LHC.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Proceedings of IWORID 2018 on JINS
A 1-bit Synchronization Algorithm for a Reduced Complexity Energy Detection UWB Receiver
This work investigates the possibility of performing synchronization in a reduced complexity Energy Detection receiver. A new receiver scheme employing a single comparator only is defined and the related synchronization algorithm is presented. The possibility of synchronizing has been analyzed both for an idealized Dirac Delta input signal and for realistic UWB signals obtained through the TG4a channel model. The matlab simulations show that it is possible to obtain coarse synchronization using a simple maximum detection algorithm computed on collected energies for the ideal case of Dirac Delta pulses. For realistic UWB signals better synchronization performances are possible by employing a searchback algorithm. Due to the low complexity of the receiver scheme, the synchronization algorithm requires a long locking time
An effective AMS Top-Down Methodology Applied to the Design of a Mixed-SignalUWB System-on-Chip
The design of Ultra Wideband (UWB) mixed-signal SoC for localization applications in wireless personal area networks is currently investigated by several researchers. The complexity of the design claims for effective top-down methodologies. We propose a layered approach based on VHDL-AMS for the first design stages and on an intelligent use of a circuit-level simulator for the transistor-level phase. We apply the latter just to one block at a time and wrap it within the system-level VHDL-AMS description. This method allows to capture the impact of circuit-level design choices and non-idealities on system performance. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology we show how the refinement of the design affects specific UWB system parameters such as bit-error rate and localization estimations
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