99 research outputs found
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) incidence and prevalence in Italy
Background: Studies of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) epidemiology show regional variations of
incidence and prevalence; no epidemiological studies have been carried out in Italy. Objective: To determine incidence
and prevalence rates of IPF in the population of a large Italian region.Methods: in this cross-sectional study
study data were collected on all patients of 18 years of age and older admitted as primary or secondary idiopathic
fibrosing alveolitis (ICD9-CM 516.3) to Lazio hospitals, from 1/1/2005 to 31/12/2009, using regional hospital
discharge, population and cause of death databases. Reporting accuracy was assessed on a random sample of hospital
charts carrying the ICD9-CM 516.3, 516.8, 516.9 and 515 codes, by reviewing radiology and pathology
findings to define cases as IPF âconfidentâ, âpossibleâ or âinconsistentâ. Results: Annual prevalence and incidence
of IPF were estimated at 25.6 per 100,000 and 7.5 per 100,000 using the ICD9-CM code 516.3 without chart
audit while they were estimated at 31.6 per 100,000 and at 9,3 per 100,000 for the IPF âconfidentâ definition after
hospital chart audit. Conclusion: The data provide a first estimate of IPF incidence in Italy and indicate that incidence
and prevalence in southern European regions may be similar to those observed in northern Europe and
North America. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2014; 31: 191-197
An integrated multi-omics approach identifies the landscape of interferon-α-mediated responses of human pancreatic beta cells
Interferon-α (IFNα), a type I interferon, is expressed in the islets of type 1 diabetic individuals, and its expression and signaling are regulated by T1D genetic risk variants and viral infections associated with T1D. We presently characterize human beta cell responses to IFNα by combining ATAC-seq, RNA-seq and proteomics assays. The initial response to IFNα is characterized by chromatin remodeling, followed by changes in transcriptional and translational regulation. IFNα induces changes in alternative splicing (AS) and first exon usage, increasing the diversity of transcripts expressed by the beta cells. This, combined with changes observed on protein modification/degradation, ER stress and MHC class I, may expand antigens presented by beta cells to the immune system. Beta cells also up-regulate the checkpoint proteins PDL1 and HLA-E that may exert a protective role against the autoimmune assault. Data mining of the present multi-omics analysis identifies two compound classes that antagonize IFNα effects on human beta cells.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Publisher URL to access it via the publisher's site.P30 DK097512/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States
UC4 DK104166/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States
MR/P010695/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdompublished version, accepted version, submitted versio
Identification and reconstruction of low-energy electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector
Measurements of electrons from interactions are crucial for the Deep
Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino oscillation program, as well as
searches for physics beyond the standard model, supernova neutrino detection,
and solar neutrino measurements. This article describes the selection and
reconstruction of low-energy (Michel) electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector.
ProtoDUNE-SP is one of the prototypes for the DUNE far detector, built and
operated at CERN as a charged particle test beam experiment. A sample of
low-energy electrons produced by the decay of cosmic muons is selected with a
purity of 95%. This sample is used to calibrate the low-energy electron energy
scale with two techniques. An electron energy calibration based on a cosmic ray
muon sample uses calibration constants derived from measured and simulated
cosmic ray muon events. Another calibration technique makes use of the
theoretically well-understood Michel electron energy spectrum to convert
reconstructed charge to electron energy. In addition, the effects of detector
response to low-energy electron energy scale and its resolution including
readout electronics threshold effects are quantified. Finally, the relation
between the theoretical and reconstructed low-energy electron energy spectrum
is derived and the energy resolution is characterized. The low-energy electron
selection presented here accounts for about 75% of the total electron deposited
energy. After the addition of lost energy using a Monte Carlo simulation, the
energy resolution improves from about 40% to 25% at 50~MeV. These results are
used to validate the expected capabilities of the DUNE far detector to
reconstruct low-energy electrons.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
Impact of cross-section uncertainties on supernova neutrino spectral parameter fitting in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
A primary goal of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is
to measure the MeV neutrinos produced by a Galactic
core-collapse supernova if one should occur during the lifetime of the
experiment. The liquid-argon-based detectors planned for DUNE are expected to
be uniquely sensitive to the component of the supernova flux, enabling
a wide variety of physics and astrophysics measurements. A key requirement for
a correct interpretation of these measurements is a good understanding of the
energy-dependent total cross section for charged-current
absorption on argon. In the context of a simulated extraction of
supernova spectral parameters from a toy analysis, we investigate the
impact of modeling uncertainties on DUNE's supernova neutrino
physics sensitivity for the first time. We find that the currently large
theoretical uncertainties on must be substantially reduced
before the flux parameters can be extracted reliably: in the absence of
external constraints, a measurement of the integrated neutrino luminosity with
less than 10\% bias with DUNE requires to be known to about 5%.
The neutrino spectral shape parameters can be known to better than 10% for a
20% uncertainty on the cross-section scale, although they will be sensitive to
uncertainties on the shape of . A direct measurement of
low-energy -argon scattering would be invaluable for improving the
theoretical precision to the needed level.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figure
Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU
The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype
Involving the new generations in particle physics endeavours
Since 1984 INFN and University of Pisa scientists performing experiments at Fermilab have been running a two-month summer training program for Italian students at the lab. In 1984 the program involved only a few physics students from the University of Pisa, but it was later extended to other INFN groups and to engineering students. Since 2004 the program has been supported in part by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the frame of an exchange agreement with INFN and has been run by the Cultural Association of Italians at Fermilab (CAIF). In 2007 the SantâAnna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa) established an agreement with Fermilab to share the cost of four engineering students each year. In the almost 40 years of its history, the program has hosted at Fermilab approximately 550 Italian students from more than 20 Italian universities and from some non-Italian universities. In addition, in the years 2010-2019, with the support of the Italian National Institute of Astrophyics (INAF), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and CAIF, 30 students were hosted in other US laboratories and universities. The Fermilab training programs spanned from data analysis to design and construction of particle detectors and accelerator components, R/D on superconductive elements, theory of accelerators, and analysis of astrophysical data. At the other US laboratories the offered training was on Space Science. In 2015 the University of Pisa endorsed the program as one of its own Summer Schools. The interns are enrolled as Pisa students for the duration of the internship. They are required to write summary reports published in the Fermilab and University of Pisa web pages. Upon positive evaluation by a University board, students are acknowledged 6 ECTS credits. The entire program is expected to expand further under CAIF management. An agreement has been signed between ASI and CAIF, for ASI to support yearly three two-months fellowships in US space science. In the following we inform on student recruiting, training programs, and final evaluation
Tomato /CMV/ satRNA interactions: pathogen and host factors involved in the virus accumulation and the disease phenotype
The Combimatrix platform for microarray analysis: gene expression in tomato plants infected by different combinations of cucumber mosaic virus and its satellite RNA.
A microarray analysis of tomato plants infected by different combinations of cucumber mosaic virus and its satellite RNAs
Gene expression profiling in tomato plants infected by four combinations of cucumber mosaic virus and its satellite RNA: a microarray analysis.
Gene expression profiling in tomato plants infected by four combinations of cucumber mosaic virus and its satellite RNA: a microarray analysis
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