538 research outputs found
The Radio Occultation experiment on-board the Indian OCEANSAT-2 mission: data processing validation and preliminary results
Force balance and membrane shedding at the Red Blood Cell surface
During the aging of the red-blood cell, or under conditions of extreme
echinocytosis, membrane is shed from the cell plasma membrane in the form of
nano-vesicles. We propose that this process is the result of the
self-adaptation of the membrane surface area to the elastic stress imposed by
the spectrin cytoskeleton, via the local buckling of membrane under increasing
cytoskeleton stiffness. This model introduces the concept of force balance as a
regulatory process at the cell membrane, and quantitatively reproduces the rate
of area loss in aging red-blood cells.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Stability of the Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised from Pre-School to Elementary School Age in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
This study examined the stability of scores on the ADI-R from pre-school to elementary school age in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants were 35 children who, at T1, all had a clinical diagnosis of ASD. On initial assessment (mean age 3.5 years; SD 0.6), all met ADI-R algorithm criteria for autism. ADI-R assessments were repeated at follow up (FU; mean age 10.5 years; SD 0.8). Changes in ADI-R total, domain and ADI-R algorithm item scores were assessed. Twentyeight children continued to score above the ADI-R cut-off for autism at FU, although significant decreases in ADI-R domain and item scores were also found. In conclusion, while classification of children according to ADI-R criteria, generally remained stable between pre-school and elementary school age, many children demonstrated significant improvements in symptom severity
Lowering the Light Speed Isotropy Limit: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Measurements
The measurement of the Compton edge of the scattered electrons in GRAAL
facility in European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble with
respect to the Cosmic Microwave Background dipole reveals up to 10 sigma
variations larger than the statistical errors. We now show that the variations
are not due to the frequency variations of the accelerator. The nature of
Compton edge variations remains unclear, thus outlining the imperative of
dedicated studies of light speed anisotropy
Hip viscosupplementation under ultra-sound guidance riduces NSAID consumption in symptomatic hip osteoarthritis patients in a long follow-up. Data from Italian registry.
Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) consumption is strictly related to a high gastrointestinal and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rate. Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recommendations in patients with symptomatic hip or knee OA stated that NSAIDs should be used at the lowest effective dose but their long-term use should be avoided if possible. OARSI guidelines for the treatment of the hip OA include the use of viscosupplementation, which aims to restore physiological and Theological features of the synovial fluid. Objective: Aim of this multicentric, open and retrospective study is to investigate if NSAID consumption may be reduced by the use of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of several hyaluronic acid (HA) products in hip joint administered in patients affected by symptomatic hip OA. Materials and Methods: Patients affected by mono or bilateral symptomatic hip OA according to American Rheumatology Association (ARA) criteria, radiological OA graded II-IV (Kellgren and Lawrence) entered the study and were administered with ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid products. As a primary endpoint, consumption of NSAIDs was evaluated by recording the number of days a month (range 0-30) the patient had used NSAID during the previous month, reported at each visit during the 24 months follow-up period. Secondary endpoints included further analysis for subgroups of patients categorized for Lequesne index score, Kellgren-Lawrence score, pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, ultrasound pattern, age, hyaluronic acid used. Results: 2343 patients entered the study. Regarding primary endpoint, the consumption of NSAIDs was reduced of 48.2% at the third month when compared with baseline values. This sparing effect increased at 12th and 24th month with a reduction respectively of 50% and 61% in comparison to baseline values. These differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: These data point out that intraarticular hyaluronan preparations provide OA pain relief and reduce NSAIDs consumption in a large cohort of patients for a long period of follow-up. Multiple courses of viscosupplementation (vs) are required to maintain low dose of NSAID consumption over time. NSAIDs consumption is strictly related to an high gastrointestinal and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rate, instead HA intra-articular treatment is well tolerated and is associated with a low incidence of adverse effects. For these reasons further studies evaluating cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of VS in the management of hip OA are required
A new limit on the light speed isotropy from the GRAAL experiment at the ESRF
When the electrons stored in the ring of the European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility (ESRF, Grenoble) scatter on a laser beam (Compton scattering in
flight) the lower energy of the scattered electron spectra, the Compton Edge
(CE), is given by the two body photon-electron relativistic kinematics and
depends on the velocity of light. A precision measurement of the position of
this CE as a function of the daily variations of the direction of the electron
beam in an absolute reference frame provides a one-way test of Relativistic
Kinematics and the isotropy of the velocity of light. The results of GRAAL-ESRF
measurements improve the previously existing one-way limits, thus showing the
efficiency of this method and the interest of further studies in this
direction.Comment: Proceed. MG12 meeting, Paris, July, 200
Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons
The possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light relative to the
limiting speed of electrons is considered. The absence of sidereal variations
in the energy of Compton-edge photons at the ESRF's GRAAL facility constrains
such anisotropies representing the first non-threshold collision-kinematics
study of Lorentz violation. When interpreted within the minimal Standard-Model
Extension, this result yields the two-sided limit of 1.6 x 10^{-14} at 95%
confidence level on a combination of the parity-violating photon and electron
coefficients kappa_{o+} and c. This new constraint provides an improvement over
previous bounds by one order of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The Radio Occultation experiment on-board the Indian OCEANSAT-2 mission: data processing validation and preliminary results
Measurement of the Neutron Radius of 208Pb Through Parity-Violation in Electron Scattering
We report the first measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry A_PV in the
elastic scattering of polarized electrons from 208Pb. A_PV is sensitive to the
radius of the neutron distribution (Rn). The result A_PV = 0.656 \pm 0.060
(stat) \pm 0.014 (syst) ppm corresponds to a difference between the radii of
the neutron and proton distributions Rn - Rp = 0.33 +0.16 -0.18 fm and provides
the first electroweak observation of the neutron skin which is expected in a
heavy, neutron-rich nucleus.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
Mass and charge identification of fragments detected with the Chimera Silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes
Mass and charge identification of charged products detected with
Silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes of the Chimera apparatus is presented. An
identification function, based on the Bethe-Bloch formula, is used to fit
empirical correlation between Delta E and E ADC readings, in order to
determine, event by event, the atomic and mass numbers of the detected charged
reaction products prior to energy calibration.Comment: 24 pages, 7 .jpg figures, submitted to Nucl.Instr.
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