998 research outputs found
Weak violation of universality for Polyelectrolyte Chains: Variational Theory and Simulations
A variational approach is considered to calculate the free energy and the
conformational properties of a polyelectrolyte chain in dimensions. We
consider in detail the case of pure Coulombic interactions between the
monomers, when screening is not present, in order to compute the end-to-end
distance and the asymptotic properties of the chain as a function of the
polymer chain length . We find where
and is the exponent which characterize
the long-range interaction . The exponent is
shown to be non-universal, depending on the strength of the Coulomb
interaction. We check our findings, by a direct numerical minimization of the
variational energy for chains of increasing size . The
electrostatic blob picture, expected for small enough values of the interaction
strength, is quantitatively described by the variational approach. We perform a
Monte Carlo simulation for chains of length . The non universal
behavior of the exponent previously derived within the variational
method, is also confirmed by the simulation results. Non-universal behavior is
found for a polyelectrolyte chain in dimension. Particular attention is
devoted to the homopolymer chain problem, when short range contact interactions
are present.Comment: to appear in European Phys. Journal E (soft matter
Replica Field Theory for Deterministic Models (II): A Non-Random Spin Glass with Glassy Behavior
We introduce and study a model which admits a complex landscape without
containing quenched disorder. Continuing our previous investigation we
introduce a disordered model which allows us to reconstruct all the main
features of the original phase diagram, including a low spin glass phase
and a complex dynamical behavior.Comment: 35 pages with uu figures, Roma 102
Interleukin-35-Producing CD8α(+) Dendritic Cells Acquire a Tolerogenic State and Regulate T Cell Function.
Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in shaping immunogenic as well as tolerogenic adaptive immune responses and thereby dictate the outcome of adaptive immunity. Here, we report the generation of a CD8α(+) DC line constitutively secreting the tolerogenic cytokine interleukin (IL)-35. IL-35 secretion led to impaired CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocyte proliferation and interfered with their function in vitro and also in vivo. IL-35 was furthermore found to induce a tolerogenic phenotype on CD8α(+) DCs, characterized by the upregulation of CD11b, downregulation of MHC class II, a reduced costimulatory potential as well as production of the immunomodulatory molecule IL-10. Vaccination of mice with IL-35-expressing DCs promoted tumor growth and reduced the severity of autoimmune encephalitis not only in a preventive but also after induction of encephalitogenic T cells. The reduction in experimental autoimmune encephalitis severity was significantly more pronounced when antigen-pulsed IL-35(+) DCs were used. These findings suggest a new, indirect effector mechanism by which IL-35-responding antigen-presenting cells contribute to immune tolerance. Furthermore, IL-35-transfected DCs may be a promising approach for immunotherapy in the context of autoimmune diseases
The Critical Properties of Two-dimensional Oscillator Arrays
We present a renormalization group study of two dimensional arrays of
oscillators, with dissipative, short range interactions. We consider the case
of non-identical oscillators, with distributed intrinsic frequencies within the
array and study the steady-state properties of the system. In two dimensions no
macroscopic mutual entrainment is found but, for identical oscillators,
critical behavior of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type is shown to be
present. We then discuss the stability of (BKT) order in the physical case of
distributed quenched random frequencies. In order to do that, we show how the
steady-state dynamical properties of the two dimensional array of non-identical
oscillators are related to the equilibrium properties of the XY model with
quenched randomness, that has been already studied in the past. We propose a
novel set of recursion relations to study this system within the Migdal
Kadanoff renormalization group scheme, by mean of the discrete clock-state
formulation. We compute the phase diagram in the presence of random dissipative
coupling, at finite values of the clock state parameter. Possible experimental
applications in two dimensional arrays of microelectromechanical oscillators
are briefly suggested.Comment: Contribution to the conference "Viewing the World through Spin
Glasses" in honour of Professor David Sherrington on the occasion of his 65th
birthda
Impact of hypertension on infarct size in ST elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary angioplasty.
Effectiveness of diagnosis and early treatment of ocular motility alterations in premature infants
Objective: Prematurity often results in important developmental sequelae of brain structures, particularly those involved in processing visual information, such as the optic nerve, primary visual cortex and visuomotor integration areas. The aim of this study is to analyse the functionality of the sensory and motor pathways of the visual system by means of an orthoptic-ophthalmological assessment. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 151 records were examined, covering a period from 2000 to 2020, of preterm patients with gestational age < 32 weeks and birth weight ≤ 1,500 g up to an average age of about 8 years, referred to the Centre for Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabology of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Policlinico Umberto I, La Sapienza University of Rome, who underwent a complete ophthalmological and orthoptic assessment including the following tests measurement of ocular deviations according to the Hirschberg method, Lang I-II test, Titmus Stereotest, objective convergence assessment and ocular motility examination. Results: From the charts reviewed, 24.5% (37/151) of patients had Retinopathy of the Premature (ROP); while 38% of the whole sample (57/151) had strabismic amblyopia, of the latter only 31.5% (18/57) had ROP. In 8% of patients (12/151) the stereoscopic sense was absent, in 45% (8/151) stereopsis was gross (> 60 seconds of arc). In addition, 20.52 % (31/151) had a manifest eye deviation. 7.28% (11/151) had hypermetropia in the right eye (RE); 7.95% (12/151) hypermetropia in the left eye (OS); 3.31% of the patients (5/151) had myopia in the RE; 2% (3/151), myopia in the left eye (LE). In addition, the study of ocular motility revealed varying degrees of alteration poorly correlated with prematurity status. Conclusion: It was found that amblyopia, stereopsis and objective convergence are more affected by ROP than strabismus, refractive defects and ocular motility, indicating that premature children are particularly susceptible to ophthalmological and orthoptical alterations
Impact of multivessel disease on infarct size among STEMI patients undergoing primary angioplasty.
Association between anti-citrullinated alpha enolase antibodies and clinical features in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study.
In recent years several antibodies against citrullinated peptides (ACPAs) have been identified in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their pathogenic, diagnostic and prognostic significance is under intense investigation. Among ACPAs, those targeting citrullinated alpha enolase (anti-CEP1) have been identified in RA but data about their ability to predict the development of erosive disease are conflicting. Furthermore, no data are currently available concerning their possible association with extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) in RA. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and significance of anti-CEP1 from a prognostic point of view. In this pilot study we confirmed that anti-CEP1 Abs are associated with higher prevalence of bone erosions, but we also provided the first evidence of an association between anti-CEP1 Abs and RA interstitial lung disease (ILD). These results provide the basis to investigate the association between anti-CEP1 Abs and EAMs in larger cohorts of RA patients to possibly confirm its role as biomarker for RA-ILD
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