146 research outputs found
Policy relevance analysis of geospatial indicators : Final Deliverable under Task 1.8.2.5
Final Deliverable under Task 1.8.2.5
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Meets Virtual Reality: The Potential of Integrating Brain Stimulation With a Simulative Technology for Food Addiction
Virtual Reality Meets Non-invasive Brain Stimulation: Integrating Two Methods for Cognitive Rehabilitation of Mild Cognitive Impairment
PO-0811: From 3D conformal to TomoDirect™ modality treatment for the postoperative breast radiotherapy
Generalized instantons in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory and spinorial geometry
Using spinorial geometry techniques, we classify the supersymmetric solutions
of euclidean super Yang-Mills theory. These backgrounds represent
generalizations of instantons with nontrivial scalar fields turned on, and
satisfy some constraints that bear a similarity with the Hitchin equations, and
contain the Donaldson equations as a special subcase. It turns out that these
constraints can be obtained by dimensional reduction of the octonionic
instanton equations, and may be rephrased in terms of a selfduality-like
condition for a complex connection. We also show that the supersymmetry
conditions imply the equations of motion only partially.Comment: 29 pages, 3 tables. v2: references added. v3: conclusion extended,
version published in JHE
First Ex-Vivo Validation of a Radioguided Surgery Technique with beta- Radiation
Purpose: A radio-guided surgery technique with beta- -emitting radio-tracers
was suggested to overcome the effect of the large penetration of gamma
radiation. The feasibility studies in the case of brain tumors and abdominal
neuro-endocrine tumors were based on simulations starting from PET images with
several underlying assumptions. This paper reports, as proof-of-principle of
this technique, an ex-vivo test on a meningioma patient. This test allowed to
validate the whole chain, from the evaluation of the SUV of the tumor, to the
assumptions on the bio-distribution and the signal detection.
Methods: A patient affected by meningioma was administered 300 MBq of
90Y-DOTATOC. Several samples extracted from the meningioma and the nearby Dura
Mater were analyzed with a beta- probe designed specifically for this
radio-guided surgery technique. The observed signals were compared both with
the evaluation from the histology and with the Monte Carlo simulation.
Results: we obtained a large signal on the bulk tumor (105 cps) and a
significant signal on residuals of 0.2 ml (28 cps). We also show that
simulations predict correctly the observed yields and this allows us to
estimate that the healthy tissues would return negligible signals (~1 cps).
This test also demonstrated that the exposure of the medical staff is
negligible and that among the biological wastes only urine has a significant
activity.
Conclusions: This proof-of-principle test on a patient assessed that the
technique is feasible with negligible background to medical personnel and
confirmed that the expectations obtained with Monte Carlo simulations starting
from diagnostic PET images are correct.Comment: 17 pages, 4 Figs, Accepted by Physica Medic
COVID Feel Good—An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus
ANTaging: a Research Protocol for Active Navigation Training with Virtual Reality in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Navigation is a multimodal process that requires the active computation of cognitive and bodily cues along with external environmental information. Indeed, according to the embodied cognition framework, the body and the environment build our cognitive representation of the space. This view is supported by findings in the aging population where the decline of bodily information accounts for the deficits in spatial navigation. Consequently, it is crucial to develop innovative rehabilitation solutions in aging that require the active use of bodily and cognitive processing of the space and its elements. Mild cognitive impairment is a geriatric syndrome considered to be a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Consequently, it is a preferred time window to administer cognitive rehabilitation programs that could slow down cognitive deterioration. In the current paper, the ANTaging protocol will be presented in its three-step studies: pilot testing, usability study, and proof-of-concept trial
Evidence of the Trade-Off between Starvation and Predation Risks in Ducks
The theory of trade-off between starvation and predation risks predicts a decrease in body mass in order to improve flight performance when facing high predation risk. To date, this trade-off has mainly been validated in passerines, birds that store limited body reserves for short-term use. In the largest avian species in which the trade-off has been investigated (the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos), the slope of the relationship between mass and flight performance was steeper in proportion to lean body mass than in passerines. In order to verify whether the same case can be applied to other birds with large body reserves, we analyzed the response to this trade-off in two other duck species, the common teal (Anas crecca) and the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula). Predation risk was simulated by disturbing birds. Ducks within disturbed groups were compared to non-disturbed control birds. In disturbed groups, both species showed a much greater decrease in food intake and body mass during the period of simulated high risk than those observed in the control group. This loss of body mass allows reaching a more favourable wing loading and increases power for flight, hence enhancing flight performances and reducing predation risk. Moreover, body mass loss and power margin gain in both species were higher than in passerines, as observed in mallards. Our results suggest that the starvation-predation risk trade-off is one of the major life history traits underlying body mass adjustments, and these findings can be generalized to all birds facing predation. Additionally, the response magnitude seems to be influenced by the strategy of body reserve management
Production and characterization of a novel antifungal chitinase identified by functional screening of a suppressive-soil metagenome
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